Featured Car

                                                                                                                     Summer 2008 

Dad and his long lost (Second) love

Keith, a senior member of Trifive, and his brother, Eric, are building a car for their father, Roger, and it is the “Featured Car” in this edition of Tire Tracks.

                                  Keith on the left, Pops (Roger) in the middle and Keith’s brother, Eric, on the right.

A little about Keith, Pops and his brother Eric:

Keith lives in the Northwest of the U.S., an area of the country filled with unlimited natural beauty -- mountains, the Pacific Ocean, deserts, volcanos, a bounty of natural resources and more rain and gray skies than most people can tolerate.  That is part of the beauty of the Northwest.  A lack of people and traffic and the problems associated with the over crowded cities to the East is another beautiful aspect for most Northwesterners.  In fact, people from the Northwest boast about how much it rains. (It keeps the rest of the country from moving out there.)  Keith lives in southern Washington State.

Keith describes his dad as a stubborn "timberfaller" -- logger.  He cut trees for 40+ yrs.  At one time he owned his own timber falling company and employed over 200 people. After the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980, there was a timber recovery/salvage effort by logging companies around the Pacific Northwest. Roger’s (Pop's) company was involved with quite a bit of the work.  If you don’t fish or cut down trees there, you don’t work.

This was Keith’s first taste of working in the woods and he says, “the ash didn’t taste too good!”  Eric also worked for Pops in the woods for a while.  Eric is now a foreman on construction jobs.

Keith took Eric to his first drag race and put the bug in his ear to build a fast Camaro.  They both work on the Camaro along with Pop's 56. Eric helped Keith source the sturdy engine for Pop’s car.

Keith is a truck driver and spends a lot of his time out on the open highway moving wood products.  Those of you who have seen the new reality show "Axemen" and the older one "World's Deadliest Catch" can get a glimpse of what it is like to live and grow up in this region.  The region was settled by pioneers only a couple of generations back.

Due to the many days of gray and drizzle, a lot of people find a good hobby that will keep them inside for most of the winter months.  Many find the inside of an old barn or shed.  For a few, a nice garage is a great place to spend the winter tinkering on hobbies.

These excerpts were pulled from a forum Keith shared with us on Trifive.com

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After a long search for my father's favorite car, my brother and I found one for him. It seems dad had a 1956 210 back in the day when he was raising **** and being a kid.  We found an excellent complete runner car and have started the long progress of rebuilding it.  The front end has been stripped off and is getting all new bushings, steering pieces, a Danchuk front disk brake kit and V-8 conversion.

After stripping down the front end, the snowball effect manifested itself -- much more to do then we ever expected.

This is a picture of dad and his second love (I had to correct that title when mom walked by the computer). J

The front end has been stripped down and readied for sandblasting. Below is a picture of the plastic Chevy block used to align the new motor/trans mounts for a V-8.  This car originally had the straight six. (Dad’s 56 had a V8.)  The plastic mock-up block made things so much easier to align.  We bolted an empty Powerglide case to the plastic block which worked great for the transmission mount alignment.

There is a lot more work involved, and the Pacific Northwest winters provide the perfect time for that.

I used some long pieces of pipe I had laying around and made a quickie booth. The shop we are using is about 3000+ sq ft.  We couldn't heat the whole thing so this worked out well. 

Sandblasted parts are hung and ready to go. A little bit of rust creeping back onto them, but they took primer, so I think they will be fine.

Temperature is getting up there, just about ready to go. Used a combination of flood lights, heat lamps, and a single burner radiant heater.

We are having some fun now! Quite the fog bank in there once I got rolling. People would pop their heads in there and go running and coughing away. There is no proper ventilation with a quickie booth.  Lighting was an issue -- trying to see the shadows and also using black primer made it very tough.

Finished bits and pieces.

Frame turned out pretty good.

They say to save the best for last. Check out the winged devil that decided he needed a rest. little devil!!! Thank god the parts were dry for all these pictures. I still can't get over the fact that he was on there, just taking a rest.  Inner fenders turned out nice.

Never picked up a paint gun in my life, and it shows on some of the pieces.  I got an honest 3 coats on everything, so I think it will work out.  It was an enjoyable experience.  It was pretty cool seeing the primer go on and the feeling of getting something done.  I had Pops mixing up my 2/1 ratio for the primer and handing me stuff as I needed it.  He was like a kid once he started to see the primer being sprayed on.  I had to holler at him a couple times to close the door due to heat loss.

