74 TR6 upgrade

[Phil Crawford]

Ivor,
Thanks for the kind words and looking at my project.  I am not breeding any cows but I have a neighbor that has a few.  I might just slip over there tonight and skin me one out and tan that rascal.  Now that sounds like work.Ha!  I hate to disappoint you but I plan to put some other seats in the car.
In louisiana I don't have to do anything special to register the car because it is already reg. and licensed but will change my insurance some maybe.  My father was a jack of all trades and I follow in his footsteps except I am a master of none.
Tks
Phil

[BWA]

Come on Phil you are not telling us the whole story!!  We know that you are mining the iron ore and you are smelting it to make the steel parts for your frame.  The veneer from your dash must have come from a tree that you planted when you were 2 years old!! That paint you must have surely developed it in a lab in another part of your property!!
People like you raise the level to something that us mere mortals cannot attain.  We are not worthy and we bow humbly in your presence!!
Seriously Phil you are a very talented guy and your humility is genuine.

Cheers
Byron

[Moderator]

This is such an exciting build!  Just awesome.

[Phil Crawford]

Byron
You are killing me man.  Giving away all of my secrets.  Being able to fix things is also a curse.  When I first got married many years ago I lived in a subdivision with lot of kids with bicycles and lawn mowers.  I would walk out on Sat. morning and there would be a line of kids needing things fixed.  They didn't know my name just called me Mr. Fixit.. True story..They hated it when I moved a few years later.
Your car must be getting close to running by now.  Hooked a battery to mine and it didn't blow any fuses and the motor turns over.  I felt good about that.  Don't give up just keep moving.
Tks
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

Curtis,
Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to look.  I know there are a lot of photo's and it takes time to look.  If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

Curtis
Thanks for the compliment.  It has never felt like work.
Phil

[mgbreis]

What an amazing build Phil! I travel to South Louisiana often for work and you seem to fit the profile of most of the people I've met; capable and modest!

I thought long and hard about narrowing a mustang II front suspension for my Hillman but I ended up not doing it because I didn't want to dig into the front frame rails. I see what I was missing now... a lathe and the ability to use it! Seriously, there are two types of diy car builders, those that can do machine work and those that can't.

[Phil Crawford]

Ryan
Thanks for the kind words.  A lot of the working people in La. are good craftsman and I think  it comes from not having the money to buy things so they made it instead.  I know you have most likely watched the show "Swamp people" and have seen the man Troy Landry along with a lot of other folks around Pier Part, La.
I worked with Troy for 15 years and consider him a friend and I can tell you he and his buddies could build anything from almost nothing. Our summer turn a rounds  were always staffed with men from Pier Part after the crawfish season is over other wise they wouldn't come.  You talk about independent. Troy is the real deal and what you see is what you get.  I have to tell you my machine work is very weak.  I have learned to do what I need to do but nothing too fancy.  I have been working on my dash today but didn't get much done.
Thanks for looking
Phil

[mgbreis]

Phil, my two boys love watching "Swamp People"! Interestingly, I deal with Raceland Raw Sugars in my work and the guys know Troy Landry as he used to drive a cane truck for them at some time in the past. They told me exactly the same thing; Troy is just like you see on the show. One of the guys I know at Raceland has shown me pics of some of the gators he and his daughter trapped that ended up on the show as Elizabeth's gators! Having lived my whole life in Nebraska, getting to travel down your way 3-4 times a year is quite an experience. I love it!

So your difficulty with using the 4.8, I assume a lot of that would be eliminated by keeping the truck intake and accessories on it? I have a 4.8 in my Tahoe and I think it would be a great engine in a lighter car. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your project!
Ryan

[Phil Crawford]

Ryan
You speak of Raceland Sugar. I built a desk out of reclaimed cyprus from the old Raceland sugar or rice mill that was built in 1850. The old wood is great to work with and has a color that is hard to duplicate.  One Xmas season on a monday morning Troy came to work and was telling us about his trip to Baton Rouge that weekend.  Troy is very good at telling a story.  It should take about 1.5  hours to get to BR from Pier Part but it took him about 2.5 hrs. I ask him how did he go that it took him so long to get there and he replied "What you mean how I go, I don't know highway I know bayou" .  Classic Troy.. I'm about 2 hrs from BR but if you get my way give me a call and maybe we can meet up somewhere.

The 4.8.. To get the 4.8 in a car you have to change the oil pan, harmonic balancer, water pump and intake manifold.  The intake is too high, the oil pan is too low, the water pump discharges the wrong direction and when you change the water pump you have to change the balancer because it sticks out too far.  Other than that it is a great engine.  The block more but that much more. I think the motor will be fine to start with.
Phil

[mgbreis]

Great story Phil! On the 4.8, I've got a '66 malibu I've thought about putting a 4.8 in. Although I suppose as cheap as 5.3's are it would make sense to go with one of those. If I did that I'd probably try to keep the truck intake, I'm sure I'd have to change the pan. I think that 4.8 is going to be more than fine in your TR!

