Midwest 33 Build Page

[Midwest 33 Build]

Rookie builder joining in on the fun. I picked up my 33 Hot Rod from Factory Five a couple months ago. While touring the facility the Candy Red and Black 33 in the show room caught my eye and has been my inspiration as I go along.

-Complete 33 Hot Rod Kit
-Went with the bare frame - Powder coated Soft Candy Red
-Ford Racing 302
-Dyers 671 with Dual Edelbrock 500s
-TKO 600
-Mickey Thompson Sportsman Street Radials
-Billet Specialties Street Lite wheels 15x6 and 15x10

Since I am a couple months in I will post a somewhat recent picture of the current state (if I can figure out how to post) and then post the photos of how I got to this point. Long way to go and a lot to learn, but this has been a blast so far. Many Thanks for the hospitality of the Factory Five guys who took the time to show me around the facility and load the truck and to the many builders with great build threads out there.


http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44976&d=1440925538

[Midwest 33 Build]

After waiting a couple months for the kit to be ready I heard from the trucking company that they would be delayed so I flew out to MA on a Friday night, rented a truck, picked up the kit on Saturday and drove it back to Illinois. Excitement kept me awake the entire way only stopping for gas. BTW, for those considering the same there is a Budget Rental place at the end of the road Factory Five is on.

Got the kit home and with the help of my wife we unloaded everything into the garage. I started by building a body buck and went through 2 or 3 iterations before I ended up with something I liked.

I then used a portable sand blaster to prep the frame in the driveway. Big mess but after a few all nighters had things ready to go to the powder coater. Left while it was slightly raining outside and by time I made it to the powder coater the frame had flash rusted. Not a problem, they sand blasted again and all turned out well. I did learn something after the fact in that powder coating three layers, chrome, candy, then clear will completely cover your vehicle serial number. Something I still need to tackle.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Began the inventory process which takes a while. I saved the larger bags of bolts, washers, bits and pieces towards the end and ended up opening each bag and sorting all the pieces out on the bench. It wasn't obvious what a few parts were until I made it through the process of elimination.

While searching for colors to powder coat the frame I ended up looking more and more into what powder coating I could do in the garage myself. I ended up buying an Eastwood dual voltage powder coating gun and a little Eastwood easy bake oven for the garage it has worked out very well. I have been powder coating all the smaller parts myself and I think it has saved quite a bit of time on the build. The parts shown here are polished aluminum/clear, flat black, and reflective chrome. Still learning but having fun in the process.

Shock spring retainers were on backorder so started installing other parts that I could like the pedal box and steering rack.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Received the 8.8 rear axle through Factory Five and got that installed although it was a bit challenging to do by myself. I ordered the standard rear brakes with the kit. Needed a little help with how the brackets should mount to the axle. Called Tony and he sent me the pics and instructions which was very helpful. I show a photo of mine installed. I ended up needing a couple shims to center over the rotor. The deformed locking nuts were a pain though.

Spent a couple weeks trying to figure out what tire/wheel combination I wanted to go with. I ended up going with Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R on 15" Billet Specialties wheels. I went 8" wide in the front on 6"rims and 12" in the back on 10" rims. I only went with 5.5 inch backspacing in the back and after install I'm glad I did. The shock mount is pretty close when using 15" rims. I also thought I read in another thread someone thought the front calipers would need shaving to fit 15" rims, but on mine the front wheels fit over the calipers in the front with no problem. I had to shave the calipers in the back a bit to make them fit.

I also test fit the body on the chassis for the first time after powder coating (again with the help of my wonderful wife) so I could begin measuring firewall placement. I did find center line of the frame which helped the process. Next I drilled and tapped lots of 10/32 holes for the button head screws.

[wallace18]

Wow! Every thing is looking great so far. Keep up the pics! Engine is awesome!

[myjones]

I did find center line of the frame which helped the process. .

I found that the centerline needs to be established with the firewall tubing and the tubing at the back of the passenger compartment. I used a laser on a ladder and took a lot of measurements until I found the sweet spot.
The front clip wanders off center an 1/8" and the back wanders off to one side by 5/16" that rear clip dimension would have your 8.8 offline with the chassis if you just centered from both ends.
love the pics.
Dale
hemi33

[jayguy]

Looking great so far! That blower looks fantastic!

I too am planning on emulating Tony's Candy Red/Black car, although I'm thinking of a dark charcoal gray on top maybe. I love how your frame looks and the silver control arms look great. I might flip that, silver frame and candy red suspension bits. We'll see.

Looks like a well organized bench, can't wait to see more of your build.


Jay

[erlihemi]

Nice attention to detail!! I love the blower... may need bigger Mickies for that!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Wallace18, Dale, Jay, and Erlihemi for the comments. Ready to post more pics tonight. I took a similar route with measuring center - laser, long straight edge, plumb bobs. The rear of my frame off similar to others. Yeh, Tony's car in the showroom is an eye catcher and as soon as I see where I am at next time I have the body on and determine if I need to fender it I will check into a larger set of tires for the rear. Wouldn't hurt to have a radical set in the garage ready for the right occasion.

Sorry about posting a rush of photos. Another day or so and I should be caught up with where the build is at today.

Gene

[Midwest 33 Build]

Think I missed the photo of the narrow clearance with driver side rear shock mount and 15" wheels in the back, so I added that.

Firewall pieces were too large for the garage oven, so prepped the pieces and took them to Tim at ThePowderPro. He is a great guy and worked the parts in same day for me. Couple hours later and I was back in the garage installing them. Removed the harmonic balancer so Dyers could customer fit a blower pulley for it. Test fit the engine and measured distance between the timing chain cover and the steering rack. I really wanted to have the 3" belt for this. Ended up going with the 2", but more on that later.

Family was over for the 4th of July and the guys hung out in the garage and Thanks to their help we got the engine and transmission installed without scratching things. I am not sure if anyone else has had to do this but my engine hoist wasn't long enough to fit engine and transmission in from the front. I ended up installing the engine first from the side, then installing clutch, bell housing and transmission from the inside of the car. Realize that is a one time thing and I'll need to rectify the hoist situation before if I need to remove them.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I then went to work on the steering linkages. I was doing well until my last cut with the 4.5" cutoff wheel. I didn't have a good enough grip on the grinder and it decided to kick back on me when I only had about an 1/8 of an inch to finish my cut. In a split second it flew out of my hand and tangled with my pants and leg. All good now, but that was close. After a bottle of peroxide and some bandages I was able to finish up the steering links.

Ordered and received the Ford Racing Shorty headers. Not too pleased with the ceramic coating on the passenger side though. There is a small section of the coating that is hard to see from the top of the car that is messy. I went back and forth on whether or not to send them back and ended up deciding before final I was going to ceramic coat headers, exhaust and mufflers to match so I ended up keeping it.

Dropped the harmonic balancer off at Dyers blower shop and Bill gave me a tour of his machine shop. Again, amazing the great people you meet while doing a build like this. I was able to view some of the intake options and see the progress on the other parts. After measuring distance to steering rack I opted to go with a 2" blower pulley and 1 v groove pulley figuring that should fit without issue and once installed if I see I could fit a 3" pulley I would go down that path at a later date. Ended up that distance to steering rack would accommodate the 3" pulley, but the water pump ended up being my biggest clearance issue.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I ended up going through a bit of trial and error with the water pump clearance and settled down on the Moroso electric water pump. It still required pulley spacers for clearance. I notified Bill at Dyers late one night and the spacers were ready for me next day. Customer service there was just fantastic. So on the bottom end I have the harmonic balancer, a single vgroove, a 3/4" spacer and a 2 inch blower pulley. There is only about 3/8 of an inch between all that and the steering rack so to install everything I needed to remove the rack and then re-install.

I also received the 1" intake to blower spacer (really a 1" aluminum plate) and installed which gave clearance for a Mallory distributor and crab style cap. Everything is loose fit mock up right now as I continue to close out the loose ends. Alternator bracket setup will likely be next. Will be interesting to see if I get this running some day so it doesn't turn into Garage Art.

I also took on the exhaust. Deciphered the bracket setup, ground the pieces to fit, powder coated and installed. Pretty pleased I was able to get a pretty clean look with the basic kit parts. I don't have the U-Bolts tightened fully yet though in case I get the urge to go magna flow or something else before ceramic coating it all.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Something I put off too long in the build was the brake line install. This was largely because I know how poorly I have done electrical conduit bends in the past, lots of trial and error. I did my first 60" run using the supplied hard line and it turned out okay but I ended up deciding to go with -4AN braided stainless steel lines. Drilled and tapped all of the hose clamp holes front to back and used 10/32 button head screws to fasten them down.

I do need to see if I will have any clearance issues with the run up the rear vertical on the drivers side. Will need to look closely next time I fit the body on.

[Arrowhead]

Pretty awesome build - it's turning out great! Not to be a downer, but you might want to think twice about using all braided line for your brakes. Even though it's made for it, the line will slightly expand during braking and the pedal will feel spongy. Having short pieces of flex line isn't an issue so maybe you could compromise and just run straight lengths most of the way and then use flex where it gets complicated. The stock brakes on these cars aren't known to be stellar in the first place so anything you can do to improve them is a bonus.

[billjr212]

Looking great so far. Loving the Red frame. Agreed with Arrowhead regarding the brake lines. Probably worth another attempt to get some hard lines in there.

Where are you at in Illinois? I'm in Frankfort.

-Bill

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Arrowhead and Bill for the input on the potential squishy brakes. I still have the hard line handy and inverted flare/-4AN fittings so I will hold on to them. I looked at the runs and the most obvious and convenient place to splice would be the drivers side horizontal run. Picture below. With using the button head screws on the line clamps it shouldn't be that difficult to tackle. Near Richmond/Wisconsin boarder.

Regards,

[Midwest 33 Build]

Okay, finishing up picture upload to get up to current state.

I received the backordered grill in from Factory Five. You can't tell from the forum pictures, but that is a nice hefty piece of aluminum. Each vertical run is individually welded. Very nice. I have it over with Tim at ThePowderPro now. After seeing the stuff he does with motorcycle cylinder head fins I simply asked him to get creative with it. We discussed possibly reflective chrome on the front of the ribs and front surround, candy red on the side of the ribs and flat black on back but I left it up to him to go at it noting we can always strip it down and try again if we don't like it. Anxious to see how it returns. Also left him the Ford Racing rear axle cover and Optima battery Aluminum.

