Poor mans Hemi car. (M-body)

-
dla4567 said:
Ramenth - wish you were closer, I would like to have someone around how knows what there doing since I don't. This is a learning experience for me, everything seems to be going well but I will not know until done how its going to turn out. Right now I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hope you get to feeling better and your surgery goes well.Keep us posted and good luck.
Click to expand...


It's all a learning experience, bud. Every new project brings it's own challenges. In my opinion you're doing fine on your own.

Surgery has come and gone. Heading back to the doc tomorrow for the follow up and then, hopefully, back to life as normal.
 
Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. I had some surgery of my own a few months ago. It sucks waiting for the body to heal but don't rush it, good luck.
 
A few Hot Heads components I see.... Can't wait to see the next post!
 
mguner said:
A few Hot Heads components I see.... Can't wait to see the next post!
Click to expand...

Many Hot Heads components. I got a chance to talk to Bob and his wife at Carlisle this year. They are super people and have been very helpful.

100_0200.jpg
 
I have a friend that lives in Texas and he's told me about the summer heat. After the winter we had I should be enjoying the summer here. What I need is a place in Texas for the winter and come back here for the summer.Its 94 here today and I spent the day on a roof so I'll be spending the evening inside in the A/C. Looks like I will not be making much progress today. Thanx for reminding me that things could always be worse, I feel better already.

DSC02576.jpg
 
I lived in Michigan for my first 30 years. Been in DFW for almost 10 yrs now. It's always greener on the other side, here, all carshows and swapmeets disappear from June through august. So it's a good time to work on your car if you have a garage with a/c. I agree, I would love to summer in MI, then come back to TX in Nov.

Anyway, I love that you took two oddballs and stuck them together. I always pay attention to weird cars at car shows.
 
yes i agree the grass isint always greener,,, i lived in chicago for 22 years,,,talk about cold and snow,,,,and great midwestern people,,,but the car show scene here in S,E,PA is killer,,
 
Just read your thread. Very cool build. I love that 354 Hemi. I had a '58 392 Hemi aluminum intake, 2-4bbl carbs years ago when I was a kid. Sold it for $400 with a trans. So sick. Cheers.
 
Check out the high tech paint booth, eat your heart out Chip Foose. Still don't know how to paint but I'm learning (slowly).
 
dla4567 said:
Check out the high tech paint booth, eat your heart out Chip Foose. Still don't know how to paint but I'm learning (slowly).
Click to expand...


Takes some practice. Every good painter has made every mistake in the book and made up a few to add to the book, too. It's learning from the mistakes and correcting them that makes the difference. You're doin' fine!
 
Forgot to attach the pictures (too many paint fumes).
 
Three days of sanding and painting, minus a few hours on Sunday to go to Mopars in the park. Didn't get as much done as I wanted to but at least making some progress. Getting better at painting, still getting a lot of dust but that was expected due to the dirty garage and homemade paint booth. If the weather stays cool may get the rest done soon. Did I mention I hate painting?
 
While waiting for the paint to dry on the fenders I put the dash back together.Surprisingly I found all the pieces. Had to leave the heater fan out due to the wire covers on the valve covers. I'll leave that for another day.
 
I just read the whole thread, and I am impressed. First off your ingenuity is awesome and secondly the Early Hemi mixed with a 70's cruiser is great, there will never be 2 in the same place. Great job keep it up!
 
Any thought to updating or going a different route on the gauges? I've gotten plans for mine and have already figured the spots for 'em, just wondering what ideas you might have.
 
My dash and gauges are in excellent condition and I like the stock look so I'll be leaving them alone. If they were in need of repair or restoration I might consider changing them.I am also not that creative so I'm interested in what you are going to do to yours.
 
dla4567 said:
My dash and gauges are in excellent condition and I like the stock look so I'll be leaving them alone. If they were in need of repair or restoration I might consider changing them.I am also not that creative so I'm interested in what you are going to do to yours.
Click to expand...


The 125mph cop speedo replaced the stock 85 mph speed a while ago. Never really liked the huge gas gauge taking a pod where a tach can be held. That will be one update. Unfortunately the smallest gauges are 2 1/16 and the empty pods on the dash are an 1 7/8 and I really don't feel like hacking the dash panel. So I'll be moving a few to a pod on the dash, behind the pad.

Here's a pic of what I'm looking at. They are a nice blend of the originals in the car and should mix well.

View attachment 174415

There's a larger tach that matches. And I'll be replacing the cop oil pressure gauge with one of these, too.
 
That's gonna be one sick Dip when you get it all done. As heavy as F-M-J body cars are, I'd be doing a little creative metal removal in non-structural areas, and where it won't show. Like behind the bumpers, inside the door bars, etc. But that's just me...

Speaking of lighter K frames, sometime in the last century (around 1980) Paul Rossi built a Mirada for either Super Stock or Super Gas (9.90 et) racing. I think it was covered in Hot Rod, or maybe Car Craft. Anyway, to get the weight out and get rid of the "odd" transverse T-bars, they grafted an A body K-frame and torsion bars into the Mirada.
Too much work for a budget build, but there ya are.
I saw a guy at a show with a 440 in a Volare or Aspen, he said he'd used un-modified E body headers in his application. Might be a good tip for anybody considering a B/RB in one of these chassis.
Good idea on the guages, Stewart-Warner has some retro styled guages that would look good too, if that helps any. Good luck with the project, it sure will be cool and unique!

Alan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top