[How-To] The Whatever Project, is it appropriate for here?

[Dave G in upstate New York]

It's back together. Here's a picture or two.

Still has the ground in grime, but it comes off with a little bit of effort and a brass brush and various solvents. Ready to go back into the Whatever project for fitup and shifter choice.

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Checked on the cost of dry ice blasting and it's a little bit spendy. As in above my pay grade spendy. I may have some stuff done down the road, but for the transmission, I'll be spending elbow grease and quality time with some grease cutting stuff and a couple of brass brushes...

Good for exercising the hands. Limbers up the old stiff joints. That's what I'm going to keep telling myself...

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Time for an update: and pictures! Cleaned up the garage from the transmission transmutation. Then put the mongrel T5 transmission in the Whatever project. In and clears the temporary floorboards. Still have to make or get a shift lever. Hurst sticks will bolt on, and any that have the same bolt pattern as well. I'm thinking about making one regardless so I can get the fit I want.

Here's how my feet fit down in the area of the pedals and transmission.
Probably need to get snug fitting driving shoes, but I can at least get my size 9-8E feet on the pedals...

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Have a couple of Rochester 2G carburetors on the way. Going to try a little nostalgic induction system on the Whatever project. 3-deuces on the small block. Not a lot of machine work required, just a couple of fittings and the linkage for the throttle. I'm reworking the suspension a bit. That's going to require some threaded bosses and bungs. Should be easier with the new to me lathe.

The Atlas lathe has gotten a little bit of a workout, mostly on non-whatever projects. Making a set of tiller things for a Mantis mini tiller right now. All those little projects that would have taken days of toil now take a whole lot less time! And with the garage cleanup I can actually walk around and find stuff!

Whoda thunk it?

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Progress has slowed down lately. Got 3 carburetors in need of a little R&R. Bought a harbor freight 6 liter ultrasonic cleaner to make the job less tedious. Haven't used it yet, but you'll hear it here when the parts come out of the soup.

Meanwhile, I've been tinkering with a small Mantis mini tiller thing. Making a set of tiller things. They fit on a shaft that has flats machined on them to drive whatever accessories you intend to use. This one only has an edger and the cost is kind of ridiculous for new ones. So how to make a hub that needs to be half round and half with a flat ? A piece of black iron pipe, 3/8- sch 40 just happens to have the right id. And now having a decent lathe, the od was just a little turning away.

Then, cut a piece of the pipe off and weld a small piece of 3/16 plate on. Back to the lathe and its back to round! No pictures yet, but I'll post pictures in the near future.

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

As we all know, sometimes life gets in the way. SWMBO had some sort of episode resulting in a broken ankle. Now she's in a rehab facility for a few weeks healing and strengthening. Meanwhile I have been getting nothing done in the garage, but she insisted on getting a new car that is easier for her to get in and out of. And who am I to question her wisdom?

So, there is a little bit of progress on the mini tiller thing. The new hub arrangement works. I found that the non hub side of some garden cart pneumatic tire wheels make the perfect cup shaped thing to get from the hub to the tiller discs, which I have rough cut out from 14 gauge steel. When I get back to the garage in a few weeks, there's some drilling and bandsawing to do. 4 discs total. Then welding. Good thing this is a low rpm application.

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Just a brief note. Haven't been up to much in the garage since the 5th of July. SWMBO fell and broke her right ankle. Currently in a rehab center on the mend. Today was the first time she got to sit in our new daily driver as part of her therapy. We take so many things for granted, so when something happens like this, it makes one realize just how much can change in an instant.

I have made a little more progress on the rototiller blades the last couple of days. I should have them finished up in a couple of days. I'll post pictures then.

 

[extropic]

Yes. Things can change quickly and serious health issues trump anything I can think of.
Glad to hear her recovery is progressing. Be well.

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Not much different yet. Bought another portable deep cut band saw and a stand thingie from Harbor Freight to replace a 24 year old abrasive cut off saw, you know the type that makes a big mess in the shop. It has been on the way out besides, as I have abused it for years. Had to put new brushes in it a few years back. I kind of smoked it cutting some thick steel bar stock, and it's not been the same since.

So when Harbor Freight had a sale recently for the cutoff stand thing for a deep cut band saw and the saw as well, what could I do? So the rolling cart for the old saw was modified to hold the new setup, but it's not finished yet. SWMBO is still recuperating from the broken ankle and we're starting to practice transfers, to and from the wheel chair currently to other things. So far the most difficult is the car, but we're getting there.

So after I get home from the rehabilitation center, I'm typically not in the mood for much beyond a meal and a nap! But I have started to get out there for an hour or so. Anyway, I'll get a picture of the setup once I have finished it. It's going to need some fettling to get it square, but there's enough wiggle room in the assembly to allow for a decent setup. I used it to cut the new steel for the mounting frame and it took a little bit of grinding to make it square enough. And the best part is less! Less noise, less grinder stuff, less fire hazard... just less of all of the objectionable stuff associated with an abrasive cut off saw.

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Okay, I'm getting stuff done! That Harbor Freight saw and stand device are assembled and I modified the stand from the old Ryobi abrasive cut off saw to hold it. Some pictures:
That last picture shows the clamp off of the Ryobi saw adapted to the Harbor Freight saw base. They don't include anything, and recommend that you buy a Visegrip like clamp they sell. I like this mechanism better. That section of 2x3 tube is not there as a cutoff piece, it's going to be a spacer as the clamp runs out of travel. So a little profiling and a couple of holes drilled and it'll work just fine.

Which is a good thing, as I just bought a new set of 1-5/8 × 5-inch radius dies for the tubing bender. Why you ask? Because I'm going to make a new rollcage for the Whatever project that is going to meet NHRA requirements for a street roadster class. And SCTA for lsr type racing. I've read both rule books and the differences between the two organizations are heavier wall tubing for the cage in SCTA, and specific gussets that NHRA doesn't require but will not be a problem with them. So having a new cutoff saw when the new tubing arrives will be good.

And not tool related, I have a new wiring harness for the Whatever project. So I have some quality time ahead of me with a dvm!