Northern Bel Blog

Hot & Cold

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:37:00 +0000

In these photos Rad Rides demonstrates the importance of mocking up as much as possible before final weld and well before paint. When we were planning to build the car for F.A.S.T. racing, I would have used a Chrysler 727 transmission. Now that we are going the pro-touring route and using the GM 4L80E & Gear Vendors Over Drive, the floor had to be cut to make room in the transmission tunnel. Once we did that, the NHRA rules require adding a few more bars to the roll cage. We have to put in one connecting the front bars that follow the A pillars. We also have to add in bars that run on the interior of the car along the rocker panels.

It is common to leave the front connecting bar exposed, either on top of or below the dash. In this build, Rad Rides carefully found a way to conceal it entirely behind the dash. Note in the pictures how it clears the Vintage Air unit, gauge cluster and wiper control, wiper linkage, and radio.

After going that far, Troy really liked the idea of adding the bars connecting the front of the roll cage to the front sub-frame, just above the engine K member. This will add that much more stiffness to the chassis to resist warpage from engine torque. It will also make a more stable platform for the suspension to be able to do its job. It definitely won't look stock, however as Troy pointed out, the cage is in the car is going to be pretty obvious to begin with. Also, they will do a nice job of blending the bars into the engine bay along the inner fenders.

General view of the fit

Clears the light switch

Wiper arm linkage

Radio and speaker

Right side corner

Vintage Air unit

Vintage Air unit shown below the dash

Steering column drop / support

Junction of the front bars that go through the engine bay
with the rest of the cage

Interface with the front frame rails, just above the K member

Moving Along

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:08:00 +0000

I just got back from another visit to Rad Rides. A lot of parts have come in:
Hotchkis suspension components
Mod Man intake
Wilwood brakes
Magnum Force 2" drop spindles
Strange Dana S60
SFI Spec 4L80E transmission shield

Also Bob Sweeney from FX Engines met me there and we had a long conversation about the engine specs. Clearly I still have a lot to learn and a lot more research to do before nailing down all of the specifics. Very knowledgeable guy that built a land speed record engine for Blow Fish.

Note in the picture below that the engine bay is further cleaned up and the seams between the inner fenders and the firewall have been welded. Also the seam between the cowl and the firewall has been ground back, welded and ground smooth.

Change in Direction

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:04:00 +0000

As of April 2011 we have decided to take this project in another direction. Previously we were building it around the Factory Appearing Stock Tire (F.A.S.T.) class rules. The competition has driven the top cars in that series to become highly focused cars. Building a car to compete at the top of that class would have meant sacrificing the use of this car for nearly all of our intended purposes. As a result we have decided to make it much more a pro-touring style build.

The car will now be powered by a twin turbo 572 cubic inch Hemi. The block will be an aluminum Keith Black. The heads will be from Stage V. Take a look at some of the latest pictures.

Going to Paint @ Rad Rides by Troy

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:26:00 +0000

It has been a long time coming. The car is ready and I have decided on where to get it painted. I weighed a number of options: US Car Tool, a few painters local to me in PA, a couple local to my dad in IA, a high end painter in OH, and Rad Rides in IL. Each have their plusses and minuses.

I decided to go with Rad Rides. They have produced Ridler winning cars and paint jobs in the past. I really like the style of the cars they produce. They have a great reputation. They are relatively close to Iowa. I toured their shop and was very impressed with the people that I met, the work that I saw, and their facility. They are more expensive than most of the other options, but I believe that I will get what I am paying for.

Transportation from NC to IL is being arranged now and Rad Rides will begin work as soon as it arrives.

E-coat

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:02:00 +0000

Before

After

Northern Bel has been e-coated! To recap... the car was acid dipped. All the metal work was done. Now the car has been e-coat dipped at an industrial facility using PPG Powercron 590.

This process submerges the entire car in a series of tanks that clean, prepare, and coat the metal. The entire car is coated, inside and out. Every crack and crevice, in which water can go, has now been coated. This process should provide excellent corrosion protection and a good surface for final body work and paint.

Double click the video below to watch the process.

Them's the Brakes

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:44:00 +0000

A set of Wilwood four piston disc brakes were added to the completely rebuilt front end. US Car Tool also refurbished / rebuilt / replaced the hemi K-frame, lower control arms, spindles, joints / bushings.

Finding a set of brakes for this application was tricky. I wanted a light weight yet street worthy system. The additional constraint was that they had to fit inside 14" steel wheels! The F.A.S.T. rules dictate that I have to run 14" steel wheels when in their competition.

Fortunately Joel Nystrom was nice enough to help me out. He runs a '67 GTX in F.A.S.T. and told me that these Wilwoods fit and are what he runs. They will be almost entirely hidden in the steel wheels so it won't be obvious that they are there.

I would like to get an identical set for the rear brakes. I am not sure if that makes sense or not. I will research that more when I buy the full rearend setup.

