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Here’s a couple more pics. It has worked very well so far – I was able to roll the body out onto the back slab for sandblasting the bottom. Spent a little bit balancing it more and it now turns much easier.
And so I wouldn’t have to bend over to paint the chassis:
I rebuilt the single action master cylinder on Volveeta when I cleaned it up and put it on the road the first time. I realized that there are many,many cars out there with the single setup but there is also a reason they all changed or required dual cylinders. I long ago decided that when I do a rebuild that would be one of the upgrades. A couple things I needed to pay attention to – the center of the piston had to stay in the same place or it would be way too much fabrication for me,the brace that bolts to the engine side of the MC supports the shaft that the brake and clutch pedal pivot on and lastly the angle as mounted on the chassis had to stay the same otherwise it could bind or wear unusual. I browsed the web looking at pictures of MCs and while doing so remembered the first duals that were used on some of the cars I owned,specifically Ford style. I liked the idea of having the fluid container and piston all in one. I also wanted the two brake lines coming off either the bottom or engine side of the unit. I found a few pics of the Ford units and they were close to what I wanted. I finally settled on one from a 1974 Mecury Cougar 5.8L. I ordered a remanufactured one from Autozone for $15.99 with an $8 core charge with tax and shipping it was $35.38 and arrived 4 days later. I took a bunch of pics of the old setup for reference and also some measurements as to where the center of the piston should end up. I decided to put weld a plate about where the bracket bolt of the old one was. That would put the front of the piston in the same place. Then I calced the height and centerline and made the plate. There are pics below of the new setup in the process and finished. It turned out pretty good,or at least I think it is. The centerline is the same and I was able to use the old support brace with a bit of bending and drilling. If you’re going to do one and have any questions,drop me a line. I also have a few more pics that I didn’t post from some other angles. Here’s a couple pics of the single system (took these for my reference also):
Steve Sangster brought over his compressor and sand blaster – damn – I’m not giving it back.
I was looking at rotisserie plans on the web and it seemed like a good idea. I found 2 or 3 different ones that looked reasonable. I decided on the plans from Red Wing Steel Works (http://redwingsteelworks.com). For $17.95 you get the Rotisserie plans,trailer plans and the body lift &roller plans. Payable through paypal I had the plans (pdf format) in a few minutes. They are very well done. Based on using 3/16 inch wall 3×3 square and 2.5 x 2.5 square. I priced it out using steel available on the web and it was somewhat expensive. Then I looked around my area and priced it there. Better,but still a bit on the high side. But I think with the economy the way it is steel isn’t cheap anywhere. Then I had to stop over at our local scrap steel place and they had some 3×3 square in the scrap bin. They were from 4 feet to 5 feet long – just the size I needed. So now it’s in a reasonable range. The only thing I needed would be the four round pieces (two at each end) that formed the rotating point. In the plans I think it was a 3″round with a 2.5″round inside it,each about 12″long. The price for these was out of site – one place had them at over $200 for the for pieces. That put this whole thing away for me. Then I stopped over at the scrip steel place for something else and while looking around found some 6″and 6.5″round! Great – it was in the scrip pile. Along with the 3×3 square it got me into the just over $0.60 a pound price range – beautiful. I called over to Kozel Steel and got the pricing on the pieces I couldn’t get from the scrap place (Rochester steel,lyell ave). Ordered what I needed and headed over to Rochester Steel to pick up the rest. Sometimes it just falls into place. I got it finished,my welding ability has grown a whole lot. I did a bunch of practicing before starting the project – went through a couple small tanks of gas and at first wasn’t using a long sleeve shirt – got a touch of sun (welders) burn on my left arm above the glove. Here it is just after mount the Volvo body on it. Then this is the rotation point. I picked up a couple jacks from Harbor Fright – gives me an almost 20″lift. All the bolts are ¾”and welded on all sides. Too lift the body off the frame I saw a web site where they used the engine hoist through the window – worked like a champ! Here’s Tim Warner taking a picture and Jim Newell observing.
