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Project 48 build thread


falconvan

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I had the same issue so what I had to do was slice the firewall, fold it flat, and weld it back together. That point in the middle of the firewall was hitting the back of the heads. As far as mounts, I just made some simple triangle mounts from some 3/16" steel plate with 3/8" steel tubing for the bolts to slide through. I welded them to the frame but also put a 1/2" bolt through the frame and the mount just to be safe.

I did the same modification to my firewall,.....twice:o After patting myself on the back for doing a nice job, with plenty of clearance for the valve covers, I found I still couldn't lift them clear of the rocker assembly, So I did it again.:(

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Thanks for thi pics. I do not want to hack into my firewall I spent so much time making it flat. I will slide the mounts back 2.5. And worse case scenario I will do what don coatney

did and cut my cross. Seems like a lot of work for a serpentine kit but damnit I like it.

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With all due respect,....you're at a good point to consider modifying the firewall. Using the stock reinforcing ribs as a starting point, it's not a big deal to relieve the interfering areas and still retain the bulk of your firewall restoration and the stock appearance. As I said earlier, I did it twice, (that's the dumb part)...second time even after I finish painted it. With engine installed, you don't even notice that it's not stock. And with the Chevy in the engine bay, most folks will focus on that anyway ;) Sorry, couldn't help myself :D Nice job!

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Note the slightly relieved area on the driver side too. Decided to "clearance" that a little more while I was at it.

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  • 2 months later...

We got some time in on this one the last few days. The door and trunklid jambs are painted and we hung them back on the car. Over the next few weeks we'll finish up a little work on them and get them painted; then start on the front clip.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It's time to get the front clip done and painted so the first order of business was to figure out how it all what parts to use and how it all went together. I've got tons of parts for this thing but I wasnt the one who disassembled it. I had the fenders on it before but never had the full clip together with all the little inner panels and braces. I painted the insides of the fenders and grill with POR 15 a few days ago. After rooting through several boxes I got all the good parts sorted and figured out which ones were going on the car. I also made a trip to Lowes and bought all new bolts rather than trying to clean up the old ones. Finally it's all together and we can start getting it ready for paint. I think I'm just going to build new inner fendrs and mount the battery in the trunk. The factory ones wont even come close to fitting around the engine.

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  • 1 month later...

No, unfortunately Im probably a good year away from a road test. There's lots of guys out there who have done the rack-n pinion setup on these, though. I've seen several on the HAMB if you want to ask over there. Good choice on the LS motor!

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  • 1 month later...

I was going through the remaining parts for the front and realized Im missing the brace that runs across the rear underside of the hood by the hood hinges like in this picture. Anyone out there have one they would part with?

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Edited by falconvan
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I was going through the remaining parts for the front and realized Im missing the brace that runs across the rear underside of the hood by the hood hinges like in this picture. Anyone out there have one they would part with?

 

That brace looks very close to the brace I took out from under the headliner of a Mustange II.

I used the brace for trunk supports..

I used the Mustange II roof to make fender skirts...

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It's been a while since I got to put some time in on this one; I spent a few hours wet sanding the front clip and had to rebuild one of the hood hinge mounting edges. Feels good to see a little progress again.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went looking for the rear hood brace and found it was missing; bummer! After checking around one of the HAMB members came up with one for a Desoto. The curve was right but the end where it bolted to the hinges was different so after welding on some short tabs I think we're good. Got a coat of etching primer on and hopefully we'll get a trial fit with the hinges bolted on done this week.

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I moved the car to the other side of the garage today to make it easier to get my 51 in and out. Here's a trial fit on the hood; it's close but will need some work for a better fit in the front. This is actually the hood off the 47 parts car; the 48 hood was ate up.

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Thanks, it's been a slow process on this one but its making headway. My buddy has had a hard time finding the time to get the body and paint done but its ok. He and his wife lost their three year old daughter to cancer a little over a year ago and they are both trying to finish college to get better jobs while they raise their son. I told him just work on it when you can, no hurry. It'll get there and taking the time to do a good job will be worth it.

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  • 1 month later...

No problem, make sure you post some pictures as you go.

 

The hood was almost 1/4" too long in the front. I cant figure out how it was that far off but after we trimmed the back of the hood it finally started fitting right. We also re-primed and blocked the passenger door and decklid so it's finally starting to get really close to painting the front clip and doors.

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  • 4 weeks later...

post-674-0-44915300-1369829014_thumb.jpgBeen waiting a long time to see this! Now just the hood and gravel pans left to paint and it's all reassembly from there. all I need is lots of $$$$!laughing.gif

Edited by falconvan
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