Something for my dad

[crash]

I got all of the tranny parts cleaned up and some painted. I got it assembled as far as I could till I get the last part so it should be a cake walk to get it done/painted and thrown in. I also replaced the slip yoke bushing. The old was was in wrong,lol and It was super simple.

[crash]

Ya I finally got the rear bumper on. Ya it totaly makes the back of the car and also now has a working lic. plate light,lol..





So with the rear bumper on I put the trunk back together. Ya dad got a new tire cover. It certainly cleans up the trunk.



He also got a NICE car cover. Its one of those felt layered jobbies.



I guess the building is done where the car will be kept--I will try to get some pics..

[crash]

So today my dad stopped by and dropped off the first/rev gear.

So I came home and dug right into the tranny. It went together smootly until I went to install the tailshaft housing. I found the countershaft pin was longer beyond the groove for the keyway so it was hitting the housing. It was simply a matter of pulling it and grinding the excess and wala....

So its all painted up now.



So I will let the paint dry tonight and tommorow throw it back in...

[crash]

So I got the tranny in and everything bolted up.





I took it for a quick spin around the block and found it wasn't holding in 2nd gear(pretty sure the shift rod needed adjusted) and sure enough it was just a matter of a simple adjustment.

So today I got home and decided it was time to take it for a good test drive and get some gas in it. So me and my boy hopped in and went for a 1/2 hour drive. the trans sounds good and the brakes stopped pulling once everything got seated in. It really drove nice (I was impressed) and man did it turn heads.

[crash]

So there was only one problem left to handle. Once in a while the temp/fuel/oil pressure guages would go dead. I pulled the cluster out enough to get to the back side and check the voltage at the temp guage. I found at times it would go from 4v to 0v and 1v to 0 volts. So I got out the schematics and started checking things out. Here is where I learned something new about the car. I found something on the back of the cluster that looked like a circuit breaker and I had constant B+ on one leg and the fluctuating voltage on the other.

So I did a bunch of reading and found it was actually a mechanical Voltage regulator--see something new. Well this one is bad.

So I found this write up on how to build one for under $10 that was solid state.

http://chris66dad.tripod.com/id29.html

So tommorow after breakfast with the family I will swing by radio shack and pick up the needed parts and whip it out.

[crash]

So I pulled the unit out and yes you can do it without pulling the cluster.



I stopped by radio shack this morning and grabbed the needed items. Total cost was like $5.



I started by folding the edge gently to get the cover off. Here you can see the mechanical setup--damn they did some goofy stuff back then.



So here is how I did it. Started by soldering the wires to the regulator and heat shrink. I then tinned a spot down in the old housing and on the eyelet of the regulator. Shoved the regulator down in the housing and soldered it to the housing. Bent the wires around and soldered the capacitors to the wires and heat shrink. Took the other end of the capacitors and wound the wires and soldered them to the same ground spot as the regulator.



I removed the old mechanical regulator parts from the cover. I then gently soldered the wires to the tabs to the cover. Everything to this point was tricky and slow but I was VERY determined to make this work (I just can't throw something together).



Now its very tight in the housing and the capacitors width made it so the cover could not be installed enough to bend the housing back over the cover(needed 1/16" more room). I just took some epoxy and epoxy'd the cover on. I think it turned out pretty good.

[crash]

So before I put it in I tested it and checked the voltage and any other issues--the voltage was right on. I also polished all connections and threw it back in.

I started it up and the guages had never worked as good as they have--no goofy bouncing or anything.

So me and the kids hopped in and took it for another drive and everything was working perfect--made me very happy.


Well it looks like I have hit my mark and ready to close this chapter for now. I told my dad this morning the car would be ready in a couple days---well its READY NOW for him.

Thanks everybody who has read along in this project and the compliments.

[RIG_RIDER]

What a truly amazing journey you let us read along with, thank you.

You should be proud of what you've accomplished, keeping a smile on you fathers face.

Best regards,
Michael

[crash]

Originally Posted by RIG_RIDER

What a truly amazing journey you let us read along with, thank you.

You should be proud of what you've accomplished, keeping a smile on you fathers face.

Best regards,
Michael

Thanks Michael.

Something else that was very touching that my dad said to me. I was talking with him yesterday and told him how many folks turned there heads to see the car on my drive.

