I'm getting better at this sheet metal stuff

I needed a way to hang my ignition and vacuum pump chamber off the engine so I decided to try making the bracket from one piece of sheet metal. I went with a 12 ga SST so it would look good without any painting or plating.

Pictures show the raw part then bending the part, installing the nuts and the finished part.

Here it is installed on the engine with the ignition box, coil and vacuum pump chamber all bolted in place.

Nicely done.
Clean idea.

Very nice!

Do you like that big coil? I run one with my 7AL2 and in retrospect would have bought a smaller one. Always ran 0.042 inch spark plug gap and didn't change it with the new coil. Burned up about half a dozen nice Accel caps because the inner electrode burned up. Ended up having to reduce the plug gap to 0.030 to prevent cap failures.

I just don't need that much energy..........

I've never had any issues with this coil and I've run it for at least 10 years on all of the dyno engines.

Very nice!

As always, you are a class act and your work reflects the same.

You be a crafty fella!

Very nice!

Are those PEM nuts! Very professional.

What spark plug gap do you set the plug for?

Yes, I press in the PEM nuts since that is a good way to attach things to sheet metal. With the PEM nuts you don't have to access the back side of the part with a wrench so you can pack things together tighter. PEM nuts are inexpensive and easy to install but you do need the right equipment.

That's just sick!

R.

I also just bent up a pair of brackets for the racing seat in my Duster. It is nice having a hyd brake out in the shop so I can bend this stuff. The laser cutting shop is just up the road and they cut parts for me with a 4 or 5 day lead time so that isn't too bad.

I was able to bend up a new throttle bracket today for my EFI engine. The regular throttle brackets do not fit with the fuel rails so I built one that came off the carb studs. It needed a Z bend and a twist to clear everything.

I wish I had the tools and skill to do that.

That's a common thought of mine as I peruse through these threads. Very nice work...

That crafty fella never rests.

Andy, what did that press brake cost and what brand is it? I am looking at a 60 ton for some home projects!

Times 3.
Great looking stuff there Andy.

a regular cheapo 20 ton hobo freight h beam press will do that with ease on small items. you just need to be creative with your clamping and support pieces. not hard at all with a tiny bit of practice.

I have a 4 foot Diacro press brake. It is about 50 years old. You can find them on ebay for $3000 to $5000 depending on condition. I think they are like old pickup trucks. The value just stays constant year after year since there are always people who want those old press brakes.

We surplused 8 each 60 ton 72" accurpress cnc machines at work, they went for 6-7K and were shipped to mexico...

Yep, fully depreciated machine shop equipment usually sells for scrap price. The company that is selling the stuff doesn't want it and doesn't want to mess with trying to get top dollar for it. The asset is fully depreciated and anything they sell it for gets taxed. Lots of people make money buying that kind of stuff from folks who don't want it and selling it to people who do want it.......

I built some more parts recently. Here is a gauge panel for my Coronet and a bracket to hold the Tach. These are both prototypes, will most likely redesign both of them but they seem to work for now.

Latest project is an adapter that holds a 727 transmission on my engine stand. This makes it really easy to work on the trans.

Sure looks like a better idea than having them all unstable on a flat bench.

Is this something your going to produce? If so, sign me up.

Very nicely done, Andy. You are one of my Mopar Heroes.

I'm not sure. I made one for myself and I had some extra blanks cut out so I could make more. But, the first one was a lot of work and it didn't come out looking like something I could sell so back to the drawing board.

I'm working with the guys at US Car Tool on some of these tools so if there is something that you really want or need then give them a call.

I just came up with this rear end carrier so I could safely remove and install the Dana 60 in my Duster. It was unsafe to use the floor jack since the rear end was unstable on it so I designed this carrier. The carrier bolts to my trans jack so it can't flop around or tip over.

I sent the info on this over to US Car Tool so if people want a carrier like this just call them and they can make them. I don't think I'll make them in production since it is a too big for my brake press.