Cnv0146.jpg   Project COBRA'33

Frame Build-Up Part V


Disassembly, Welding, Sanding Painting and Re-assembly of the Frame.


10-10-07


     We left off with the body getting it's floor installed.  The area around the transmission tunnel is very time consuming.  At the very front, where the feet would go, there are many small panels to be made and fitted into position.  The goals are the same as when we started, 1. Keep as much interior space as possible.  2. Fit each panel so they look right and don't interfere with any of the chassis parts, and the bodies removal.      

     With these two goals in mind, Dad continues to work on the area.  I have had to take a short reprieve, I haven't been filling very good so I have stayed away, but that doesn't mean I have forgotten.  Instead, I have been home figuring out just what we will be needing next and in the short run.  While I have been away, many of the parts we ordered have come in.  All the TCP Global order is in, the front seat from Glide Engineering came in and a power antenna we ordered has arrived as well.  I also took the time to figure out how much, and what sizes of bolts we will need when the chassis is painted and ready to re-assemble.  I changed my mind about the Chrome Fasteners, and I decided to go 100% with Stainless Steel Fasteners.  The reason, I have always like Stainless Steel and It will not rust, corrode, flake or stain.  On all the high load parts, I'll use the appropriate high strength stainless steel fasteners, the rest will be 304 stainless steel.  Since I had the time, I created a huge spread sheet and compared all the better known stainless and chrome hardware supplies and then included my old stand by supplier, Bis co of Florida.  You can do the same, and trust me, there is a huge difference between the highest and lowest prices.  On a project like this one, you can litterly save hundreds of dollars, on the fasteners alone.  Yes, it is really worth the small amount of time it takes to shop around.  The following is a copy of the orders placed for the Stainless Steel bolts, nuts, washers and special need fasteners.

TOTALLY STAINLESS

 

     Totally Stainless is a well advertised fastener store, it's been advertised in many of the Hot Rod, and car magazines.  They were not the first place I visited, but were definitely on my "Keeper" list.  While offering 100% of there inventory in Stainless Steel, they have just about any fastener you could dream of, in the industry standard 304 and in others like 316 and more.  What I really like about them is they were the ONLY fastener store to list engine hardware kits for the Ford 4.6L Modular series of engines, both normally aspirated and Super-Charged.  They even offer 4 different lines of fasteners for the engines, so their is something for every budget.  The following is what we ordered.

 

TOTALLY STAINLESS
10/11/2007

4.6L DOHC Ford Super-Charged Engine Kit kit 399.99 399.99
Brake Retainer Springs 6 each 13.5
Anti-Sieze 1 bottle 5.69
Neoprene Backed Washers
24,465 1/4" 100 0.15 15
24,467 3/8" 100 0.29 29
10-32 Size
SS Nuts 100 0.07 7
SS Lock Nuts 100 0.09 9
SS Flat Washers 100 0.03 3
SS Fender Washer 1 100 0.06 6
SS Lock Washers 100 0.03 3
SS Fender Washers 100 0.1 1
10-32 x 1/2" Button Head Screw 100 0.12 12
10-32 x 3/4" Button Head Screw 100 0.15 15
10-32 x 1" Button Head Screw 100 0.17 17
10-32 x 1-1/2" Button Head Screw 100 0.23 23
1/4-20 Size
1/4" SS AN Washers 200 0.03 6
1/4" Heavy Washers 100 0.23 23
5/16-18 Size
An Washers 100 0.055 5.5
3/8-16 Size
AN Washers 100 0.055 5.55
1/2-13 Size
AN Washers 100 0.055 5.5
Sub Total 604.7

     As you can see, we were very picky about what we bought from Totally Stainless.  Remember I told you I had done my homework, so we bought only what was store specific or industry wide a good deal.  The AN Washers are very hard items to find, as well as the 10-32 SS Button Head Screws and all their hardware.

