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Today on muscle car, we found some more sheet metal to delete on altered ego.
Rick shows how Lexan
can shave even more weight out of our wheel standard and find out what Chevy's Z 16 option got you in 65.
Hey
guys, welcome to muscle car. A 64 Comet is back in the spotlight today. Now, for those of you that don't remember our plans for this bad boy, let me refresh your memory on what this build is all about.
A FX tire, smoke wheel stands and a driver with a gallon of adrenaline in his vein, slamming four gears are hallmarks of a time in drag race in history that will never be seen again. Based off of production models, the A FX cars were factory experiments and how far you could push the limits
for better weight transfer off the line. The rear axle was moved forward and the front end was raised to achieve this nose high stance. A straight axle was mounted under the front with the biggest motor they could find and nerves of steel. These cars paved the way for what are now top fuel funny cars. The heyday of A FX cars is gone, but not forgotten. And we're building a tribute to these pioneers and muscle car history with our own axle twisting drag car project alter
ego.
We chose a 64 me
as our victim. Then got right to work. Moving the rear axle up 16 inches and bracing up the frame.
The Ford 4.6 32 valve mod motor was built to fill the hole up front, backed up by a five speed. Next came a roll cage, a new steering setup, redesigned suspension and a fuel cell. Then we fed up some aluminum seats, headers and even some mufflers.
We've also done a lot of work that you haven't seen like finishing up the headers and exhaust.
We've knocked out most of the interior sheet metal including building a front and rear drive shaft hoop
and in our spare time, we've managed to finish the sheet metal here in the back. Now is a good time to hang all the sheet metal. Now, the front suspension center line, we moved it forward by six inches, which is great for weight transfer. The downside of it, the wheels now aren't gonna fit the wheel well, openings in our fenders, that means some cutting is gonna happen. But before we can hang the fenders, we need to get these doors hung.
None of these gaps need to be perfect at this point. That race
car good. We just need a rough idea of how much fender we're gonna have to lose.
Oh, yeah, that looks great.
Yeah, we need to be sure to cut off enough. So that if this thing happens, come down hard on the nose it doesn't get into the tire. Yeah, that's the last thing I need is a flat. All right. Yeah,
I think just maybe take this arc and just run it right off the front. I think that'd give us enough clearance. I wouldn't be beyond just cutting it straight, you know, make it easy
out there. Looks
like
it's an idea.
Yeah. I don't really like that one there. It kind of looks like we're just hacking the car up a
little bit. This top one up here doesn't really bother me. It sort of follows this body line up here, then the downside of it, we'd have to continue that body line all the way through to really make it look right. I
think we ought to go ahead and go with that metal one.
Yeah, I agree. That one. It looks nice, huh? Has a nice shape to it.
Plus as good as the clearance.
Yeah. Yeah, I guess you better get themselves right on.
You think, with all the hacking and chopping we've done on this car, we've run out of stuff to cut.
Nope,
we found a few more square inches of stock sheet metal to modify,
altered ego needs to keep a stiff upper lip. So, I'm adding a strip of sheet metal to put some strength back into the fender.
No fancy slip rollers here, just tweak it till it fits, then trim it and weld it in
a
question.
I'm all set.
Hey, that's looking good. Yeah, I'm gonna take the fender off to finish burning it in. Why don't you hold off on that for a little bit? We still have to hang the nose and make sure the
bumper is gonna,
dude,
after the break, the guys come up with a bumper backup plan.
Hey, welcome back. We've got the front end assembled enough to give the stock bumper a test fit. The front frame rails have been extended to mount the leaf
springs and we just lobbed off the corners of the fenders so it may or may not fit. But let's see what we got.
Yeah, that's hanging out there a little bit. Huh? Yeah, this side over here needs to be back. Probably a good four or five inches easy.
Yeah, to scoot it back, we still have to notch the front to move it back. I don't really want to do that. Advanced it an often nice job on this thing to take a plasma to it. D
be a shame. I know we're an old Falcon sitting. We may be able to get it off of there and cut it up. That might work. Actually, I think a falcon has shorter ends on it too and we just have to get it in here and see what it is if it work. All right.
Oh, we got some free bay then.