Body-in-White (BIW) Program Complete

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Mon, 03 May 2010 03:36:00 +0000

Northern Bel has completed the US Car Tool Body-in-White (BIW) program. There are updated photos on Northernbel.com showing the details. All of the metal work is done. The body is now straight and rust free. The roll cage is done and sub-frame connectors are installed.

The next step on my project is to send the car out for an e-coat dip. It was not easy to find a place to dip a car this size but I did find one. A jig is being built and then the body will be mounted sidways in the jig and dipped.

One of the requirements for dip is that there be no sealed areas where vapor can get trapped. Due to this, 3/16 inch holes will be drilled at both ends of all roll cage tubes to allow the liquids in all of the tanks to enter and leave each tube. This will prevent potential explosions going from one tank to another. It will also assure that liquid doesn't collect during dip and then harden in the tubes during bake.

After e-coat, it is finally time for paint. Included in the updated photos are some paint samples shown against the inside of the original trunk lid. The darker sample was shot with paint that is supposed to match the correct factory paint code. The lighter sample was shot with paint created by scanning the trunk lid. I need to decide on the shade and who will paint the car.

Roll Cage Construction

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:30:00 +0000

US Car Tool has nearly completed the roll cage. The main cross bar behind the front seat still has to be installed. All of the joints will be fully welded. There will be some gussets added and features such as swing-out / removable door bars and a window net.

I hate having to put one in this car. However, to be able to use it as I intend, it is required. This cage is constructed out of TIG welded chrome-moly tubing and will be NHRA and IHRA legal to a quarter mile time as fast 8.50.

This cage can be considered a 6, 8, or 10 point cage, depending on how you look at it. There are only 6 points where the primary cage tubes come in contact with the body. However, it could be looked at as though the door bars count as 2 more points, since they connect to the front down tube just as it connects to the floor. Additionally, the two small diagonals supporting the main hoop could be considered 2 more points.

A lot of care was taken to try to hide the cage as much as possible while still remaining a legal cage. The front down bars run along the A-pillars and through the top of the dash. The top bars are tucked up very close to the roof while still leaving room for a headliner. The main hoop is positioned behind the chrome strips that seal the front and rear side windows. The rear down bars follow the c-pillars as close as possible while still going through factory openings in the package tray. The door bars are shaped to meet the rules and go over the top of the factory door mounted arm rests. The car will be fitted with electric windows so there won't be any interference with the cranks. Additionally the door bars will be fitted with hinges and latches that allow the bars to either swing open or be removed entirely for street use.

In addition to the cage, these pictures show the installation of the US Car Tool sub-frame connectors. These connectors are laser cut to follow the contour of the underside of the factory floor. The combination of the roll cage and these connectors should make the unibody very stiff, at least compared to how it left the factory.

All Mocked Up

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:16:00 +0000

You can finally see the how this might turn out to be a nice car! John, Cisco, and the crew at US Car Tool have been busy. Nearly all of the good sheet metal is mocked up on the car to make sure everything fits right and it is square and level.

All of this metal will be welded in place over the next couple of weeks. The next step after that is the Chrome-moly roll cage.

To see more pictures click the title of this post or go to:
northernbel.com and click on Photos in the menu or just click:
http://www.northernbel.com/images/photos

Ready for Welding

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:09:00 +0000

The crew at US CAR TOOL has made a lot of progress. All of the necessary sheet metal is cut from the donor car and prepped for welding back on to the Hemi car. They are doing test fits now and making any necessary adjustments.

They have really done a fine job of carefully cutting both cars apart. No more was cut from the Hemi car than absolutely necessary. No shortcuts were taken cutting the good parts from the donor car. Notice how they removed the entire trunk including the quarter panel drops from the donor car in one piece! They cut it off frame rails and all and drilled out all of the spot welds from the underside!

Past the Point of No Return

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:29:00 +0000

The crew at US Car Tool has been hard at it. Removal of all of the bent and Swiss cheese like metal is nearly complete. What is left in the pictures you see is what is going to stay on the Hemi car, for the most part. You can see the pictures at northernbel.com or http://uscartool.com/img/66HemiBelvedere/

There are still a few minor spots, like under the cowl and the passenger side rear inner wheel housing, that will still have to be cut our and replaced. However, most of what you see is staying on the car. They tell me that all of the frame rails are in good shape and will not have to be replaced. The wrinkle that was in the roof straightened it self out completely as well. So, the key parts of the original car that are staying include: all frame rails, full floor, firewall, left side front inner fender, roof, left side wheel housing, radiator core support. The core of the car is all staying together, intact.

I am very excited about this progress. It finally feels like this project is real and will be completed. Large visual progress should happen fairly rapidly over the next few months. They plan to start cutting the good sections from the donor car next week and welding them on to the Hemi car in January.

They are going to start cutting the good parts that they need off of the donor car next week and will probably start welding them back on the Hemi car in January. They claim they are still on target to have the car painted by the end of March (unless I decide to send it back out for dip and e-coat somewhere, which will delay things).

