Total Performance King T Roadster - Hot Rod Girl Part VII

Well, Jim wasn't kidding when he said we were getting to the nitty gritty. As a first-timer I'm getting a quick lesson in rod building, that's for sure! The little, more tedious aspects seem to be countless, though I may be exaggerating just a bit. I'm not discouraged, cuz with every new task I learn a bit more and get a little more confident-and closer to completion.

Jim's kinda stepping back and letting me decide on how to proceed, though he does steer me in the right direction when I begin to do something that's a bit out of sequence. Last month is when I really began working on the "little stuff," lots of little stuff. At that time, with the body off the chassis I installed my Spal electric fan, the Powermaster alternator and starter, and wired the engine compartment-the temp sensor for the fan and the charging and starter wiring were installed and run rearward down the left framerail. I did it that way cuz the battery and Ron Francis fuse box will be located under the turtle deck behind the seat. I also wrapped the Flowmaster mufflers and a couple of sections of the exhaust system (one section near the brake master and a section near the starter) so I wouldn't run into heat-related problems in the future. I installed my Gotta Show braided stainless transmission lines and cooler-Jim didn't want to run the lines to the radiator since it's kinda on the small side, and he didn't want me to run into any cooling problems in the future. I also laid out and drilled the mounting holes in the body for my new Technostalgia taillights (which I love) and my license plate surround.

Since then I've started on a few more steps toward completion. I mounted the body (hopefully for the final time) and got it all bolted down. I also installed my radiator support rods, and at least one more section of my fuel lines (at the carb) and the fuel filler hose from the gas tank. I tackled the beginnings of my interior since last installment, as well!

So, why don't we take a look at what I've done since last time-it may not look like a lot, but keep in mind that with my regular day job, plus cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and taking care of Jim and our animals, there's only a few hours a week left over for my King-T, so hopefully you'll cut me a bit of slack if my progress is a bit slower than one thinks it should be.