Can I see? can I see? Lemme look!  -- all the while laughing under my respirator. Spent the whole day yesterday down in the shop. I took a break for about 30 min to choke down some lunch, then right back at it. Started at about 6 am and finished at about 6pm.

It was great, a good kind of tired.

I had some time recently to do some more work. I got the A-arms back with the new bushings installed. Didn’t see the thread about reinforcing the lower A-arm bolts until after the paint and clear coat had been sprayed.  I opted for some washers to give a little better reinforcement.

I got the right side disk brakes on and KYBs installed. Time to move to the left side and finish it up.

DOH!! Someone down in picking and packing at Danchuk's was asleep. I am sure that purely by accident someone put 2 right side caliper brackets in the box. I'll have to give them a call on Tuesday.

I got the master cylinder and prop valve mocked into place.  I am waiting on a floor seal before putting the steering box/column back in place.  I was just checking brake parts and fitment.

I am coming up a little short on the firewall stud.  That nut back in there only has about 1/2 threads. Might have to do some grinding on the Master cylinder to allow it to catch a few more threads, then locktite in place.

Steer linkage with the Poor mans power steering kit installed.

So far so good on reassemble, other than the wrong bracket, everything in the brake kit was there and looked good. There was no need to massage parts into place.

Dad said the '56 makes him feel like a kid again.  He told us a story about him and his buddy, Max, blasting across Kansas with pedal held to the floor for hours in Max's 56. We had never heard this story before.  We were happy it brought back for Dad some memories that apparently needed a refresher.

It made me a little nervous with Dad behind the wheel and about 450Hp under his foot. He had a bit of a problem shifting with the Quicksilver shifter I installed. However, after a few tips he had it figured out.

I had him do a little burnout and showed him how to pop it into 2nd gear to keep the wheel speed up just enough. He accomplished it well enough and his next comment made me laugh hard. He asked, "Why aren’t we moving?" I said "Dad, look in your mirror." (A big boiling cloud of tire smoke was settling behind us.) His next comment was not suitable for this forum.

This started out as a firewall forward restoration, however, it is slowly gaining momentum and girth as it heads downhill. The interior is so ugly that something needs to be done.  After the exhaust work, a bit of drive time before we dive into that.  We have worked on it so much we want to drive it a bit before the interior work gets started.

I have some of the parts and pieces on the big list for interior stuff -- floor carpet, seat belts (needed big time), window items, regulator rollers, a rear quarter glass, cat whiskers, etc.  We will change the trim color from an ugly green to a white or charcoal. The interior and seats will be a charcoal and ivory white blend.

Well, my head cold, lack of header experience and slight frustration got the best of me. I picked up the soft blow hammer and went to town. I learned a lesson about headers -- not all fit the same, no matter how much you beat on them. LOL! The whole feeling of stupidity after the fact hit home hard.

Even after "massaging" the headers with the soft blow hammer the steer box arm still hits the tube enough to actually push the motor over.

Apparently the Patriot headers won’t work with the Jim Meyers racing side mount kit.

I'm not one to give up so easily, but I know they won't work after looking at everything and trying every option with these headers.

On to the next set of Hooker Super Comp 2112's.  Has anyone had good luck with these?? They look like the left side tube set has been moved around to clear the steer arm.  What do you guys think??  

Water pump pulley bolts are winging right up to the back of the derale fan, about an inch or so of clearance. Radiator paint took a bit of a scratch installing the fan. With the ugly heater hose welfare loop in place (LOL), we started up the engine and once the thermostat opened, in poured the water inside the car so now I have been hunting for a re-circulating standard heater core, which is d**m hard to find.

Passenger side shot of the motor.

It felt good to get the car back on the road today after wrenching off and on for about 2 yrs. disk brake conversion worked good, suspension felt plush, everything worked good with no leaks or anything like that. It’s in desperate need of alignment so that will be on the short list. I added back the shims for the a-arms from where I took them out.  Boy were the original bushing really shot. passenger side tire is practically laying on its side.  

Next step: Exhaust!! my ears are still ringing.