    Another Store I have dealt with several times and truthfully have the lowest prices period, is Bis co of Florida.  They are a industrial supply store and have a decent supply of Stainless Steel fasteners, along with drill bits, taps, and much more.  I have purchased many Stainless fasteners from them and they do a very good job filling the orders and shipping everything out to me fast and efficiently.  As you will see, I went to them for the majority of the Stainless Fasteners we will need, they were the absolute lowest priced dealer of Stainless Steel, and they beat the rest by a bunch.

Bis co Of Florida
10/11/2007
1/4-20 Size
Nuts 200 0.045 9
1/4-20 x 1/2" 100 0.078 7.8
1/4/20 x 1-1/2" 100 0.153 15.3
1/4/20 x 2" 50 0.193 9.65
1/4/20 x 2-1/2" 50 0.234 11.7
1/4-20 x 3" 35 0.278 9.73
1/4/20 x 3-1/2" 25 0.335 8.37
1/4/20 x 4" 20 0.351 7.02
78.57 78.57
1/4-20 Button Head Screws Scocket
1/4-20 x 1/2" 100 0.24 24
1/4-20 x 1" 100 0.29 29
1/4-20 x 1-1/2" 100 0.39 39
92 92
5/16-18 Size
Nuts 100 0.78 7.8
Lock Nuts 100 0.98 9.8
Flat Washers 200 0.9 18
Lock Washers 200 0.04 8
5/16-18 x 1/2" 50 0.13 6.5
5/16-18 x 1" 50 0.168 8.4
5/16-18 x 1-1/2" 25 0.272 6.8
5/16-18 x 2" 25 0.282 7.05
5/16-18 x 2-1/2" 20 0.346 6.92
5/16-18 x 3" 10 0.408 4.08
83.35 83.35
3/8-16 Size
3/8-16 x 1/2" 100 0.195 19.5
3/8-16 x 1" 50 0.241 12.05
3/8-16 x 1-1/2" 50 0.296 14.8
3/8-16 x 2" 25 0.393 9.82
3/8-16 x 3-1/2" 20 0.485 9.7
65.87 65.87
1/2-13 Size
Nuts 100 0.204 20.4
Lock Nuts 100 0.325 32.5
Flat Washers 200 0.091 18.2
Lock Washers 200 0.13 26
1/2-13 x 3/4" 25 0.406 10.15
1/2-13 x 1-1/2" 25 0.52 13
1/2-13 x 2" 25 0.654 16.35
1/2-13 x 2-1/2" 20 0.79 15.8
1/2-13 x 3" 20 0.89 17.8
1/2-13 x 3-1/2" 15 1.03 15.45
1/2-13 x 4" 15 1.18 17.7
203.35 203.35
Total Order 523
Shipping ??

     I show you these bills to let you know how many bolts and nuts it takes to assemble one of these cars. Also, please keep in mind that I stock a huge selection of SS fasteners in the 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 sizes and 12-13, so that accounts for the low totals in these two categories.  Else ways, these totals would have been easily another $500-600.

     When researching this, I originally wanted to go with Chrome or polished Stainless Steel.  After looking around, I decided that chrome wasn't a very good alternative, since it peels, rust and doesn't take to long to tarnish.  The ideal of polished Stainless Steel was a Nobel one, but I couldn't get all the fasteners in polished state, and the extra expense was just not worth it for me.  You on the other hand may see it differently, and that is what makes this sport so nice, everyone See's things in a different light, and it keeps the cars lively.  The $400 bucks for the engine hardware kit was high, but I can see why at the same time.  We purchased the ARP Bolts, they are made from the highest grade of Stainless Steel and they are the only ones to offer one. Plus, these are just not the most popular engines in these circles.  The great up side too it, is I get another project.  This one will allow me to tear apart the engine while it is out of the frame and detail it even more before installing the new fasteners.  I can't wait.

