There are no products in your shopping cart.
| 0 Items | Total: $0.00 |
Welding
Rusty Hot Rods
First we installed a short header pipe coming off the exhaust manifold on the left side, next we cut a piece of wooden dowel – obtained from the lumber yard earlier in the week - long enough to reach from the steering column to the firewall. Inside, we made a "column drop" from a piece of muffler strap, then used another piece of dowel to mimic the column, complete with a steering wheel. Once we thought we had the angle of the column pretty well figured out, we drilled a hole in the firewall and ran a sheet metal screw though the firewall into the lower end of the wooden "column." |
 "I think this sucker's goona haul ass if I can just get this steering column installed." |
In this way we were able to mock up both the steering wheel and column, and the necessary intermediate shaft and u-joints. The best news is the fact that the intermediate shaft will clear the exhaust and the left frame rail. Not only that, it appears the u-joint angles are modest and nothing to worry about. I've decided not to use the old column shown here a few weeks ago, and instead buy a new one. So the next step is the purchase of the new parts, and installation of the components. |
 Though hard to see, the intermediate shaft will run almost straight up from the steering rack to the firewall, where it will connect to the steering column. |
Just a Little Final Welding A few weeks ago I did report the floor as officially finished. There remained, however, two small holes at the front of the floor on each side. On Thursday I made small cardboard templates, which I used to cut and bend up two small patch panels designed to fill each hole perfectly. |
 Here you can see: the hole, the cardboard template, and the small patch panel. |
Yup is a great welder, so I let him fire up the wire-feed while I helped hold each patch panel in place with a long screwdriver. In no time at all we had the holes filled with metal, so that now the floor really is finished. |
 After a little trimming the patch fit the hole pretty nice. |
All that's left is the column, and plumbing the brakes, and running the gas lines and firing the engine, and, and… |
 We tack welded the patch in place, then rolled over the upper edges with a small hammer, before doing the final welding. |
Henry J Update
With a little help from a certain employee and friend, I’ve managed to install most of the floor in the mighty Henry J. The kick panels at the front are essentially flat, so it was pretty easy to cut templates from light board, then cut the actual patch panels from sheet metal and weld them in place.
The tunnel proved to be way more work. I covered some of this earlier, but essentially the fabrication required that I start with a buck, and then create a light board template that fit the buck. With these twp precursors finished, Rob Roehl, from the Donnie Smith Custom Cycles shop, bent up the actual tunnel.
Getting that tunnel to fit the hole in the floor with any precision required a bunch more work once I got the parts back to the garage. The hole in the floor is a little irregular, if you look at the hole from above; it’s like a V with a little kink in either side of the V. That little kink meant a kink in the sides of the tunnel, not an easy thing for an amateur metal worker to accomplish. Eventually I did get kinky, and while the finished installation might not measure up to the standards of Steve Davis or Ron Covell, the tunnel is in the car.
What’s left now is the small section above the bell housing. Like the tunnel, I plan to make up a buck of some sort, maybe from light steel rod, then cut a piece of light board to go over that, and take the whole thing to Rob to collect just one more favor.
It’s a slow F-ing process, but we are moving along. Recently a friend found me an original Henry J steering column, so that’s the next big hurdle in the never-ending saga of the Henry J.
FREE CHRISTMAS SHIPPING
Merry Christmas
Like I’ve said before, we think books make the best Christmas presents. And to encourage you to give generously at Christmas we are offering free standard shipping in the US. Instead of paying $5.50 per order you pay nothing for standard shipping to a US address. This special offer is available only for books ordered off the web site. US orders received in our office by December 17th are guaranteed to arrive at your house before Christmas.