Well, I was in luck, the old Falcon hadn't been hauled off for scrap yet and the bumper was still on it now. A Falcon and a Comet are basically the same car with a few small differences. One of the differences is the sides of the bumper. It's a lot shorter here on the side to give us our clearance for our wheels. They both have built in turn signals. So it's really not gonna look all that different and with it not having perfect chrome on it, I didn't mind notching it for the front frame rails. Let me show you what I did for front brackets.
I fed
up some brackets using some eight inch plate, made them removable just in case we ever need to get in here.
Also took the bracket and formed it to the back of the bumper to give it a little added strength
and using the factory bolts. Retains that stock look.
The factory brackets may be long gone, but mounting the bumper is a lot easier now. Just a few, easy to reach bolts and it's done
right on, man. That'll give us all kinds of tire clearance. Yeah, it looks pretty stock. I bet most people won't even know it come off of a falcon instead of a comet. Yeah, I bet you're right. Well, now we got something up front to push the slower traffic out of the way. But we still need something on the sides to muffle the sounds of people screaming when they see this thing coming, you're talking about windows, right? Yeah, basically you'll see
up next. A big block Chevy that helped fuel the muscle car craze.
Today's flashback. A 1965 Chevelle S S3 96.
She
by
Sharon,
the year was 1965 and Chevy Sporty mid size was about to make a date with Destiny.
The car debuted the year before and could be anything from a family sedan to a Malibu Ss with a small block 327.
But 64 was the same year that the GTO was tearing up the streets with a big cube. 389
Buick and Os followed suit in 65 with big block power. Now the stakes were raised
midway through 65. Chevy went all in with a massive new 396 big block.
A muscle car legend was born
capable of pounding out 375 horse kick and slap a goat upside its head
known as the Z 16 option. It added a whopping 1500 bucks to the price tag and the production was limited to just 201. Chevy was just using it to tease what it had in store for 66.
The 396 was part of the mark for
family, which had its roots in the 427 race engine that appeared in 60.
The design of these motors put breathing first and combustion second
to the valves and push rods were at odd angles earning it the nickname
the porcupine
to deal with all that extra power. The car had a boxed convertible type frame with reinforced suspension stiffened shocks and 11 inch drum brakes. The extra weight of the motor made it nose heavy
so it handled like an overloaded wheelbarrow but straight line go, there was no contest.
Overall, the car looked pretty much like a 64. The car was a few inches longer and lower but still rode on 100 and 15 inch wheelbase.
An easy way to spot. A 65 is the front end has a distinct V shape. Unlike the flat front end on the 64 Z 16 had subtle differences from the typical SS like the unique black and chrome trim piece on the rear deck
instead of white walls, you gotta set up gold stripes with 14 inch mag style wheel cutters.
Plus the Malibu Ss badges were moved from the rear quarter to behind the front tire and 396 emblems were slapped on the front fenders and rear end inside. A mandatory Munsey four speed could pull a wide range of gears all the way up to a 456
that
on the dash. No, it ain't.
A
t it's a clock on an SS the 6000 RPM t
took the center spot in the gauge panel where the clock normally went.
Super Sports also got Speedos that went to 160.
Now, in case the dual exhaust wasn't already music to your ears.
The Z 16 came loaded with an AM FM stereo multiplane.
Better be quick.
The Z 16 did its job whetting the appetites of muscle car fans. And in 66 the 396 became the only option for the SS package.
The price for one came down to a reasonable three grand and over 70,000 were sold. The shell's
place in muscle car history was solidified
and it would only grow bigger and stronger in the years to come.
Coming up. Rick shows us how his lightweight window design will take a few more pounds of alter
ego.
You're watching Muscle car for a DVD copy of this episode. Just go to Power Block tv.com and order your copy for just 595 plus shipping and handling. Start your own muscle car collection delivered right to your door from the power block.
Hey guys, welcome back. I've got the side windows from altered eagle laid out here, but I'm not gonna be reusing any of this original glass because not only is this stuff heavy, but it can shatter on impact. And that is not something that you want in a race car, but there is a lighter weight, safer alternative. I made these out of Lexan. It's a lot lighter than glass. Plus it won't shatter if it ever gets hit. So we're gonna be driving altered Eagle on the street quite a bit. So I designed them so that you can take both sides out
in under a minute.