No More Rust!

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:05:00 +0000

Both cars are back from dip! Now this is starting to look like a real project.

(See the Photo page of NorthernBel.com for full slideshow of all new images)

Once they guys at US Car Tool (USCT) saw the condition of both cars, they decided it would make the job a lot easier if they just sent them both out for dip. They completely stripped the donor car as well. They did this at no additional cost to me, due to their flat price Body-in-White (BIW) program.

Both cars came back looking better than what we feared. The donor car was EXTREMELY CLEAN! About the only rust on this car was on the right rear quarter panel bottom. Even there, it was just some pinholes that will be easily cut out and fixed due to the flat surface. The area around the rear wheelwells is typically very prone to rust on these cars and this one came back almost completely clean.

The hemi car is just as dented as ever, but all the rust is gone. The game plan is that they will be able to save the following: full floor, firewall, all sub-frame/frame rails, roof, package tray, left inner fender, radiator core support, and possibly the rear inner wheelwells. Pretty much all the rest will be replaced with components from the donor car.

The project should progress fairly rapidly over the next few months. The idea is to have the car painted and ready to send back to Iowa by March, 2010.

Take Two!!

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:34:00 +0000

Well, I got off to a false start with the Resto-Rides shop in Solon, IA. They prepped and sent Northern Bel off to a frame shop in Iowa City. When the frame shop looked at the car, I got a disappointing phone call. They told me that they thought the car was so badly bent that in trying to straighten it, they could end up pulling the car in half! Ed, the owner of Resto-Rides, advised me not to try fixing this car and instead to refocus on the donor car.

This had my head spinning for a few days. I really needed to think about it. I didn't want to give up the goal of restoring this Hemi car but I didn't want to spend multiple times what it would be worth to fix it correctly either.

One of the shops that I considered using prior to selecting Resto-Rides was US Car Tool in North Carolina. I gave them a call and asked them about their Body In White (BIW) program. I asked them to take a look at the pictures on Northerbel.com and let me know what they thought. I told them what the frame shop had told me too. After looking at the pictures, they gave me a call back and they were not concerned at all! They asked me to ask the frame shop how many B Body Mopars they had done. I did that and sure enough, they had only worked on a handful and none in the past decade!

I made the decision to push forward with restoring Northern Bel and use US Car Tool's BIW program. You can watch the progress on this site or on their site at uscartool.com. Look under the BODY IN WHITE section and click on BODY IN WHITE 66 Hemi Belvedere.

Renderings

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:32:00 +0000

These renderings were created for me by Carter Hickman. Even before buying the car, I struggled with which direction to take the build. I considered many different options: restomod / pro-touring, full restoration, F.A.S.T class build, etc. I found Carter after seeing some of his work on lateral-g.net. I decided it would be a good idea to sort out the direction I wanted to take my car by using 3D renderings rather than getting part way, or all the way, done and wishing I had gone another way. As far as paint goes, I decided to go with the original factory color. I like the dark blue metallic and since it’s original, it was an easy decision. I had a tougher time deciding on the trim and mouldings. This car came from the factory with both the center Belvedere II moulding and the Satellite trim around the wheel wells, and along the rocker panel and lower rear quarter. I had never, and still have not, seen a Belvedere with this trim combination and could not imagine what it would look like. I like the look of '67 GTX's with trim on the rocker and around the wheel wells and I thought about just going that route. However, after seeing the rendering with all of the original trim, I really liked it and decided to put it all on. This decision was one of the key factors in leading me toward the F.A.S.T. class build, and away from a restomod. I don't ever plan to sell the car, but leaving off the center Belvedere II trim would definitely have hurt its value. Seeing it in the rendering, liking it, and considering the value equation lead me to keep it more original.The wheels were, and still are, a very difficult decision for me. Fortunately they are easy to change and don't affect the value much. However, they can be very expensive so I would like to only pay for one really nice set. You can see from all of the renderings the numerous ideas that I’ve had for the wheels. I still have not found “THE” set that looks just right to me. I think I must have been driving Carter nearly crazy with this. There are so many styles to choose from and I just had to stop at some point. In addition to wheel styles, I experimented with wheel sizes and vehicle ride heights. The final version shows 18 inch rear wheels and 17 inch fronts.At a minimum, the car will have two sets of wheels. To run in F.A.S.T., the car must run G70 - 14 tires on steel wheels. Most likely, these will just be painted steel wheels. I bought some of the optional 1966 factory spinner hub caps to go on these wheels too. The second set will be a nice set of billet wheels and I still have not decided which ones they will be.Please take a look the renderings and let me know your thoughts.

RestoRides Picked Up the Car

noreply@blogger.com (David J. Meyer) — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Ed and Matt picked up the car this past Thursday night. They will swap out the K-frame and steering with the donor car this week. Hopefully they will have it to the frame shop and have it all straight over the next three weeks.