Derek

Thanks Guys I started the paint work on the patterns so I should be on target for casting on Wednesday. I'm still pretty far from having all the parts to complete the thing but I figure having half a manifold kicking around the shop will motivate me to complete the rest. Derek

I managed to get a little free time and got the stainless throttle tubes made. Originally I was just going to cast around the stainless then drill through the entire casting and tube for the throttle shaft. I was never really crazy about this and finally came up with a better plan. Here's a shot of the bottom core mold with the throttle tubes in position. Keep in mind your looking at the inside of the manifold. The silver paint is release. I pre-drilled the tube and drilled a 1/4" locating hole in the core box. The plastic tube serves two functions. First it locates the throttle shaft hole in the correct position. Second it will hold the bronze bushings that I'm going to cast in place as well. Now after it's cast all I have to do is ream out the bronze busings and the trottle shafts are good to go. If I want to counter bore the manifold for bearings I can do that as well because the boss for the bearing will still be there. Here's a closeup of what I'm talking about Notice how the throttle tube is flush with the runner. This means there wont be a step or ledge (I hope) between the aluminum and the stainless. This is the top section of the core. After this core is made I will saw out the section where the stainless tube would go and glue the cores together. Here's the bottom core filled with the catalyzed core sand When the sand is cured and I glue the two parts together I'll hand finish the seams so that everything is nice and smooth. Unfortunately I had to leave before the sand kicked so i don't have any shots of the cores out of the boxes. Hopefully I'll be heading over to the foundry next week to cast the manifold. Derek

I just shot my car with this astro LVLP gun an was very happy with the results. It only uses 9.6 CFM so it would help reduce your compressor requirements. http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/Sales/Astro%20Pneumatic%20-%20EVO4014%20Combo.htm Derek

The stuff from metro looks promising. I should have thought of them as i bought stuff for my rambler from metro Thanks Derek

It's in the insulation department in 4' x 8' sheets. It comes in 1/2" thick and 3/4" thick. You can also get it in thicker sections but you usually have to order a whole pallet. My local construction materials supplier stocked it in 1" thick pieces which was nice. When you use the foam there is a thin plastic sheet that you need to remove first. It just peals off. Also if you use a hot wire to do any cutting make sure your protected from the fumes. Polyurethane foams emit some really nasty gases when burnt. 3m supper 77 spray adhesive works really well for laminating. The blue and pink foams are superior to EPS white foam every way for this type of application. It sands and carves really well. Derek

That may be so but I can't make heads or tails of his web site! Have you been there lately? Derek

The squeegees are stapled to the moldings so you would have to cut the staples to remove the old squeegee and glue the new one on. Too Intense Restoration http://www.datsunrestore.com/catalog.html Has them for 47.00 for the pair. This is the direction I plan on going. Derek

http://orlando.craigslist.org/car/522919429.html Derek

I set up a gallery page here http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=836&ppuser=0 if anyone wants to follow my progress. I'm also going to pass on a few pearls of wisdom that I've gleaned so far. #1 Approximately two to three months before you start your project go out and get into a minimum of three or four bar fights. And if your over 35 make one of them a Country Western bar. This will give you an pretty good idea of what your muscles will feel like when your done sanding! #2 Buy good bondo. I used Rage Extreme and it was awesome. It spreads easily and sands easily. I've used cheap bondo's before and there is a difference. Only do small areas at a time and do complete sections. Don't shove a wad of hardening bondo into a dent thinking you'll fix it by sanding. A nice smooth application makes the blocking so much easier. #3 When you start doing the bondo work give your DA to a friend to hold. Unless you do a lot of bodywork all your going to do is turn the area into a giant wave. I hand blocked all of my bondo work and managed to nail everything in two applications of filler. #4 Use a guide coat. I used a rattle can spray lacquer. A guide coat really shows where your at as far as high and low spots when your sanding. #5 Always use sanding blocks. If you can't remove a low spot with a block then it will need more filler. That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more to add as I get into the paint work. Derek