Let's see, now what?:hmmm: Oh, everything else!:biggthumpup:

The fiberglass dash I bought a while ago which was molded off a real 507 dash. Although not the best, it'll work add I'll work with it to make it fit perfect. The idea is to mimic the real thing so with that, out comes the reference photos I took visiting the one in Philly being restored. Plus, the other few hundred I have of one during a restoration. The dash is supported by four brackets and the dash itself is three pieces. Everything is fabricated to be removed just like the real thing. Here's the tricky part I described earlier.

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I need to know my heater box dimensions and wiper transmission sizes too. So hours of searching online yielded both that I'll be using and a bonus, the online product PDF gives sizes! Woohoo!:biggthumpup: knowing these I can leave space for everything. Once the dash was in place it was time to mount the steering column. But no floor or seat yet, so what's one to do?:3gears: Simple! Use the seat from your John Deere Z915 Zero Turn mower which is EERILY similar in size to the seats I'll be using.:cool2:

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Just a note to those that will try this. Don't do it right before your wife decides she needs it to drag the horse poop in the pasture. Yes, that is a public service announcement based on experience:eek2:.

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So with the seat in place via jack stands, I sat in position based on how I think it should be. There's plenty of room, steering wheel is at the right angle, so I think we're good! The mount will have slotted holes for vertical adjustment but the length seems perfect. A hard floor mount which will be braced with a 3/16" firewall plate will provide the need support. Nobody wants to turn the car and have the column fall out!!:rolleyes2:

Ok, that's this week's update. Next week I have recurrent and need to hit the books so more updates after that.

Cheers!

Dave

PS; Don’t panic, Luke! I haven’t gotten around to fabricating the gussets and may just run another crossmember across. Still thinking….

I took advantage of a free day today and mocked up my intake. This is believed to be a factory GM or aftermarket experimental intake for the 215. It's got flow ports at each runner and no part number. There's some engraved numbers on one side (very light) but that's it. No evidence of any grinding of the casting either. I got this and the engine from a guy who bought a whole truckload of parts from one of the developers of the engine. Pretty cool! Speaking of that, the engine gets here Monday night!:headbang:

The factory 3.2L BMW V8 uses dual Solex carbs so I wanted to stay true to form with a dual carb set up on this engine too. 2x2 intakes, no matter what engine, are pretty rare. I still have a few mods to do (fuel drip pan and some air cleaner details) but this is how the package came together.

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Dual Carter BBD carbs round out the package. Same bolt pattern as the small 2G. I offset the air cleaners and cut the element down to get the look correct. It's getting close.

This week seats, engine, transmission, pedal box, and couple other small detail parts show up!

Cheers
Dave

----WOW, just WOW!!! Honestly, you have mad skills! I can't wait to see the finished product. I never would have had the cojones to do anything remotely like this. I am enjoying every post!!!.....Bill S

Oh man, thanks Bill!:biggthumpup::biggthumpup: Very nice of you to say! We’ll, you.l have to make the trek to MCACN to see it when it goes up there next year for sure!:laugh:

Yeah, not sure about mad skills, but going “mad” figuring everything out is pretty dang fun! I’m borderline possessed by this thing!:3gears:

Cheers:beers:
SuperDave

SWEET super Dave! Lovin’ it!!!!! :biggthumpup::biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

Thanks Samitron!! It's exciting. Hopefully I'll get the rear skin positioned today!:laugh:

Cheers
Dave

So, it's a big day today!

https://youtu.be/Ogl3UVUJaaQ

WOOHOO!!

Cheers
Dave

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And with that, the seats came in so I took Kelly for an imaginary drive, and I go no further than the end of the driveway and this jackwad needle nose twerp cut me off!!! What the heck, I'm driving over here!!:mad::mad::mad:

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Yes, she puts up with a lot.....:biggthumpup:

Cheers
Dave

Can't believe how fast you are moving along on this.

Looks Awesome !!!

Isn’t there a pilot shortage! Lol!
Love your updates!

Love the updates and progress you're making Dave.

You should share some more of the build on YouTube, and have your wife as the "straight man" on there. My son started a YT channel a couple years ago and he's had one of his videos go viral that now has over 311 million views and he has made about $3,000. Might help you recoup some of your build money. Can't wait to see more.

Discovery channel need to do a series with him.