     For all of you that keep track of things, no I do not include any hours I spend on the computer looking up parts or reading articles about certain processes in my Hour Meter.  That ticker is logging actual hours spent physically working on the project, Project COBRA  or Project:Flathead.  These hours would have been fun to log as well as the many, many hours I spend sitting here transcribing the events so others like yourselves can read about them.  I must admit, I do like posting the results.  It gives me time to re-play the events in my mind as I think what happened so I can list them here for you to enjoy.  It's funny cause I find myself laughing about some things we tried or wondering if just maybe this would work next time.  I would highly recommend that anyone starting a project like this, do so with the aid of the computer.  I suppose that if you are reading this, you too already know what I mean about all the free information that is available out there to us.  While most info is helpful, especially that from the manufacturers, there is also alot of information that has no merit and is completely the work of some fool who needs attention.  I tend to shy away from forums, my-space and any other hot spot where people are competing with each other for web bragging rights.  I would love to know the real specifics about those sits, but my gut tells me it's at best 20% truthful.  I don't know how many times I have logged on only to be lectured by a 18 year old that's done more stuff and been more places then God himself.  Just be careful who you ask, and what advice they give.

10-09-07

     I had the good fortune to attend a class presented by 3M, on how to Dry Buff a car instead of wet sanding it for the up most in shine.  If you would have told me there was a way to dry sand a cars paint so that it would reflect the same as a car finish that was wet sanded, I would have called you a lier.  But after seeing it with my own two eyes, and actually doing it with my own two hands, I can honestly tell you it works and works very well.  In fact, I was so impressed, I bought all the supplies to do Project COBRA'33  .  The class was held on 10-09-07 at a local Hot Rod shop.  The area 3M sales rep and his assistant put-on a very good and informative class.  It was my good fortune that the class was fairly small and I got plenty of one on one attention.  I found-out about the class at my local paint store, Parts Plus.  If you live close to a automotive paint supplier, I would stop in from time to time and see if they have anything similar to attend, the time invested is well spent.

10-12-07


     I got to go down to the shop today, I had at least 12 boxes full of supplies so I took the truck.  Dad has been working steadily on the floor-boards, and they look really good.  He has everything under control and it's really a one man show, so I left him alone and sorted all the supplies out and stored them.  Oh, ....Dad has till now resisted the urge to use the MIG welder.  It's something new to him, and I guess I just always did it, so he didn't try with it.  Since I have been away, and he needed pieces welded, I guess the need out weighted the risk, so he started using it.  I think it's great, and I can see he likes using it, so I left him alone with it.  Dad needs to get all the praise for the floor-board, he has taken on the challenge and it looks good.  I really have a new found respect for tin knockers, it's very time consuming and tedious. 

     I re-arranged some shelving, and made room for the new supplies.  It looks much nicer now and everything is grouped by subject.  We have really picked up some serious auto-body supplies, which will come in handy when we get to start that phase of the project.  I made a few bad decisions on some of my painting equipment.  I purchased a semi-cheap spray gun way back, thinking I would use it for the primer or some part of the process.  Wrong....Then I purchased a better middle of the road spray gun set, thinking it was way better then the cheap gun, and it would do a great job....Wrong.....  So now I came full circle, and purchased a top of the line, DeVilbiss GTI Millennium Professional Spray Gun.  Why, didn't I just purchase this thing the first time??  So, my advise to you is to get the right tool for the job the first time....you will save money in the long run.  We have everything to paint the frame now, and the only items needed for the body is the paint itself.  I purchased a neat little program from House of Kolor,called Digital Paint Booth,  that allows you to choose the correct image of your car, and then paint it with House of Kolor colors and even add flames and pin-stripping.  It's a nice program, and would be useful for persons like myself, that have not picked a color or color combination for there project.  They offer over a hundred models of both old cars and motorcycles, so odds are they will have your body style.  The kicker is that they give you a coupon for a free gallon of bare metal primer, a $200 value.

This is the DeVilbiss GTI Millennium Spray Gun and the Kit I purchased from TPC Global.

     While I was down at the shop today, I also UN-packaged the new Glide Engineering front seat frame.  I ordered the one with the tapered back rest, and it looks very nice.  You have to put the two backs on, and install the latching brackets and mechanism.  Nothing to bad, but it did take about an hour.  The rest of the order will be hear in 3-4 weeks.  I can not tell you how exciting it was to assemble the front seat, it really drives home the felling of we are getting things done!  Once the floor-boards are finished, we can fit the seat to the car and do what ever it might be we have to do to mount them, I can't see it being to much.

