The EVIL TWIN Engine Dragster Build

[Rocky Phillips]

Jan 2, 2012 17:44:59 GMT -5 lancer said:

Was the shoot for anything specific or just for fun? Would love to see how the photos came out. Night shoots can be real tricky but if done right can be pretty spectacular.

The Guys at Hot Rod Coalition (.com) put it together for thier website. Waiting to see how they turned out.

[Rocky Phillips]

2/23/2011
Before going any further with the rear end mounts I thought I'd better check the bell housing alignment and I found it was off by .020". So off it came, drilled the mounting and pilot holes out and got it within .003", then made some plates with the dowel hole diameter and welded them to the housing. While I had it off I also straightened the trans up to allow the "Top" shift to clear the frame rail. All back together and time to fab the rearend mounting.



After consulting with my wife Tamara I got the okay to dedicate myself to the Twin and have a roller by the March Meet. She even sent in the entry today, an Angel I tell you
No pic's but I made the engine mounting tabs, welded them to the frame and drilled the motor plates, straightened the rearend housing (heat shrinked) so the alignment bar is centered and started on the rearend uprights.
I'm also starting on the front end, machined my F-1 spindiles down to pass car specs and started on the pieces to mount the frontend to look like a torsion suspension. 2 weeks, here we go!!! Rocky
Tonight I fitted the X braces between the engine and rearend, I want to get all this area welded before I mount the rear end in case of any movement due to welding. I also installed a Xmember below the 3rd member for the anti-rotation mount and shaped the frame to frt axle links that will simulate a torsion set up.



Also shown are the F1 spindles machined to car specs and the Harly wire wheels I plan on using.

After cleaning up I had to set a tire up and take it all in:D

3/12/2011
Another productive weekend finishing some of the more challenging parts of the build. After fitting a couple of uprights in the drvers area (still need to add the kidney bars) and fabbing the anti-rotation bracket I dove into the front upper frame rails.


The upper rails need to be removable to get the engines out so I came up with this connection...............


The connection will require the lower frame to flex, allowing the upper rail to seperate enough (about 1/2") to uncouple the connection. The upper rail connects to the engines where the old front mounts were.

Once the upper rails were completed the task of "Pie" cutting the frame rail ends was next, and really had me intimidated.


The rails are 1 3/4" (lower) and 1 1/2" top so I started with marking 1" off the lower and 3/4" on the top. After cutting it short of my mark and grinding and grinding the measurement turned out perfect so the other side went much quicker.

All tac'd together and time to fish mouth the frame end for the "Torsion" tube. I measured for wheelbase and dilled 1/4" pilot holes on both sides of each rail then cut with a 1 3/4" hole saw. Having a piece of metal for the holesaw to rest on really helps with keeping your cut centered.


Cleaned up the cuts, final fitted remeasuring the wheelbase and tac'd in the tube.

After all the work I had a little time to play and mock it up:D

With any luck it may be running by May!
Lee welded what he could after I completed the front frame bracing.






The RH rear end bracket was a little more than a 1/2 RD cut as it had to follow the contour of the center section, so I make a little "Widget" to transfer the shape to the plate. Mark your project with line to follw to keep the shape transfer correct. I've used this metHod before on wheel tub projects and works really well and I have layout dye but a good "Magic Marker" works great!


Once I was happy with the rearend alignment the rearend housing was welded to the brackets after they were bolted to the frame, I used 3/8" bolts for now but they will be increased to (4 per side) 7/16" when finished.

My alignment tool is all scrap pieces including some old pistons;)
With this all done I cut some old axles mounted the wheels, and put her on the ground!



And this ones for you Tom:D

Yep, it's on the ground and ready for the frt axle build but here's the way we got here from where we last left off.

[Rocky Phillips]

Another part of the build done, I machined the frt kingpin bosses and bent the axle for the car today. I'm the luckiest guy in the world as I thought I trashed the front axle when I cut the wrong King Pin inclination:( But luck would have it that I was using the bottom of my 48 F1 axle as a jig so I recut the fishmouths and it fit the Top perfect, should go buy some Lotto tickets:D Anyway it's all tac'd and ready to weld, I took some more photos of my bender for you guys to check out. You'll see my home made die and an adapter to use the "Pipe" die which I had to fit to my "Troff" and shim up for 1 3/4 and again for 1 5/8".