04/08/03 –starting the paint –click for more pics
09/21/01 –After deterimining that the electric wasn’t going to cut it,I started looking for the pieces to put it back to somewhat the original state. I purchased a gas tank,engine,radiator,heater assembly and other assorted parts at Carlisle in the spring. I’m going to pull the electric stuff out and put this in and I’ll see what happens and what shape the engine is in.
Replacing the 445 Volvo axel –rear end with a 544 PV. Right up front: It was a dumb thing to do. Not check the rear end fluid level. Duh. (Click on any image for a larger version.) I thought it was noisy,but I had too many other things on my mind. And I can procrastinate with the best of them. I wouldn’t feel as bad if it hadn’t gone through my mind at least two distinct times to check it –once while doing the rear brakes and while working on the emergency brake cable. Looked right at the pumpkin and said –“I should do that”,then the guy on my other shoulder said –“But not now”. So I’m driving down the road at about 45-50,a slight clunk,and then someone just slammed the rear wheels to a dead stop. I skidded over to the side of the road. Looked back at about 50 feet of black tire lines. At least I must have adjusted the brakes properly,they were straight as an arrow. Did the tow truck thing and I looked around the net for a 445 rear end,but didn’t find anything on the east coast. An ad came up for a 544,went to look at that but it was too nice to destroy for parts and I’m not ready to start my old Volvo collection just yet. I then found one available that was ready to be parted out at Joe Ottatis in Burdett,NY. Great guy to deal with –http://www.carsophagus.com/ Check his site out,give him a call,tell him I sent you. He’s got stuff on the lots that aren’t listed on the web site. We worked our butts off getting that car out. I went down with a U-haul 4 wheel trailer. It was buried in the mud up to the rims,1 tire held air. He pulled it out with his 4 wheeler,then dragged it down the hill and we pushed,pulled and finally got it on the trailer. Whomever had the 544 had also done the disc brake conversion on the front end,so as a bonus I’ve now got the parts to put discs on my 445. The change went pretty smooth,no surprises. Pull the tires off,the brake drums off,then there are 4 bolts holding on the back plate to the axel. Just remove the 4 bolts and you can move the whole brake assembly out of the way. When you put it back together you just bolt them back on. Going from the 544 to the 445 is the easy direction,going the other way would be a pain. Here’s the 544 as it sits originally:
04/08/03 –starting the paint –click for more pics
09/21/01 –After deterimining that the electric wasn’t going to cut it,I started looking for the pieces to put it back to somewhat the original state. I purchased a gas tank,engine,radiator,heater assembly and other assorted parts at Carlisle in the spring. I’m going to pull the electric stuff out and put this in and I’ll see what happens and what shape the engine is in.
Click on the thumbs for a larger image.
We missed having the Plymouth Voyager,went through 2 of them,put 150K on each. After all the kids were on their respective ways,we figured we didn’t need a van anymore. But we missed having something to toss stuff into,running down to the hardware/lumber store and pickups didn’t seem the thing. moving. leon@mgcarclub.com.
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didn’t do the floors – they get replaced.
FROM THE ENGINE SIDE
THE DRIVERS POSITION
AND FROM THE TOP.
The old one and the new one – It’s really bigger but there (I think I remember) is enough space in that area and the pistons are the same size,1″.
Measuring the angle.
Made the plate and ready to weld.
All welded in,support bracket adjusted and mount,now time to paint.
Started painting some of the parts with Chassis Saver:
Whoops,missing a few teeth. Once I pulled the cover off it was obvious that there hadn’t been any oil in there for years. I didn’t even have that rear end oil smell,and everything was dried out. The gears were like razors. I think when it was electric and only had an 8 horse power motor,there wasn’t that much strain on the rear end,I put the B-20 in it,and 2 days of driving did it in. So I did blow it,but overall it was good to find this out now.
