FC150...No End In Sight Project

Lots of information on stiffening the Harbor Freight English Wheel on the web.
The Harbor Freight tools just need a little tweaking to make them work well.
Grizzly has a small bench top E wheel I got for $79 on sale.

Shop Tools and Machinery at Grizzly.com

At $160, I would go with the larger Harbor Freight E wheel and add the stiffeners.

Looks like progress is being made, good job.


Dave

 

And you didn't take any photos?

 

Another piece of the fc puzzle acquired.

 

The glass made the trip laying flat? I trucked a ton o glass and never had good luck flat.

 

I would have broke that AND i would have rage quit something over it for sure.

 

It was 8 miles at 45mph, on a serta foam dog bed

 

Glass windshields should always be transported standing upright! You got lucky if that made it home without cracking. Those unsupported ends have enough mass to break it even on a small bump.
On the HF English wheel, my brother bought one some years back. The frame flexed so bad, it was useless. 150 lbs of additional steel bracing later, it works very well. The rollers and wheels are suprisingly well hardened as they need to be.
These are still the best English wheels for the money, just count on beefing up the frame.
As far as repairing cab corners on your FC, I used some repair quarter panels from a VW Karman Ghia that were fairly similar to rework for my front corners. I threw away 80% of the panels, but the 20% I used were suprisingly close! Way easier than making them on an English wheel.
-Donny

 

Allright, spent 2 hours on the blue fc, trying to get the radiator to fit. No go. 18" space, 19.5" radiator. Even at an angle, steering shaft interferes as does heater hoses.
Since I got a carb, and a rebuild kit for the carb, I also got a new coil and ballast resistor. I just want to get this thing running before winter. Kinda stuck now till I get the radiator figured out.

 

Picked up 2 new to me fc150 radiators. Going to install one now in the blue fc, then rebuild the carter yf carb I picked up last week, install it, put in the new coil and resistor, then see how nice this fhead runs.
With any luck, I will be driving my parts fc(sans brakes) by this afternoon.

 

One radiator leaks just a fuzz....but I'm not using stop leak here...

 

They both leak, but oh well. I rebuilt the carb, and the parts jeep runs like a top! Woohoo! I may be driving a forward control before xmas!!

 

And now I spent 600 bucks on a new radiator. Recore was 500.00, and an hour and a half away.
May as well go new at this point

 

last night, i got the clutch installed on the parts Jeep. i have a gas can strapped to the frame. still no brakes.
i was going to go on a maiden voyage last night, but since i replaced the drivers floor, i dont have the foot pedal to run the throttle. and since i dont have the dash in, i dont have the choke cable or an ignition.
while i want to drive an FC so hard, i figure i would wait. i would have to lean over the open engine to hotwire the motor, and then use both hands to operate the choke and throttle linkage, while shifting and steering. i just dont think its possible with only two hands.

i got my Wilwood brake master cylinder fabbed up, so i just need to plumb the lines and brakes are done. they may work, but it really doesnt take much to run new lines. one less thing to worry about.

i really should start a new thread for the blue FC, since its been getting more attention than the red one. only sticking enough money and parts in it to get it running and driving though....

 

ready to go.....almost.....few more items to address...

 

YOU CAN DO IT...super awesome...cant wait to see a video of it cruising around

 

I know you want to go for a spin
safety first

 

Considering that this the brakes, I would be welding a bit more than just those corner tack welds.
I'll be watching how you fit this bracket to the frame.
-Donny