Some of you Hamb members may have seen Lorne Udys's photo album on the Hamb earlier this week. He had been having trouble with error codes trying to join on with us here, but I noticed this morning his name (LAUDY57) on the "newest member"..glad to see you made it in Lorne..welcome. Lorne is from British Columbia.
Last year I saw his car in person when it was for sale in Phoenix. I had seen it on Auto trader, and went to go look at it when I realized it was where I was headed for vacation. The car I was told was originally built in Washington state by a man who passed away shortly after moving to Phoenix. It's an awesome car, I was really impressed with the build on it.
Rich
Thanks for the kind words, I'll have to post a couple of pics to see if any Wash. members know anything about it.
I've got a couple friends that live in Gibsons. I live in North Van and also have a 57 Custom. If you ever make it over to the mainland I would'nt mind checkin that Custom out.
Randy
Laudy,
Welcome to the site! Your car looks like one that was on evilbay a short time ago.
Welcome,
Tim :unitedstates:
Yeah it was on evilbay, the dealership was good to deal with in Dec. but with the Scottsdale auction coming up at that time they would only give a little bit. Still, I couldn't have built the other one I have to the same level for what I had to end up laying out for it. Glad I did though!
wow, nice looking car! And welcome!
Laudy,
I think you are right on about the purchase price. I was watching it out of simple interest, but it did seem reasonable for a ride of that quality! Agian, Sweet ride!
Tim :unitedstates:
Lorne..I'll be leaving for a week in Phoenix in about 3 weeks. I planned on stopping by the classic car dealer you bought that from just for a look around..it's like going to a little car show. I'll see if I can find out anything else from the salesman. Privacy laws will prohibit them from giving you the previous owner's name, but maybe they can pass your info on to her and you may luck out with a call. Also, I'll be going to the Scottsdale Goodguys show, and the Saturday night Pavilion cruise. I'll bring some pics of your car and ask around.
I'm finding other car stuff to do around Phoenix from the Hamb also..looking forward to it again.
Thanks Rich. I think I found her name by going back thru the original carsonline ad and I snooped around her faecbook page and found an old email address which didn't work. I didn't try to contact thru facebook until I knew more about the circumstances of his death? or divorce? it wasn't talked about there- maybe I didn't have the right person, just a work phone number. I've even been snooping thru divorces and obits in Arizona and military.
The dealership said they asked if I could contact her and was told no and that she had destroyed all records (either divorce or she was p-o'd about not getting what was originally asked for it). I've thought that if it was military, I would finish the car and dedicate it to the former owner as a tribute to his service but, I just don't know.
Maybe if you buy the 80k 55 ch*v there they'd tell you!
I know I'm going to have to get used to be bummed out when someone asks "did you build it" and I'm going to have to say no but it would be nice to answer eg. what r&p it is or what cam it has. I don't want to pull the motor down yet- maybe next winter after I've at least got some cruisin' done. That reminds me, I haven't even checked for proper seat height so I can hang my arm on the window sill -argh-h!
Seat height..that is a major thing isn't it. I hasled with mine for a while...think I got it right.
Your rack is probably a Cavalier if he bought it as a kit...seems to be what most of the kit builders used. Two of our members here, Yellowagon and his brother-in-law, Wildhog, are involved in building the kit most of us here have used recently. It's STFabrications, and is where I got mine from. His kit includes the double joint shown in my pics. I got the shaft from Borgenson, and a matching SS single joint from...I forget..not important. Being a rear steer set-up, the choice of racks is limited, which I think is why a Ch**y rack is used.
As far as your previous owner is concerned, I tend to agree with you..sounds like more of a divorce thing than a death. I would think maybe your best hope of finding any details on it would be friends of the builder.
Yeah you're right, the builder would be nice- I could ask about the paint prep etc- some underhood paint is lifting in corners, again maybe it's the move to a more humid climate.
The clutch linkage is tight, I had to replace the throwout arm and its support so I made a new adjustable pushrod and it's tight. I didn't know at the time to look at the back of the block for an ID letter, darn! The z linkage has about 2 lbs of weld on it I'll get to it sometime. In fact everything underhood is tight, with the present valve covers there's no room for a brake booster.
BOOSTER!!! We don't need no room for a stinking booster!
Those racks are made by Saginaw not Ch**y.
I need to try a hi speed stop to see if my old chicken legs can push hard enough, seems ok at low speeds. Car's on blocks until I finish more work underneath, tailpipes, some wire routing etc. so I can register it.