	Speaking of the body, I bolted it down for what I think is the final time-yahoo!	Last time I'd done a bit of the wiring like the cooling fan, starter, and as you can see here, the charging circuit. I think I handled all the chassis routing (including the head, stop, taillight, and fuel sender) so there'll be a minimal amount of crawling around under the car once the body was on for good.
Next, I hooked up the kick-down cable from the tranny to the carb; the throttle cable will be installed later, after I figure out a comfortable location for the pedal assembly.	While I was tightening things, I double-checked the mounting bolts on my shifter assembly and adjusted the neutral safety switch, too.	Next, I located the mounting positions for the radiator support rod brackets and drilled the holes. These I attached with some stainless button-head bolts and nuts.
	I then set about installing the support rods. Jim says this is really important, especially when using an aluminum radiator, because the aluminum mounting tabs will break without the added support the rods provide.
Skipping around-as I have a habit of doing-I next mounted my Ron Francis fuse panel and my battery in the space behind the seat. I previously drilled a hole in the left front corner of the space so I can run the chassis wiring that I've already done up into it and to the fuse panel. In this shot you can also see the fuel filler hose sticking through the back wall of the space. Jim says he's making me an elbow that'll connect the hose to the filler cap assembly to finish that off.	Back to the front of the car-Jim's getting sick of moving his camera and tripod back and forth, I can tell, but he's staying amazingly quiet-smart man. I really like my Gotta Show braided stainless components, but I've gotta admit I'm getting tired of being poked by those sharp wires! I'd actually tried to tackle this particular install earlier, but cut this particular piece a bit too long, so I'm back to give it another go.	This piece runs between the front and back fuel inlets on the carburetor. There are a pair of nice stainless fittings (Jim calls 'em banjos) on either end; here you can see where I have to make my second cut to see if I can get things to line up.
Previously Jim showed me how to wrap the ends tightly with electrical tape to keep them from fraying when the line is cut. I used a cutoff wheel on Jim's grinder, going slowly and using a light touch, and it worked great.	With the line cut the next step is to slide the sleeve over the line, taking care you don't jab your fingers with those needle-sharp wire ends.	Next you slide the ferule onto the end of the line. The tapered end goes around the hose liner but under the stainless wrap. Then, you insert the fitting into the liner and thread the sleeve onto the fitting-piece a cake.
I then threaded the stainless extensions to the carb inlets (both front and rear), making sure to remember the sealing rings at all the junctions.		The banjo fittings with the freshly shortened piece of braided line went next. The fittings thread onto the extensions and tie both fuel inlets together so one line will feed them both.
With the carb end finally handled I moved down to the fuel pump, where I threaded in the AN adapter. Gotta Show supplies everything for this install in one kit, including all the fittings and a nice-looking stainless fuel filter, too! Next I attached the 90-degree elbow assembly to the adapter.	Unfortunately, once I was done I noticed that the setup would run the fuel line right in front of the water pump radiator hose barb-not good. Fortunately, Jim pointed out that the Delco fuel pump was clickable. In other words, he'd be able to rotate part of the pump to move the fitting so it wouldn't interfere with the radiator hose. Well, go to it, Jim, cuz I'm movin' on to something else, and there's no shortage of something elses, that's for sure.	Well, something else turned out to be tranny cooler lines and the cooler. Having gotten the handle of workin' with braided lines on the fuel system, this went along quite smoothly. I inserted the stainless trans fittings and measured out how much line I'd need to reach my cooler (also from Gotta Show).
This measurement was much more forgiving than the one at the carb, but I did have to plan out the routing of the line so it wouldn't interfere with anything else. Being that the car is pretty small and has a bunch of components crammed into a small space, there weren't too many choices for the cooler location. I did find one that'd get good air flow, though, and mounted it up. I then cut, fit, and attached the lines-another piece a cake!	Next came something a bit different: some fabrication. Jim had already made some wooden upholstery backing panels for me. Unfortunately, the wood was a bit too thick and wouldn't flex enough for the radius I wanted at the back of the bucket. I turned to Jim to find a way around the predicament, and he did! A local plastics supply house had 4x8 sheets of 1/8-inch Polystyrene plastic that would flex enough to make the curve. And the best thing about this plastic is that if heated, bent, and cooled, it'd hold its shape! So, I used the wooden pieces Jim had made as a template and transferred the shape to the plastic sheet and cut it out. With a bit of trimming and some time with a funky file of his (a Sure Form file, or cheese grater he says) I got it to fit really well.	With the strips in place, I then taped each of the pieces together and pulled it off the door in one piece. Next, I laid it onto a section of the plastic, traced it out with a marker, and cut it to shape with Jim's band saw. Cool, looks like it'll fit well, especially once it's wrapped with material.
With the oversized panel clamped in place I began to heat the plastic with Jim's heat gun (kinda like a hair dryer on steroids). As I heated it, making sure to keep the gun moving at all times, I pushed the rear edge of the panel bending the plastic into a radius at the corner of the bucket.	This stuff worked great! I wanted a radius so the upholstery would flow from the sides of the body to the back side rather than have the sides just meet the back at a 90-degree angle. I think it'll make the upholstery job look more professional, especially since Jim and I are gonna tackle that chore, as well. Once the panel was cool and holding its shape I then needed to mark and trim off the extra. I traced the extra at the top rear corner from the outside of the car, and then climbed back in to make the vertical mark. I will be making a separate piece to fit between the left and right, but I need to make a hinged cover so I'll be able to get to the battery and fuse block when and if needed.	With the first piece in I then made my own door template using strips of thin cardboard that I taped to the door one at a time, making sure to leave enough space around the edges to account for the upholstery that'll be wrapped around it.
Next I traced the left side wooden panel onto the plastic and cut this piece out too. I used some clamps Jim had to hold the panel in place so I could form the curve at the rear of it like I'd done on the right side.	I used the head of a mallet to push the panel up tight against the body while the plastic was soft, and once I was satisfied I turned off the heat gun and held the panel in place as it cooled and hardened.	I pulled the panel out of the car and trimmed it at my marks with a jig saw and then slid it back into place-looking good! Well, that's about all I can fit into this installment, so I guess I'll have to say see ya next month. And oh yeah, one last thing: if you're on the fence about ordering your own King-T I'd, get off the pot, cuz you don't want to end up on a waiting list-and ya sure don't want to miss next rodding season!