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S 5 : Ep 1

Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Bryan visits with multi-time land speed record holder George Poteet and we check out Wade Kawasaki’s F-Type Project 7

Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Any automotive project is a giant puzzle in some way, shape, or form. The 1937 Ford race car Davin is getting back into usable shape is an expert-level puzzle, but luckily there are some hints as to how the pieces were intended to go back together—but is that the correct way?

The Ford is hardly a Ford anymore, more of a hodgepodge of parts from multiple years and multiple manufacturers. The front suspension is probably the best example of that. Davin talks through all the parts on the table and what it amounts to is a lot of backyard engineering done by the original builder. The straight axle is never going to drive like a modern independent front suspension, but with a few thoughtful changes and making sure there is minimal binding, it will work better than most might think.

One of the first things to change is the jackscrews for the front leaf springs. That’s right, two leaf springs for a single solid axle. The short springs are transverse and have jackscrews that are used to adjust the attitude of the chassis. The problem Davin sees with the current setup is that these jackscrews are so far outboard that the effective spring rate is nearly infinite. With the engine and transmission in place, he could jump on the front end and there was next to no deflection from the suspension. That’s a setup for understeering into the wall.

So Davin adds four additional jackscrew locations so he will have some additional tuning capability and hopefully will be able to make those small leaf springs work for the chassis rather than against it. Of course, those are not the only pieces working against the system.

The steering arm seems to be bent or otherwise angled in a way that binds things up before any weight is placed on the suspension. The shocks are also hitting their respective brackets so some clearance and redesign will likely be needed. A whole host of bushings will need to be turned on the lathe to tighten things up appropriately. As a whole though, this mock-up is a success and lays a perfect baseline for the improvements and changes Davin has brewing. You have to tune in to a future episode of Redline update to see just what all those changes are, so be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss an upload.

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

The traditional Redline Rebuild is was just an engine, but in the case of the Honda Trail 70, Davin is working on the motor as just one part of a bigger machine. The engine on these small bikes goes together fast enough at normal speed that the time-lapse concept is almost overkill. Think we’re joking? This week’s Redline Update proves it.

Before assembly can happen, the cleaning must happen. It’s often an off-camera job simply because it is the most boring part of any project. It might be an uninteresting process, but the results are often worth the effort. For the Trail 70, Davin tried vapor honing, a technique he had not yet used on a Redline Rebuild project. The engine case was shipped down to Ohio, where a friend spent a half hour blasting away years of grime and corrosion. The finished product is gleaming and ready for the roller bearings to be pressed in.

Once a few bearings are in place, the assembly goes quickly. Since the Honda is mainly press-fit roller bearings, there is minimal measuring like the automotive engines Davin is used to. The simple transmission tucks in nicely before the crankshaft settles in next to it. The clutch plates soak in oil for a lunch break before going together to wrap up this assembly session.

Next up is the piston and top-end assembly, and if you don’t want to miss a minute of the process be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to get notifications when each video goes live.

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Of all the skills in Davin’s personal toolkit, paintwork is one that he has not yet perfected. Between the space needed and the careful attention to each small detail in the preparation and application of paint, it’s not something he does often. Luckily, there are experts to step in and help get the perfect finish for the Honda Trail 70 project—because this paint job is even more different than most. Davin loaded up the parts and headed south to Trail Buddy in hopes of getting the perfect finish.

Mark is “the man” when it comes to Honda mini-trail motorcycles. His business specializes—with a laser focus—on reproducing the parts that have disappeared and brings back to life the parts that cannot be replaced. Having painted numerous Trail 70s, he understands the tri-stage paint process better than anyone. He and Davin start by doing some final prep work to the primer that was applied by Traverse Body and Paint. Mark jokes that you only need to sand where you want paint to stick, something that reinforces the nature of the paint process: do it right the first time.

During sanding, Mark notices something that Davin didn’t. The steering stop had been modified or broken at some point in the last 45 years that this bike had been puttering about. No problem; Trail Buddy actually has a new stop on the shelf, and a couple quick tacks with a MIG welder has the frame back in business. Then it’s ready for the first coat.

The final color is orange, but the first pigment from the nozzle is silver. To get the heavy flake buried in the same color as the factory finish, the silver and flake go on first, followed by a dye that builds up to the final color, then it all gets sealed with a couple coats of clear finish. The process is mesmerizing because at each step it doesn’t appear to be moving in the correct direction, then suddenly the color just pops and it is perfect.

With the paint drying, Davin leverages Mark’s time and expertise to tear into the front suspension for fresh seals, boots, and an overall inspection. As exciting as this progress is, Davin is going to have to wait to start re-assembly, because when it’s time to leave, the frame isn’t ready to be wrapped up and put into the car. We can assure you Davin still has plenty of other things to work on while he waits. Be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and never miss an update from the Redline Rebuild garage.