From the picture, best guess is that the master cylinder is OEM. So piston size is only a guess. Aftermarket masters are better marked. When you get a chance, post a picture of the front brakes and we can guess the manufacturer. Same with the rear brakes. The old rule of thumb was that disc brakes require a larger volume of fluid so the master cylinder had to have a larger piston which requires higher leg effort and thus requiring power assist. There are other options that involve pedal ratio and pedal travel that may help the situation. There are dual diagram small diameter boosters as well as the hydraulic booster(previous picture) that may clear the valve covers.
Thanks, I'll do that when I get home. I kinda like the tall valve covers so it'll be nice if what I have is good enough. I'll include a pic of the R&P as well.
Nice!
Looks like close to the color of my 'wagon...2004 Hummer Orange variation.
Love the hinged front clip!
Rob
Nice wagon! The only other colour descriptions I've had for mine is Laser Red or Metallic Cranberry -sounds kind of fuity.
Thanks.
Lorne..Rob's wagon IS really sharp...NOW...Rob had posted a bunch of real entertaining videos I think in the Tech or engine swap section ..."project 302" check 'em out you'll enjoy.
Rob, I'm not even going to tell him it use to have a Chevy motor.
Rich
Thanks Rich!
Here are all the episodes of Project 302 that are on YouTube...you can watch one after another...Day 10 thru 31
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWq06-maBfWW4aNFqeF4dcm_3dh1AUHcg
The first 9 episodes are on Vimeo...
https://vimeo.com/user531397/videos
For when there REALLY isn't anything on TV!
I do see more pinkish cranberry in the color now...drag racing gasser color...or Ed Big Daddy Roth Rat Fink color...or George Barris kustom flavor! I like it. Not gonna miss it driving around town!
Rob
Yea,the new guy's car is cool if ya like stuff like that. :003:
Laudy 57
I just can't get enough of those Custom 57 Fords. You have a beautiful car there . Drive it and enjoy it.
Rich You will enjoy the Pavillion cruise. I spent some time in Az. a few years ago and went there often. I was was surprised to see people and cars from Mass. there. Some of them I even worked on and appraised here on the east coast.
Jay
I'm looking forward to the cruise night. I went last summer. I had heard the cars started coming in late afternoon. By 6:30 or 7, I was getting ready to leave, a little disapointed, when I noticed more cars were starting to come in. They kept coming and coming. Summertime it's so hot, they don't get the crowd they do in the winter..or so I was told...and they come in later. One of the guys told me in the winter, you have to be there by 1 pm or so to get a spot to show your car. should be good this trip.
The Hamb guys have been running a thread on "taking back Central"..I guess an old cruising route back in the day, so I'll keep my eye on those posts. If I really luck out, the "second saturday" swap meet at Socal Speed Shop on McDowell rd. may be on while I'm there also. It's just a few miles down the road from the "Discover Classic cars" where Laudy (Lorne) bought his Custom.
Also the Rockies will be in spring training games. From the Pavillion/McDonalds parking lot, you could walk to the ballpark, I'm hoping they got a game scheduled for that day. Real nice Casino just a few miles from there also.
That's right about getting there early. The guys told me the same thing when I was there. One guy I knew moved there from Mass. told me that his wife would follow him over there early in the AM, park his 36 Ford, leave it there and and come back later for the cruise. That was the only way he could be sure of getting a spot. Looks like you have a full schedule planned and that you know your way around there well.
Laudy your car is real sharp. An FE engine and standard shift. It doesn't get any better.
Jay
Thanks for the compliments- I'm dying to get home and work on it! That Pavillion Cruise sounds interesting, my buddy who is down there for a month yet will be interested to go. I'm bugging him because ever since he sold his Cobra kit car he's been looking for a mid 60's Muskrat and I told him today that my trailer's ready to go!
Laudy57:
If you can afford it, an electric-hydraulic brake booster like the ones made by ABS Brakes in Oraange, CA might be a way you could go to get a good power assist on your brakes. Both Rick (57 TUDOR)and I have this setup on our Custom 300's. Rick's is used on his FE 427 powered car and a big power brake booster would have interfered with his fender well headers. My 351W has a Paxton-Novi blower and a big brake booster would have interfered with the waste gate. The electric-hydraulic brake booster can be mounted just about anywhere. Mine is under the driver seat and bolted to the frame just ahead of the transmission cross member.
I've attached photos of the 3 things mentioned above. BTW, your Custom looks awesome.
Bob
57 AGIN
Bob...your's and Rick's cars just never cease to amaze me. They're just perfect. LOL...I had talked in the past about how nice it would be when I get my car done to do a show with you two. What was I thinking...I don't want my car anywhere near yours!!
