My 55 Bare Bonz just GO-STOP-TURN Build

[55 Rescue Dog]

Looks good, any clue why someone would have cut them off in first place.

I have no idea, other than someone long ago was going to make a drag car from it. It has 15 inch wheel tubs, recessed firewall, light sheet metal trunk floor, fuel fill door deleted, and the drip rails shaved off. I wouldn't have done it, but it will have to do. The firewall was a good thing though, other than I hate having to drill big holes in it for everything.

[567chevys]

Looking Good 55 RD

Sid

[55 Rescue Dog]

One of the first things I had to get out of the way in order to assemble my car was to figure out what seats to use to find out where to put the steering column, followed by the brake, throttle pedal, and the shifter. After months of looking I finally settled on these Corbeau leather reclining seats. I had to have something that had slots for 5 point harnesses which limited my choices, but I really like these. They are firm, but comfortable, with great support. The company has been making racing seats out of England for 35 years with a distributor in Utah. Great service, and though not cheap the seats are very solid, well made with double locking sliders. I also used their bolt in seat frame which made installation much easier than trying to fab something from scratch. At 6'2 180lbs, I did make adaptor plates to move the seat frame back 3 inches for plenty of leg room. The seat tracks had enough travel, but I didn't want so much of it hanging off the back of the seat frame. The seats are also not too heavy at 35lbs each, and pretty easy to take in and out, and they sit up at the perfect height for good visibility.
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[BamaNomad]

I'm not a fan of the 'look' of high backs in our trifives, but otherwise I really like the seats you've chosen to use RD, and the higher mounting for visibility as you state.

[55 Rescue Dog]

I'm not a fan of the 'look' of high backs in our trifives, but otherwise I really like the seats you've chosen to use RD, and the higher mounting for visibility as you state.

Thanks. I know these seats look out of place, but trying to do a few things different. Form follows function. There won't be a back seat either.
Since there was no hole in the firewall for a steering column, I was at least was able to get started using a piece of PVC pipe. I'll post that step next.

[55 Rescue Dog]

Just recently finished the dreaded steering column project. After looking at everything out there, I decided I wanted something other than a hefty tilt column, and go with something more slender, and safer. Since my C4 steering rack is way out to the front of the engine, I went wit the Woodward collapsible safety column. It is required by Nascar, and other racing series. It only weighs like 6 pounds, and is precision made. It's a splined telescoping shaft that has 11 inches of travel. It is 1.5 inches in diameter, and I had a split aluminum sleeve made to make it fit the stock 2 inch mount. It took 2 holes through the firewall though, since it didn't occur to me that it should come through the center of the bezel. Crap
I used a splined intermediate shaft with a Woodward joint on the top, and a Borgeson weld-on DD 17mm joint. Hardly any angle on the joints, and lots of clearance. http://www.woodwardsteering.com/PDF/...20Releases.pdf
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[55 Rescue Dog]

It took me a while, but I finally figured out my brake pedal setup. I did not want to deal with power brakes, so I decided to try and mount a Wilwood race proven brake pedal. It has a 7:1 ratio, and a balance bar to fine tune the front/rear brake pressures. I can also run 2 different size master cylinders if needed. Since it is manual, I needed to come up with a strong pedal mount to minimize brake pedal flex. I used the tail end of what was the stock pedal brace, since it also needs to support the steering column using the cowl support rods. On the firewall I used a 1/4 inch pedal mount plate I found at Speedway. Added some various channels and pieces of steel to tie it all together. I think it will be plenty strong, and can add more bracing if needed. I didn't have enough room to put the brake pedal, and DBW throttle pedal on the right side of the steering column, so I mounted the pedal to the left side. The pedal position is actually great for my size 13 clown shoes, plus now I can easily left-foot brake too. I was able to come up with a throttle pedal mount using 2 studs from the brake pedal plate, and also added brake pressure gages to make tuning, and trouble shooting easy. On the master cylinders I made an aluminum plate for the brake tees. Another plus that wasn't planned, everything is easy to take apart, or assemble, which I had to do countless times mocking it up.
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[55 Rescue Dog]

Getting the windshield installed just 30 minutes ago was a fun project to get finished. Went with the green EZ-eye glass that Bama had suggested.
I really think it's the perfect tint for a tri-five. It came to my glass guy on Friday, and they came over this morning, and installed it in just over an hour. No way would I even attempt to install a windshield by myself. He has installed many old car windshields, and makes it look easy, but for the $484 it cost me for the glass, seal, and installation it was a bargain.
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[567chevys]

Looks great , Where is the lower Trim ?


Thanks for sharing


Sid

[55 Rescue Dog]

I get to try and put the lower trim on, but trim hates me.