I then worked on mocking up the trunk aluminum. I ended up using flush mount RivNuts versus rivets for aluminum to aluminum fastening. I got those done and sent them over to powder coating. Got them back and mounted the under tank piece and am beginning the placement of the Boyd tank. The welding done on that thing looks amazing. I still have many holes to drill and thread for the aluminum panel to frame fastening. Not sure why I am going through all that but it only takes a minute or so to thread each hole so I figured why not.

I am a bit concerned about the height of my fitting for the pickup tube connection. I am planning on using -8N from the pickup fitting to the Fuel Pump, and to regulator. In the picture I show the -8N 90 to 3/8 NPT. It is loose fit right now so it will go down a bit but wondering if I need to worry about the body resting on top of that connection or if I'll have a little space above it?

[Motor_Freak]

amazing thread, subscribed!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Motor Freak !

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got some time to work on the car last night and today. I had one last 1/4 -20 to drill/tap to finish mounting the Boyd tank. I also drilled all the under tank aluminum holes in front and to the sides of the tank. On the back of the under tank aluminum I used flush mount rivnuts as I have that piece sitting under the lip of the vertical aluminum. I then spent most of the day today drilling/tapping the holes in the frame for the trunk aluminum and was able to get it temporarily installed. Probably had the aluminum panels on and off about 4 times. Ready to work on something different.

I still have to drill the larger fuel fill neck hole and have a few more aluminum to frame holes to drill on the angled bar and a few behind the vertical but I wanted to get things positioned in place so I can begin to measure out where I want the fuel lines and battery cable holes to pass through the aluminum. Then I will uninstall most of the aluminum and set in on the shelves for later.

Sorry, hard to get a good photo with the iPhone.

[wallace18]

Best I can remember you have to put the body on before mounting all the trunk aluminum. You most likely will have to remove it. Check your manual but, I am pretty sure. Remember you had to remove the floor to get the body off from FFR in the beginning.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Did a quick inventory to see if I had enough fuel line parts to get going on that. Will need to order some additional -8AN and -6AN fittings and adapters and AN style fuel filter. I'll also need to round up the fuel filler neck from Boyds. While waiting on those to arrive I'll start determining where I am going to mount everything.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Wallace18. I need to remove them for room to finish my exhaust, fuel lines and electrical as well. I took a lot of photos for future reference. It helped to see where I should run the fuel line pass throughs and to see how far off the dual tail pipes were so I can work on adjusting those. Passenger side exhaust droops down a few inches compared to driver side. Expected though as I don't have things tightened down yet. I didn't get any additional brackets with the dual exhaust, just clamps. I guess I will need to fabricate some once I determine if I'm staying with those exhaust tips or not.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Began to drill fuel line passthroughs in under tank aluminum. I wanted to go behind the tank between tank and vertical trunk back wall and got concerned if I had mounted the tank too far forward. Additionally still had the concern about my -8AN 90 and fitting being too tall so I thought I better check with fiberglass on before going any further. Hard to see but took some photos. With my tank fully forward the return -6AN 90 just touches the body so I'll need to adjust my tank back a bit for that. Didn't find any issues with height clearance of the -8AN fitting. I will test fit the waterfall tomorrow night to ensure no clearance issues with that. If okay, looks like I will still route fuel lines behind the tank after I tweak it back a bit.

Was getting dark, but took some photos with body and roof on.

[jayguy]

Damn, that looks really, really good!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Jay!, much appreciated.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Additional Thanks to Barrel for noticing and confirming that my tank was mounted a bit too far forward. With the body and waterfall now on I positioned the tank back a bit for clearance. Will need to remount it and clean things back up.

Decided to take the plunge and go with the Infinity 20 circuit harness setup. Kind-of jazzed about getting close to doing the wiring and keeping it simple and clean. At least that is the upfront plan, we'll see how it turns out.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got some time back on the build. I ended up relocating the Boyd tank back about a half an inch from where I originally mounted it. Scrapped the idea of running the hose lines behind the tank and ended up running them in front slightly more to the drivers side so I have some room for the bends in the -8AN hose line.

Once I was able to see where the lines would exit the under tank aluminum I determined where I wanted to mount the fuel pump and filter and then removed the tank and aluminum pieces so I had would have more room to work. Photos of pump location shown. I still have to temp install the brackets for the fuel filter and then powder coat all the brackets flat black.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Powder coater hasn't had time to work on my grill yet. I stopped by and picked it up so I could do more test fitting. After seeing pictures of it installed, really second guessing color scheme for it. It will be interesting to see what we finally go with. One day thinking flat black, next all chrome, next multi-color.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Received my Infinity Box parts except for two power cell boxes. Jay was nice and sent me the cables and Master Cell so I could start on the wiring. Been rounding up the metal and mounting hardware so I can begin fabricating the under dash and trunk panels to mount the boxes. Photo of what you get in a 20 circuit kit shown minus the two power cells that I will receive once they are done testing them.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I determined where to mount the fuel regulator. Regulator comes with one 90 bracket that mounts to the back of the regulator. Used some aluminum angle to duplicate it so I could mount it all to the firewall. Powder coated and installed so -6AN return line will drop down to the right of the angled frame tube and the -8AN supply will come in from the left side of the frame tube.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I've also been working on prepping the passenger compartment aluminum. Took one whole night and the next morning but got 116 holes drilled and threaded in the frame rails and over 140 holes drilled in the driver, passenger and driveshaft tunnel aluminum. I have the panels off to the powder coater now.

[Motor_Freak]

Did you planing to apply anything between aluminum and frame?

[Midwest 33 Build]

Yes, I've been thinking about it but I am not quite sure what I will use yet. I'm thinking of a small bead of silicone or a thin gasket material that I can cut into thin strips to set on top of the frame rails between the aluminum panels. I'm liking the gasket idea if I can find a thin enough roll of something cause it won't squeeze out the sides when tightening it down like silicone might do. I am trying for as clean a look from under the chassis as possible. I'll need to search and see what I can find.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Ford Racing differential cover came back from powder coating today. Got the chrome one removed and installed the candy red version tonight.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Also got the passenger compartment aluminum panels powder coated. I am doing a temporary install to ensure all holes still line up and to to take some photos while everything is still clean before applying heat and sound protection. Still have to do the Rivnuts for the tunnel cover but here are some pics of where it sits right now.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to finish that up, work on the transmission tunnel and mount the inner firewall for the electronics.

[Motor_Freak]

Amazing! Cleanest build I saw. Keep going and post more...

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks!! It's been a blast so far.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Mounted an under dash panel to start placing the electronics. Guessing I'll change the arrangement a few times before I am done but decided to go with this layout to start. I haven't received the PowerCells yet from Infinity Box but used the MasterCell to determine the spacing for the aluminum stand offs to support the one that will go under the dash next to the MasterCell.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I was able to pickup my Infinity Box PowerCells so I mounted the front PowerCell and spent the weekend building a box for the electronics that will be located in the trunk. I mounted the MegaFuses on the inside. The short battery cable run I currently have will be replaced once I determine where I want to mount the battery cutoff switch. I ordered a blank In-Motion box when I ordered my kit so I could have all the spacing and holes ready to go if I add another box in the future. Behind the blank box and the Power Cell I drilled 2/12" holes to route the cables to the inside and split a length of vacuum hose for grommets for them. The boxes are on 3/4" stand-offs so I can just route the cables around and under each of the boxes.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Picked up the grill from the powder coater. He had a heck of a time trying to get it from out gassing from little tiny air pockets in the cast aluminum outer rim. I included a photo of what that looked like. He went through several (I think 8) Powder-Primer and block sands before he got it to stop. He also took the time to slightly grind down the ribs in the back so he could get a clean transition line from the powdered chrome to the flat black. I got it home tonight and had to install it.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Began wiping down the doors and trunk with wax and grease remover before I start working the fitment of those. I also rounded up the door brackets and began filing down the powder in the holes so the bolts fit and that will be all ready when I start to fit the doors.

[Motor_Freak]

Nice looking grill. I had same color scheme in my mind for my future build..

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks! Glad I have it back now. I can start running cooling hoses, overflow and Fan wiring.

[jayguy]

That grill looks amazing! Fits right in with the rest of your car.

Jay

[erlihemi]

Super nice details. looks great! Outgassing is a big problem on porous castings. I try to "cook" them bare first when I suspect an issue. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I try putting them in the oven at a slightly higher temperature for up to 30 minutes. let it cool below 200F before hitting it with powder. Sometimes your fighting humidity. If you coat it first you trap the contaminents or moisture in the material and it just keeps blowing out.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Jay, Much Appreciated! Erlihemi, yes, the outgassing was a pain. I feel lucky I have a powder coater nearby who really cares about his work. His process sounded similar if I remember correctly it was just with that piece of metal it was a pain. He also noted when he did the initial warming for outgassing he found that adhesive/glue or something like that flowed out a bit from behind where the horizontal rib meets with all the verticals so he needed to clean all that out. Take Care

[Midwest 33 Build]

Needed to get the EBrake together tonight so I can continue on with the transmission tunnel fitment. I took a few photos of the before, prep and assembly. Unfortunately when I unwrapped the polished aluminum end piece I found there was a scratch in it. Tried polishing it out but no luck on that yet. I should have unwrapped the thing during my initial inventory. I also coated the zinc brackets that hold the brake cables to a powdered chrome.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Took advantage of the nice weekend last week to move the body and roof out in the driveway and begin sanding down the seams. Goal is to get first coat of primer on before winter. Found several roof areas in need of repair. I found several pockets under the windshield area and a few under the back window where there must have been pockets of air when it was formed. At first I thought I sanded through, but after looking closely the fiberglas is thick around the holes. I pressed my thumb around the rest of the bottom seam and was able to push through in several areas. So I am in the process of cleaning those out and stuffing some fiberglass strand and resin in them.