[Phil Crawford]

Ryan
I have a friend with a 66 camaro convertible with a 5.3 and it is really quick.  I believe you will have to change the intake to a camaro type for it it fit. You might also  be able to keep all of the accessories in their stock position which would be great. I believe after 05 they were all drive by wire. If you get a DBW and go to a camaro intake you will have to change the water pump because the discharge goes straight up into the throttle servo and if you change the water pump the harmonic balancer will have to be changed to a camaro balancer because the pulley on the water pump is recessed towards the motor. Consider a LS1 and compare end price.
I'm happy with what I have for the time being.  Have you been working on the malibu? I belong to a hot rod club and we may have some malibu's.  We have a meeting tomorrow night I will try to check on what will fit.  
Phil

[mgbreis]

Nope, I'm not working on the Malibu yet, it's a project for the future, maybe. I'm just finishing one project and kind of reassessing my car hobby and not starting anything major in the near future! My wife tells me to keep all my projects lined up for when the kids get older and I'm suddenly bored!

[Phil Crawford]

Ryan
Our car club met tonight but no one could give me an answer about the manifold fitting in the malibu.  Ask on google and you will surely get an answer.  Keep dreaming and one day you will have time to play.
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

Starting to look like a dash.

This is the trans. gear indicator.  I ran an old boat control cable from the gear selector and made a linear switch to indicate which gear I am in and also gives me a backup light. I have LED's in the dash to indicate the gear.

Getting the dash to go into place was a tough job.  With vintage aire ducts, wiring and the new gauges which are deeper it was a tight squeeze but it looks good.

I removed the steering lock and put the ign. sw. next to the AC controls.  With the wireless control for the door locks one of the benefits is ign. disable when you hit the lock button.  The key turns on but the motor won't crank until you hit the unlock button for the door opener. I installed 2 LED's above the AC controls one for the AC controls which comes on when the lights turn on and one above the ing. sw. that comes on when the door is opened.  Will be nice to see the key when it is dark..


A friend came over and helped me put the hood in place for a trial fit. I needed to see how much room I had between the radiator and the hood for a fresh air duct for the motor intake.  This is the first for me to see the hood on the car since before I painted it.  It looks good.


I took the time to take several photo's of the hood support I made. It was my design and I hope it works for you and for me too.  Feel free to use the design.  I believe the one support will be enough but if it is not I will put one on the other side.  The piston came from O'Reily auto parts.  If you want any more information contact me.













The cable clamp on the left end of the round bar will be mounted to the fender with a 1/4" screw after the hood has been installed and alighned.  It doesn't have to have a lot of support.


Mounted the fuel pump and filter regulator with return line on an aluminum panel and mounted the panel through 1/2" rubber to try to keep it quite.  The fuel line going to the motor comes up just right  of the fuel pump.  It is hard piped with 3/8" steel brake line all the way to the motor.

The dash support will also house the radio.  I am covering this vertical and horizontal area past the shift lever will be covered with the rosewood.

[dwtr6v8]

Nice work Phil,

With so many TR6v8 projects with custom frames, it gives me hope for my next project!

It can be done!

Keep-em-running!

[Phil Crawford]

Don
Thanks for looking and what is your next project.  I Think my next one will be a MG midget with a miata motor and trans. for my daughter who is 13 now. I'm not going to do as much modification on it as I did on the tr6.
Tks
Phil

[dwtr6v8]

I have been dreaming about a complete C4 , maybe a GTO, or CTS under a widened TR6 body.Custom sub frame, glass, custom soft top with maybe a little through back look with theTR4 hood bump...maybe 2 bumps.

[Phil Crawford]

Don
Sounds llike a plan.  I hope it takes place sooner then later.
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

I finally finished the rest of the dash today and it looks good.  I have a ring that goes around the base of the shift lever cover will install tomorrow.  The electric window controls are in the horizontal part. When I pushed the switches into the hole the wires just pushed it back out.  Just not enough room for the heavy wires in that small of area so I had to reconfigure it with 2 relays per window and move it behind the radio.  I have just 3 small wires going to the switches now and they didn't pop out this time.


The dash area has been a lot of work but well worth it. When people look inside your car you want to shine and look good.
I'm getting closer with just a gas tank and the carpet and seats.

[88v8]

Those seats look good. What are they from, and will they clear the soft-top mechanism when it's folded?

Ivor

[Phil Crawford]

Ivor
These are the tr seats that cam with the car.  I may change seats or I might not.
Thanks
Phil

[88v8]

Ahhh, yes, that's what the decrepit seats I inherited were supposed to look like!
I changed to Miata, with separate headrests, which for me were more comfortable and, imho, when trimmed to match the interior, don't look out of period. Also, they have the inwards taper to clear the soft-top frame. Getting the seating right can take a lot of time, but is pretty important if one wants to be in the car for any length of time.
One unexpected problem with the Miata seats was that the mounts I first used - from TR Trader - lifted the seat an inch or so, and that was enough to put my eyeline near the top of the screen frame. This is a real nuisance in seeing traffic lights and road signs, so I had to revisit the mounts and lower them. That's OK now, but the seat back comes pretty close to the B pillar so it's hard to get the seat belt (inertia reel)  around the side of the seat.
The only way to know whether seats suit you is to try them for a good long time, so if you buy some new ones I'd run the driver's seat in place for a while before you go to the trouble of recovering them. Be a shame to find you've spent time on a dead-end.
Nice that you're approaching the time when things like seats become a consideration.

Ivor

[Phil Crawford]

Installed the bezel over the shift lever cover.  Made it out of a 4" PVC pipe cap.  Didn't have any alum. big enough. May replace it one day before or after it breaks.Ha

[TR6-6SPD]

That's brilliant!
Ken