Salt Flats Speed Shop

Got the top two suspension arms tacked in place on the plymouth.

2012-03-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

I worked today on getting the two top suspension arms on the car. Next is the mount for the coilovers.

Start of rear suspension on the plymouth.

2012-02-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

I got the axle mocked up where it needs to be in the frame using the tires. Then I used some scrap metal to tack the housings to the sides of the frame so nothing moved while I figure out the rear suspension.

Then I got the two bottom arms tacked in place.

Quickchange almost completly put together

2012-02-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

I worked the other day on getting my quickchange assembled. I got all new bearings and races and it went together really well. I just have the seals at the end of the housings to put in and the double nut for the pinion. Then its final assembly and getting it back in the frame.

Clutch pedal and linkage figured out on the 32'

2012-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

In order to get the arm for the clutch to line up with the clutch pedal I had to move it away from the transmission. So I had my machinist buddy up the street make me the extension sleeve with a brass bushing. Then I welded an arm to it that bolted to the side of the transmission so that it would support the end of the shaft. Finished it all up and it works great!

Flathead is mounted in the 32' frame

2012-02-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

I got the the clutch all put together and the transmission bolted onto the engine today. Then I was able to get the engine and trans into the frame.

Then I took my new set of braided spark plug wires and got them attached to the distributor. I plan on running the original style tubes that the spark plug wire will run inside of. That will clean the wires up a lot better.

Installing rear boxing plates

2012-02-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

I got the boxing plates back from the laser cutter today, and started getting them tacked in place.

Front end is back on the 32' frame

2012-02-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

I started bolting the front end back on the 32' frame last night.

Brake lines are in the 32' frame

2012-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

I got the brake lines back in the frame now. Its fun to see parts going back on for the last time.

32' frame cut and buffed

2012-02-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

I got the frame for my 32' sedan all cut and buffed today. Its amazing to me how different the lacquer black on the outside frame rail looks than the single stage modern paint on the inside looks. The lacquer is so deep and looks wet compared to the modern paint.

Starting to get ready to box the plymouth frame.

2012-02-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

I got the frame locked into my frame rack at the ride height we want in respect to the ground. Now i'm getting the front and rear sections ready to box. I made the first pattern for my boxing plates on the drivers rear. I'll take that pattern and scan it into the computer and then make a cad drawing for my laser cutter to use.

Frame completely painted

2012-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

I got the inside of the frame painted the other day. Now I can finally start bolting things back together for hopefully the last time.

32' Frame Rails Painted

2012-01-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

I got the frame rails painted black lacquer today. Next ill mask off the outside frame and spray the inside with a modern single stage paint to protect it more.

Starting on the suspension

2012-01-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

I got the body pulled off of the frame on the Plymouth. I'm going to start preparing for the installation of the suspension. Ill need to lock the frame into the frame rack, and box some of the critical areas.

Plymouth passenger front fender finished!

2012-01-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

I finished up the passenger front fender today. I'm super excited on how well the fender turned out. It looks like its brand new!

32' Sedan Frame Has Primer.

2012-01-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

I finally got the outside frame rails sprayed with primer. Now I have to block them out and get it painted.

2012-01-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

We bought a near perfect original grill on ebay. It came today...wow such a nice piece. Actual origal paint!

Brass looking electric fan.

2012-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

I got my electric fan the other day for my 32' sedan. I didn't want it to stick out with it being black plastic. So I painted and antiqued it to look like brass. Now it blends into the radiator a little better.

32' sedan frame ready for body work & paint.

2012-01-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

I got the frame mounted on two engine stands so I can do the body work and get it painted.

Passenger side spare tire hole all patched up!

2012-01-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

I finished up on the patch for the spare tire hole. Im super happy with how well the patch panel blended into the surrounding fender!

1928 roadster upgrades finished!

2011-12-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

I finished up all the upgrades to the 28' roadster today. The last thing I've been upgrading was the brakes. I replaced the single master cylinder with a dual master cylinder. I got the brake pedal ratio from 3 to 1 back to 6 to 1. And I got the front brakes converted to a more modern Bendix style self energizing drum brake setup. Care was taken to not change anything visually on the car, we just wanted to make it easier to drive and stop. With all the upgrades the brakes work super nice now!

Plymouth has new wheels and tires.

2011-12-22T16:51:00.000-08:00

We got the wheels and tires the other day. I got them mocked up on the car. They look great!

Patch panel welded in!

