Project WidowMaker - The Build Thread

[The WidowMaker]

so...... you know that feeling you get when youre about to make a huge mistake and then you catch yourself. well, i didnt feel it, but i wish i did......

i just got the driveshaft back from dennys after a $115 round trip. i had to have it shortened since the magnum is longer than the tko. dennys is nice enough to supply you with a sheet to make measuring super easy, and it was. and my measurements were spot on. problem was i painted the rear when i did the frame and i sent my yoke off to have it coated. when i got it back i put it on the splines and slid it until it stopped. "stopped" is the key word which should have been replaced by seated. but it didnt get seated until today when i jacked the rear of the car up to put the driveshaft in and noticed that the yoke looked a little funny sticking out like it was. when i measured for the first time for the diagram i had jacked up the front of the car and couldnt actually get my head into a spot to notice.

so..... dennys wants 3/4" slip at ride height and i have 1 1/8" now. i dont think its going to be a huge deal. in fact, i dont think its going to be any deal. it just that little things like this piss me off. my only concern would be less support and extra vibration which is something i really dont want. im going to call tomorrow but i dont expect him to tell me to send it back.

[The WidowMaker]

well i called dennys and they said there would be no issues. they nomally shoot for ~1", so my 1 1/8" isnt too much. he said that if it were 1 5/8" he would worry a little. i never really asked what the issue would be if it were a little shorter. im not sure if it would be a vibration that would ruin the bearings on the output shaft, or if the reduced spline engagement would result in a failure from twisting.

i also started on the fender extensions today. although the first pic is the opposite side, both were about the same. even though it appears the hood could have been shifted back to get a good gap, the angle at the front of the fenders were wrong leading to a crooked gap if the hood was back and the extension was flush on the fender. i welded up the gap along the top and down the side and filed it down to fit. i still need to work the area towards the center of the hood since its about .030 too tight. so far i have about 4 hours in this since it took a lot of twisting and hammering to get it to fit pretty good before working the gap.

heres the first pic. in order to get .175 across the entire gap, it had to be pulled out. i had thought about spliting the extension and tweaking only the hood side out, but decided this would be cleaner.



heres the second pic. it snugs up a little more, but im holding it in place with one hand and snapping the pic with the other.




and heres the other project ive been working on. so far i have about 4 hours in this as well. way too much time for how little work it appears, but getting it all set up and repositioning takes a lot of time. plus i can only take about .050 in depth and side bite at a time. it will get recessed in the trans tunnel and it will be held in place with some screws that i havent drilled for yet. its obviously not necessary, but i like playing with the mill. each project shows me how much money i need to invest in good tooling.

[waynieZ]

I just went back and looked through your thread again. You do excelent work.

[The WidowMaker]

the sheetmetal work is done for now. i finally finished up the front fender extensions and the bottom of both doors. ive now started on the bumper. in the next month i hope to get the bumper narrowed, tucked, shaved and the plate area filled in. i also tossed the idea of a turn signal incoporated in the headlight and will instead find a thin light that can be mounted in the stock bumper area. the plan is still to open up the stock hole a little more and put the light behind a honeycomb cover. the rest of the hole thats not taken up by the light can serve as some sort of air inlet later if i choose.

the other plan is to get started on the grille. i had thought about a billet style slat grille, but it really doesnt flow. so my thoughts are a stock shaped grille, but 4 sections of honeycomb instead of the stock slats. plans are a bunch of 3/4" square aluminum stock that will get cut and welded with the honeycomb inset. my only other thought is to remove the horizontal divider, but i'll have to see how it all goes.

[HEEP]

I have planned also to fill the plate area on my front bumper. It has been a long time since my car was together. Can't remember where the hood release came out. Is it right over the plate through the bumper? If so, what are your plans for the release?
Great work by the way.

Thanks,
HEEP

[The WidowMaker]

Can't remember where the hood release came out. Is it right over the plate through the bumper? If so, what are your plans for the release?

yep. right in the area thats getting shaved. i havent mocked up the latch yet, but im thinking an actuator controlled by a button in the cabin and one on the key fob.

[The WidowMaker]

ive placed a few orders in the last week. the first was for glass from auto city. contrary to popular belief, money is tight and needs to be spread out as much as possible. i have a closet full of parts for this reason. so i picked up all the glass this month. price was 750 shipped to my door. i ended up getting all smoked glass other than the front window. i requested the front without the strip up top as well. ive never like it or seemed to notice any difference with it.

i also started picking up the pieces for the front end. the first pieces were some led lights for the turn signals. i bought 2 15 bulb strips, but may order 2 more depending on how bright these are. i also ordered a sheet of aluminum hexagon mesh tonight from grainger and im going to pick up the 3/4 bar tomorrow. im slightly worried that the 20ga aluminum mesh is going to be too fragile, but i'll have to see when it gets here. the only other material i could find was stainless and the smallest sheet i could find was over 200 bucks.

the bumper is also about as far as i can get it for now. i took 3/4" out of the middle and am going to pick up some 14ga to shave the license plate recess when im at the metal shop tomorrow. the brackets were also reworked and are now welded to the bumper. i also decided to reshape the ends of the bumper where it wraps around. the bumper has a nice tight radiused end and the fender has a larger radius. the plan is to make both the same. more to come......