Ok folks, here is what happens when you don’t take into consideration all the variables with narrowing a rear end and using stock suspension locations. No way the u-bolt is going to fit around the tube with drum brakes with e-brake provisions on the backing plate. I could have made this work after some serious air grinder work and a lot more time involved, or, I could have cut the top bend out of the u-bolt and welded the stubs to the tube, but it would have still required some grinding. I opted for a easier fix and possibly getting my money back out of the undamaged drum brakes setup.

Enter the Strange Engineering quad piston disk brakes -- this should get it stopped. I gained back the 2.5" I lost with the drum brake backing plates. The u-bolt slipped over the tube with plenty of room to spare (in a general sense).

Anyone need 11" drum brakes for their Ford 9"?   These fit the late model big Ford axle flanges. Measurements for the backing plate bolt pattern is 3.55 W X 2" H X 3.150 axle bearing. Brand new, just pulled off, never been used. All the bits and pieces are neatly bagged and separated, right and left sides.  PM me if interested.

EDIT: I want to give a big thanks to 55MIKE for helping me with this rear end setup, he has been instrumental in getting it sorted out. Thanks Mike!!

Dad and I are heading out on the maiden voyage. This was exciting after a year of sitting in the shop, open headers and all.  The cursed right park light seems to have a mind of its own.  I still need to fiddle with the wiring and get that resolved.  Front fenders are primed due to the fact that we had the eyebrows replaced because of rot. No front hubcaps at this time because it was brought right back to the shop to check wheel bearings and to generally eyeball everything after a few miles, retighten bolts, etc. A few dust bunnies hitching a ride, as well. Original chrome pieces -- they look good at 20 feet, but if you get up close, the truth comes out.

Pop’s the Happy camper!!


Uh oh!! he's coming to a stop on a straight stretch for no apparent reason, this cant be a legal act.

Dad was telling me to REALLY boil the hides. It is all hunched down and torqued up. The right rear is just starting to haze in the above picture.  Eric said that the leaf springs were arched/rolled to the max when we went by. I was hesitant to even light them up due to the fact that the leaf springs and rear gears are original and pretty much shot. They won't last long with that motor. Bring on the Ford 9", Cal-Trac bars, new 5 leafs, bushings, etc.

The pictures above were with open headers.  We got it back from the exhaust shop last week.  Nice and throaty, but not too obnoxious.  Flowtech 16" straight in/side out mufflers with 2.5" pipes, with a H pipe section, they are down turned just at the rear bumper.  I didn’t want the pipes sticking out the back looking like wheelbarrow handles.  We were going to cut the bolt on collectors off and just weld up the pipes solid to the headers, but opted for the new Remflex collector gaskets; didn't really want to hack into a brand new set of Super Comp 2112's (after my lesson with the Patriots).  

I had a horrible night at work last week. It took forever to get my Freightliner loaded and then I had to wait for the next truck to show up before I could leave the site. I was stuck on the highway for about two hours due to an accident investigation.  I went home pretty angry and contemplating a job change.  When I swung the door open, I found these setting there.  It made me smile and laugh. My brother and I had talked about what tire to put on the '56 for fun and kicks. We decided on Mickey Thompson ET street radials 275/60/15's.

I took these pictures last weekend.  Mom and Pops taking the '56 out for a spin.  I got the new 275/60/15's on there and I lowered it 2". The tire bulge is apparently a little greater with Mickey Thompson ET radials, so I ended up having to cut one side off of the forward spring guide/clamps. I put a wide hose clamp on there to keep the spring ends from wiggling over and rubbing the tire. Hose clamp is hidden once the wheel and tire is on. It looks pretty good. If you want street traction you can’t beat those MT Radials, they hook up REAL good.

Nice side shot of the tire wheel combo.



Russian Mafia black.

I want to thank Keith for sharing this great story with us. This is another example of how our hobby brings families together and shows all the excitement of getting one of these beauties back on the road.  I think we can all relate to how a project like this can snowball into a lot bigger thing than we ever expect.  I chipped a tooth on my flywheel and decided to fix it, two years later and too much $$$$  I still don’t have it back on the road.  I am anticipating that maiden voyage. Editor

To See the rest of Keith’s thread click on this link

http://www.trifive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2669&highlight=Pops+Long+Lost+Love  

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