Original Plan........

Revised;).......

The round tube was chosen to get the engines closer to the ground without having a frame that was 3' wide and the rearend alignment was accomplishd with a lot of measuring off the engine plate, an angle finder and finlly by checking the fit of the ujoint by sliding the yoke forward and seeing if thecaps slide back in with no resistance. Once all this checked out we welded the rearend mountsand once it was onthe groundwth weight on it double chck the ujoint fit and am very happy. I recieved Carls Fuel Logs and they a Bitch'n, I'd post pics but time is a PREMIUM right now as I'm trying to get thecar redy for the March Mee and got selected for Jury Duty this week.
3/17/11
Lee loaded up the car after we finished the front end this week and took it to Famoso today, I can't wait to get there tomorrow night!

[Rocky Phillips]

The team over at Hot Rod Coalition has a Feature on the Twin and I with the BEST photos before we tore it down to ready for the 2012 Season. Check it out here..............
www.hotrodcoalition.com/rockys-evil-twin/
hotrodcoalition.com

[Rocky Phillips]

4-22-11
Kinda got stalled after the March Meet, even robbed some parts from the Twin but were getting back on track. I had to remove the small chamber heads off one of the engines for our other Digger so I drug some "461's" out from under the bench, cleaned them up and cut the guides down for Positive seals. I found I'm going to have to make an oil return line off the heads to help get the oil out of the valve covers and the positive seals will help with oil control or lack of:D[/SIZE][/I]



With Eagle Field closing in I've had to change my goals to have the car running with the Strombergs so my first step is to finish the intakes. With the runners, mounting and logs all attached I cut out the valley cover out of 10g metal and tach'd it to the intakes while they were bolted to a mock up engine using gaskets. Next I'll quickly braze the seam to seal it up, then work on the distributor mounting.



With our HAMB Dragster in the hands of my Good Friend Joe Roseberry and needing it's front wheels and tires we bought a set of 17" for our Logghe Car and I put the 18" on the Twin. I think they represent the era perfectly.

Plans are to get it running real soon and post some YouTube videos! Rocky
After a long weekend of "Match Porting" steel runners, shaping the ends, and fabbing distributor mounting the intakes are done!!!!
A big Thanks to Carl who helped out on this project making the task easier. I took alot of photos but I can't believe I forgot the memory card:( These suckers were alot of work and I'm glad they are where they belong! Rocky



As promoised I shot some photos last night and made up my throttle arms do to (lack of) finances.

Started off with a piece of 1/2" plate Lee had laying around that I put in our Chop Saw using a Carbide Tipped wood blade



Then after Drilling, Filing, Sanding and threading I had these.


6-19-11
Video from Dos Palos, the NEW Drag City!
Here is some stills from Dos Palos.

[Rocky Phillips]

7-9-11
I Finally purchased the SFI Steel flywheels I needed, removed the ring gears and now need to make a trip to have the Machine Shop machine them to accept 2 Ring Gears. Once that is done I'll have Lee TIG the gears to the Flywheels, put short welds evenly spaced. A good friend of mine gave me a new McLeod Cover and Sintered Iron Disc to run and I think it will hold as I plan on "Blowing the Tires Away" and releaving stess on the clutch, we'll see:D

I also started on the "Hair Pins" for the Front end , give me something to do while waiting on $$$$$$


Meanwhile she just sits and waits for attention, I'm taking her to Gustine this weekend then i can take her all apart to finish the Bellhousings, Flywheels, Oil Pans, Chassis, order axles, get the "Pumpkin" ready, Brakes, Steering, on and on and on:D October 8th will be here quick! Rocky

"Hair Pins" and brackets are done and waiting for my son to weld them up, I couldn't wait and welded the Hairpins with the mig but Lee will Tig the rest.


The rear mount is a "Stub" that goes thru the upright and into the x-member.




I really happy with the look, a Radius Rod would of worked but the Hair Pins are the look it needed. Although not an issue with my as there is no front suspension, the "Torsion" arms would have to be slotted for the bolt that that holds them to the axle to eliminate binding.