     Wow, the office is really getting crowded.  I have so many parts in there from Project:Flathead  , I'm not sure where all the parts will go when we break the frame back down for the final clean-up and painting.  One item I know will help in the organization department and in making some more room will be the Durham Steel Cabinet with it's steel pull-out drawers.  I went to Enco and ordered 6-cabinets and 24- drawers.  I was thinking about getting one of there steel parts bin type storage units, with 72-96 bins, but thought better of it.  I like the ideal that if I'm working on, say items that require 3/8" Stainless Steel fasteners, I can just grab the drawer with the 3/8 SS fasteners and take it with me to the project site.  With the bins, I couldn't do this.  But the bins did have many positive points, that would have made them nice also.  My plan, is to re-organize everything into a better system.  One that keeps everything in one area, and one that makes looking for items a snap.  I have always been pretty well organized, I have many multi-drawer cabinets that hold items, but they are located through-out the shop.  I want to bring everything to one location, and have it well organized at that spot.  What is it I want to organize??

 

1.  Brass Fittings

2.  AN-Fittings sizes 4 thru 16

3.  Stainless Steel Hardware

4.  Grade 8 Hardware

5.  Rubber Grommets

6.  Electrical Terminals & Copper Lugs

7.  Loom Clamps

Other Items that need organizing but the cabinets probably won't help??

1. Automotive Primary Wire sizes 22 thru 8

2. Rolls of Shrink Tube

3. Boxes of Wire coverings

 

    Like I said, I already have these Items separated and organized, I just want to do a better job of it, and get everything in one area. 

   item897_image_641532299.jpg

This is the 4-Drawer Cabinets I ordered, for now I will start with six (6) of these and twenty four (24) drawers.

item101_image.jpg      item102_image.jpg     item105_image.jpg     item97_image.jpg     item103_image_1381338338.jpg


The above is a sampling of the different types of drawers available.  The last pictures is a hinged lock, you can add to any of the cabinets.  In some instances, it might be the best $8.00 you ever spent.

     I have been wanting to do this for some time, and it took the large Stainless Steel order we placed to Bis co of Florida to spark the flame that got me going.  I don't want the cabinets to take up any of my counter space, so I will build a small cart that will hold all 6-cabinets, plus some add room on the bottom.  I don't want to have to get down on my knees every time I need something from the bottom cabinets.  So to combat this problem, I'll stand the carts first shelf off the floor say about 24".  This way the bottom cabinets will be up where I can get to them, and the top cabinets will not be up to far that they are hard to reach or look into.  I'm pretty sure this is just the beginning, and if this works out like I hope it will, I can see myself ordering twice the original amount and just converting everything over to this new system, all my electrical terminals, switches, shrink tubing, and any thing else I have that needs organized.  The cart will be big enough to mount two (2) cabinets side by side, maybe even three (3) cabinets.  I'll have to sit down and draw it all out, once I get all the measurements of the different pieces of the system.  I'll let you know how it turns out and if it was worth the investment.

ENCO ORDER

819-2120 Large Steel Storage Drawer 12 Bin 6 19.99 119.94
819-2125 Large Steel Storage Drawer 16 Bin 7 19.99 139.93
819-2130 Large Steel Storage Drawer 20 Bin 4 19.99 79.96
819-2100 Large Steel Storage Drawer 24 Bin 4 21.99 87.96
819-2110 Large Steel Storage Drawer 32 Bin 3 21.99 65.97
819-2140 Durham 4-drawer Cabinet 6 74.99 449.94
712-1935 Locking Hinge for 4-Drawer 6 7.99 47.94
505-3197 1/4" 90° Die Grinder Kit 1 34.95 34.95
505-3926 Premium Denim Shop Apron 2 4.39 8.78
505-6132 7447 Scotch-Bright Pas 20 .79 15.80
391-6106 4-1/2" x 7/8" 80 grit Abrasive Disk 100
 .39 39.00
391-6108 4-1/2" x 7/8" 120 grit Abrasive Disk 50
 .39 19.50
391-6103 4-1/2" x 7/8" 36 grit Abrasive Disk 50
 .49 24.50
990-1312 4" x 0.35" x 3/8" cut-Off Wheel 10 .89 8.90
990-1313 4" x 1/16" x 3/8" cut-Off Wheel 10 .89 8.90
301-0210 8pc. Drill Set 9/16'-1" 1 21.95 21.95
825-8010 Scrubs In-A-Bucket 72 ea 6
 10.95 65.70
505-0451 18" C-Clamp Vise-Grip Locking Pliers-18SP 2 22.69 45.38
240-1520 24" C-Clamp Vise-Grip Locking Pliers-24SP 2 29.99 59.98
382-6990 8-1/2" File Card 1 3.81 3.81
990-0997 Num 1 to 5/16" Screw Checker 1 11.39 11.39
990-0198 2mm to 7mm Screw Checker 1 12.29 12.29
990-0199 8mm to 14mm Screw Checker 1 13.59 13.59
825-8300 Blue Aerosol Dykem Layout Fluid 2
 8.72 17.44
SHIPPING