I want to keep an original look and the best way to do that is to use as much of the original frames as I can.
It may seem a little weird to use a hammer so close to the glass, but I'm being careful not to hit the glass. I'm just sliding it across to tap the metal loose.
These vent windows aren't part of my plan, but the frames are so I'm stripping them of all of the hardware.
The quarter windows were easy to take apart, which means the left sand should go in pretty easy as well. Since we moved the rear end forward, 16 inches, our tubs are now sitting where the regulators used to be. So the quarter glass is going to be locked in place and that means the rollers and regulator attachments can go
next. I need to build a receptacle for the window frame to slide into.
It's a basic piece that serves an important function
by using a factory mounting hole, it'll even be adjustable.
Originally, this U channel held the glass and helped to guide it as it moved its new job with the help of these tabs will be to stay in one place and support the bottom of the new window
with the new design window felts are pretty much out of the question,
but if it does get wet,
well,
there's really nothing left inside the doors to worry about. Anyway.
I trimmed the window frame by about three inches and I'm hammering a piece of round stock into the channel. It's gonna slide into that adjustable receptacle that I've already bolted into the door
using the cardboard template I made for the other side. I can make sure that everything lines up before I chop up any Lexan.
There we go. Now, we can finally start cutting some windows.
I've got the biggest window traced out on the Lex end. Now this I got from summit racing but give your local speed shop a call and they can probably track some down for you. Now, forewarn you the stuff isn't cheap, but don't try to Chintz out and use plexiglass because plexiglass little break if anything hits it, unlike Lex in
where you gotta work at it to break it.
Now, remember when cutting Lexan
always use a blade with at least 10 teeth per inch.
Now, this should say right in place where the cardboard was.
Should
there we go.
Beautiful. But hey,
this is only half the story because at some point I'm gonna wanna open this dude up to get my burger and fries at the drive in.
Old tried and true way of doing that.
It's with the slider
Now take a look at the one that I made for the driver's side. Now this is a case where bigger isn't always better. So if you make them too long, it'll hit the stop before it opens up all the way by making the window shorter, it actually opens up wider.
I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. So I'm gonna copy this design onto the other side.
I'm starting by marking only the corners then using masking tape to get the straight lines. That way if there is any variance in my original cut, I won't transfer it onto the new piece. Next. After drilling some pilot holes, I grab the air off and open it up
using the piece, I just cut out as a template. I'll trace around the edges then use a combination of quarter and eight inch tape to mark the shape of the new slider.
This way it will be three quarters of an inch larger than the whole.
The protective paper needs to come up now. So I can center the window over the opening, just be careful because Lexan
Man, it scratches if you even look at it wrong.
But now that I've got a window, I need a way to mount it tight enough that it's not flopping in the breeze but loose enough that it can still slide. That's where these strips come in.
The first strip has the same thickness as the window and acts as a guide. The next one puts aluminum and it'll add just enough clearance to allow the slider to move
the top pieces of the retainer keeps the window from actually falling out.
I've pre drilled and counter sunk the holes in the first layer of Lexan. So now I can use them as guides to draw the holes the rest of the way through
doing it this way. It sure that the mountain screws will line up perfectly all the way through the layers.
Let sand expands and contracts quite a bit. So don't over tighten the mounting, hard work or it may split when the sun heats it up.
After buttoning up all three sides, it's time to drop it in place and see what we got.
One last detail. A small strap of metal and a drilled and tapped hole will hold the front of the frame in place, but it's still easily removed.
When you look at this quarter window, you might think that it's still stock, but you saw me tear it apart and cut off the regulator mounts. So you know that it's not. Now the let sound that's in. There is the same thickness as the original glass. What was a no brainer to put it in? Then I just drilled a couple of holes, installed some rib nuts, made the whole thing bolt in.
I accomplished everything that I set out to with these windows. They're lighter, they're safer. They're easily removable. They open for ventilation and
they just look cool. Now, all I have to do is make some knobs to put on the inside, make them a little easier to open and close. But for this week we're out of time. So until next time we're out of here.