That's guys! Man, maybe you're right Mark. :hmmm:. I'll have to investigate this and possibly see if my production team (Kelly) may be able to help out. My technical AV skills (that's audio-visual to the younger guys in the room. See, back in the day, when we watched a program in class the teacher called the AV department and a guy with two t-shirt sizes too small came in wheeling a monitor coupled to a Beta player (VHS if it was private school) that we all watched a program on. Yeah, we had it bad. Man, where do I end this thought bubble sentence and get back to my regular topic?:hmmm: I guess here....) skills are severely lacking. But, I'll investigate this.....:scholar:

Yes, there's a pilot shortage and it's because we all have car hobbies!!:burnout:

Charley, you a funny guy. I wouldn't even last after the initial pilot show! Wait, get it? Pilot? I know.... See? This is why it wouldn't work!:thumbsdown:

Thank you all for the compliments and help on this! Engine is here as is the transmission but where am I? Richmond, VA of course on a trip.:thumbsdown:

More later this week!

Cheers:beers:
Dave

What trans?

What rear gears?

I watch a lot of VW repair videos and would definitely be watching your YouTube channel!!!

Ryan W31/VW

Well Dave, I think you could do it fairly easily. And here's a list of the highest earning YT'ers in 2021:
The Highest Paid YouTubers of 2022:

MrBeast – $54 Million. Jimmy Donaldson, also known as ‘MrBeast’, is the highest-paid YouTuber of 2022. ...
Jake Paul – $ 45 Million. Jake Paul initially rose to fame on Vine. ...
Markiplier – $38 Million. ...
Rhett and Link – $30 Million. ...
Unspeakable – $28.5 Million. ...
Nastya – $28 Million. ...
Ryan Kaji – $27 Million. ...
Dude Perfect – $20 Million. ...
Logan Paul – $18 Million. ...

Man, think of all the things one could do with those royalties! :smile: Meh.... Then I'd have to change my name and get a tattoo or something. I'll stay anonymous for now.:biggthumpup:

NOS Buick 215 with fitted pistons in the original shipping crate, all NOS internals, some gently used parts round out the powerplant! Exciting!

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The 89ish Camaro T-5 with the S-10 tail shaft rounds out the package. It's in, details on all that over the weekend.

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Love how this matches the factory original engine not only in cubic inches, but size, weight, and asthetics!:biggthumpup:

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Cheers
Dave

The mighty 215 is sitting on jack stands and wood blocks right now, and while very effective, don't think that's gonna hold up for a Charley burnout when the time comes. :hmmm: So it's motor mount time! I'm using the factory block mounts and will fabricate the frame mounts which will be bolt on. I want this removable just in case the motor has to come out when the 392 Hemi goes in. Speaking of that, a tidbit of history: the 507's original motor was supposed to be a 4 carbed Hemi! Yep, it's true!

I did a paper mock up to get the initial pieces sized correctly and then welded things up. There's a large bolt that passes through so I installed a sleeve to prevent crushing when the bolt gets tightened against the mount.

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Here's the mount in place. Final pieces will be the bolts holding the mount to the frame. They'll jamb nuts welded into the frame which will allow easy installation and removal.

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The center frame crossmember was notched to provide tailshaft clearance and I also widened that to provide a place for the exhaust to route parallel with the tunnel. The transmission crossmember will be bolt on as well for easy servicing. See? Already thinking it's going to break before I even finish it! You know what BMW stands for, right? Bring Money With when you head in for service!:tongue:

More to come
Cheers
Dave

I have two steering wheels that I'm debating on using. One is an old aluminum boat wheel that's very similar to the 507s. The other is an older tractor wheel that's very similar too. Both will need hubs installed so they can mount to my column. The boat wheel is 15” while the tractor wheel is 18” which is original size. The larger wheel has an identical feel, spoke design/angle, and is covered in bakelite. But I want to see how this will fit being 18”, so I decided to install a hub. Both wheels will need one done to it no matter which one I choose.
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Step one was too bore out the center hub. Coincidentally, the center is already recessed with a 2" diameter hole which means my 2" hole saw will be perfectly centered boring the hole all the way through.

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The aftermarket adapter is identical in size to the recessed notches on the hub. Once I trim these down, the wheel will fall right up against the column base. A perfect fit! Woohoo!! Something came out right!!:dunno:

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More to come on this shortly after I get the hub secured:biggthumpup:

Cheers
Dave

Interestingly, I have access to a factory 507 motor but decided to pass for several reasons. Zero experience with them, not sure on parts, and transmission adapters would be a nightmare. Not to mention the cost!:no:

Rear wheel tubs are in and the trunk floor is formed. Photos soon!!:3gears:

Cheers
Dave

Amongst the Jag distraction and finishing moving the folks, I found time to get the windshield frame done along with some trunk floor and rear wheel well forming.

The frame is bent to shape and bolted in place now, so I'll go back and finish the welds and modify the cowl body panel to get things wrapped up with that area. Up next will be door jambs. The window frame required a double lower frame that gets welded in place on the dash area and then the frame gets bolted to that.