I also found that the underside of the front corners weren't glued or seamed at all. I didn't want things to split or crack later if I just used bondo as a fill, so I fed an emery board on threads through the opening and pulled it back up into place with the threads. I was able to put fiberglass mat on it and then taped down the threads to keep it in place while I applied resin. I then used short strand fiberglass bondo to level once the resin dried.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Okay, I start by noting I know nothing about painting. I painted a Harley fender once and that is the extent of my experience with auto paint. That said, I still would like to tackle paint and graphics (if any) myself or at least as much as possible. I built a shed last year that I plan on using for my make shift paint booth. Since my colors will be High Gloss Black and Candy Apple Red I thought I better start practicing now.

I wanted to see if I could ghost things in between the Silver Metallic and Candy Red so I tried airbrushing this weekend for the first time. I'm using the driveshaft and transmission tunnel for practice since I will be covering them up with Dynomat when I'm done anyway. Also starting to see what I need to do to match frame color.

I'm hoping by spring I'll have things figured out. I'll post the pics for laughs along the way.

[Warden]

Ok my friend! I have to call BS on your very first post!!! "Rookie builder"! Really!? I've looked at and read almost every build on this forum and there are some outstanding projects by some very talented folks but yours seems to stand above most. This is not a competition and the main factor that attracted me to FFR is still true, the individuality of each project is amazing! But yours is so crisp and sharp and it is obvious you take the time to wipe the dust before each picture! :) your work seems flawless and I can't wait to see the "Rookie's" final product! Great build and thanks for the detail of your post! My kit is ready for pick up as soon as I get time to make the trip I will bring her home.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Warden!, I appreciate the comments. I am just trying to do a decent job with it and I am making plenty of mistakes along the way but I think that is part of the fun of it. I got the frame powder coated too early in the process but I think that has forced me to be more careful with everything and keep things cleaned up. Reading the prior build threads prior to getting the kit helped out a lot.

Congrats on your kit being ready. Yeh, kit pickup day is pretty exciting. Not sure if you are picking it up from FFR or not but if you are picking it up from the factory take your camera. It's pretty neat to see the different cars done in the showroom. They also had some in go-kart stage that I took a ton of photos of while I was there. I'll keep an eye out for posts that you got it home. Have fun.

Thanks Again.

[RacinShark]

Great photos and descriptions, please continue!
You wrote you got the frame powder coated too early in the process, when should it be done or what should before powder coating the frame?
I just picked up my kit last weekend and ready to start, now that everything is inventoried and organized.

Thanks!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Congrats RacinShark on getting your kit and inventory completed. Keeping in mind that I am going without side panels and hood so the front frame on my will be completely exposed. If I were to do it again, the key things I would do before powder coating would be to test fit the upper and lower control arms, position the upper and lower firewall panels, and check and recheck for weld splatter. The frame brackets for the upper and lower control arms fit tight against the pin that goes through the bushing. You can slightly bend those brackets apart so things will insert without scratching, but I found out after powder coating that the welds for some of those brackets squashed some of the bushings and also prevented two of the nuts from tightening down completely. I still have one that I need to take a little more off the weld.

The firewall frame welds visually looked fine before I sent to powder coat so I didn't grind them any further down. When I went to place the firewall panels is when I noticed that I needed to grind a few welds down for the panels to sit flush. Since the welds show through the round openings in the firewall I needed to find a paint that was close in color and touch those up. Just drilling and tapping the firewall holes around the frame tubes would have gone a lot faster if I didn't need to worry about scratching the nearby frame tubes. Both my lower firewall panels needed notching (inside the passenger compartment) so they would fit without rubbing against the frame rails. Both panels are a snug fit so for me personally I would position those before powder coating.

I thought of one more while typing this. A lot of the metal parts that are laser cut have one or a couple V shapes on their outer edge. I assume this is where the laser starts and finishes it's cut. I've been trying to grind those flat whenever I see them. There are a few on the Frame brackets that I didn't recognize or see before powder coating. The first I noticed it was with the upper/lower control arm end pieces. Those were small enough so I ground them down, stripped the powder coating and re-coated them. Hope this helps.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I was able to remove 1.5 inches from the width of the transmission tunnel in hopes of gaining more clearance for the gas pedal. I patched with fiberglass and I am in the process sanding that down.

I also traced the shape of the door curve on construction paper and used that as a template to reshape the lower arms that I cutoff earlier. And although it doesn't look like it, I spent a lot of time this week rough fitting/shaping the roof on the body while it was on the body buck. I thought before I go too much further though I should actually have the body on the frame. I have a lot of work ahead of me with that fitment. My wife helped me put the body back on today so I could think through and measure how I will need to fiberglass in the edge for the lower arm return, work on the roof and doors.

I rough sanded down the doors to just fit snug into the openings in preparation to hopefully start mounting the door hinges and arms this week.

[jayguy]

I like that look, without the forward body arms beside the engine bay.

Gonna look really good when you're done.


Jay

[wrp]

Sorry if I have overlooked it but what is the backspacing on the fronts? I want to go to 15" wheels. Also, thinking of double deadlocking the back wheels wondering your opinion on fitment?

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Jay. Yeh, I liked the way Tony's turned out with the rails completely open in the front so I am trying to do something similar. A few months ago he mentioned that he also tried more of a tear-drop going forward. I haven't seen pictures of that but that sounded pretty cool too.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Sorry if I have overlooked it but what is the backspacing on the fronts? I want to go to 15" wheels. Also, thinking of double deadlocking the back wheels wondering your opinion on fitment?

Hi WRP. I have 15"x6" rims on the front with 3.5" backspacing. The calipers show outside the narrower rims. Guessing the look isn't for everyone, but I kinda like it. I probably would not go 15" in the back if I did it again. I had to grind down quite a bit on the rear calipers and even with that probably only have a 1/16" to an 1/8" of clearance. I have been thinking of calling Billet Specialties to see if I can get the 15" with higher caliper clearance closer to the spokes.

[wrp]

Thanks, I love the look too.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Before starting on the doors I worked on positioning the body and began mounting it in a few spots to the firewall, passenger compartment frame rails and trunk rails. I took the car off the jack stands and used a level as it sat on the ground. Like a few others suggested I ended up raising the passenger side of the body nearly a quarter of an inch before using 1/4x20 screws to keep it in position.

I then did a quick inventory to see if I had everything. I still have two pieces for the front latch area that I need to re-powder coat.

I was able to mount both door hinges although with bricks for hands it was difficult to maneuver around to get those carriage bolts into place. Also, I'm thinking the manual pictures on how to mark the cutouts was done for easy illustration with the body off the car. With it on, it is tight to see anything or move around. Also difficult to get help to remove the body so I am trying to do the cutouts with the body on the car. I've posted some pics of where things sit so far with the drivers side door.

[Jrrose69]

great read Ausome job

[erlihemi]

On one of the forums there was a write up on the 1/4" offset. Is this readily visible or is it laser level time? I have set the body, but haven't started checking alignment yet.

[Cdub]

Fantastic job brother… and great pictures! It's all in the details and yours are exemplary. I picked up my hot rod on Sept 19 and just installed the aluminum floors for the final time. One concern I have about you drilling and tapping into the frame to mount your aluminum and brake lines etc. is that it is very thin and you are only going to be holding on to a single thread with your bolts. I highly recommend either riveting or using riv nuts instead with a thin bead of silicone between. The combination of adhesive and the proper fastener creates a superior bond and most new car manufacturers are using these methods now in their subframes instead of spot welding. Unless you plan on removing a panel, using a threaded fastener seems like overkill and a lot of extra work. Keep in mind once you silicone and rivet aluminum together it is very difficult to get apart so lots of test fitting is recommended before squeezing the trigger LOL. I do love the look of the button head screws though and I'm sure you used a lot of Loctite! Keep up the good work and let's see some more pics!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Okay, sorry I was away from the build for a bit but hopefully I am back in action. Schedule has been rough and took some time to get the garage ready for winter. We've already had over a foot of snow. I replaced all the seals and wheels on the garage doors and had a garage heater installed so I can work through the winter.

Thanks Jrrose69 !, much appreciated; Erlhemi I was able to noticeably spot it at the firewall and with the frame level I needed to raise passenger side of body about a quarter of an inch for the body to be level side to side. Not sure how that will bite me downstream. I am just trying to get things as close as I can but I am sure my measurements are far from perfect and I find I am doing little tweaks here and there to compensate. I also still don't like the fitment of the firewall so I am still tweaking on that as I get time.

Hi Cdub, Congrats on the pickup in September. Yeh, I am not sure why I went that route other than as I keep on changing my mind on coating finishes as I go through the build it has been helpful to easily take the panels on and off. The larger side rails where i have the brake lines and will run the fuel lines is thicker, but I know what you mean on the smaller rails. I haven't had any stripping or tightening issues with the 10/32 threads, but I tried a couple 1/4 x 20 on those smaller tubes for the inner dash and did have stripping issues with those so I ended up using 1/4 x 20 rivnuts to take care of that.

Hope all is well...Regards,

[Midwest 33 Build]

I was able to get the door frame assembly done on the driver side. Nothing particularly hard about the work but taking the door on and off repeatedly was a pain. I still haven't done the final door gap spacing yet, but the gap is enough now to allow the door to easily open and close.

I do have a bit of work ahead of me with the inside Dash to Door top and half moon alignment. With the outside of the door half moons aligned, the inside Dash to Door is probably well over a quarter of an inch off. I will tackle it one I see what the passenger side looks like, but I don't want bondo that thick so I at this point I am guessing I will need to do some reshaping with fiberglass/resin. Time will tell.

[wallace18]

We ended up cutting off that part and reattaching it so everything lined up on my 33.

[erlihemi]

Thanks for the pics! I bought a batch of 10/24 riv nuts and button heads so I could thread faster! That requires a different tool than supplied also btw. I ran into left/right alignment issues for some reason. Looks like I'm hitting the drivers side door hinge mount. I have the mount up as far as it can go and the body sits 1/4" to the left in the rear. I need to measure with the laser hanging off the garage door or something.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Well I had a heck of a time mounting the passenger side door. Things were going smooth until I got to mounting the latch pin bracket to the frame. What I ended up figuring out was that by raising the passenger side of the body up 1/4 for level I messed with body distance from the latch pin. The latch pin has a non-movable washer on it and if I placed it behind the body the latch pin wouldn't come quite out far enough to latch. If I placed the pin on the outside of the body it was too far out and went slightly past the door latch so the door wouldn't close. I ended up drilling out the latch pin hole in the fiberglass to the size of the washer so I could continue on with the rest of the panel placements. Next time I have the body off I will need to resin in a recessed area for the latch pin.

