Reassembling 57 AGIN

[JimNolan]

OK

[57AGIN]

Jim:

I see what you mean, but is there an advatage one way or the other?  Or is it purely a cosmetic type of option/preference?

There is something that I'm worried about though.  The stick shifter I'm using with the TKO is my old stick from the T-10 and as you cann see from the picture the TKO mount is right inthe center of the tunnel, not offset to the driver side like on a T-10 or an original T-85.  Will using this shifter place the shift lever too far to the passenger side?  Rick and I have discussed this and think we're going to have to wait until the seat is actually reinstalled to tell.  Are there any Hurst shift levers that offset to the driver side (left) instead of the ones that offset to the right (passenger side), as I really like the Hurst shifter look and would like to stay with it.  2 Photos of shifter on TKO, 1 of shifter mounted on T-10 before starting on the refurbishment.

Bob
57 AGIN

[JimNolan]

Bob,
   It's 60% cosmetic and with new floor pans I didn't want holes in them and I had trouble laying the carpet with the old style. I saw one done like that at a car show and the guy said he liked it.
Shifter: James swore straight up and down to me Hurst made a two inch layed over stick but I'll be d _ _ _ _ _ if I could find one in their catalogs. I looked at the Tremec adapter and it looked like it would distort the boot and appearence means something to me. The only shifters I liked were the Dodge and Plymouth shifters so I decided to make one like theirs. You had a four speed and I had a three speed shifter on the side of the hump and you know as well as me it was too close to our legs, mine anyway. So, I took a NOS Fenton three speed shifter that had the pull back I needed and a little too tall. I cut it off at the bottom of the shaft. Drilled bottom hole in it to match the Tremec stub. Attached it with one bolt at the bottom and checked my distance from first gear to the dash ( I had an under dash AC unit at the time) and second gear to the seat. Marked the position of the second hole in the shaft and drilled it. Took my hand grinder and made lines on the side of the shifter at the bolt holes to match the lines on the Tremec stub so it would bite into the stub when bolted and wouldn't move on me. I then clamped it in a vice about 1/2" up from the top bolt hole and heated it and bent it over to the left at about a 70 degree angle. After it cooled I used the vice again ( make sure you use soft metal between your shifter and vice to keep from scaring shifter finish ) about two inches over from the previous bend to take it back up straight. To my amazement it polished out like it was made that way ( good chrome back then ). I really like where it turned out and how it turned out. I wish I could have found one to suit me and have kept me from cutting up a NOS Fenton shifter but I couldn't. The main thing is it works and feels comfortable going through gears. I don't have to overreach and it's not as close to my leg as the three speed shifter was. Cosmetically the shifter boot looks good and slides on the shaft gracefully. Jim PS  I dont' have a picture.

[gasman826]

Might be best to wait until you have seats in to identify the comfortable spot for your shifter.  There are numerous choices for Tremec shifter handles.  I have even cut them off and drilled new holes or bent them to tweak them into the right fit.

Piston grip on a TKO600 in the mock up interior...new interior will have a counsel.

[57AGIN]

Jim & Gasman826:

Thank you for your input.  I'd pretty much made up my mind that I'll have to wait for final decisions until the seat is back in and I'm OK with that.  Jim, in my original 57 I had a Hurst 3-speed shifter mounted on the left side of the tunnel and I didn't have a problem with it interfering or being too close.  The same thing with the Hurst 4-speed shifter in my current 57, but that's just me.  Rick and I have already discussed the concern about the shifter boot with an offset Tremech shifter mechanism.  Since I don't plan on having a console, which would help cover up the offset, I'll just have to wait.  Also, maybe either my upholstery guy or Santini will have some ideas on dealing with this. 

Right now much of Rick's and my thoughts revolve around effectively hiding the engine compartment wiring. My old engine compartment was kind of full of miscellaneous wiring running here and there, it looked kind of busy.  One thing I can't get away from is the many vacuum lines required for the Paxton-Novi blower, they are all in braided stainless and have been shortened to the extent possible.  We've successfully hidden most of the other engine compartment wiring except for the spark plug and coil wiring, some of it running underneath the Air-Gap intake manifold and carb blower enclosure.