I'm using Apache Series truck hinges since they are pocket style and similar to the original. Next week more metal comes for the hood, trunk, and doors. With the window frame in it's really starting to look like a car!

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More to come....

Cheers
Dave

Amazing!!:worship:

Beautimus!!!!:headbang:

Saweeeeeet!! Coming along nicely is an understatement!

Thanks guys! I just noticed that it’s looking eerily similar to the poster I put in the back. It’s serene…sirendip….:hmmm::hmmm:saranwrap……destiny that I bought that poster and placed it right behind the car!:cool2:

Glad you’re enjoying to updates. Can’t wait for you all to see it next year. It’ll be like a hands on exhibit on the rotisserie. Hey, maybe we can make it like a prize wheel thing?:dunno: “Step right up and spin the Wheel of Fabrication! That’s right, everyone is a winner,,…until it falls off the twirler.”:no:

Cheers
Dave

It's looking great, Dave. Thank you for the update.

Dave, had the pleasure of seeing the elusive 507 just pulled from the garage in Philly. It was actually the second 507 I saw this past weekend but I’m not able to post pics of the first one. Enjoy! This is a 1 repaint survivor type.

That's my friend Albert's car. I'm headed up to Philly next week to see the one he owns being restored at a shop. I already went up there last year to take pictures of it. Him and his brother own three: a black one that sold at Hershey two years ago, the one being restored, and this blue one. Among other things, they have a bunch of 507 stuff too that I'll be browsing over.

He's intrigued by my project and loves the project updates I send him. Can't wait to get up there next week and get the more detailed photos I need of the door jambs and such for my car. The one being restored is in bare metal which makes for perfect structure photos.

Windshield set in place. I just want to grab a glass of wine and look at it! Problem is, then nothing gets done. :no: But sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses too!

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Cheers
Dave

Do they use a true knock off wheel, Dave?

They do, Tim. Those were Ridge knock off wheels. There were three wheels offered. Two bolt on steelies and the Ridge knock offs. An original set of those just sold through a private sale for $55,000:shocked::no:

Back home. More updates this week!

Cheers
Dave

----I believe it's Rudge wheels, Dave. just a letter away.....Bill S

Whoops! Fat fingers:crazy: Correct, Bill. :biggthumpup: Common to vintage Porsche as well.

Home from the trip. Time to postulate, fabricate, and procreate :hmmm: so I can have a hand around here!:scholar::haha:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Moving forward, motor and transmission are bolted in place. The transmission crossmember is bolted in place with recessed nuts (never a good thing!:shocked:) that allow the crossmember to be removed if needed. I'll finish weld the rest when I strip the car back down.

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I finished the steering wheel hub modification to allow the wheel to sit flush on the column. This 18" wheel is very similar to the 507 wheel and once I add the horn ring and reliefs, should be an almost perfect match.

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Dash bolted in place. Now that the column is in again I can finish the steering linkage and the car will be able to roll and steer!! Might have to pull it out to get some better pics.:3gears:

More to come
Cheers:beers:
Dave

Alrighty, moving forward! I got the door jamb pretty much roughed in along with the rocker. The hinges are mounted and I’ll be bolting them in tomorrow. Today I made the driver’s door by forming the skin on the wheel and then building the inner structure. I need to order the lock and striker setup I’ll be using so I can the build the inner door structure and striker support on the B-pillar.

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I test mounted the seat and it looks like I should be able to fit a driver that’s at maximum 6’5” with no problem. This is just in case Charley decides to drive it after I’m done with the build. It should fit drivers from Grady to Charley and everywhere in between:hmmm::biggthumpup::cool2::shocked:

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I’ll see how this photo posting goes before I shoot more off. My phone went into eternal startup mode and I lost everything. Using a backup phone along with the
Ipad for photo posting:mad2: ugh!!!

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More to come

Cheers
Dave

Yep….I knew it. Only two photos not sideways are the ones from my Android phone. Nice work Apple!!:bs:

Cheers
Dave

You're awesome Dave.

Thanks, Freddie. I’m pretty excited it’s all coming together. Tickles me to death to walk out to the shop and see my dream car staring back at me. Even more exciting knowing I’ve made every single part of it!:smile:

Next Tuesday I head to Philly to get more pics of the real deal for reference and meet the owners. I’m excited to see what their blue one above in the previous posts will sell for.

I’m glad I’m not boring you all with my updates.:burnout:

Cheers
Dave

https://youtu.be/hDqHKF8eH-U

Big update today! I have a functioning door!!!

More to come on the fabrication and details. Oh, and excuse the last twenty seconds sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher. The microphone was accidentally covered up by the film crew. :grin:

But don't worry, I didn't say anything worthwhile anyway. I never do!:hmmm:

Cheers
Dave

Cool Video, Dave.