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Mutt The Race Truck

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  • Reassembled!

    Dash back in place.

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    It almost fit without mods but the left end was just a tad different. I removed an extension that worked with the old bars and added this tab to allow it to attach to the new bars.

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    A shot for the tech inspectors as the new rear window will be tinted so it will be hard to see how I did this. Shoulder harness is wrapped directly around the shoulder bar and clears the seat slots when I'm sitting in the seat.

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    Seat in place and the door bar closed and pinned. The seat fits by just swinging the bar out.

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    And finally, the improved access. It is SO such easier to get in now.

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    I touched up the paint following today's work and will try to let it dry for a day or two. Rustoleum does NOT dry quickly!

    Dan


    Last edited by DanStokes; August 20, 2020, 05:16 PM.

    Comment


    • Looking good Dan, nice touch for the inspectors.
      Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

      Comment


      • I experimented with Rustoleum, and found that it dries MUCH faster (and much harder) after tossing a bit of hardener in. This was a brush applied experiment, and it was impressive.
        Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.

        Comment


        • Originally posted by Beagle View Post
          Looking good Dan, nice touch for the inspectors.
          Having been an inspector at Bonneville I know what it's like to have to take the competitor's word for something when you can't see it. 99% of the time folks are straight with you but it's SO helpful when you have a pic to make everything clear. They may want me to open up the shoulder belt seat slot a tad and I might need to add some gussets though it all looks pretty stout to me.

          Dan

          Comment


          • The new rear window. Sadly a bit of Mutt's history was lost as the decals on the old back window - who knows how old - have to be abandoned.

            The old race number and a POW/MIA sticker

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            And on the other side a sticker in memory of John Beckett, one of the founders of ECTA who died in a crash at Bonneville.

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            But the new one gets ready to go in. Here I've pealed back the edge of the protective wrap so it won't be trapped by the gasket. I figured if I kept most of it on it would protect the window as it was installed which seemed to work pretty well.

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            And finally in place. Tomorrow I plan to make up retaining straps (as SCTA calls them in the rule book). The ones I had were a bit overdone to try to support the wavy back window as the Plexiglas had lost its structure so I'll simplify a bit.

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            Dan

            Comment


            • And finally, the retaining straps. These are a bit stouter than they need to be but they'll support the window over time.

              Here's the mounting parts spread out in a "exploded" view. Note the spacers which were left over from mounting the TV on a wall bracket (sometimes you get lucky).

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              The straps in place.

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              Here's the spacer in place. It makes up for the thickness of the window gasket so that the Lexan is clamped in between the straps.

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              Now onto the tach issue with the Volvo.

              Dan
              Last edited by DanStokes; September 2, 2020, 02:52 PM.

              Comment


              • Our "window straps" have no "glass". Merely to keep hoods and trunks from coming in . Looks good!

                Comment


                • On to traction bars. After shopping around I went with Lakewood because they bolt in place of the lower spring plates and are therefore better restrained (no way they can come loose). So I ordered them up and set about the installation. Why is every job I undertake weird?

                  First weird. There is a spring clamp at the point where Lakewood wants me to clamp the front of the traction bar. The Lakewood clamp is a sort of retainer to prevent the bar from swinging from side to side but is designed to be left a bit loose. As you can see, the spring clamp is in exactly the wrong place. I called Lakewood (now a part of Holley) and after a fairly long wait the tech guy and I agreed that the thing to do was remove the spring clamp.

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                  With the clamp removed. What doesn't show is that the spring clamp was riveted in place with the head at the bottom of the spring. A burr on the die grinder fixed that. I cleaned up the stub of the rivet but didn't want to touch the spring with the grinder so I left the body of the rivet sticking out a tad.

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                  So THAT'S handled. Now on to weird #2.

                  The bars all bolted up and (I thought) ready for action. BUT NO!!!!.......

                  Mutt sitting with his weight on his wheels on my trusty 12" plywood boxes (very handy, BTW). Note the wheel stops clamped to the LF box.

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                  So I'm all ready to trim and install the rubber bumpers when what to my wondering eyes appeared but......

                  Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_0315.jpeg Views:	0 Size:	807.7 KB ID:	1282277 But the front of the bar sitting tightly against the front spring eye. It took a while to think this one thru but here, evidently, is the answer as worked out by the Holley tech and me: Mutt is lowered 2 " with a common lowering block but we didn't think that was the issue. However, there is also an angle shim to make the pinion angle happy and that, we think, is the culprit. I don't want to mess with the driveshaft angle as that seems to be working well so the solution is the use a wedge between the bottom of the spring and the traction bar to angle the bar down a tad. This is especially odd as the usual issue is that the bar hangs too low and has to be shimmed the other way.