0.00
TOTAL


1,394.63



10-17-07


     While, a lot has happened since the last visit.  Dad has the front firewall finished.  He did a great job on it, and the thing is solid as can be.  The 1" lip we put around the transmission hump worked out nicely, it allows the transmission tunnel cover to fit and cover the transmission very nicely, while not impinging on the interior space too much.  Dad also made it completely removable, he drilled and taped the perimeter for 1/4-20 x 1/2" bolts.  Eventually we will install a gasket like material around the hump, to seal it.  Also, for now we left the top cover bare, meaning the shifter and E-brake handle have not been fitted, we will get to that latter.  But by leaving it alone now, the transmission is covered and protected from harm, and the floor has nothing sticking up that might get hurt, just what we want while we continue to climb in and out working on the floor (rear).


This is the firewall, notice all the surface rust...with this bare steel, every time you touch it while sweeting, the salts cause almost instant rust.  It's only surface rust, and will easily cleanup with the right surface prep tools, but man does it look nasty.  This firewall will get primed, painted, a layer of Dynomat, and two layers of insulation, all under the carpet.



     Today we cut-out the rear valance (the bottom most portion of the body, in the rear, down by the gas tank cover) and replaced it with a new body section.  This piece was rusted out, and is one of the more structural pieces of the car.  The original body had a spare tire, and this section along with the floor, and interior brace supported all that weight.  We will not be using a spare tire carrier on Project:COBRA'33 , but we will repair the area as if we would be using one.  This area is unique in that the floorboard and body converge in one area, as does the spare reinforcement and inner body brace.  So to repair the area, you must repair all of those areas at the same time.  This is why we removed the rear body valiance, and re-installed the new one.  The repair was pretty easy and straight foreword, we spot welded the panel in place from the inside, so there Will be no visual welds from outside the car.  I'm hoping this makes things easier down the road.  With the rear panel in place, we fit the rear most floor panel in place and messaged it to fit.  Once it was ready, I used six (6) 1/4" x 3/4" SS Self-drilling screws to secure the floor panel to the body sides.  This floor panel ran from the back of the body to up just shy of the rear cross-member.  Now we had to work on making panels that would cover the rest of the floor, and panels that would enclose the sides and back around the rear cross-member.  I'm not to sure how the rear seat will fit with our raised floor boards, that part over the rear most cross-member.  I have to have the area behind the rear seat and under it for mounting all the electronics and battery, this I can not compromise on, we need the storage area.  Truthfully, I will never be in the rear seat, but I do want it to look right and be as functional as possible.  I did set the front seat into position today, just to see what it was going to look like.  The seat will ride over the raised portion of the transmission tunnel, but at the same time, I'm 6'-2" and I'm going to set the front seat accordingly.  This means access to the rear seat will be at a premium, and may even be off limits to certain body types.  The most important thing to me is to have a car that is as comfortable to drive as can be, and if this makes back seat access and comfort less then perfect then so be it.

     Next time I go down to the shop, we'll continue with the rear floor boards and making everything solid.  Till then, Dad will be making some of the side pieces we will be using.

