McKelvey Speedster Build

I have decided to group some comments and photos under a single topic.

I will post things that may be different from other folks Speedsters and may be of interest.

Also, this will show that I am actually working on a Speedster.

Unusual Speakers:

I found these speakers on eBay.

They were manufactured for installation in a RV.

They are less than 1/4" thick and consist of a rigid panel and an electric gizmo attached to the back.

I mounted them in picture frames.

I will use two of the small speakers up under the dash. They are 8.25" x 11.25"

The large speaker is 11" x 22".

It has two of the gizmos, so I assume the single unit will act like left and right speakers.

I inserted a piece of matching carpet over the vinyl of the speaker.

I thought the carpet would look better. I don't know if that will affect the sound.

The vinyl is embossed with "Wild Thing" big letters. That was the name of the RV these were intended for.

I will mount this behind the back seat.

Engine Compartment:

Originally I had the hoses from the breather boxes coming off the top. Then I realized that the hinge arm on the right would hit the hose. So, now they come off a tee on the back. I would rather have two separate connections to the breather box.

They carbs are Weber 42 DCNF. They are nice and compact. I used CSP linkage intended for IDF carbs. I had to make a custom throttle arm for the left carb that would clear the accelerator pump. I was very happy that the lengths of the two linkage rods worked.

The distributor and coil are Mallory Unilite. The coil is mounted on the firewall behind the engine.

The third picture shows my Accusump mounted at the rear of the engine compartment. It shoots oil under pressure into the engine when the key is turned and any other time there is a loss of oil pressure.

I'm curious about the picture-framed speakers, Mike.
What's going on there? How will you incorporate domestic picture frames into your car? It's not something you see every day, so I'm kinda curious to see what you're planning.

Cory, I will mount the small ones up under the dash, below the boxes that enclose the hood hinges.

The front edges will clip to the bottom of the 2 x 2 steel tube. The back edge will somehow fasten to the fiberglass right behind the gas tank.

I am thinking about trying to use velcro to attach the big one in the back to the carpet.

Today I hooked one of the small ones to my computer to test it. It is strange hearing sound come from something that looks like a flat piece of cardboard.

I once had some 6' tall electrostatic speakers for my home stereo. The size of the sound stage and their clarity made for an amazingly realistic presentation. They were very location sensitive and hard to place in most rooms, though. That won't be an issue in your installation. I have a feeling that you may want to rethink the carpet, though, as I expect that it will muffle things considerably.

That engine compartment looks very sanitary. I am curious about the CSP linkage as I have considered going to that myself. Was it well made?

Lane, I think I have read that these speakers are quite non-directional.

I may have to remove the carpet from the rear speaker. I just thought it would look better and blend in more. I also don't care for the big embossed "Wild Thing". I have another of the large speakers. I had to buy a pair. Maybe the speaker won't be very obvious below the folded top.

I think the CSP linkage is quite well made. I expect that from all of their products. I originally had Berg linkage, which I think functions well, but I didn't like how it looks. I will be trying to sell it.

Michael, looks awesome!

Full Speed Ahead, Michael!

Hey -- on your fuel tank powdercoat problem:
I got a spray can of touch-up, aerosol plastic coating from the guy who did my chassis. It was a perfect match for color, but had chemical properties like a paint would. I used it for my fan shroud, but he said I could have fixed any blemishes in the chassis with it without any discernable difference in color or texture.
I used the can up long ago, but kept the empty.
Next time I'm home, Tuesday, I'll look on the can for the re-order info and pass the manufacturer's info to you if you have a use for it.
You might be able to get a really close match with that technique.

I have a couple more questions for you. First is about the under-dash position for the first two speakers; I remember driving my car in the rain a few times and having water course in under the dash. It came from the doors, somehow, and from the fenderwells. It consistently dripped onto my left knee from under the dash.
As we cut into my chassis and removed the body, I could see the rust patterns from where there had been the most consistent soaking, and the worst offender was the two-inch box tubing that runs behind and below the bottom edge of the dashboard.
The question there is how would you mount your speakers to that bar without soaking them. I believe the answer is to create isolator posts which grow upward from that bar, eliminating gravity-affected water, and then fabricating some tabs to mount the speakers' body-sides below-grade to the footwell. Hope that makes sense.
Your breather box is my second question. It looks like the EMPI type. If so, the box breathes through a small slot on the long sides of the rectangular shape. I think that it might be mounted in a disasterous position, if that's the case.
Might want to check that.
If you can slip a piece of paper through the lower lip of the corrugated flat side where it meets the body of the box, you'll have oil all over your engine the first time it warms up.
I believe it wants to be corrugated-side up, mounted 90 degrees from where it is now. I hope I'm wrong. That's a beautiful setup.

