oldejack wrote:Just a thought. .. In the long ago, I had a Corolla with the fuel filler behind a fake C pillar vent, maybe something like that behind the left tail light?
Ya know, looking at that same picture I had a flashback to the '57 Chevy design, with the fuel filler behind a hinged tail light... Great minds, same channel, etc...
JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special "Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom
I just ran across your build site...I love your project! I've always been a big fan of Honda motorcycles and cars. I've owned a Civic, Accord, Integra and an NSX along with a bunch of their bikes. I love the 600s and the coolest sounding motor I've had on a bike was my '86 VFR700. With a Kerker pipe, it sounded just like a NASCAR race car!
Keep up the good work...I'm looking forward to your finished project!
I like the idea you guys have to hide it somehow, but I'm still overthinking it and haven't found a way I like... I've moved the taillights down into the bumper (will shave the oem holes soon), so I can't hinge it as the 57 Chevy does (very clever coming from the factory that way btw)... The other option is to use my Honda OEM quarter panel vents and hinge one of them-- I just don't think I want to leave them on the car is all, even though they 'belong' there.. just dunno yet what I'll end up with..
**pics of relocated taillights and the OEM quart panel vent (don't know the owner of the tan N600- used it to show what the oem vent is supposed to look like- just found his pic on the web..)
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I know you're considering loosing the side vents, but what if you were to update them with an inset flush-mounted look? The car would look smooth sided, but with a couple of clean looking accent grilles. You could even do them in paint to match the body, or perhaps a touch darker if you wanted them stand out as an accent feature. You could angle or align the bars in whatever direction seemed to help accentuate the look you are seeking. With all of that, hiding a fuel inlet under one of them shouldn't be too difficult. Of course it would ultimately depend on the look you're trying to achieve.
I think a "race style" filler where the vent is would be the easiest to implement, and would not look terrible. Hiding behind the license plate would be ok, but it looks to be too low relative to the top of the tank. A hinged tail light is really the best, but those are gone. A hinged panel where the light was is a possibility, but would be difficult to fab, and probably look out of place.
I'd go for the race filler. Semi-stylish and reasonable to install.
More driveline work.. I've learned that "staked" ujoints are to be avoided if you can, but, like everything else, there's a solution if you must use them.. I found a company called "Rockford" that specifically makes replacement ujoints for "non-replacable" applications... If your model/make/year is on their list you're in luck and replacement is pretty straightforward.. My donor BMW's shaft wasn't covered, but I was still able to make due- they had a joint that fit my dimensions, but the retaining clips would be useless to me...
My issue came with not being able to use the inside C-clips to hold/position the caps.. I ended up going to the local bolt store (I'm on a first name basis with them now ), and buying several sets of washers of different thicknesses.. I repaced the ujoint, and picked the set of washers that ended up setting flush with the outside of the yolk ears.. I'm not sure if it's 'perfect,' but it's really, really, really close if not simply dead on... tacking the washer to the yolk kept the heat/weld off of the cap, and I can still get them out if need be in the future.. Went for a test drive and it's great!! Still need to balance the shaft, but this approach seems to have worked out.. Not ideal, but 100% better than the clang-bang 22 year old joint that it replaced..
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While I'm working on my hopefully last few driveline issues, I'm also tweaking on other little stuff too...
I sourced some seatbelts (3 point shoulder belts) out of a mid 90's Astro van's rear seats to use as my car's front belts... retractable 'box' of the right size and the belts are the right color (grey)... I'm in the process of moving the retract-box into my car's rear seat's quarter panel pockets so the belts have a straight shot at effectively retracting away (also this provides a natural-looking oem type placement to get these boxes out of the way)..
Also went after a small exhaust leak that was bugging me.. I have a slip joint at my headers, and have always had this little annoying ticking leak at the joint.. I tried a product called "Acousti-seal" and it works great! Got it at NAPA for about $10 I think.. it's a thin tar-like stuff that's messy to apply (a thin coat on the both of the joints surfaces), but it did in fact seal it.. my OCD self can now focus on the other 37 rattles that bug me
Also wanted to post up this "Seal-all" stuff that I used at the sender on my fuel tank.. My tank lives in the trunk, which is effectively inside the car, so I'm paranoid about fuel vapors/safety/headaches and just chasing fuel leaks with this one-off tank.. Seal-All is one of the few sealants I found that trumpeted it's fuel-resistant qualities, so I wanted to share.. Works great-- got mine at Autozone for less than $10..
