1963 Chevy

[MarkJ]

[MarkJ]

[Gary Davis]

This is really looking good Mark. Fab work is awesome my friend!!

[MarkJ]

This is really looking good Mark. Fab work is awesome my friend!!

Thanks, Gary. I didn't plan on getting this ridiculous with the mods but as I went along I kept doing more and more than I originally planned to do. Now I'm wondering if I can get it finished.

[Gary Davis]

LOL...I hear you on the "snowball effect". It can be a ball buster at times. But...I"m pretty sure you'll get it finished. Looking forward to the next update.....

[MarkJ]

LOL...I hear you on the "snowball effect". It can be a ball buster at times. But...I"m pretty sure you'll get it finished. Looking forward to the next update.....

Thanks, Gary. I've been working on the lower part of the headers trying to get them to mate to the upper ones and end up where they should, so the exhaust pipes can hook up to them properly. You have to do it like the real car because there is no way to  attach the entire upper and lower headers to the engine, and then install the engine in the car. Not a fun process at all. At least I found some glue that will bond solder to plastic. When I get the headers completed, I will coat them in white glue first, because paint will not bond to the solder. I can't attach the upper and lower control arms to the frame, until the engine and exhaust are done. I need to make sure there are no fit issues, between the lower control arms, and the headers. Its going to be a real tight fit.

[Gary Davis]

Man Mark...I can relate to the NO ROOM situation with the headers. I've built quite a few headers with solder and just shot them with primer( Duplicolor and Alclad) first...then the color after. I've never had a problem with the paint not adhering to the solder..I also wipe the solder headers with Acetone to clean them before priming. I think 99% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol would clean them also. Maybe try that and you won't have to mess with the white glue...just a thought.

[MarkJ]

Ok , Gary. That's sounds great. I just assumed primer would not stick because of the way solder feels to the touch. Very slippery to handle. Here is what I have so far. The header halves  are just close to each other but not attached yet. They seem like they will fit ok when installed. I will sand the collector tubes down some more to make them less thick and more thin walled. I also want to elongate the left lower header collector.

[Gary Davis]

Man Mark...you're doing a great job. By the tight bends you have I can see that there isn't room for a gnat to move in there..

[Bob P.]

This build is coming along nicely. I can tell you have a lot of time in this already. Those headers and dumps look great.
I will keep an eye on your progress.

Bob

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Gary and Bob. It took a while to figure out how to get those 90 degree bends. I had to make many cuts with a saw on what would be the inside of the bend. I then heated the tube with a candle to make the bend. If you don't make the cuts the bend just collapses flat when you bend the tube even if it is heated. I then opened the bend back up a little put glue in the cuts and rebended the tube and held it tight till the glue could dry making the bend permanent and also erasing the cuts that were made. Of course the tube has to be about 4 inches long when your doing this process and then when its finished the excess tubing is cut off. I should have taken pictures while I was doing this but didn't.

[pdaly28]

really nice fab work,and the headers are looking super!

[David Bogard]

Hey Mark, I have different sizes of scrap wire laying around and I usually find one that's fairly snug and just ram in down into the styrene tube. I then can heat and make bends that sometimes must be sharp and hold it in place until it cools. Afterwards (sometimes have to grip with some pliers), I yank out the wire leaving me with a good tight bend that didn't collapse because of the wire inside). Cutting those kerfs like you did certainly makes sense though and there might be a time that I will have to try that method!

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Pat and David. David I always use your wire inside the tube method when I do roll cages and such. I tried to use the method on these dumps but the tube was so big that once the bend was achieved I could not remove the wire from inside the tube and the bend still would not work because the inside of the bend had too much material and basically had no place to go. That's when I figured that I needed to remove material from the inside of the bend and the cuts were the way to do it. I wish I had taken pictures of the process while I was doing it. Thankfully I don't think I will have to be bending tubes this size much more in the future.

[MarkJ]

Getting close to the end on wrapping up the frame. Then I can move on to the interior.