[Midwest 33 Build]

So both doors are now mounted and swing open and latch without binding so I started to rough in the top door to dash area. The inside door half moon to dash distance was off by quite a bit on the drivers side door so I first put some layers of resin and fiberglass mat down to build the area up. I sanded that down and used Short Strand fiberglass filler to get basic shape. The very thin top coat is Rage Extreme. I'm still roughing that all out but I've attached a photo of where is sits now.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I've also been working on the roof fitment. The front and back bottom edge of my roof had quite a few air pockets where the glass just broke through. I've been working on those edges filling pockets with resin and mostly using the short strand filler to fix the bottom edges. Things are still in a pretty rough stage but thought I'd post what it looks like at this stage.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I also got the trunk lid mounted on it's hinges. The lid fitment at the top is decent but I will need to figure out some adjustable tension type bars to increase the bow a little bit more. I left the bottom edge slightly long until I get that figured out.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I have been continuing on with the body work although I am slow as heck at it. Kind of fun to do, but you don't visibly see as much progress each day like the earlier parts of the build. I created a make shift paint booth in the garage. Fumes on some of these products are pretty nasty.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I hate to admit it but I probably have 3 weeks of work in on the waterfall alone. Mine didn't fit that well so I finally decided to just cut the lower legs off both sides, mounted the top half to the body, and then fiberglassed the legs back into place.

The first photo is from about midway though. After I got the holes for the roll bar and pull pins done I spent a fair amount of time to get the side pieces to match the driver and passenger body lines. Second photo is after that work and a second round of polyester surfacer.

Had to laugh though. The manual shows measuring where to mark the holes in the waterfall for the roll bar by placing a pen inside the roll bar mount and dragging it around the inside of the tube. I marked three times and each circle was in a different place (just like the photo). I ended up picking the center of the three circles and figured I was going to have to do a bunch of clean up once I drilled the hole but damn if it didn't work.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I've also been working of the shaping of the front returns that I cutoff earlier in the build. I used fiberglass for basic shape and then am using short hair filler and regular filler to finish. Still working both sides, but I've attached a couple photos of where that sits today. Second just has some rattle can primer on it so I could get a better view of how it was starting to take shape. I'll sand that back off and continue on.

[Midwest 33 Build]

In earlier posts I noted that the bottom corners of my trunk lid sat slightly high (about an 1/8"). I ended up tracing the shape of the trunk opening on the body and ran those down to a local welder and asked for a couple T brackets with the same shape. I plan on drilling a series of smaller to larger to smaller holes in it for looks, but attached is a photo of my starting point.

[Midwest 33 Build]

okay, last update for today.

I've decided on paint colors and substrate products. I don't really know much about this, but I've stopped in local body shops to get input and they are thinking I am on an okay track.

First I am using an Eastwood Polyester Surfacer (spray on filler). It comes out thick. I am using a 2.2 needle in my HVLP gun and it took a few parts before I got the gun setup so it would come out smooth. Most of this is getting sanded down and ending up on the garage floor.
Next - Eastwood 2K Urethane Primer
Next - Sealer
Next - Colors - Cuda Black for the top section - and Ford Ruby Red Pearl Tri-Coat for the bottom section. The ford Ruby Red has a Red base coat, then Tinted Clear mid coat, then Clear coat.

For the sealer, colors, and clear I went with Standox for no other reason than that is what one of my local custom car shops uses and if I get to a point I am doing a crappy job then I will take it over to them.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Spent the weekend tackling the trunk lid fitment in the bottom corners. Drilled holes in the brackets and then went to attach them to the trunk lid. I had assumed (silly me) that the trunk lid would have metal strips in the raised areas like where there is to mount the hinges, but I was wrong. When I drilled for the rivnuts I found the that there wasn't a metal strip in the areas I needed to mount. I was able to use 1/2 deep rivnuts but the fiberglass is so thin that it would bow up when I tightened the mounting screws versus pulling the entire panel to the bracket.

I decided to fill the voids in that raised area by cutting access holes and pushing resin cover fiberglass as far the opening as I could. I could also tell by the bracket fit where the trunk lid started to go off and I cut openings there and pushed in wet fiberglass in on both sides of the opening. I mounted the brackets while that was still wet should it would take shape to the bracket. I then covered the openings with short strand glass filler. I've attached photos from the start to 2k Primer where I left off this evening.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I am trying to learn what I can about painting and prep before I get to the actual paint itself. Photos of the tunnel cover with surfacer and then my first spray of 2k Primer. Lot of work for a part that will be covered with Dynamat or something similar but I would rather learn and get a visual on these types of parts. The 2k Primer is thinner than the polyester surfacer, smells a bit worse, flows better, drys much faster and for me, generated a lot more overspray and mess. I am happy with the results though.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Since I finally figured out that I was going with the Ford Ruby Red on the lower half of the car I was concerned that the frame color would be noticeably different. With all the angles and the weight of it I didn't think it was something I could tackle on my own so I asked a local shop to spray it. I just got it delivered back. I like the color and 90% of it or so looks great, but I found a run on the very visible driver down tube and a few pesky dry spray areas from the clear that will need to be cleaned up. I am sure painting with all those angles and tight areas is a B.... I don't think they'll have a problem getting the run shaved down and buffed out, but the dry spray I'll want to see how they tackle that.

I was a little smarter this time and asked them to tape off the vin number. I had to use powder coat stripper to find it after powder coating.

Same as with the powder coat. The paint color is challenging to get in photos in the garage. With the doors closed and poor garage light only it looks like a burgundy, some photos show as a normal red, but out in the sunlight it is lighter and you can see the pearl.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I ended up extending the paint area by a couple feet so I can walk around a little easier and I added tarp zippers on one end so I can roll the cart in and out. I also added an additional intake filter and exhaust fan to get some more air flowing. I got the body prepped for the first round of surfacer and got that sprayed. Had a little issue part way through with the regulator coming loose from the end of the paint gun. I re-installed while still in the booth but didn't test the air pressure before I started spraying again and ended up with a couple runs. They are sanding out pretty easy but if that would have happened laying base or clear it would have been bad. Live and learn.

Started blocking down the surfacer. I am using a combination of 180, 220 and 320 grit for the first round of surfacer.

I've clamped the dashboard gauge plate in place but I want to review online photos to see how others have positioned things. I'll look at it clamped there for a few days to see if I like it before drilling.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got the holes drilled for the gauges. Just need to drill out the ignition and light switches.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I have a lot to learn on the body work and painting. Thought I would take the tunnel cover and waterfall through to clear so I could get some practice spraying the color and clears. Even though I could see a few dirt nibs in the Base Color on the waterfall that I would need to take care of all was going pretty good until I got to the mid coat tinted clear. The first two coats of it went on fine and I thought I was going to make it through without screwing it up. Ended up putting the 3rd coat on too wet or didn't leave the 2nd coat flash enough and I ended up with several runs I need to fix. I decided to stop and not apply the 3 coats of top coat clear. I'll have to go research how to fix tinted mid clear. Hopefully I don't have to strip it all back down. Interesting most of the runs started after I was able to take a few photos. Back to the drawing board.

[Arrowhead]

Don't want to be a Debbie downer but a tri coat for your first overall paint job is quite an undertaking. An even coating of the mid coat is critical so I would highly suggest your figure out a way of spraying the body with the doors and trunk lid in place. You can probably get by with doing the roof separate though as the break in the body line would make any color mismatch less noticeable. I applaud your efforts though and wish you the best of luck.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Arrowhead. Yes, I did pick a challenging color to begin with so I will have to work out a plan of spraying doors in place. I am going black above the top half moon on the outside so I might get away with the trunk lid and roof separate. Take care.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Take two on practicing spraying the different paint stages on the tunnel cover. By time the first attempt at tinted clear fully cured there was what looked like a jagged shark bite along the entire passenger side. I tried something I saw on You Tube to remove the run which was to mix up some glazing putty and surround the run. Let it dry, then sand it down. The putty helped keep the block level and from digging in clear coat around the run. it worked.

I resprayed the base, 3 coats of tinted clear, and 3 coats of clear this time with no runs. I don't think I left enough flash time the first go around so this time I waited 20-25 minutes between each coat. I started to color sand, cut and buff but need more color sanding on that lower ledge of the cover and research the cutting and buffing process a little more. I did a quick color check and posted the photos of where it sits now.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I'm envious from the other threads with multiple people helping on the builds. Here it is just me. Four days or so of block sanding the main body and when I get too tired of that I move to the frame and continue color sanding and polishing that. A lot of work but not much that would be interesting for others. I decided to go ahead and try to see if I could remove the visible driver side down tube run and dry spray areas. I got most all of the down tube run leveled out except for one slight dip that I am still working on. I am going slow at it because I don't want to scratch down into the tinted clear. The dry spray so far has come out with light sanding, leveling the slight peel in the clear takes longer.

The process I am using is a progression of 1200, 1500, and 2000 wet sand paper. Then 3000 and 5000 wet sanding sponges followed by McGuires Ultra Cut and then Fine Polish. I am trying the sealant and glaze too after that. Unfortunately with all of the angles and tight areas most of it is by hand which is mind and finger numbing. Look and take photos then go back at spots that need more work. I am only about a quarter of the way through the engine compartment area. I have a mini buffer but in the tight areas if you are not careful the velcro backing and backing pad can nick the clear coat so it has been mostly by hand.

I have been trying to practice spraying paint as much as I can. I had some flat black that I sprayed the battery cover with. Then thought I'd try the carbon fiber paint effect. It was good for a break from the sanding. It will be flat black again the next time you see it.

[erlihemi]

Looks great! A year from now the blisters will be healed...;)

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks for the laugh Erlihemi ! Assuming I am not still sanding on it a year from now. Take care!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got the poly surfacer blocked down on the main body and sprayed 2 coats of the 2K primer. With the amount of overspray I am getting I must need to back off on the pressure or get closer with the gun or something. I will need to figure that out before I block this down and spray the next rounds. Results were pretty good but I have a garage full of black powdered dust from the overspray and white dust from the poly surfacer. Started mopping some of that up. I did find my garage floor under all that. Waiting for a warmer day so I can take a pressure washer to it and get it cleaned back up.