Jay, Lorne..re. Phoenix...we had to move our trip up a week to the first week in March. We're gonna leave Thursday night..the 28th, so we'll be there Friday night. There are 3 local car shows that Saturday, plus the Pavilion cruise. Sunday there's an all Ford show in Tucson, Thursday there's a car show in Sunrise, I'll go to the Good-guys show Friday in Scottsdale (it's held where they have the BJ auction), we'll leave Saturday morning and I'll hit the Second Saturday Swap at Socal on our way out of town. We stay in Buckeye, btw, which is always the other end of the Phoenix metroplex from everything that's going on! Gonna be a busy week..hope the relatives don't need too much handyman work done while I'm there.
Awesome engines, guys. Thanks for the brake info, I'd heard about it but didn't know where to look. DUH- ask on the 57 Ford site!
Laudy, the early Bronco guys that want a brake booster mount it at a angle about 30deg [guessing] they buy it from Duffys just south of you in Sequim,Wa or K-bar-S which if I remember right is in Arizona. It may work out in your car. Another option is to look at Dodge vans they mount the master cylinder under the dash left to right. Wouldn't be real convenient to fill etc... but its an option.
Zap- :unitedstates:
And by the way that is one beautiful car.
All good options, thanks. I live on a good hill so it won't take long to find out if I need a booster or not, already planning on bigger sway bars and maybe a watts link to better centre the rear- 275-60's don't leave much room and its biased to one side about 1/2". The springs are crap but I'll wait until nest winter to see if I want to go 4 link.
Looking forward to seeing mores photos!
Engine, interior
Bitchen car.
Rob
Quote from: LAUDY57 on 2013-02-12 16:59
...see if I want to go 4 link.
triangular 4 link is the most stable for lateral movement. My fingers will not fit between the sidewalls and the fender well opening.
Gasman is your whole frame custom made? Sure is strong looking, at what angle are your trailing arms and how long are they? What size rims and tires are those?
If I figured time and materials at a rate north of the minimum wage, I could have bought an Art Morrison frame. It is an OEM frame...strengthened, re-welded, modified. The tires in the picture were just for mock up...some old NASCAR tires. The 4 link measurements are very vague and not critical. I'll take some updated pictures. The main thing is to keep the upper and lower links length within 70% of each other. The triangle should be at least 30 degrees. If possible, the lower link should have an upward angle at ride height for better weight distribution under acceleration. For a full race version, these guidelines are way too general but adequate for a street suspension. I have a good ride...no noise or binding. Much stronger and lighter than OEM. With no rubber, spring steel, or plastic to absorb torque, banging gears will transfer some harshness.
More pics would be great! I used to some design work on stock cars a long time ago and having to find the centre of mass, etc,etc, and I've helped on other street cars so now I finally get to do my own, it's always good to know what actually works in reality and not just a bunch of numbers on paper (I've always had the KISS principle drilled into me).
I did a double take for sure when I saw those tires!!
I figured that if I could get those NASCAR tires under it, there would be plenty of room for street tires. The tires on it now are Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R 30x12.00Rx15 and matching MT skinnies on the front. There is a 2" tub to the body. Very simple...like it was made for it. I split the wheel well in the middle, cut 2" out of the floors, added a 2" strip of steel and welded it all back together. It barely shows. The rear seat still fits and the trunk hinge does not need to be relocated. I'll have to get fresh pictures of the body. The frame is in the cold storage part of the barn so the light is really poor. The 2" body tub also matches up to the frame...well most of it. The original frame clears the front, inside edge of the tire. As the frame goes up and just as it almost reaches the top of the arch over the rearend, it dog legs outward. With the frame fastened to a frame table (frame table is an exaggeration...homemade with 10" I-beams), I cut out 18" of frame and moved the dog leg behind the tire. I changed the shocks and cross member from the first design to the current design because I forgot to leave room for the 3" tailpipes. If I was to do it again, I would likely use 'air springs' (air bags/shock combos) to simplify and conserve room. I would move the front, lower link bar mounts inward and mount on the inside of the frame for better weight transfer geometry. The links are way over kill. A kit would provide brackets, links and link ends. But I had fun making everything.
You're right, the fun is in the doin'! A t first I didn't get it because your avatar shows a 57 driver but these pics show what you're building now? I'm looking at air bags you said you would put in if you did it again.
The avatar was Version 1.0. I've been walking for the pass three years making Version 2.0. All the frame modifications were complete on the first version with no comforts. NO insulation. NO window seals. NO carpet. NO pretty nothing. The frame mods, air bags, tub work, power rack and pinion were all tested for a couple of years on the first version. Know I'm trying to clean up the act. I liked the braking, steering, ride and control so well that nothing is being changed underneath. I upgrades in the rear were only to accommodate the tailpipes.
Since it was several years ago when I did the air bags, air springs were fairly new and very expensive. If I was to start from scratch and knowing what I know now, I would go with air springs on the rear cause space is very limited. Especially with a 44 gal. BAJA fuel safe and 3" tailpipes.