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Like many of us, Davin often finds that progress on his many project cars gets delayed. This week, he’s hung up with the ’37 Ford dirt-track racer—and, for once, that’s a good thing, because it’s time to build the Ford’s rear suspension.

Davin customized the leaf springs a few episodes back and now they are mocked up in the car. There is a second part to the suspension puzzle, though: The shocks, which keep the springs from bouncing wildly and thus help with chassis stability and traction. Two very important things in a race car.

Davin could simply bolt on the shocks between the axle and chassis and let “good enough” suffice, but we all know he isn’t that kind of guy. Instead, he takes the time to locate the shocks at the proper angle and distance, trusting that the additional time will pay off in the final build. For dirt-track cars like this one, the suspension is intentionally uneven in an effort to keep all the wheels in contact with the ground. The driver’s rear tire needs to droop while the passenger rear needs more compression, and the shock location and setup need to reflect that attitude. Davin makes the process look easy by fabricating a couple quick mounts that allow him to get all the components located easily.

After realizing he lacks the raw material to fabricate the final bits of the Ford’s shock mounts, Davin takes the delay as an opportunity to grab some parts for the Honda Mini Trail and head to the body shop. The frame is completely sandblasted, but that doesn’t that mean the Honda’s ready for paint.

The crew at Traverse Body and Paint make quick work of removing the one small dent in the pressed sheetmetal, and then add a quick glaze-coat of filler to smooth out any sanding marks or small imperfections. So many people hear “filler” and pucker up, imagining giant chunks of Bondo falling out of quarter panels, but that’s not what is going on here. In fact, the glaze-coat that Dave puts on this Honda is sprayed on and, once dry, mostly sanded off. Its sole purpose is to smooth out sanding marks and other minuscule imperfections. The final coats of color will be done by the experts at Trail Buddy in the coming weeks.

Stay updated on these two projects and many more to come by subscribing to the Hagerty YouTube channel. We promise there are some projects on the horizon you won’t want to miss.

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

There’s a lot going on in the Redline Rebuild garage—so much, in fact, that Davin needs to change locations for a bit and borrow some fabrication tools at the Hagerty Learning Center.

The 1937 Ford Coupe race car needs a metal box for its fuel cell, so Davin explains that he needs to use a shear, brake, and roll machine to build one. “Usually you buy a kit that has the bladder and the box, but since we already have a bladder … I’m going to bend up a box.”

Davin explains that it “should be pretty easy,” and he certainly makes it look that way. He builds the box in several pieces, then spot-welds it together, leaving a 1.25-inch lip on top to which he can attach the lid.

The top is a little tricky, since it requires a 6-inch hole in the center where the fuel cap sits (plus holes for the inlet and vent hoses). After taking measurements, Davin secures a board in the center of the sheetmetal, drills a hole in the board 6 inches from that center point, inserts a plasma torch into the hole, and rotates the board in a circle until the hole is cut. After smoothing the edges and punching holes along the lip, the lid is ready to be attached with bolts.

The box is a success, but after moving back to the Redline Rebuild garage, Davin doesn’t like how the cell sits inside the car. It isn’t level, and the back of the tank “is more rearward than I’d like, so I’m going to cut the braces and slide it forward 3 inches, then level it.” When that is done, Davin fabricates a brace, so the fuel cell won’t bounce around when the car is racing on the track.

Up next: leaf springs and shocks. They don’t come together as easily as Davin had hoped, so he makes plans for more cutting and fabricating. Since he’s reached the end of his day, however, that’ll have to wait until next time.

To stay up-to-date on all the projects the team is working on, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and never miss a new video.

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Since Davin’s balancing multiple projects, there’s always something exciting happening in the Redline Rebuild garage. Occasionally, however, a week passes without any first starts or newly-arrived parts—and Davin still finds ways to make progress. In this episode, the Honda Mini Trail and the ’37 “Snowball” race car both move closer to playing in the dirt.

The paint on the stamped-steel frame of the Honda is in pretty good shape; Davin, ever the perfectionist, isn’t satisfied. A repaint is in order but, even after Davin unbolts everything, the frame isn’t completely bare: The VIN plate remains riveted in place on the headstock. A slap-dash repaint is equally unsatisfying, so Davin opts to remove the plate and reapply it after the paint is done. Using a small burr on a rotary tool, he carefully carves down the heads of the rivets down they can be punched in and the plate pried off for safekeeping while the frame goes into the sandblaster.

With the Honda thoroughly disassembled, Davin turns his attention to the ’37 Ford race car. The engine and transmission have mounts, but the car isn’t going anywhere without its rear axle and suspension. The setup with which it arrived at the garage might have worked, but Davin isn’t a “good enough” type of guy. He wants this car to work like a race car should, so he leverages his extensive track-side experience to make the suspension function better than ever.