Cory-

That's a CB breather tower. It's where it's supposed to be.

Excellent. That's a pretty convenient place to put one, too. It means no disconnecting the lines to drop the engine -- got to love that!

Sorry 'bout that, Mike.

Michael, I like your engine compartment-very clean set-up. I installed CSP linkage on my old engine, with a Porsche style shroud, and was very happy with it.
Speaking of CSP, I recently purchased their tower mounted breather box. Expensive, but very well made.

Not to get too off subject... but I really really want one of the CSP breather towers. At $300 I just cant justify it. Trust me, I have tried!

Yeah, I like that design too. But at that price, and with the work I put into the elaborate system I have, I can't justify it either.

Michael, is your engine block painted? Very clean engine compartment! You definitely have an eye for detail.

The block is painted black. The tin is powder coated.

how close are you michael. bill

LEDs for Tail Lights:

Here are the LED units I used for my tail lights.

I had hoped to use 2 of the bigger ones. They wouldn't fit on the inner side. There is a little more space on the outer side and even there I wish the LED thing was a little smaller diameter. The outer ones press against the chrome bezel. I think it will be OK. I wanted the added brightness.

Valve Covers:

I have never seen these valve covers used by anyone else.

I can't remember where I bought them in the dim past when I started my Speedster build.

I had to tap the holes in the heads where the original valve cover retainers hooked in. A kind of eye bolt fastens there. These extend between a couple of lugs on the ends of the cover.

Unlike the typical aluminum covers, there is no bolt passing through the cover.

There is a silicone o-ring in a groove that seals against the head.

Exhaust:

Here is my exhaust.

I can get the valve cover off without removing the muffler. I don't know if I would be able to adjust the valves.

Oil Filter:

I installed an O-Berg filter behind the driver side rear wheel.

Front Sway Bar:

I tried to use the bar that Jack C. used but it didn't work for me.

Because I have drop spindles (I assume Jack doesn't) my trailing arms are more parallel with the ground which rotates the front of the sway bar up.

With beam adjusters only the trailing arms would slope up toward the rear, dropping the front of the sway bar. It may have cleared in that case.

I didn't want to get into modifying the bumper brackets, partly because I have fiberglass pieces fastened to them and glassed to the body at the top edge.

What is shown in the pictures is a bar for a lowered car installed upside down. I am hoping it doesn't hang down too low when the car is resting on the wheels.

you might want to install the sway bar clamps the other side up (so if you go over a bump - they don't snag anything.

Mike, you continue to amaze me with your details. Nice work! Regarding the muffler removal for valve adjustment, I have the same issue with my A1 Sidewinder. Just make sure that the muffler bolts are easy to get to and it's not really a problem.

Mike, that's awesome. Very nice bits of detail!

Mike,
A lot of quality work has gone into your speedy and looking forward to seeing it at Carlisle....Kudos ! ~Alan

Dead Pedal:

I got an extra clutch pedal, cut it off and powder coated it.

I drilled and tapped a couple of holes in the subframe and attached the pedal.

I twisted it a little to have it facing to the rear.

Battery Cut-Off Switch:

Here is my battery cut-off switch.

There is a very low value fuse between the terminals. This keeps power to things like the radio memory. But, this fuse will blow if anyone tries to start the engine with the battery key out.

Fuses:

My fuses are mounted on the cover of a box from Radio Shack.

All the connections to the fuses and relays, etc., are inside the box.

All the harness connections go to terminals on the top of the box.

Holy crap, Mike! If you ever want a different job, I'll bet Henry Reisner would hire you. Now I can see why it's taken so long to build your car.

Top Bows:

I never liked the way the top bows attach to the body on a CMC and maybe others.

It just looked a little crude.

I started by rounding the corners on the brackets and adding an extension to them to hold them away from the body a bit.

I cut off the ends of the top bows with the crude holes.

Then I tapped the ends of the bows to receive a brake line fitting and tapped the inside of the brake line fitting to receive a heim joint.

Doing it this way also gives me a little adjustment on the bow length.

Brackets mounted in car:

Hi Michael,

It's coming along. Maybe we'll both make it to Carlisle next year. I'll head over to A2 one of these days and take you for a cruise in Natalie.

Tom

Hey Michael,

Nice details, where did you get the LED rounded tail light?

Eddy

Eddy,

Try here: http://www.culayer.com/356-12.htm

It looks as though Micheal used something different but these are what are on my IM-6.

Eddy,

The LED tail lights came from here:

http://www.customdynamics.com/motorcycle_led_bulbs.htm#Genesis_LED_Clusters_

The CULAYER lights are designed for tail lights wired differently than most of ours.