Recent Posts

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 10
11
Projects & Restorations / Re: Madaguy 1955 Nomad Build
« Last post by ryeguy2006a on March 27, 2024, 09:42:05 AM »
Quote from: Way2qwk4u;1396483
I hope that it makes a big difference I have not got to try mine out yet. Glad to see the Nomad out on the road. I am hoping for a great driving summer.

I hope so too and I'm also looking forward to a great driving summer!

I finished my seat modification project last night. I learned recently that the front bench seat that I picked up was unfortunately not a 55-56 split bench seat, but rather a 53-54 Bel-Air seat. While I was a little disappointed, it all made sense why it never quite fit right in the car. It looks very similar so I decided that I'm just going to run with it. The seat sits too high and forward in the car as it is, so my plan is to drill a few new holes to relocate the rear mounts, build extensions for the front to bolt down and the biggest... notch the front and rear bracing to sit down lower.

I took some basic measurements and just went for it. Here's basically what I wanted to create, and just improvised.





I had some leftover 5/8" rod from my shifter project and bent it into an arch roughly the size of what I needed and confirmed it was the same radius as the trans hump. I welded the rod in first, then cut out the brace to keep the original shape.



Then I got busy and forgot to take pictures. I added a second rod parallel to the first rod with a cross brace in between. I drilled out the spot welds on the chunk of the seat frame I cut out and used the top piece for re-attaching the seat upholstery to. I had to notch the center support and re-bend it so that it would also be raised a bit. (I'll later discover that I have to notch it further and relocate the back higher as it was still hitting the trans hump.)







I used this as an opportunity to practice with my TIG welder. One reason is that I need the practice, and two is that as old as the seat I needed to reduce the amount of sparks thrown. Nice thing with the TIG welder is that when done correctly there are few if any sparks. I've found that if you don't clean the pieces 100%, that it will spatter a small amount. I still have a ways to go, but I'm happy with my improvements.



I again got busy and didn't take pictures, but here's the final piece. You can see that the center piece is quite a bit higher than the other pictures, and I also notched the center of the back frame. It was enough to get the seat to fit without contacting the transmission hump and should given enough room for carpet too.





With the seat modifications out of the way, it was on to the seat mounts. I dug through my metal pile and found a really cool bracket that had holes that lined up perfectly with the original seat mounts. I just had to figure out how I wanted to bolt the original style seat mounts to the plates. I came up with the idea of welding some studs that would allow me to bolt them down.





Little more TIG practice.



Here it is test fit. This was prior to me painting the sliders.



The overall setback is about 2" back and 3" down. Now the gas/brake pedal and steering wheel are at a very comfortable position. I have tons of head room now and I'm really excited to take the car out for a drive to compare.

Before:



After:



Next up is laying down the Kilamat on the wheel wells so that I can wrap them with the Vinyl covers. Really excited to see those installed!

Cheers,
Ryan
12
Lobby / Re: Highway cruising
« Last post by N PRGRES on March 27, 2024, 08:47:56 AM »
Thanks, I have run it down the highway for about 30 minutes at those speeds and it doesn't seem to really car but yeah, in 81, I can't drive 55 was the motto lol. 
13
Lobby / Re: Highway cruising
« Last post by roadking77 on March 27, 2024, 06:47:38 AM »
I have 2.70 (I think, 2 something anyway) gears. My cars sweet spot is about 60 mph. Low rpms, quiet and purrs down the road. All of the sudden it hit me one day 'Hey, when this car was made the speed limit was 55! duh, I guess they knew what they were doing'!! My first long drive was about 2 1/2 hrs away. I was planning on back roads as I was leary of getting on the highway. There was one stretch that I had no choice. The ironic part was the car ran better at 65 mph on the highway than it did putting along on back roads. I dont plan on any long distance road trips soon but the highway doesnt scare me at all now. These beasts were made to get out and run :grin: I think you will be fine.
14
Lobby / Re: Highway cruising
« Last post by kentucky yeti on March 27, 2024, 06:37:16 AM »
3000 won't hurt anything.   That's pretty common rev's.
15
Interior / Re: Door Panel clean up
« Last post by rkellerjr on March 27, 2024, 06:25:12 AM »
Ingenuity, looks good
16
Lobby / Re: Highway cruising
« Last post by rkellerjr on March 27, 2024, 06:23:44 AM »
Before I switch to the 200r4 I had a TH350 and my rear end is a 3.23. At highway speeds I was running about 3000 and 3500. I've taken many trips with that setup and the motor was fine. And I'm talking 7 hour one way trips and back. Car never skipped a bit.
17
Lobby / Highway cruising
« Last post by N PRGRES on March 27, 2024, 06:01:39 AM »
When I am tooling down the interstate at 70 mph my engine is running about 3000 rpm give or take.  Tires 245/60/15 and 3.10 rear gears.  I want to take a trip with the car thats 2 hours each way and that high of RPM unnerves me a bit.  What do your engines run at highway speeds?
18
Interior / Re: Door Panel clean up
« Last post by N PRGRES on March 27, 2024, 05:58:30 AM »
Was it already saturated in a pouch or something?
No, I bought the resin off amazon and mixed it, and brushed it onto the plastic.  then just laid the matting in and added more resim overtop and brushed it in till it was saturated.
19
Interior / Re: Door Panel clean up
« Last post by FormTA on March 27, 2024, 03:26:29 AM »
Was it already saturated in a pouch or something?
20
Exterior / Re: Wheel flare protection
« Last post by 81Blackbird on March 27, 2024, 02:51:04 AM »
I'll take a few pictures this afternoon.
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 10
You can help support TAC!