For starters, he locates the axle and mocks up the fit before taking the leaf-spring packs out and disassembling them. By removing, shifting, and flipping the leaves, Davin tunes the suspension to give the car the traction and handling a driver would expect from a car like this. For the uninitiated it doesn’t seem like Davin changes much, if anything; but those who know can witness to the significant effect of these seemingly minor changes. When finished, this Ford will look good—but it will be much more than a show pony.

The last item for the week is a call for help. The Chrysler 440 that came with this racer appears to be a mismatched pile of parts—the cylinder heads, for instance. One side is a late-’70s smog head and the other a 1968–70 vintage. Davin could do a little work with a die grinder to make the two match, but a coolant passage is stumping him. Mopar experts of the internet, now’s your time: Leave a comment detailing what you think is the best course of action for this engine.

Be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and see the resolution of this Mopar conundrum!

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

That Cadillac 365 V-8 was a big priority for Davin, but now it’s assembled and broken in. Of course, there is no time for sitting around and twiddling thumbs in the Redline Rebuild garage. Too many projects are waiting, and one that has been languishing for a good while is the 1937 Ford Coupe. Today, Davin is fabricating the transmission mount for this Ford build and sharing some tips for those interested in tackling a similar project.

The task is simple, at first glance: Install a bar that bridges the frame rails and supports the tailshaft housing of the transmission. Easy enough, right? Well, sort of.

“This is a race car, so simplicity is king. I want to design something that makes service easy and that also has a side benefit of being the easiest to build,” says Davin. “If you threw service out the window, it would be even easier.”

The raw materials to create the final part are mundane—some simple square tubing and angle iron. Davin starts the process by laying out the design with the transmission bolted to the engine and hanging from a strap to determine the proper location. From there, he needs just a couple cuts and a little time with a welder for the mount to come into shape. If you don’t have the confidence or experience Davin does, the best way to tackle a design like this is to sketch the part on paper or mock it up with cardboard so that you can make any necessary adjustments before you grab the welding hood.

This crossmember is now burned into place, which means the Chrysler 440 V-8 is actually ready to pull. That Mopar mill is on the Redline Rebuild docket, but the Honda Mini Trail is nearer the top of the priority list. To keep up to date on all the projects the team is making progress on, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss a new video.

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Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

The engines that come into the Redline Rebuild garage have run the gamut. Volkswagen flat-fours in boxes and bins, running Chevrolet big-blocks, and stuck-solid Buicks have each presented their own challenges, but the latest project was a luxury. at least, it came from a luxury car.

This Cadillac 365 V-8 was not the worst project Davin and the Redline Rebuild crew has taken on. It might actually be one of the nicer ones. It was a smooth running, albeit quite tired, engine from a driving car. That didn’t guarantee a smooth rebuild process though. From the first turn of a wrench there were questions and concerns about parts, but the crew got lucky.

“I was nervous about the availability of pistons and rings after hearing from a supplier that it had recently sold off virtually all its stockpile for these engines,” Davin says about the parts concerns. “Luckily, we were able to source what we needed quite easily, and all the parts played together nicely.”

It’s easy to say the parts went together well, but the reality is there was more than a little extra work on Davin’s side than just bolting everything together. That’s the nature of engine building—not assembling. You could just bolt it all together, but the engine would not perform like it could or should. Properly fitting each and every piece means this Cadillac engine will be smooth and reliable when it returns to the four-door cruiser that it was pulled from.

The 4-inch bore block was in great shape once everything was removed, so basic degreasing and clean-up machine work were all that was needed from the experts at Thirlby Machine Shop. The rotating assembly was in similar shape, but Davin elected for new pistons, which required heating up the connecting rods and pushing the piston wrist pins through for the perfect press-fit. The cylinder heads got fresh valve guides and seats pressed in before returning to the garage for the final assembly.

The coat of Royal Blue paint really dressed up the package and made the assembly that much more rewarding to watch. It’s a stock rebuild without any crazy changes, but ask any engine builder about the first moments of startup and they’ll tell you they’re always nervous.

Davin admits “it’s not the scariest thing, but I always have at least a small amount of concern on first start of a flat-tappet cam engine like this one” referring to the style of lifters and how they engage with the camshaft. For flat-tappet engines, it is best for them to start up with minimal cranking and very quickly get to around 2000 rpm to start breaking in the lifters and make sure the lifters do not “wipe” or flatten a lobe on the camshaft. With modern assembly lubes and break-in oils, this is not as high risk as decades ago, but it still happens from time to time. Luckily, it didn’t happen to Davin this time—but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t an issue with that first start.

Davin admits to checking and double checking the distributor timing, but on that first turn of the starter, a fireball from the carb confirmed that despite the careful check it was still 180 degrees off. Easy correction, and the next turn of the keys brought the humble Caddy to life and started the break-in process. It’s a sweet sounding engine and will sound even better once reinstalled its four-door home.

Another successful rebuild in the books, but there is no rest for the weary, and plenty of other projects are underway in the Redline Rebuild garage. Be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel so you never miss an oil-soaked minute.

Tag: Season 5

Enjoy Season 5 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

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