Even with the matte black color it helps show some additional shaping/sanding I need to do around the 3 or 4 inch bottom curved edge that goes around the back.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Spent the weekend fixing my first attempt painting the waterfall. Sanded and resprayed the layers of base, tinted clear and then clear. Just a few dirt nibs or solvent pops and a bit of orange peel. I sanded with 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000 the first go at cutting but noticed I had a few deeper scratches from the 1200 that didn't come out that easy so I went at it again with 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, then 5000 and it came about okay for my first real part that will be seen.

I still have a bit to do around the top lip and edge, but I will save that towards the end. I don't want to get to aggressive in the corners or on the edges and have to start all over again.

Interesting the tricks light plays with this color. None of the photos really capture the pearl that really shows in the sunlight and the lower the light the color turns noticeably darker towards burgundy. There is a certain light where I actually don't like the color as it turns a bit mauve-ish. Hopefully I don't have to hide the car during the part of the day. I posted a few of the different shades as I worked on it today.

[wallace18]

Wow! that looks great.

[gumbya55]

This is really nice work. I am jealous of your cleanliness. Wasn't clear on how you solved your trunk issue, cause Im dealing with the same thing now. Did you just use the fabricated brace as a guide to reglass the shape of the lid to fit? Or is that part of your trunk lid now?

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Guys...

Gumbya55 - Even though I think the trunk lid would retain shape after I cut and glassed it to the right shape, my intent is to leave the brackets in place. I may try for a stealthier looking version though later. I haven't had the body back on the frame since they were installed so I am anxious to do final fit with them. I have laid the trunk lid on the rubber bumpers while the body is on the buck and it appears to have solved it for me. There are other options though as you look through the build threads. I see WRP is putting the flush mount pins on his which look nice. If you do go with long brackets note the inside layer of the trunk lid fiberglass is really thin and the recess is hollow so if it is like mine will need filled with something for support. FYI: Dremmel tool with a small drum sanding bit made a nice opening for me. Additional photo attached if you are interested. Good visual of how thin that inside layer is too.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I decided to go chrome on a few parts and they finally came in so I started putting the chassis back together. Not terribly thrilled with the overall quality but want to get this thing on the road this year so I decided to go with it. Hopefully I'll have enough energy left this weekend to finish the block sand of the first round of primer on the body and spray a second round. I'd like to get the body remounted so I can re-check the roof and finish the top fitment of the doors.

Hopefully motor and transmission go back in next weekend. I need to research getting that crab-style distributor installed right the first time because there isn't enough room to pull it up and turn-it 180 if I get it wrong without removing the blower.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Didn't have as much time working on the car that I had hoped to this week but I was able to finish block sanding the first round of 2K primer on the main body and respray a second round. I reduced the air pressure and tightened up the fan on the spray gun and got much better results on this round. That fine overspray dust gets everywhere though. I do like the look of the matte black primer. Small part of me is thinking just leave it with primer and call it a day on this painting stuff.

My neighbor and wife helped me get the body placed back on the frame tonight so I installed the waterfall and roll bar to see how things were fitting. I still have everything loose fit still as I'll need to take everything apart as soon as I am done with final fitment of the doors, roof and trunk lid. I have poly surfacer on the top of the trunk lid and and roof all block sanded and ready for primer tonight.

I added a photo of one of the challenging areas for me to smooth out on mine. You'd think after this many months of spreading and sanding filler I get good at it but when it comes to smoothing out the mold seems in the back corners where all the curves come together it has been particularly challenging for me to do. It's getting better after each round but I still see a hint of the seams under both sides.

[Motor_Freak]

wow, looks good. Like the color combo.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Motor Freak, much appreciated.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thought I was out of the woods with the trunk lid but a bit disappointed now. I consciously didn't want to install the trunk seal early because I didn't want to mess it up. I was using the little rubber bumpers supplied. I now see that was a bad decision for shaping that lid. I ended up removing the brackets I made because even with bumpers it was slightly off. It actually fit nicely without the brackets and on the rubber bumpers. The drivers side bottom corner which was the worst area on mine actually road slightly below the main body which I thought was good because I would just use the taller bumper to raise it up.

Then I decided I better try with the seal on and damn if it doesn't throw that bottom driver side edge back up too far. I lost two nights just looking at it in amazement for the amount of work put into it and then decided to move on and come back at it with a clearer mind. The first three photos are without the seal and the last one is what the seal does to that bottom edge. Arrrgh...

[Midwest 33 Build]

I was able to put the first round of 2k primer on the roof tonight. Haven't had the roof on the car to check fitment for a while so I was anxious to see how it fit with the the layers of surfacer and primer and the body on the frame. Relatively happy with how it turned out. It rides just slightly high in a couple areas and I can see the touch points that I can sand a bit to flatten it out. I was so anxious that as soon as the paint gun was cleaned and it was dry to the touch I put it on the car.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got the engine and transmission re-installed. Tight fit doing both at the same time and it was a little nerve racking trying not to nick anything as it was going in. Had the assistance of my wife guiding which was a big help. Got that all tightened up and primed the oil pump today so I can start buttoning this thing up. Realized I need to research and find eight longer inside bolts for that taller blower intake before I can take that any further though.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I measured for the correct length intake manifold bolts and got them in and the intake sealed and torqued to spec. Blower is hand tight for now. I installed the distributor at TDC and pointing at #1 on the cap but with the tall intake manifold and crab style cap I won't be able to rotate it very far in either direction so I'll need to ask around if I should install a few degrees before TDC. Ford racing specs show to install at TDC, other specs found on line show at 10 degrees BTDC. I'll research that more. I sure hope the Mallory Unilite distributor works. I couldn't find another distributor that small in size. If it doesn't I may need to switch over to a crank trigger which would mean re-spacing the blower drive pulleys. Something I am trying to avoid.

Broke the seats out for the first time since inventory. I have them loosely placed with transmission tunnel, drive shaft tunnel and new shifter so I can determine where to mark and drill mounting holes. Although I have A Lot left to do, with the primer on and the motor coming back together it feels like I am getting closer.

[Niagara Dave]

That looks bad to the bone! Great job.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Dave ! Can't wait until I get to the point you are at with driving it.

Spent the day sanding more off the edging of the upper firewall. I'll need to take it in to get powder coated again, but I'll wait since each time I take it off I tweak a little bit more. Guessing others noticed on their builds, but I didn't catch it until late but the upper corners of the actual body on mine are different thicknesses. The driver side corner was about an 1/8 of an inch thinner than the passenger side. I've been tweaking that corner since spraying surfacer.

I've also been down to the local gun range a few times now looking for shell casing that I could use to cover the firewall to body screws. I ended up changing from 1/4 x 20 button heads to a socket screw and added some spent 45 shell casings for covers. Looks really neat in person, but hard for me to get a decent photo.

[erlihemi]

I like the brass! In NY we could only use 7 ...
Maybe you could find some big rifle brass like 338 Lapua or Remington mag for the blower bolts. Or some 12 ga shells so you could have a shotgun ford...:rolleyes:

[erlihemi]

I'm assuming the brass just pushes over the socket head. If you really want a theme you can deprime the appropriate shell size, drill and tap the head and come up with a secure fastening method. You may be able to loctite the spent primer back over it if you stay in machine screw range. Or flip it and have a bullet in it.! Obviously I'm referring to inert shells not live ammo here. Just for web site safety clarification...
Let's see, 223 for toggle switches , Win mag for nitrous, 338 Lapua for turn signal and tilt lever, and 50BMG for the shifter (416 in California ).

[Midwest 33 Build]

Hi Erlihemi, Yes, for now just press on. I found the tubing you use to cover bolt threads when powder coating makes a nice tight fit over the round bolt head and also the inside of the shells. My mind was doing the same thing thinking of different areas I could subtly use them without over doing it. Bought a bag without primers just to tinker around a bit.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I started looking into how I was going to mount the alternator. Guessing without the blower it's a little more straight forward but with the blower and electric water pump it's tight and I only have a small angle to line the V-grooves on the alternator and crank shaft without placing an idler pulley on the other side. Tried a few different kits from the parts store and ended up piecing together a Frankenstein looking mock-up. At least now I know where the fitment needs to be so I can go buy some aluminum stock and craft up a more sightly version of it.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Wrapped a string around the alternator pulley and crank pulley to measure and surprisingly I was able to find an alternator belt locally. I installed it and did a first pass at cutting the spark plug wires to length and terminated them. I left the cross overs that go to the other side of the crab cap a little longer for now. Once I get the thermostat housing and other front brackets done I'll see if I need to trim further.

I want to double check the torque on the harmonic balancer bolt before I finish the blower pulley and belt. I'll need to figure out something the keep the car stationary though. Even in gear it wants to roll forward.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I double checked the torque on the harmonic balancer and then installed the lower blower spacer, pulley and belt. I was able to then re-install the radiator and grill. The contrast between the chrome control arms and grill is noticeable but I'm not going to mess with color changes on it until the car is painted. Hopefully it will grow on me a bit by then.

I started to mock up how the fuel lines to the carb will be run. I'd prefer to have the inlet connection to the dual carb line at the rear of the engine but with this current Edelbrock carb line if I put the inlet connection in the back it sticks over the body which I didn't like. I made up the short stainless host run from the carbs to the regulator. I'll need a different -6AN to 3/8 NPT connector for the inlet. Thinking I need the O Ring style -6AN since the current one I have loosely fit doesn't feel like it will seat all the way in when I tighten it up.

Another parts order and two day wait to get them in.

[Shoeless]

I have to say, I am very impressed thus far with your progress and workmanship. Its a pleasure to read and can't wait to see the finished product.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Shoeless !, Much Appreciated. I am a year in and still having a blast doing the build.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Been looking at slightly larger wheels and tires for or a while. I decided to take the long drive to a popular parts store to pick them up, but found out 'In-Stock' doesn't necessarily mean that warehouse. Silly me. I was able to outfit the rear wheels and tires and the front wheels are on order. Even with all the measuring the tire/rim selection for these things is challenging, at least for me. You want to fill that rear well section as much as possible but you don't want to have to worry about bottoming out or chewing up the paint job. It would be nice if someone made a bolt-on / add-on kit for these things that would move the rear axle back a few inches to enable bigger tires to fill in more of that rear well section.