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More updates soon, but a pause here for fun.. It's so nice now to have the driveline issues worked out- without the old vibration concerns, it's the car I choose to zip around and run errands in.. This is outside of one of my favorite haunts here in town; the parking lot of Harbor Frieght Tools.. Took this pic for scale- to me they look like clown car cousins
-ccrunner
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robbovius wrote:OMG that thing is so dinky compared to the fiat! its AWESOME! right on man, sweet ride.
... It is a little wierd to have someone in a Fiat look down on you
More work being done.. I pulled the driveshaft back out and had it balanced a few weeks ago.. sooo smooth now.. Maybe I won't have to mention this part of the build anymore
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When I found this car in the desert, it had been there since 1984... There weren't very many interior bits to be salvaged, but I was able to make these rear seat quarter panel inserts work.. they had some tabs missing and a few small cracks, so I used very thin sheetmetal and epoxy to get them back together.. I went on to dye (spray) them grey.. a pic of them in the new color and installed coming later.. These bits mark the beginning of any sort of true 'restoration' with concern for appearance- they actually turned out pretty nice.. In the end, I want the car to appear clean and have a look that could have been OEM (although those familiar with the model/make/year would pick up on the changes)..
--as an aside-- lifestyle changes in the works.. We sold the toyhauler and the RZR a few months ago.. the F250 will be sold Spring/Summer of 2014.. A few months ago I picked up an '06 DRZ400S for local/short dualsporting/ ADV riding.. putting Farkles on the bike as I can.. planning to ride LA to Vegas this November...
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More driveline work.. I've learned that "staked" ujoints are to be avoided if you can, but, like everything else, there's a solution if you must use them.. I found a company called "Rockford" that specifically makes replacement ujoints for "non-replacable" applications... If your model/make/year is on their list you're in luck and replacement is pretty straightforward.. My donor BMW's shaft wasn't covered, but I was still able to make due- they had a joint that fit my dimensions, but the retaining clips would be useless to me...
My issue came with not being able to use the inside C-clips to hold/position the caps.. I ended up going to the local bolt store (I'm on a first name basis with them now ), and buying several sets of washers of different thicknesses.. I repaced the ujoint, and picked the set of washers that ended up setting flush with the outside of the yolk ears.. I'm not sure if it's 'perfect,' but it's really, really, really close if not simply dead on... tacking the washer to the yolk kept the heat/weld off of the cap, and I can still get them out if need be in the future.. Went for a test drive and it's great!! Still need to balance the shaft, but this approach seems to have worked out.. Not ideal, but 100% better than the clang-bang 22 year old joint that it replaced..
That is the way of doing it! you just have to make sure it is centered with a deepness micrometer or a dial caliper. also, GKN make a strong u joint for the BMW U-167 it is more expensive but way stonger and have much better seals than the rockford.
make sure that the shop that will balance the shaft uses the center pin on the rubber element side of the driveshaft. i seen people using the outside of the bushing... not good at all
Making a Deman SR27 lapping and street car Any question on driveshaft, i will be more than happy to answer!
The more I drive it, the more comfortable I am with the major mechanical issues being sorted.. I'm in a place now where instead of just trying to get it up and going reliably, I've begun going back and tackling little refinements that make it more drivable, or just little loose ends- translation: dealing with the many, many little details that were skipped/overlooked/unknown before..
One thing that has helped make it more enjoyable to drive is to one by one close off all the little (or big!) holes in the interior- and there are many.. Today's hole was the void left where the steering column pokes through the firewall- lots of engine heat and noise coming in here... The patch is pretty straightforward, other than the materials used..
A few weeks ago a me and a buddy were riding ATVs in Pismo Beach, CA, and I stopped to pick up a piece of junk in the dunes... My friend thought I was crazy to stop for an old junky spark arrester tip that was of no use to anyone.. I figured with it's odd, cone/dome shape (that I can't replicate) I could use it for something.. It just so happened that for this patch I had to go from a cylinder to a cap, and now this little gem will continue it's life as a sound reducer
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now this little gem will continue it's life as a sound reducer
HaHa! LOVE IT! That's a cool story, and the finished part looks good too. Well done, Sir!
JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special "Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom
), and buying several sets of washers of different thicknesses.. I repaced the ujoint, and picked the set of washers that ended up setting flush with the outside of the yolk ears.. I'm not sure if it's 'perfect,' but it's really, really, really close if not simply dead on... tacking the washer to the yolk kept the heat/weld off of the cap, and I can still get them out if need be in the future.. Went for a test drive and it's great!! Still need to balance the shaft, but this approach seems to have worked out.. Not ideal, but 100% better than the clang-bang 22 year old joint that it replaced..