Blew the rearend apart, took the measurements and ordered the axles today as October 8th is getting close.
Started to take the engines out last night and decided to start fitting the body, not looking forward to 'Glass work. After getting a look at the body on the car off it came and time to get the engines out, modify the bellhousings, and..........................................................................

The part I hadn't been looking forward to was removing the engines for the first time..........but it all went as planned and now I can fit the other bellhousing, install the steel flywheels and clutch while Lee finishes the welding. It looks so Naked:eek: without the engines!






9-5-11
The Labor Day weekend has been great and gives me a good feeling about making a pass or 2 at the Eagle Field Hot Rod Gathering October 8th.
The Dual Ring Gears were a little bit of a pain but I finally got them on with the teeth aligned.............

This photo shows how wide the teeth are now..........

My son Lee Tig welded (equally spaced) the Ring Gears to the new Steel Flywheels............

Here he is in action.........

Fitting the LH Bellhousing................

Flywheels Installed, bellhousings fitted and awaiting aome 1/4" steel Plate to fimish them..........

My 4:11 9" Drop Out a friend from Eagle Field gave me, looks good but in need of a good cleaning, new pinion Seal, and install a Mini Spool before it will be ready.............

Lee finishing all the Chassis and Front End welding, I drilled & tapped the King Pin set screw holes, greased and assembled the spindles, and just waiting for my clutch disc to be returned with the 1 1/16" hub so I can install the clutch before setting the engines back in.................


Man I'm getting tired of working on the bellhousings, the cutting fitting and welding seemed to not end, but I can finally say it's done! The Engine Plate is trimmed, the LH bellhousing has the 1/4" Steel Plate fitted and welded and now I just need to pick up the Clutch, TO brg and I can put it all together and set the engines back in the Chassis for the final time (HOPE) before Oct 8th.
I had thought about welding the 2 Bellhousings together but the fit is real good so I leaving them seperate..................
Before welding

After Welding

Well today was a good day, I picked up the clutch plate and T-O Brg (Ford Trans to Chevy Bellhousing and Fork), all the bolts I thought I needed (damn if I didn't forget a few), and BOOM my axles arrived. I would of had the Bellhousings on if I hadn't of loaned my Torque wrench out and been able to find Clutch Cover bolts in this town, but tomorrow is another day and the engines should be back in place by Sunday night. I did get the "Drop Out" ready to install and played with the parts like it was Christmas:D

The Twin has the engines back in place for the final time (I hope) before Oct 8th, it doesn't look any different but trust me it is with all the welding and bellhousings done. I need to see about a different TO bearing (longer) before the trans can go in, then a U-Joint shield and anti rotation bracket and the rear can go go in!

The project marches on! After modifying the clutch fork for what I think will be a Cable system I installed the trans, rearend, and rebuilt the brakes, All went pretty smooth except the axle taper hit the side of the carrier and had to be sanded down abit.
With all that done it was time to start on the Brake & Clutch Controls, and Steering.
Finished Clutch Fork..........

Dug around in my junk and found a couple of pieces that not only look cool but will save me some fab time:D The brake handle was complete and I think out of my sons 48 Ford F-1 or ? Photos were taken after the mods began.


After some mocking up I used a piece of the original brake handle linkage for a mounting tab and welded it to the Rear end housing.


Part of mocking up the handle was having it in alignment with the Master cyl.......



The pushrod will be 3/8" rd bar "Sleeved" with tubing, soon as I get the materials.
The Steering had me thinking for a while and I've concluded I need a Crossmember to mount my VW box to. Extending the shafts had me puzzled as I don't really like welding directly to the dox shafts. So far I'v modified the factory coupler to accept a 3/4 Tube about 1/4" before welding. I'm still working on the crossshaft attachment




Don't seem like much but now I have some ideas to follow thru with and we should be good for Oct. 8th!
9-27-11
SLOOOOOOOW but sure:D We're getting there! Working on the Driver Controls and have the Brake Rod fabbbed and the VW Steering Box layed out, needing some gussets and the Cowl Steering Shaft support before I can check it of my list. Only have about a week to get it ready (fingers crossed) for some 300' test runs on the 8th!