I decided to go with 18" Weld Forged RT-S wheels with Mickey Thompson 28.00 to 28.99 tires in the back. I went Weld 18" rims in the front too but narrower and 26" tire height. It should give the car a slight rake down from back to front. I should have the fronts in and mounted later this week.

I added a photo so people can see the rear tire to body gap with this wheel/tire size combination.

[H R Lucky]

It would be nice if someone made a bolt-on / add-on kit for these things that would move the rear axle back a few inches to enable bigger tires to fill in more of that rear well section.

Someone does make a bolt-on kit that moves the rear axle back to center it in the wheel well. His name is Dan Ruth, His screen name 'KGB911'
google 'Innovative Rodding'

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thank You Nevin. I will look for it.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Well I've been putting off the doors as long as I could because I knew I was going to have to cut-off and reposition the Passenger side inside half moon so it would meet up with the dash. Before I sent the frame to be repainted I gapped all the doors at 5m to account for all the layers. The passenger side mounted in just fine and the door gaps maintained but when I mounted the driver side door the bottom of the doors gap is just fine but at the top of the door front and back were way off ??? Best I can figure is that I only had the body mounted to the firewall with the middle three screws until recently. The remaining driver side body/firewall screws must pull the driver side of the front/dash area of the body forward quite a bit.

I posted some pictures of me trying to get things back in shape. I used 3/16 high foam strip and pressed it on the body side of the door jam. I then taped around the area outside and inside the door edge since I still suck at applying filler. I found that filler doesn't stick that well to plastic until it kicks hard so I cut strips of the thin plastic Beware of Dog signs and place it on the door side of the 3/16 foam. I used stranded filler and pressed into the gap between the door and the plastic enough so I can tell it's gone all the way through. Once I see that the filler is starting to kick I gently pull the plastic strips out and remove the tape and foam strip.

Sanding the rear side of the door is challenging with the door on the car as you only get a few inches of room when the door is open. I used sand paper on paint sticks originally but noticed if your not careful you can gouge up the jam area. I posted a pic of something I'm finding works pretty good to sand the gaps. The filler spreaders are thin and rigid enough to give a flat surface to use sticky back sandpaper with.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Well I am completely exhausted but I got the doors reworked, removed, primed and reinstalled. The inside of the doors gets caked with fiber and filler dust through the process so I took the rails and brackets out before priming and took the time to clean everything up inside. The doors went back in place a bit easier this last time but trying to insert those rail bolts and then catch a few threads on the nut with one hand reaching through the window area is a little tricky. Would have been easier with the roof off, but wife's got a pinched nerve and can't help lift for a while.

It's difficult for me to see progress when doing some of the body work stuff but I was going through some of my older pictures and pulled a comparison shot from January of this year and one from today and posted.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I circled back to the fitment issues with the trunk area. I spent most the weekend letting the trunk lid kick my butt, but I think I finally got it. I first got the trunk lid to lay flat on the driver side bottom by adjusting the hinges better. I thought I better get the latch and latch brackets in place before sizing the gaps. It took me from about 10am Saturday to 3am Sunday to get those brackets situated correctly. On mine the latch pin bracket would bottom out on the top of the latch bracket mounted in the trunk. I added a photo of the bracket that got the best of me for all that time. The latch pin bracket has holes to move it side to side, but for me to get the bracket (not the pin) to not bottom out on the latch bracket it needed to go back to front.

I finally got it to sit reasonably well. I re-gapped the lid, masked the car where it sat and resprayed a coat of primer. The light sanding I'm doing up to the gaps without dipping inside helps the gap to stand out so I can see if there places that need more work.

I still have to powder coat the latch brackets in the trunk though so hopefully it goes back together easier the next time.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thought I would color check the black base coat with clear and see if I am able to spray it correctly. I do like the color but I'm really questioning my ability to pull off a paint job that I would be happy with. I am not using the front side panels so I thought I would use them for testing. Lot's of time color sanding, cutting and buffing on this test piece and some angles look great but some don't look good at all.

[Midwest 33 Build]

It's been a few weeks since providing an update. Boring for others but have been sanding, priming, and repeating - many many times. Still tweaking the upper door fitment and trying to flatten all the ends of all the half-moons. Getting close on that but not quite there. Posted a couple pictures of the upper doors as they sit right now. Still working them.

I've blocked and primed that trunk lid more times than I would like to admit now but I think I am ready to remove it and paint it this weekend. This last go round I sprayed gray 2K and used dry guide coat so I could get a better visual of bad areas. Blocked it with 320 then 400 and tried cleaning the gaps back up. I do want to mark the bracket locations somehow before I remove the lid so I can put it back in place a little easier. A bit anxious to see if I got the panel looking straight/flat once it gets the gloss black.

I changed to plastic again on the make shift paint booth in hopes to keep the dust down. Guys at Eastwood store were pretty helpful. I described the problem with the excessive dry spray using the 2K primer and they quickly noted I probably wasn't getting all the water out of my air line. When the catalyzed primer hits water in the air it hardens. I ended up running several vertical pipe runs up and down the wall with drain valves at the bottom and then piped that into two water separators and then a Devilbis desiccant dryer. That seems to have done the trick.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I got the inside of the trunk lid finish primed, sanded and masked and then began spraying outside base and clear. Had troubles with the Base this time. Visions of a months worth of prep work going down the drain as I was spraying it. Needed to let it dry and then scuff it down before clear. Surprised I even got it to come out half way okay given the shape it was in earlier in the day. I have some dirt nibs in the clear that I'm hoping will sand out. If I knew what I was doing I think I could take the left over clear that is activated and dab it into some of those spots. But I don't know what I doing so I will wait until it drys and take it from there.

I can see I need to vacuum off the dead bugs accumulating on top of the spray booth already so they don't make into my photos. I live right next to a farm so keeping the flying bugs out is a challenge.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Well all the body prep/paint I've been doing so far has been to help me see if I can actually do this myself and have an outcome that doesn't look too hacked up. I'm probably an idiot (my wife confirms) but have decided to go forward with doing it.

I wanted to see if the sanding prep on the trunk lid would be flat/level with the gloss black since it is the majority of what you see from the back of the car. If I couldn't get the trunk lid I'd have no chance with the roof. Even though I haven't figured out the art of buffing and getting the last small scratches out yet the panel looks pretty straight/flat so I'll be working on final sanding/spot priming the roof this weekend.

My wife chimed in and thinks I should go with the flat black instead of gloss.

[33LXS]

I live right next to a farm so keeping the flying bugs out is a challenge.
I knew a guy years ago who claimed his best paint jobs were done in a barn. His secret, he claimed, was to add a few drops of good vanilla extract to the paint because it drove the bugs away. I have never tried it so I can't verify that it works.

You're on the right track. Don't get discouraged by little imperfections (you're the only person who will notice them) and don't fall for the flat black temptation thinking that it will hide imperfections. A blinding shine will hide more imperfections than flat black.

Remember that it's the final polish that people see. The paint (non-metallic) could go on with a brush and/or roller and it wouldn't matter as long as you color sand it smooth and polish it to a mirror finish.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks 33LXS! I am noticing light is very important. Except for the weekends I do most of my work on the car late in the evening with the door closed and didn't see any waviness in the lid, but out in the sunlight I can see a slight wave near one edge that I'll need to try and work out. I'll be scuffing it back down to do a final spray on the car so hopefully I'll be able to work it out then. Not sure about the vanilla extract in the paint but after reading your post I got a large bottle of it for the garage. : )

Been working the roof and on the third or fourth block sand of primer with guide coat. I don't have a long sanding board so I notice I've been creating dips as I'm trying to fix others. On this last one I was looking around the garage for something nearly as wide as the roof and flexible for shape. I ended up trying some of the more rigid foam tubes I had laying around to protect the frame and used adhesive sandpaper around it. I have been dry sanding but when I get tired and need a break I spray water on it to see problem areas.

Guessing the car will end up with some waviness, but it won't be due to lack of effort, more so due to lack of skills.

[1932]

I have done very little body work and that has been ruff Ag work. But i am going to do the body work, and thinking about painting to.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Should be fun 1932. Well,,,, challenging, frustrating, and time consuming, but still fun to do!

[Midwest 33 Build]

I am taking the week off to try and get through as much of the body work and paint that I can. Temperature and humidity not cooperating though. It's like a sauna around here so I needed to break down and buy a cheap-o air conditioner for the garage to try and keep temp within the range of the paint products I already purchased.

No kidding, the inside of that roof was a bear to do. Shape of it kept blowing the base and clear spray right back in my face and with the angles curved in it was difficult for me to keep a level spray pattern without going heavy on one side or the other. Some orange peel to deal with but happy I am past that step. Outside of roof is ready to be painted once the inside drys for a day or so.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Watching paint dry. A couple bugs are watching it dry too, up close. Unhooked the air hose from the paint gun after the third coat of clear and a few bugs decided to make a permanent landing. Hopefully it won't be a big deal being it was the third coat. Lot's of orange peel today. Not sure if it was the humidity, not using enough reducer or what but it didn't flow like it has in the past. Spray was nice, just not enough flow. Hopefully color sand will take care of the peel and the bugs.

Trying to use the lines in the light reflection to see if there are any low spots. Not seeing anything at first glance but need to sand it down then get sunlight to really tell.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Someone will need to remind me why I am doing the body work and painting this thing myself because I am a goofball and forgot.

Since my last post, I had a surprise with the roof when I went to take the tape off of it. A small section of paint and clear peeled off when I removed the tape. None of my other parts had an issue so You Tubed what causes paint to peel and saw some nasty examples of people using a water hose and taking their paint right off. Went back out to the garage and realized there wasn't a bond between paint and primer. Visited several body shops for advice and they independently said it could be a number of things including, not waiting long enough for cure, solvent trap, etc., but the bottom of the examples I took didn't show very deep scratching from sanding and they recommended staying around 320/400 grit and waiting longer for each coat to flash. Long story short it took several weeks to prep the roof again. Inside has base and clear and outside is ready for repaint.