He said "no matter what that car is to stay in the family. if anything should happen to me that car is to go to you" I was thrown off guard there and didn't know what to say.
So I just came back with something humorous and said " well if that was the case I will have to lock it up so kyle(my son) won't be able to take it out and have fun in it". He laughed back (I got into allot of trouble in my teen years).

But I am hoping I don't get it for a long time.

Oh and this was also cool--my dad has his calender marked up for all the car shows this summer...

[Blazefighter]

Man thats the sad thing about a project. I looked forward to seeing it come together, Its great to see it done. All the best for your Dad and the rest of your family.

[crash]

So my dad was SUPER excited that it was done. He called and said he wanted to come get it. Told him a few things he needed to know. He hopped in, started it and drove it off.... Felt kinda odd but I was very happy.











I spent a good number of hours cleaning my shop and organizing a bunch of stuff and getting the flatfender thats in the shop moved to get back under way on that.

[crash]

And here is where the car will be tucked away safe and sound. My dad has this put up just for his pony. It will keep the car out of sight, and dry and safe. I am sure there will be lots of stuff inside here soon along with allot of the old stuff off the car I saved for him.







And it felt odd to not see the car in the shop last night--really odd.

Well that finishes this chapter of a book but like a good novel there are other chapters to it that have not been writen.

But I will continue to keep you updated to how my father is doing. In fact he just went to start his 3rd round of chemo..

[crash]

Originally Posted by Blazefighter

Man thats the sad thing about a project. I looked forward to seeing it come together, Its great to see it done. All the best for your Dad and the rest of your family.

Thank you...

[TEAM DEBEAD]

Thanks for sharing everything with us, it was an awesome ride...

[crash]

Originally Posted by TEAM DEBEAD

Thanks for sharing everything with us, it was an awesome ride...

Thank you...

[crash]

So here is something I can use your guys help with.

My dad posted the car on Jay Leno's garage. I guess the car that gets the most comments wins car of the month and I think it would be great if his car could get that..

Here is the link

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/photos...7/#item=173495

Thanks for the support and I know he would be SUPER stoked if it could win...

[crash]

I figured it was time for an update...

I was at my folks house on sunday where I helped my dad make breakfast for everybody and it was nice day to spend with my dad, brothers and sisters.

We also got lucky and the sun was out so I had my dad pull the car out to finally see it in the sun--wow...... wow---it looked just wonderful in the bright sunlight.

The downside and made for a rough day today as my dad went in for another round of chemo. They did a CT scan and found his tumor has grown and the latest chemo is not doing what it should. This round is different than the first round he did and that mixture was causing nerve damage and my dad still has not regained some feeling in his fingers from it.

So right now I don't know what the next step is and will have to wait till my dad talks with his doctor and go from there...

[prusik333]

Sorry to hear about you dads recent condition crash. I just lost my uncle due to lung cancer, two weeks ago.
Three weeks and he was gone, it was very aggresive. I never knew how fast cancer can take ones life.
I wish your dad the best Crash

[crash]

Just thought I would give an update.

First on the car because thats my dads pride and joy and something he builds allot of strength from. He has gone to a number of car shows and is just LOVING IT! I sat at one with him and my mom and folks who stopped and looked at it really liked it.

He ordered a few items for it so here soon he is going to bring it up and we are going to work on it for the day--I will make sure to get pictures of that.

We have also been talking about doing a tranny swap but going to an auto. He was the ease of driving it and the auto will give him that. Plus my mom had said she can then drive it too,lol. I don't know if thats a good thing or not,lol.


As for my dad. The last CT scan showed the tumor in his Colon has grown a bit and unfortunately they are unable to remove it due to its location so chemo is the only option. The last round of chemo was noneffective so they had to change. The downside to this was they had to switch to a mix that was like his very first round that was causing some nerve damage so they are going to have to watch that closely. So he started his first round of that yesterday and will go 4 rounds with another CT scan and go from there. But I saw him yesterday and he is still staying positive.

This has just been a very rough year as I also lost one of my oldest friends of over 17 years over a week ago from diabetes-- RIP Jon and I will always love ya man.

[redbaron]

The car looks sweet Mike!! Job well done!!

Prayers for your dad on a speedy recovery and a soon remission!!