9-28-11
The car has brakes now and things are looking up! Lets see Steering support, Steering "Drop Arm", Drag Link, Clutch Pedal install and cable brackets, Seat, Seat Belts, Throttle, Gas Tank, Mount Battery, Oil Drain Back holes in heads, wire it up, and a Belly Pan and I should have the MINIMUM requirements covered
Man! If things go right I may drive this thing tonight:D Saturday night was good and got alot done, I started with the U-Joint Shield...........

Then moved on to hookin' up my clutch via a Cable I had made, wasn't cheap but I had to have it as time is runnig out, $110 for the cable

With the Fork end done it was time to tackle the pedal, something I wasn't looking forward too but it went well also...............


The Drivers compartment is starting to fill up and I also have the steering all layed out and ready to finish weld after a couple mor gussets are made. Here is some randam shots of the steering.


The "Drop Arm" may be a little long but I can shorten it, as it is 10" long withe the spindle arm being 6.5" long.

Getting close to needing a new list!

Videos from the Oct 2011 Hot rod gathering!

[Rocky Phillips]

Ok were we are today..............
Here's where we were.....................



Here's to 2012

Twin Disc Clutch

15' Ring Slot Chute



Mounting the Body using Army Surplus Fasteners
A Little progress has been made with some details being addressed. I shortened the cowl to the angle of the engine plate then filled the gap between the eng plate and cowl with some 1/8" aluminum sign material, tuff stuff

To mount the plate I used Chevy VC bolt "load spreaders", I wasn't looking forward to more small tab making.

Here's the view from the back side.

I also have been fiddling with this and that.........here's the mods I made to the exhaust.


Finally found a tank, need to have some repairs, make some straps and clean it all up.

Before the night was over I had to try the T body fit after the front of the body was completed. The mounting of the T body is coming to me and although I'm not looking forward to the glass work I'm salivating at the thought of how low the body will make the car look when I figerglass in the Tonneau cover.

Getting the details detailed..........painted the axle, hairpins, spindles, drag & tierod, steering box cowl extension, bellhousings and picked up the intakes and seat from the electroplater. The Moon tank just bneeded a patch which my son did then I wet sanded it with wd40 and 180 paper and finished it off with red scotchbrite, also wet with wd4o. Besides the history marks it turned out ok.

[Rocky Phillips]

2.5 hours of sanding the frame and I made it to the firewall

[Rocky Phillips]

Another 2 hours and I'm almost done sanding the frame, then theres 4 uprights around the back and helmet bars before we can paint it.



Christmas in FEB, Santa Carl sent me theses clamps that are perfect to mount the Moon tank!

[mechonit]

I can't wait to see it with the new paint & pieces!

[Rocky Phillips]

Thanks Mech! Were working on shirts too using this angle.....................

[Rocky Phillips]

Time for some progress photos, Eagle Field event is just over 2 months away and I have some Car Show commitments so I finished fitting the Helmet, Kidney and hoop upright bars.






Lining all the bars up was the biggest obsticle, nothing worse than looking at it and they are not simetrical, I started with a Tape measure, than used a level but ultimately went with eyeballing it

I have a hole saw joint cutter but I've learned to use the chop saw with success and I'm happy with the results. Here is a brief description of my method.

My friend Roseville Carl sent me these "T" clamps and I copied the mounts he made for his Digger. Tanks gonna be the icing on the cake, I may have to rename the car the Lembke and Phillips Twin


That's all for tonight, tomorrow I hope to have all the bars welded in and primer the beast!

[Rocky Phillips]

I finished the helmet bars with the tube between the uprights, then I was struggling with what to mount the Fuel Tank to and had been wanting to ad a diagonal so I combined the 2.

Here is the chassis in better light.....

We're rolling along NOW!

[Rocky Phillips]

Remember the old seat that was 1/2 Military and 1/2 folding chair? I "Electro Plated" it and had my friends at Cal Fast upholster and it looks perfect! Sorry about the quality of photos but here it is.............
BEFORE

AFTER


Working on finishing the body and mounting it then we weld everthing and paint it;)

[Rocky Phillips]

I'm no Tom Hanna but I'm pretty happy with the TWINS Body progress. Down to the last of my aluminum which a friend gave me off a trailer that had been damaged. Just made it