For the body I didn't want to take any chances with adhesion so I sanded 2k primer with 320 and applied sealer mixed more for adhesion. I sprayed sealer, base and then clear in one long setting. It will be extra work sanding areas that I am going red but those all use the same brand activators and solvents. All and all turned out okay, but I need to deal with some waviness on the driver side quarter panel area before applying red.

[Midwest 33 Build]

I'll try and type fast as I keep getting logged out before finishing. I was able to spray the doors jambs and dash today with Ruby Red. Long day of masking then spraying 9 layers (3 base pearl, 3 candy clear and 3 clear). Since drilling the holes in the dash I get runs in the same spot between the two large gauges even though I am very careful spraying it. I'll sand them down again.

Hopefully I can get the inside of the doors sprayed during the week and then try and tackle the outside red next weekend.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got the inside of the doors masked and painted. Hoping they will dry soon so I can get them positioned on the main body and get the outside red done this weekend. Not looking forward to color sanding the orange peel out of that triangled area on the inside of the door. Still haven't found anything good to use to block in on that pointed area.

[Motor_Freak]

Looks good!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Roman.

I spent all day getting the sides masked off and found a way to temporarily hang doors on body while on the body buck. Who know what this will look like out in the light, but I am kind of glad the day is near over. Only thing left to do is wait for the clear to dry and pull the doors off and get the masking off the door jamb since I won't be able to get back to the car for about a week. I started scuffing up the clear on the black as I intent to add another 3 coats of clear over everything next weekend.

[erlihemi]

Excellent application of pvc and bungee cords!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Hi Erlhemi. Yeh I was originally just going to hook to the openings in the door but the fiberglass is so thin there I figured the tension would just crack through the openings or jazz up the paint on the door. I came up with that on the fly. Looks simple but the tricky part was holding the door with one hand trying not to nick the paint while attaching bungee cords with the other hand. A little McGiver work there as I had to hook the bungees from the buck with tension to my belt loops which got them close enough to where I could reach and attach the bungees from the door then detach myself from the whole thing and crawl out from under the body buck. Once the doors were on then I could reposition the bungee cords for more tension.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Decided to hold off on adding three more coats of clear. I am finding a number of touch ups I need to do. I continued on with the color sanding and buffing. I am pretty aggressive on sanding the black but taking it in slow passes on the red. Second photo is just after first go round. Many more to go based on the haziness in the photo. One more long weekend of painting the outside of the roof next weekend and I might be able to take down the paint booth after that so I get have some room back in the garage.

Looking forward to getting back to the chassis and running electrical, fuel and cooling.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Exciting day in the build for me today. I got my garage back !!! I stayed up till 6am this morning getting the inside of the trunk lid and the outside of the roof finished. As soon as it was dry I started taking down the paint booth, putting the floor tiles back and pressure washing things down. I saved the PVC poles in the shed in case I need to do some smaller touch up work in the driveway or shed. I think I have a post a year ago in September when I started sanding the seam lines down. So it was a year of body prep, practice and paint. Glad that part is over.

[erlihemi]

That was a great year tho! Looks super. Whatcha gonna do with the spare bay now?

[wrp]

Fantastic build

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks WRP and Erlihemi, very much appreciated. Erlihemi, great question. The correct answer I am told is my wife's car that has been sitting in the driveway but I would like the answer to your question to be the start of a Cobra project.

[avgjoe]

Beautiful!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks avgjoe !

[Midwest 33 Build]

I put an order in on an MK4 so I'm guessing I better get a move on with finishing up the electrical, fuel and brakes on this 33. My wonderful wife said it was okay as long as she can park in the garage this winter so I need to get a move on.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Working on the placement of the under dash electronics. I figured I it would be difficult to be able to see the fronts of the infinity boxes if I kept them vertical so I rounded up some thicker aluminum panels and created a second panel that will swing down and give some visibility to them. Got it powder coated and I am starting to run the wiring now.

[Motor_Freak]

Looks good and clean!

[erlihemi]

Congrats on the mk4! That will motivate you for sure. I picked up some motivation also, but, that one will likely show up on a different forum in the spring. At least I'm not over committed for the winter.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Sorry guys for the delayed response. I've been heads down on the 33 trying to clear up a garage spot before MK4 gets delivered this Friday and haven't logged on for a while. I under estimated how much I had left to do and I'm slow I am which is going to get me in the dog house if it snows here before I get a spot cleared for the wife's car. I probably should have taken your route Erlihemi and waited until spring.

Thanks Roman. I'm still pulling wires and re-arranging things. I'll post some of the recent pics tonight. Take Care.

[Midwest 33 Build]

A lot of lose ends to finish up before I can try starting this thing. I think I am past the worst of the wiring. I know where the remainder need to go and hopefully just a matter of routing and terminating. I was able to run the stainless steel fuel feed and return lines and got the hose ends taken care of. Seat holes are drilled. Had to go with a bizarre bolt pattern though because my exhaust bolts that go through the frame tubes was in the way. EBrake holes are drilled through frame and that is ready to go once the carpet is in. Accelerator pedal mount is installed. Still need to re-install brake lines and clutch cable.

I ended up using Eastwood Black seam sealer between aluminum panels and frame rails and then installed XMat heat and sound deadener on top. I can see I'm getting close, but there is still a long list of things to take care of. Starting to put fluids in.

[erlihemi]

Looking great! I got hit with the snow this weekend. Time to get some stuff to the machine shop for future builds...

[Midwest 33 Build]

Stewart transport showed up today with the MK4. Had to use the SUV and a tow strap to pull the cart up the steep driveway. Took about 4 trips and have it placed on stands in the garage. Only issue I can see is that I changed order to a bare frame but it came powder coated. I'll need to check with the powder coater on getting that stripped down. Decided I wanted to go with a bit of color on it but will now need to think about it more.

I wont post any more on the MK4 in the 33 build thread. I have another one started in the MK4 forum, but won't start going at that until I get the 33 completed.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Well it's been a month since my last post. I ended up having a brake fluid leak at the banjo bolt area on both master cylinders. Weird that it would go for a week without issue then you would start to see the crush washers start to get a shine then it would leak. Tightened the bolts down waited a week then same thing. Called Factory Five and they ended up sending me out the new Wilwood black master cylinders. I changed them out and ran more hard tubing at the same time versus the stainless. It's been a couple weeks now so hopefully the leaks are gone.

Also found out that I didn't buy the carburetors setup for dual carb use so I ended up changing the metering rods and secondary jets to mimic the dual carbs that I should have purchased. Never done that before so that was interesting.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Big day today! My family came over to help and witness the first turn of the key to the start position. I set my expectations low in that all I wanted to verify was that there were no major leaks or electrical issues that would prevent us from mounting the body back on the car for the first time since it was painted months ago.

I turned on the electric water pump, radiator fan and fuel pump and then turned the key to start position and to all of our amazement the damn thing started within literally a couple seconds after turning the key. The engine was at a fast RPM so we shut it down but very surprising and unexpected that it started. I was lucky to have a brother in law that knows carbs there and after a few hours of adjusting and test starts the thing starts quick and has a good idle.

I am also thankful for the help getting the body back on the car. Nerve racking operation when it's painted versus the many times you put it on and remove it prior to paint.

Very surprising day when you think that there were hundreds of things I wasn't quite sure of along the way and that I bought the engine a year and a half ago. Custom intake for the blower. Only about a quarter inch of free turn each direction of the distributor without disassembling the top end because of the space constraints and so on...

[Midwest 33 Build]

Got the doors remounted and then drilled and mounted the roof. Don't look too close -- I am still adjusting doors and need to put the seals in place and I still have a Ton of sanding and polishing ahead of me. A little nerve racking not knowing if I will be able to buff everything up so it looks okay but giving it my best.

[Motor_Freak]

Congratulations on first start!

[erlihemi]

Looking great! Congrats on first fire up :D

[MPTech]

Wow! That '33 is a combination of attention to detail, great component choices, and quality components.
That is a definitive Hot Rod and BadAss.
Fantastic build!

Can't wait to see what you do with the Roadster!

Where are you located in "The Midwest"?

[wrp]

I love this Build

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Roman, Erlihemi, MPTech and WRP! I appreciate the comments. MPTech I am in Northern Illinois just shy of the Wisconsin border. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish the MK4 yet, but I do know I won't be painting it. : ) One and done for me on the paint.

There are a few parts that have just fought me the entire way on the build and even though I'm getting close to finishing things the trunk lid has shown it still has a little fight left in it. I was able to mount it tonight which is a challenge for those with bigger bellies to crawl in around the differential and reach up to install the screws. I see a very faint crack though now right where the top RivNut is on the gas tank side. Arrggh... Seems like either the Rivnut has some pressure on the top panel or the screw pushed against it at some point. I will let it be for now and see if it gets more noticeable in the daylight.

I haven't adjusted the lid yet or installed the latch but attached are some views of where it sits now.

[wallace18]

That is one beautiful 33!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Wallace18 ! Much Appreciated.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Sorry, it has been a long time since I posted status. Getting close to completion of the 33. I have some final trim, exhaust alignment, head liner and glass left. But had it running in the driveway today and thought I would post some pictures. I've got a video but have never posted on you tube so I'll need to figure that out.

[kraftee]

Well done, Sir.

[Svtfreak]

Dude. Your build is so completely badass!

How bad was it working on that finished frame while still fabbing and fitting stuff? I think I'm gonna take apart and finish frame after all fitting and body work is done.

[erlihemi]

That black looks deep and smooth! Nice job on the body.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Kraftee, SVTfreak and Erlihemi, much appreciated. SVTfreak, I think your plan is a better route than mine was. I didn't know any better when I started. If I had it to do over I would leave it bare until much later in the build. In the end it worked out okay, but I did have to be careful throughout.

[wrp]

Absolutely beautiful job on your car.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thank You WRP ! I hope the engine install is going well for you.

[wrp]

Learning a lot :)

[Motor_Freak]

It's sharp! Good job!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Roman!