Starting last night we started dealing with the stance of the car, which was just a little too low front and rear and kept bumping into speed bumps and etc. (beer cans, small animals & big bugs, LOL)  One of my Doug's exhaust cutouts had to be replaced, the transmission cross member had numerous scrapes and my Cal-Tracs have beaten into the pavement more than once or twice.  The front end has been raised some and we're thinking that the addition of another leaf to the rear springs may help.  I want the car to have a slight front end rake, the original height and stance wasn't bad, IMO.  But, I am making this car to be driven as well as being shown and raced occasionally.

Bob
57 AGIN

[Frankenstein57]

Hey gasman, what's the column from?  Looks like a 70's LTD or something.  Mark

[gasman826]

'74 Lincoln Continental...needs a dab of paint and the shifter cut off.  Works great!

[57AGIN]

The latest on reassembling 57 AGIN is that we've gotten it ready to transport back to Santini's for painting the side trim section.  Then we'll transport it back home, along with the fender wells and fenders.  The deck lid is back on along with the lock and license plate cover.  Rick reversed the rear shackles to raise it up about 2 and a quarter inches, the results without the front fenders & etc. and the new front suspension have the car in a pretty good Gasser stance.  I think what I'm going to wind up doing is wait until the rest of the hardware is on and then put the shackles back and have another leaf added to the rear.  I'd like the rear to come up about an inch from what it was before, the front will have to come down quite a bit from where it is now, the final height I'm looking for is about 1 inch higher than it was  before we started.  That should retain a good stance and allow for sufficient clearance to not bump into things in the night (lol). Attached are a few photos of where we are right now.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Here's a few more photos.  The next photos I take will probably be after Santini has done some of his magic.  I can hardly wait.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Here are a couple of shots of the engine & firewall following Rick's efforts to shorten and hide, to the extent possible, the wiring.  There isn't much we could do to hide the braided stainless vacuum lines for the blower, fuel pump, boost timing master, etc.

Bob
57 AGIN

[RICH MUISE]

Don't want to seem redundant...but i'm gonna be anyways...awesome!!! have you deceided on an interior color yet?
Rich

[JPotter57]

Bob, that baby is gonna be almost too nice to drive....almost.  You guys do great work.

[Zapato]

Bob, what is that chrome box on the firewall above what must be the heater fan?

[57AGIN]

Rich & James:

Rich, the interior color is going to be almost a match for the pewter in a material called Ultra Leather.  It is very supple and it will probably have some very unobtrusive highlights in a blue vinyl that will go well with the blue on the car.  I do know it will not be a tuck & roll setup like I had before, but more of a resto-mod modern look.  The back seat will still fold down for surfboard storage and the bench seats in front and back will have sculptured foam added to make the seats appear almost like bucket seats.  The upholstery shop and I are discussing options now.

James, thanks for the compliment, but credit for the work definitely goes to Rick.  I'm just the wallet and heck of a parts chaser and cleaner.  I'm also reasonably good at holding shop lights and getting tools (when my stiff joints allow me to get out from under or inside the car before Rick can, lol).

Zapato, the chrome plate is just a cover plate (I chromed my cover plate)that came with the 57's that didn't have the factory installed Select-Air heating and ventilation system.  If you look at the photos a few replies earlier you can see my cheapie dealer installed heater, it used to be painted turquoise in my former paint scheme, it's now pewter.
Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Well, I was almost correct in stating that the next photos will be taken after Santini's done some more of his paint magic.  One of the things that the car being too low probably resulted in (as well as a poor job of welding by the shop installing my CalTracs) is a broken lower shock mount.  My 57 has a set of adjustable rear shocks recommended by John Calvert when using his traction bars.  These shocks are not available in the Ford style of bayonet mounts on both ends, they use the GM type of one end being bayonet and the other being a bold through type on the lower end.  When the shop (not Calvert Racing) installed my bars they had to fabricate a lower shock mount attached to the plate that holds the rear leaf springs onto the axle.  The weld on the left side didn't penetrate into the metal properly and all that is holding my rear shock to the lower plate is a small blob of weld on the top, the entire vertical gusset weld has broken free leaving a 1/4" gap between the shock mount and the gusset.  Until the 57 was on the towing rig I wasn't able to get a clear shot of the break (it is right in the center of the attached photo near the tow rigs hold down strap).  Just for grins, I also included a shot of the 57 in a wheel's up mode (wheelee, lol) being loaded onto the tow rig and a shot as it arrives at Santini's.  Hopefully, the next photos of 57 AGIN will be following the painting of the Custom 300 side trim in between the polished stainless trim.

Bob
57 AGIN