Show Full Transcript
Rick shows how Lexan
can shave even more weight out of our wheel standard and find out what Chevy's Z 16 option got you in 65.
Hey
guys, welcome to muscle car. A 64 Comet is back in the spotlight today. Now, for those of you that don't remember our plans for this bad boy, let me refresh your memory on what this build is all about.
A FX tire, smoke wheel stands and a driver with a gallon of adrenaline in his vein, slamming four gears are hallmarks of a time in drag race in history that will never be seen again. Based off of production models, the A FX cars were factory experiments and how far you could push the limits
for better weight transfer off the line. The rear axle was moved forward and the front end was raised to achieve this nose high stance. A straight axle was mounted under the front with the biggest motor they could find and nerves of steel. These cars paved the way for what are now top fuel funny cars. The heyday of A FX cars is gone, but not forgotten. And we're building a tribute to these pioneers and muscle car history with our own axle twisting drag car project alter
ego.
We chose a 64 me
as our victim. Then got right to work. Moving the rear axle up 16 inches and bracing up the frame.
The Ford 4.6 32 valve mod motor was built to fill the hole up front, backed up by a five speed. Next came a roll cage, a new steering setup, redesigned suspension and a fuel cell. Then we fed up some aluminum seats, headers and even some mufflers.
We've also done a lot of work that you haven't seen like finishing up the headers and exhaust.
We've knocked out most of the interior sheet metal including building a front and rear drive shaft hoop
and in our spare time, we've managed to finish the sheet metal here in the back. Now is a good time to hang all the sheet metal. Now, the front suspension center line, we moved it forward by six inches, which is great for weight transfer. The downside of it, the wheels now aren't gonna fit the wheel well, openings in our fenders, that means some cutting is gonna happen. But before we can hang the fenders, we need to get these doors hung.
None of these gaps need to be perfect at this point. That race
car good. We just need a rough idea of how much fender we're gonna have to lose.
Oh, yeah, that looks great.
Yeah, we need to be sure to cut off enough. So that if this thing happens, come down hard on the nose it doesn't get into the tire. Yeah, that's the last thing I need is a flat. All right. Yeah,
I think just maybe take this arc and just run it right off the front. I think that'd give us enough clearance. I wouldn't be beyond just cutting it straight, you know, make it easy
out there. Looks
like
it's an idea.
Yeah. I don't really like that one there. It kind of looks like we're just hacking the car up a
little bit. This top one up here doesn't really bother me. It sort of follows this body line up here, then the downside of it, we'd have to continue that body line all the way through to really make it look right. I
think we ought to go ahead and go with that metal one.
Yeah, I agree. That one. It looks nice, huh? Has a nice shape to it.
Plus as good as the clearance.
Yeah. Yeah, I guess you better get themselves right on.
You think, with all the hacking and chopping we've done on this car, we've run out of stuff to cut.
Nope,
we found a few more square inches of stock sheet metal to modify,
altered ego needs to keep a stiff upper lip. So, I'm adding a strip of sheet metal to put some strength back into the fender.
No fancy slip rollers here, just tweak it till it fits, then trim it and weld it in
a
question.
I'm all set.
Hey, that's looking good. Yeah, I'm gonna take the fender off to finish burning it in. Why don't you hold off on that for a little bit? We still have to hang the nose and make sure the
bumper is gonna,
dude,
after the break, the guys come up with a bumper backup plan.
Hey, welcome back. We've got the front end assembled enough to give the stock bumper a test fit. The front frame rails have been extended to mount the leaf
springs and we just lobbed off the corners of the fenders so it may or may not fit. But let's see what we got.
Yeah, that's hanging out there a little bit. Huh? Yeah, this side over here needs to be back. Probably a good four or five inches easy.
Yeah, to scoot it back, we still have to notch the front to move it back. I don't really want to do that. Advanced it an often nice job on this thing to take a plasma to it. D
be a shame. I know we're an old Falcon sitting. We may be able to get it off of there and cut it up. That might work. Actually, I think a falcon has shorter ends on it too and we just have to get it in here and see what it is if it work. All right.
Oh, we got some free bay then.