[Midwest 33 Build]

Finally found someone who installs residential garage lifts in my area and took the plunge. Got a narrow grey 4 post Bendpak so I can stack the 33 and MK4. Been looking at them since I started the 33 and from the time I contacted them and had it installed was less than two weeks. First use of it was to install a set of Magnaflow mufflers. I first ordered the 5x8's and could see without taking them out of the wrapping they were too tall and actually larger than 5x8. I then got the polished 4x9's. While I'm still adjusting all the pipes and hangers it looks like these will work out. Hopefully they sound okay on this thing. Had to lighten up the underside photo a bit as it was too dark even with flash.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Well it is not officially a go-gart but it was my first actual drive down the driveway and around the block. I've never posted to you tube before so trying to upload some short videos from today. Hope this works.


https://youtu.be/Xr89kOB_uKw


https://youtu.be/gUKCkDqeueM


https://youtu.be/EcEqnynXT2k

[erlihemi]

Sounds great pulling up the driveway! That Blower Whine is making my right foot twitch a little ;)

[RoadRacer]

Oh that WHINE!! I put in a noisy gear drive in my last 383 as a poor substitute..

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks guys. It was fun to actually drive it after working on it for two years. Funny that my wife noted I needed to change the fan belt because it was squealing. I told her a lot went into getting that sound. Thanks again!

[erlihemi]

Thanks guys. It was fun to actually drive it after working on it for two years. Funny that my wife noted I needed to change the fan belt because it was squealing. I told her a lot went into getting that sound. Thanks again!

I thought I had a fan belt squealing too, but then I asked the passenger to be quiet so I could figure out where the noise was coming from...:confused:

[Midwest 33 Build]

Pulling all my paperwork together to create a package for Registration process. Sat through the long lines at the DMV to get a tax form that surprisingly you have to pick up at a facility. Also running through the checklist of items to have.

I attached a photo of the side mirrors I am going with. They are the Hagan Fatties - 4" round convex mirror heads with the Hagan Noodle arms that extend the mirror out 4" and either up or down 4". The arms are sold as a pair but the mirrors are not.

Also need to quickly figure out a low visibility bumper setup.

[kraftee]

You'll love the wide field of view the Fatties give you. I bought the oval ones with the noodle arms. I mounted mine on the doors as, with the soft top, this allows me to see both mirrors, even with the side curtains up.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Thanks Kraftee, looks nice. Thanks for the photo. I was thinking of going in front of the door but I also like where you have mounted yours. I also like the ovals too. Are you doing anything from a bumper standpoint ?

[kraftee]

"Bumpers? We don't need no stinkin' bumpers!" But seriously, no. I am just going to be very very careful! Eric

[kraftee]

BTW, one other thing I like about having the mirrors mounted to the doors is that they are completely out of the way when the doors are open - in terms of getting into the car. Mounted to the cowl, I am afraid I would be reflexively grabbing for them when sitting down into the driver seat. Also, the noodle arms have a very small mounting footprint. I mounted a 5" long piece of aluminum angle as a backer inside the door. Just seemed too fragile without it. I was afraid someone brushing by the car in a parking lot would bust the fiberglass where it mounts. It's really strong, stable and robust with the aluminum backer.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Laughing, as I am thinking the exactly the same. I will look to see if I can craft some temporary ones that I can easily take on and off. I am just looking deeper into our Illinois laws on this. I think what I am seeing is that registered as a Custom Vehicle / Street Rod I might need them but as a Specially Constructed Vehicle I may not. I will need to call them to see if I am reading that correctly. Thanks !

[Midwest 33 Build]

For the mirrors, Thanks yes I know what you mean. The base on the arm has a pretty small footprint.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Not too enthusiastic about putting bumpers or front license plate holder on this thing so I am opting to create ones that are temporary and easily removable. I've been wanting to take a shot a metal work anyhow so I'll try to make a project of it. Last time I welded was with a stick welder in high school shop class about 40 years ago so this should be a laugh for those that know how to cut and weld metal cause I don't so take it easy on me.

I started by looking over the front of the frame for existing mount points I could use. I ended up deciding for my first take at this to use the unused two holes in the front plate of the frame. I went out and picked up some steel pieces, a cut off (chop saw), plasma cutter, and an AC/DC TIG Welder. (oh, and a brand new Fire Extinguisher) I cut out a cardboard template that would go in front of the front plate of the frame and under the two larger lower control arm bolts.

I cutout the rough shape of the backing plate with the plasma cutter. Never used one before, was admittedly a little nervous, but it ended up being pretty fun to do. Ground down the edges and drilled the two mounting holes. So my first step with creating a backing plate that I can quickly remove and weld the rest of my brackets to is installed. During the week, I need to figure out how to TIG weld. : ) - and figure out how I will route the backing plate to bumper brackets.

[kraftee]

Not sure why you want to try to learn to TIG. Let me rephrase that: TIG is WAY harder to learn to do properly than MIG - and since you're using steel for your brackets, MIG would work fine. I have been a metal sculptor for over 40 years. My copper, brass, and stainless creations are in homes and businesses from Australia to England. I am pretty decent with a MIG welder - and very proficient with gas brazing (since that's the bulk of what I do.) However, I never had the guts to try TIG welding! You'll find MIG welding to be easy to learn, very intuitive, and fun. TIG? Better have a pro instruct you. ERIC

[TDSapp]

Midwest,

I noticed that your upper and lower control arms both appear to be chromed. How did you manage that with the ball joints being mounted already?



Tim

[DaveS53]

Tig welding is not that difficult. I learned to gas weld when I was 14, learned stick welding in high school and taught myself how to TIG weld, 45 years later. I hadn't done any welding since the mid '70's.

The are a lot of good youtube videos that are helpful. I used TIG to weld up a complete stainless steel exhaust system, cap and weld new hose fittings to my aluminum radiator and weld a number of stainless and plain steel brackets to my steel frame.

I bought a combination TIG/stick welder with a plasma cutter.

[DaveS53]

Midwest,

I noticed that your upper and lower control arms both appear to be chromed. How did you manage that with the ball joints being mounted already?


Tim

I used to work at a chrome shop. It's certainly possible to chrome a greasy ball joint, but all of the grease would have to be removed and some masking done to block the throw of the copper, nickel and chrome plating. I've chromed things like a glass pack muffler, using styrofoam cups to keep the solutions out of the muffler.

Can't say much positive about welding a ball joint in place. Obviously, if it needs replaced, the chrome job will suffer after grinding through the weld.

I have screw-in ball joints on the suspension of my car. I used anti-seize on the threads and torqued them to 100 ft. lbs. 4000 miles later, they haven't moved. A special socket wrench is needed.

[Midwest 33 Build]

Hi Eric. Similar to what DaveS53 noted, after the temporary bumpers I do plan on hitting the stainless steel exhaust, getting rid of the corrugated radiator tubing with solid and then build a custom electronics box out of aluminum for the infinity Box electronics in the trunk so right/wrong I tried to pick something that could cover all three. I'm pretty patient/persistent with the challenge of practicing to learn new stuff so as long as I don't burn down the garage or have another cutoff wheel style incident then I should be able to get the hang of it. I fired it up this evening and ran some zig zag looking beads that started to straighten out towards the end tonight.

Take care,

[Midwest 33 Build]

Midwest,

I noticed that your upper and lower control arms both appear to be chromed. How did you manage that with the ball joints being mounted already?



Tim

Hi Tim, the upper and lower controls arms originally were powder coated and then I changed my mind and ended up going with getting them chromed. For both processes to clean the grease out of the ball joints I used a one of those solvent washer bins from Harbor Freight filled with degreaser. Took the grease fittings out of the ball joints and placed the control arms in degreaser. I used a air hose with small nozzle and light air pressure in the grease fitting opening and then let them sit back in the degreaser. Rinse and repeat, several times. They masked off the arm side of the ball joint at the chrome shop and as DaveS53 notes if I need to replace the ball joints it will jack up the chrome so it will likely end up requiring a strip and re-chrome.

They turned out okay in chrome, but I'll note the area inside the two flat plates on the upper control arms is close together and gave the chrome guy I used problems and it isn't polished. I was worried about it while they sat on the bench, but once installed and the shocks are installed there is so much else going on in that area that even with an open front end it's difficult to see. Thought I'd let you know though in case you are considering it.

[Mblueye33]

Finally found someone who installs residential garage lifts in my area and took the plunge. Got a narrow grey 4 post Bendpak so I can stack the 33 and MK4. Been looking at them since I started the 33 and from the time I contacted them and had it installed was less than two weeks. First use of it was to install a set of Magnaflow mufflers. I first ordered the 5x8's and could see without taking them out of the wrapping they were too tall and actually larger than 5x8. I then got the polished 4x9's. While I'm still adjusting all the pipes and hangers it looks like these will work out. Hopefully they sound okay on this thing. Had to lighten up the underside photo a bit as it was too dark even with flash.

Did the magnaflow help quiet the car down.... the FFR mufflers are so loud.... what Magnaflow fit the 33

[kraftee]

I took off the FFR mufflers due to the glass blowing out of them. I thought they sounded fine. However the Flowmaster Delta Flow 40-Series mufflers I installed are a bit quieter but have a much "throatier" sound. Plus, no fiberglass to blow out.

[Mblueye33]

I took off the FFR mufflers due to the glass blowing out of them. I thought they sounded fine. However the Flowmaster Delta Flow 40-Series mufflers I installed are a bit quieter but have a much "throatier" sound. Plus, no fiberglass to blow out.

Thank you for the information.
I am running a LSX 454..... very loud. I have the FFR mufflers with turn-downs.... I think I will change the muffles and run the tail pipes to the rear of the car.
73306

[Midwest 33 Build]

Wow there are some really nice cars on the build forum these days !

Been focused on retiring and downsizing further south and unfortunately have a new home/garage to go along with our current home that's gone too long without selling. Unless the house sells soon it unfortunately looks like I am going to need to sell the 33HotRod, Roadster and 18' trailer.

Don't even know what these things go for these days so in the next few days I'll need to document where both builds are at and try and determine a reasonable price for them.

I thought I'd do a quick post to note they are coming. Any serious interest, please direct mail me.

Regards,

[Roger Pugh]

THis is sick looking. Very clean, I love it!!