Jimbo1367

Agreed. The Holley vc would look perfect on that imo.
I've always been a huge fan of VA's frontrunner system.

Kharp

Next comes mounting the radiator. On this car the top of the radiator connects to the grill and also the side panels so it is necessary to install the front clip for fitting everything. Sooooo....... I dug out all the parts and adjusted the sheet metal some. The body lines are not super straight at this point, but close enough for this exercise. I can already tell its going to be a challenge to get all the front body lines really nice. More on that later.



The hood is going to need some repair on this side. It has a weak place in the middle and has been bent. It needs a repair and maybe some strength added. Ken how bout coming down to Texas for some bodywork lessons?

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

Ken's going to tell you to take it to Pulera's.....

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

37was the first year for the rear hinged front opening hoods so theyre notorious for bending in the middle. Adding something to strengthen it is a good idea.

Kharp

You are probably right on Ken's response . Anyway, I ordered a Walker radiator and got it mounted in the car. The mounts are all temporary until I know for sure that is where it will live.



The final bottom mount will be made from 1 x 2 steel, and the top mounts are slotted for up and down adjustment.

Kharp

The factory radiator tank sticks up pretty high. I mounted the new one lower so I can make a nice cover plate for the top of the grill. That should give it a cleaner look.

Factory style


Lowered and still not too low at the bottom....could even pick up a tad more airflow since the radiator is better placed behind the grill.

Motown 454

iTrader: (15)

I looks good.

kwhizz

I had the same issues with the Hood .........the 37 Sheet metal alignment is a true test of patience....It's a giant Jig Saw Puzzle and each piece affects the next one .....LOL.......When I look at 37's, the first thing I look at is the Hood gap.........Been there.........Car is looking great..........

Kharp

Ken I agree TOTALLY! Hard to get the puzzle right and that is one thing I look at closely on 37's as well. Back to the radiator mounting. I looked high and low for some type of rubber grommets, spacers, doughnuts, etc that would work on the top and bottom. Ended up ordering some Neoprene flat and round stock from McMaster Carr to make my own. Some very nice rubber parts can be made with a sharp razor blade and some hollow punches.

aggie91

Should have grabbed some compressor mounting feet from the shop at work...those make good rubber mounts too...

Kharp

Yes tried both kinds just couldn't make them work. I've used them on other projects and they have just the right amount of cushion. If you ever have to buy material and want the same hardness as the compressor mounts the spec is 45-55 Shore A on the hardness scale.

FastWhiteAztek

I have been following your build for a while now, your attention to detail is incredible.

Just so you know, we do use two different compressor grommets. A softer grommet was added to our arsenal in mid 2015 for use in various models that need the extra damping. In addition to the 45-55A grommet you mentioned, we have a gummy 35-45A grommet. This can be identified by the yellow stripe on the side.

Knew your username looked familiar,

Hello Harp

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

Been a month, any updates?

Kharp

Not as much as I would like that's for sure.....much overtime AND also Saturdays at work getting in the way of my car progress. I've been working on some radiator support rods that will be functional and hidden - they will tuck in right behind the side panels and eliminate the factory ones that come from the middle of the firewall. I need a pair of extra hands to finish these and haven't been able to round anybody up lately so I moved on to laying out the dash a little bit. I'm making an add on piece for the bottom of the dash to give me some more room to mount stuff and to hide the AC case a little bit, BUT the first attempt wasn't wide enough so I'm starting over on that piece. I also did some welding on the dash and got some warpage that was beyond what I knew how to repair so the dash is at the body shop for some metal work on the glove box door. My wife and I did pick out 2 important items for the dash - the AC controller and the gauge cluster. I now have both items in hand. The Vintage Air AC controller has a machined face and the lettering is a little small to read so I've actually sent off the faceplate to a lady who paints pinstriping on cars. She is going to paint all the lettering on the faceplate to give it a little detail. We chose some Dakota Digital gauges that we really like. SO yeah a tiny bit of progress and I'm glad people are asking about it to keep me motivated. I will post some pictures soon.

kwhizz

Dakota Digital.................Big Thumbs Up!!!!!!!!

Kharp

Next up on the list is radiator support rods. Here is a picture of how they were originally from the firewall to the top of the radiator tank.


The new ones will be hidden. I bought a kit for this but I didn't like how it fit together so I ended up making some new parts. Here is the mock up.



Rear bracket.



Front bracket bolts to grill and has a mount on the inside for the radiator. As Kwhizz said in his 37 build it all ties together at that one point.

Kharp

The new and improved kit.



Tucks nicely behind the side panel.



The brackets have set screws for moving the grill back and forth for front end sheet metal adjustments. The rods also have a hole in the center for running a hood release cable, wires, whatever to the nose. My helper in the background was asleep due to the Texas heat - it was 97 degrees yesterday! Not quite Fall weather yet

kwhizz

Great Job........Well thought out

Motown 454

iTrader: (15)

Nice job. No one will know they are there. Perfect fit.

Kharp

Jumping out of order a little bit, but I knew it would take some time to do the dash. First order of business was to pick a gauge cluster and make it look like it belonged there. It took some time and several hits in the press to get it right.



Here is the sample out of some scrap material. Now I have to round up the real material and mend it into the dash.