Well, I was in luck, the old Falcon hadn't been hauled off for scrap yet and the bumper was still on it now. A Falcon and a Comet are basically the same car with a few small differences. One of the differences is the sides of the bumper. It's a lot shorter here on the side to give us our clearance for our wheels. They both have built in turn signals. So it's really not gonna look all that different and with it not having perfect chrome on it, I didn't mind notching it for the front frame rails. Let me show you what I did for front brackets.
I fed
up some brackets using some eight inch plate, made them removable just in case we ever need to get in here.
Also took the bracket and formed it to the back of the bumper to give it a little added strength
and using the factory bolts. Retains that stock look.
The factory brackets may be long gone, but mounting the bumper is a lot easier now. Just a few, easy to reach bolts and it's done
right on, man. That'll give us all kinds of tire clearance. Yeah, it looks pretty stock. I bet most people won't even know it come off of a falcon instead of a comet. Yeah, I bet you're right. Well, now we got something up front to push the slower traffic out of the way. But we still need something on the sides to muffle the sounds of people screaming when they see this thing coming, you're talking about windows, right? Yeah, basically you'll see
up next. A big block Chevy that helped fuel the muscle car craze.
Today's flashback. A 1965 Chevelle S S3 96.
She
by
Sharon,
the year was 1965 and Chevy Sporty mid size was about to make a date with Destiny.
The car debuted the year before and could be anything from a family sedan to a Malibu Ss with a small block 327.
But 64 was the same year that the GTO was tearing up the streets with a big cube. 389
Buick and Os followed suit in 65 with big block power. Now the stakes were raised
midway through 65. Chevy went all in with a massive new 396 big block.
A muscle car legend was born
capable of pounding out 375 horse kick and slap a goat upside its head
known as the Z 16 option. It added a whopping 1500 bucks to the price tag and the production was limited to just 201. Chevy was just using it to tease what it had in store for 66.
The 396 was part of the mark for
family, which had its roots in the 427 race engine that appeared in 60.
The design of these motors put breathing first and combustion second
to the valves and push rods were at odd angles earning it the nickname
the porcupine
to deal with all that extra power. The car had a boxed convertible type frame with reinforced suspension stiffened shocks and 11 inch drum brakes. The extra weight of the motor made it nose heavy
so it handled like an overloaded wheelbarrow but straight line go, there was no contest.
Overall, the car looked pretty much like a 64. The car was a few inches longer and lower but still rode on 100 and 15 inch wheelbase.
An easy way to spot. A 65 is the front end has a distinct V shape. Unlike the flat front end on the 64 Z 16 had subtle differences from the typical SS like the unique black and chrome trim piece on the rear deck
instead of white walls, you gotta set up gold stripes with 14 inch mag style wheel cutters.
Plus the Malibu Ss badges were moved from the rear quarter to behind the front tire and 396 emblems were slapped on the front fenders and rear end inside. A mandatory Munsey four speed could pull a wide range of gears all the way up to a 456
that
on the dash. No, it ain't.
A
t it's a clock on an SS the 6000 RPM t
took the center spot in the gauge panel where the clock normally went.
Super Sports also got Speedos that went to 160.
Now, in case the dual exhaust wasn't already music to your ears.
The Z 16 came loaded with an AM FM stereo multiplane.
Better be quick.
The Z 16 did its job whetting the appetites of muscle car fans. And in 66 the 396 became the only option for the SS package.
The price for one came down to a reasonable three grand and over 70,000 were sold. The shell's
place in muscle car history was solidified
and it would only grow bigger and stronger in the years to come.
Coming up. Rick shows us how his lightweight window design will take a few more pounds of alter
ego.
You're watching Muscle car for a DVD copy of this episode. Just go to Power Block tv.com and order your copy for just 595 plus shipping and handling. Start your own muscle car collection delivered right to your door from the power block.
Hey guys, welcome back. I've got the side windows from altered eagle laid out here, but I'm not gonna be reusing any of this original glass because not only is this stuff heavy, but it can shatter on impact. And that is not something that you want in a race car, but there is a lighter weight, safer alternative. I made these out of Lexan. It's a lot lighter than glass. Plus it won't shatter if it ever gets hit. So we're gonna be driving altered Eagle on the street quite a bit. So I designed them so that you can take both sides out
in under a minute.