2011-12-22T16:45:00.000-08:00

I got the patch panel all welded and grinded. Now its the process of leveling all the waves in the patch panel so that it flows with the rest of the fender.

Patching the spare tire hole.

2011-12-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

I got the patch panel tacked in place and I've started welding it solid.

Plymouth Passenger Front Fender

2011-12-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

Ive been working on the passenger front fender. It had some big dents on the front of the fender that I worked out. And im filling in the spare tire hole. I used the drivers side fender for patterns of the curves top to bottom and side to side. Then I rolled out a patch panel on the enlgish wheel. Its all trimmed, and ready to tack in place.

2011-12-03T16:42:00.003-08:00

I got everything out of the frame, and sprayed primer on a bunch of the suspension parts.

Front and rear drivers side fenders are done.

2011-11-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

I finished up the drivers side fenders this morning. Got them bolted on the car so that we can start mocking up tires and get suspens
ion ordered.

More brake lines.

2011-11-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

I got the lines completely run for the front brakes. And the first main line for the rear brakes is also made. Now its just the line across the rear cross-member to the other side and the brake lines are done.

Delivery Front Fenders

2011-11-18T14:19:00.001-08:00

I got all the dents worked out of the front fender. Now I just have to repair the rip on the side.

Start of the Brake Lines

2011-11-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

I started on the brake lines tonight. I'm running stainless steel lines and fittings. The lines run from the master cylinder to the residual valves for both the front and rear. Then the bottom line runs to the proportioning valve that will allow me to control when the rear brake activate so that the rear brakes don't lock up first.

Bendix Brake Conversion

2011-11-14T20:48:00.001-08:00

So I wanted to keep the look of my 40' ford backing plates. But I didn't want to mess with the original internal hardware. So i'm converting the backing plate to accept modern bendix style self energizing and self adjusting hardware.

So first thing to do is to make room for the bottom adjuster. So I had to section the bottom piece outward. I welded in the nut from the back side so that it still looks like the shoes are mounted solid on the bottom.

Plymouth Front Fender

2011-11-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

Been working on the dents on the drivers side front fender.

2011-10-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

Ive just about finished up the rear fenders. They are looking a ton better than when I first started!

2011-10-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Been working more on the rear fenders. Ive got the passenger fender just about finished. And im in the process of fixing the bead on the drivers side.

1937 Plymouth Sedan Delivery

2011-10-24T16:54:00.001-07:00

This is the next big project in the shop. Got the car tore down and sandblasted. Now im starting to work on the rear fenders. First thing is to get the major dents worked out and the overall shape roughed in as close as possible.

Exhaust system

2011-10-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Been working more on the exhaust. Got all the exhaust run through the back, and got the side pipes run into the exhaust as well.

Rear webs, and rear shocks.

2011-10-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today I got the rear webs, and the rear boxing plates back from the laser cutter. Got the webs tacked in place in the rear radius rods.

I made a set of boxing plates that the shocks will mount to. They will be welded flush to the frame.

Side exhaust

2011-10-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Ive been working on making some side exhaust for my 32' sedan. I took a 3" pipe and tapered it down to 2". Got it mounted in the car so it just pokes out at the end. This side pipes will be straight piped, and then the other exhaust will go through the middle of the car through mufflers out the back.

Start of the new Blog!

2011-10-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Ive been wanting to do this for a while. So better late then never.

So far i've had the shop now for 4 years. Had the oportunity to work on a lot of cool projects. And look forward to many more in the years to come.

Check out my website for past info: www.saltflatsspeedshop.com

So recent

ly ive been working on a few projects. I have been fixing a few things on a 1928 roadster that was at my open house this year. The owner and I wanted to make it a little nicer driver so we've been upgrading a few things.

First I upgraded the schroeder steering box with a reducer to get the steering ratio from 8 t0 1, to 16 to 1. Before it took both hands to steer, and was really tiring. The owner wanted to be able to have his wife drive the car. So now its really easy to steer.

The next thing I upgraded was the pitman arm. The old pitman arm had its splines welded onto the steering box so I had schroeder make me up a new steering shaft with their splines, and had them thread the end. Then had them send me one of their ford style pitman arms. I softened all the edges and shaped it to look like the original ford pitman arm. Then I made a dummy piece of threads that screwed into the threaded end of the steering box. That way I could put on the original ford lock washer and castle nut.

Overall it looks almost exactly like it was before, just has an allen head bolt. But the main improvement was to have a one piece shaft insted of having a welded on end that could fail.