My order from ENCO has come in, and I'm working on getting everything set-up and organized.  I went to the hardware store and bought quite a bit of Grade 8 hardware to re-replenish my supply.  I carry 1/4",  5/16",3/8" and 1/2" in everything from 4" long down to 1/2" long.  Not sure what gene in my DNA is messed-up, but I have always liked hardware, Electrical Terminals and most items in-between.  The new drawers are just perfect for this type of stuff, they are just big enough to hold an adequate supply, yet small enough to not take up too much room.  I wish I would have gotten these long ago, but you know how that goes??

      I included my ENCO order which was mainly for the storage drawers and cabinets, so you can see exactly what was purchased and what we paid for them.  These drawers and cabinets really do make organizing hardware and small parts easy, affordable and look great doing it.  I only wish I would have done this earlier. In this business Hardware, Fittings and Fasteners are everything.  And finding them at reasonable prices, usually means buying them in larger amounts.  If I would have to depend on my local hardware store to furnish all the many different fasteners we will use of Project:COBRA'33 and Project:Flathead, It would cost three (3) to Four(4) times the amount It will cost by using my normal sources, Bis CO and Totally Stainless.  Plus, my local supplier just can not get the UN-usual stuff I need, and I would consider them to be one of the better stocked hardware stores around.  Sure they have a great selection of your standard grade-2, grade-5, grade-8, and Stainless Steel bolts and hardware.  It's the Button Head screws, 10-32 screws, High Strength Stainless (316 & up), Fender Washers of various sizes, AN Washers, Heavy Washers and so forth that they don't have.  Plus like I said, I can get my stainless from Bis Co usually 300-400% cheaper.  Polished SS and Chrome fasteners are all pretty much mail order, and all very, very expensive.  You just can't afford to buy this stuff and not store it right, were talking dollars per single item, not a few cents.  Say you wanted to use chrome bolts in a oil pan application, those 12-16 small bolts and washers will cost you between $12-25.  To better understand just how much this special hardware can add up too, I included a list of all the fasteners I stock, and just organized in the new drawers we ordered.  To lift the lid and look inside, it not very impressive, but it is expensive and the cost add up quickly.

 

ENCO
                            
819-2120 12 BIN DURHAM STEEL STORAGE DRAWERS 8 19.99 159.92
0
819-2125 16 BIN DURHAM STEEL STORAGE DRAWERS 6 19.99 119.94
0
819-2130 20 BIN DURHAM STEEL STORAGE DRAWERS 4 19.99 79.96
0
819-2135 21 BIN DURHAM STEEL STORAGE DRAWERS 19.99 0
0
819-2100 24 BIN DURHAM STEEL STORAGE DRAWERS 4 21.99 87.96
0
819-2110 32 BIN DURHAM STEEL STORAGE DRAWERS 2 21.99 43.98
0
819-2140 4-DRAWER CABINET Durham steel cabinets 6 74.99 449.94
0
712-1935 LOCKING HINGE Durham Locking Hinges 6 7.99 47.94
0
382-6990 8-1/2' File Card 1 3.81 3.81
0
990-0997 No 1-5/16" Screw Checker 1 11.39 11.39
0
990-0198 2mm to 7mm Screw Checker 1 12.29 12.29
0
990--0199 8mm to 14mm Screw Checker 1 13.59 13.59
0
825-8300 Blue Dukem Layout Fluide 1 8.72 8.72
0
505-3926 Blue Denim Apron 2 4.39 8.78
0
505-3197 1/4" 90° Die Grinder Kit 1 34.99 34.99
0
505-6132 3M general Purpose Pads  20 0.79 15.8
0
391-6106   4-1/2" x 7/8' x 80 Grit 25 0.39 9.75
0
391-6108 4-1/2" x 7/8" x 120 Grit 25 0.39 9.75
0
391-6103 4-1/2" x 7/8" x 36 Grit 25 0.49 12.25
0
505-0451 18SP 18" C Clamp Vise Grips 2 22.69 45.38
0
240-1520 24SP 24" C Clamp Vice Grips 2 29.99 59.98