I want to keep an original look and the best way to do that is to use as much of the original frames as I can.
It may seem a little weird to use a hammer so close to the glass, but I'm being careful not to hit the glass. I'm just sliding it across to tap the metal loose.
These vent windows aren't part of my plan, but the frames are so I'm stripping them of all of the hardware.
The quarter windows were easy to take apart, which means the left sand should go in pretty easy as well. Since we moved the rear end forward, 16 inches, our tubs are now sitting where the regulators used to be. So the quarter glass is going to be locked in place and that means the rollers and regulator attachments can go
next. I need to build a receptacle for the window frame to slide into.
It's a basic piece that serves an important function
by using a factory mounting hole, it'll even be adjustable.
Originally, this U channel held the glass and helped to guide it as it moved its new job with the help of these tabs will be to stay in one place and support the bottom of the new window
with the new design window felts are pretty much out of the question,
but if it does get wet,
well,
there's really nothing left inside the doors to worry about. Anyway.
I trimmed the window frame by about three inches and I'm hammering a piece of round stock into the channel. It's gonna slide into that adjustable receptacle that I've already bolted into the door
using the cardboard template I made for the other side. I can make sure that everything lines up before I chop up any Lexan.
There we go. Now, we can finally start cutting some windows.
I've got the biggest window traced out on the Lex end. Now this I got from summit racing but give your local speed shop a call and they can probably track some down for you. Now, forewarn you the stuff isn't cheap, but don't try to Chintz out and use plexiglass because plexiglass little break if anything hits it, unlike Lex in
where you gotta work at it to break it.
Now, remember when cutting Lexan
always use a blade with at least 10 teeth per inch.
Now, this should say right in place where the cardboard was.
Should
there we go.
Beautiful. But hey,
this is only half the story because at some point I'm gonna wanna open this dude up to get my burger and fries at the drive in.
Old tried and true way of doing that.
It's with the slider
Now take a look at the one that I made for the driver's side. Now this is a case where bigger isn't always better. So if you make them too long, it'll hit the stop before it opens up all the way by making the window shorter, it actually opens up wider.
I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. So I'm gonna copy this design onto the other side.
I'm starting by marking only the corners then using masking tape to get the straight lines. That way if there is any variance in my original cut, I won't transfer it onto the new piece. Next. After drilling some pilot holes, I grab the air off and open it up
using the piece, I just cut out as a template. I'll trace around the edges then use a combination of quarter and eight inch tape to mark the shape of the new slider.
This way it will be three quarters of an inch larger than the whole.
The protective paper needs to come up now. So I can center the window over the opening, just be careful because Lexan
Man, it scratches if you even look at it wrong.
But now that I've got a window, I need a way to mount it tight enough that it's not flopping in the breeze but loose enough that it can still slide. That's where these strips come in.
The first strip has the same thickness as the window and acts as a guide. The next one puts aluminum and it'll add just enough clearance to allow the slider to move
the top pieces of the retainer keeps the window from actually falling out.
I've pre drilled and counter sunk the holes in the first layer of Lexan. So now I can use them as guides to draw the holes the rest of the way through
doing it this way. It sure that the mountain screws will line up perfectly all the way through the layers.
Let sand expands and contracts quite a bit. So don't over tighten the mounting, hard work or it may split when the sun heats it up.
After buttoning up all three sides, it's time to drop it in place and see what we got.
One last detail. A small strap of metal and a drilled and tapped hole will hold the front of the frame in place, but it's still easily removed.
When you look at this quarter window, you might think that it's still stock, but you saw me tear it apart and cut off the regulator mounts. So you know that it's not. Now the let sound that's in. There is the same thickness as the original glass. What was a no brainer to put it in? Then I just drilled a couple of holes, installed some rib nuts, made the whole thing bolt in.
I accomplished everything that I set out to with these windows. They're lighter, they're safer. They're easily removable. They open for ventilation and
they just look cool. Now, all I have to do is make some knobs to put on the inside, make them a little easier to open and close. But for this week we're out of time. So until next time we're out of here.