                  Nothin' I ever do goes easily. Poor me!

                  Dan
                  Last edited by DanStokes; October 14, 2020, 02:00 PM.

                  Comment


                  • I have heard of people using a bolt instead of the rubber bummer. It might hit too hard, but it might fit.

                    Be careful loading on the trailer the first time. To make sure they don't drag.
                    http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...-consolidation
                    1.54, 7.31 @ 94.14, 11.43 @ 118.95

                    PB 60' 1.49
                    ​​​​​​

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Russell View Post
                      I have heard of people using a bolt instead of the rubber bummer. It might hit too hard, but it might fit.

                      Be careful loading on the trailer the first time. To make sure they don't drag.
                      I have a wedge on order which makes sense and is what Lakewood/Holley suggested, too. So we'll see how that work out.

                      I thought of the trailer loading issue, too. There certainly is room for error there!

                      Different topic: Do you want my BBF headers, chrome valve covers, etc. and some other SBF odds and ends? If not I'll drag 'em to the recycler as they're just eating up room in the shop and I know I'll never use them. Yours for the taking - maybe something for Ebay of Racingjunk?

                      Dan

                      Comment


                      • Remember our motto Dan: Any job worth doing is worth doing 2 or 3 times!

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by DanStokes View Post

                          Different topic: Do you want my BBF headers, chrome valve covers, etc. and some other SBF odds and ends? If not I'll drag 'em to the recycler as they're just eating up room in the shop and I know I'll never use them. Yours for the taking - maybe something for Ebay of Racingjunk?

                          Dan
                          You know me I am a hoarder and I hate to see good parts get thrown away. I have been wanting to get down there before it gets too cold. Next week I am pretty busy what about the 26 or 27?
                          Last edited by Russell; October 15, 2020, 07:30 PM.
                          http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...-consolidation
                          1.54, 7.31 @ 94.14, 11.43 @ 118.95

                          PB 60' 1.49
                          ​​​​​​

                          Comment


                          • That would be great! Send a PM or Email and we'll work something out. I'll make a pile for you.

                            Dan

                            Comment


                            • And on to the traction bars.......

                              The solution Lakewood and I agreed upon was to install wedges between the bars and the bottom of the spring so that the front of the bars tip down and off the front spring eyes. Here's the process:

                              I decided with no real data to try a 4 degree wedge as pictured here.

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                              However, the center hole was too small for the spring center pin to go thru. It turns out the center pins are 3/8" Allen head bolts with a 3/8" hex nut on the bottom to hold the whole deal together. Looks to me like some leaves have been removed though I don't remember Terry telling me that.


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                              Easy fix - drill out the center. The wedges are aluminum so it isn't too difficult but the bit wanted to grab the flash you see in the pic so I had to clamp the wedge down. Here's my solution: Pull the handle on the drill press and THAT'S resolved.

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                              The center pin was too short to center the wedge and the traction bar so I made a spacer and bought a longer Allen head bolt and Bob's yer Uncle.

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                              Then I tightened everything up and here's the almost finished shot. Mutts on his wheels up on the blocks and I'll need to cut the bumpers and adjust the front U-bolts as/per Lakewood's instructions. The traction bars are almost parallel to the ground but slightly different from side to side which is a mystery.


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                              Dan
                              Last edited by DanStokes; October 22, 2020, 05:30 PM.

                              Comment


                              • The traction bar project is done other that the test run.

                                As mentioned, the driver's side bar is closer to the spring eye and I have no clue why. My best guess is that the left spring has sagged more that the right but have no actual data. Either way there's no choice but to make the bars work with the situation as it exists.

                                Driver's side. Lakewood suggests 3/8 inch between the spring and the bumper on this side so I got it as close as I could. They suggest cutting the bumper with a hack saw but I found that an old-fashioned wood saw worked much better. I lubed the saw blade with PB Blaster and it slid thru fairly easily. The saw needed a good oiling anyhow so it was 2 for 1. It looks like it's touching in this pic but it is not - bad photographic angle I guess.

                                Also note that there's about 1/4" between the top of the Lakewood U-bolt and the spring. This is what they recommend and strongly warn not to pull the bar down with the U-bolts or squirrely handling will result.

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                                And the passenger's side. They said to put about 1/2" between the spring and the bumper and that's pretty close, too. The U-bolt has the same gap between it and the spring.

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                                Mutt is really ready to go as far as I can tell.

                                Dan
                                Last edited by DanStokes; October 23, 2020, 02:55 PM.

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