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Tech: Ryno Built Saves My Ride

I’ve known for awhile that the transmission cross-member that was in my 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 was hanging too low. It was dragging too much and on big bumps on the highway it would slam the pavement, no bueno. So when I was talking to my buddy Ryno at Ryno Built about it he said to come down to his shop in the Joplin area and he’d get a new one fabbed up.

When we got the car up on the lift it was obvious that things were more dire than I thought. The existing cross-member had completely broken into two pieces. One more big bump could have lost it completely, that could lead to any manner of catastrophic consequences. I’ve seen driveshafts come out and nearly slam into the car I was in behind the drive shaft’s prior vehicle. A couple of inches difference and that drive shaft would have come through the windshield. I cannot imagine if my car broke and caused something like that to happen. Best case scenario the failure would leave me stranded on the side of the road, worst case scenario could be deadly. Just another note to encourage you to make sure your ride is mechanically sound not just for your safety but for the safety of those around you.

Here
Here’s what we found when we got the car up on the lift. one side of the transmission cross-member had completely broken. 10 ga. welded to ½” plate and 0 penetration on the welds. That’s not rust on the floor pan that’s trans fluid. Another issue I have to fix.
Lucky for me I didn
Lucky for me I didn’t take one more trip with the car the way it was. 1 side of the existing transmission cross-member was completely separated.
Ryno plasma cutting the existing transmission crossmember off of the frame. The AOD is much longer than the Cruis-o-matic so using the factory frame mounts would have made the mount larger and harder to build.
Ryno plasma cutting the existing transmission cross-member off of the frame. The AOD is much longer than the Cruis-o-matic so using the factory frame mounts would have made the mount larger and harder to build.
Ryno getting rid of the remnants of the old crossmember.
Ryno getting rid of the remnants of the old cross-member.

Then it was time to grind off the remainder of the old mount.
Then it was time to grind off the remainder of the old mount.

Not quite done getting rid of the old one, almost done.
Not quite done getting rid of the old one, almost done.
Ryno cutting some tubing that we thought we needed before a later re-design when I changed my mind.
Ryno cutting some tubing that we thought we needed before a later re-design when I changed my mind.
Welding in the new crossmember.
Welding in the new cross-member.
At each end of the crossmember Ryno added 3/16" plate gussets under the crossmember. Here he
At each end of the cross-member Ryno added 3/16″ plate gussets under the cross-member. Here he’s adding some holes at my request to make it look cooler.
Before a coat of paint you can see the driver
Before a coat of paint you can see the driver’s side of the mount. The parking brake cable is attached to a tab that we added. We used a rectangle tubing to provide as much clearance under the cross-member as possible. There is room for a 2 ½” Dia. exhaust pipe to fit and still not hang below the frame.
The passenger side is pretty much the same without the parking brake cable mount. Here you can see the factory mount waaaay up forward on the frame.
The passenger side is pretty much the same without the parking brake cable mount. Here you can see the factory mount waaaay up forward on the frame.
The fluid everywhere is killing me, sorry about that. Here
The fluid everywhere is killing me, I have to figure out the leak and clean up the mess. Here’s the new cross-member and the new mount that we installed. The existing exhaust needs replaced soon so buy some photos so I can afford it!

If you need custom fabrication done for your ride, get ahold of Ryno Built and he can get your car on the road again!

See you at a show,

Royboy

 

New Knit Winter Hats now in stock,

100% made in the USA and embroidered with the rb logo.

Photo Jan 16, 6 41 06 PM

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Royboy Feature Videos

It’s been awhile since I’ve released a new video. I have the footage shot for 2 more but I’m waiting to time their release with those vehicles feature articles in magazines. Until then and for the new people here are the first two.

Episode 1 is all about the car that is featured in the Limited Edition Poster #1. Episode 1:Jack Marinelli tells the story behind his historic hot rod. A 29 Model A on 32 frame with a 46 drivetrain, this hot rod was build in the mid 50’s and sits today almost exactly the way it did then. This car is no enclosed trailer princess that sits in a museum, it is driven, and driven like it’s stolen. Music by Pushrod www.pushrodengage.com This episode sponsored by www.straykatkustoms.com

Episode 1:Jack Marinelli tells the story behind his historic hot rod. A 29 Model A on 32 frame with a 46 drivetrain, this hot rod was build in the mid 50's and sits today almost exactly the way it did then. This car is no enclosed trailer princess that sits in a museum, it is driven, and driven like it's stolen. Music by Pushrod www.pushrodengage.com This episode sponsored by www.straykatkustoms.com

Episode 2: Jeff Myers (owner of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS) takes us for a ride in his Custom 63 Galaxie and tells the story of the car and it’s build. Music by The Rumblejetts www.rumblejetts.com
Episode 2:Jeff Myers (owner of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS) takes us for a ride in his Custom 63 Galaxie and tells the story of the car and it's build. Music by The Rumblejetts www.rumblejetts.com/

More videos on the way as the vehicles near their publication dates! Stay tuned and I’ll see you at a show!

Travis

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The Domino Effect pt. 1

Somewhere around 2010 I decided it was time to get the AC in my 1963 Galaxie 500 charged up for the summer. $100 later it was ice cold and working like a dream, I was a happy camper. A month after that I flick the switch and wait for the refreshing cool air… it never got cool. I was not a happy camper. What could I really expect? The 1963 AC system to be still fully functional? My expectations were high apparently. The compressor was leaking out of both ends, badly. So I decided that one of these days I’d get a new compressor and the system would be good to go again.

Somewhere around that same time I noticed that on any reasonably hot day, as soon as you got under 30 mph, the temp gauge would just climb. A new bigger badder, 6 blade agressive fan and a partial should were added to the car along with a new radiator cap after the old one blew a seal. It helped, a bit, the car was still running hot in stop and go traffic and it was still slowly creeping up at low speeds. A trip to a friend’s garage revealed that the radiator was only cooling 5 degrees from inlet to outlet, it was apparently partially plugged. So last September I ordered up a Speedway Universal Ford Aluminum Radiator…. and it sat in my living room until I had time to tackle the job of replacing the old one.

But the domino that started this chain of events was neither of these. On the way home from Jeff Myers’ Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS I noticed that the generator light was on. A couple of quick checks told me the generator was not doing it’s job. Since I had plans on installing a nice sound system in the Galaxie eventually I decided to upgrade to a Tuff Stuff 1 wire alternator.

So about a month before my planned trip to the Lonestar Roundup I took the car out to my Dad’s heated garage for what we both envisioned as a weekend long job. You know what happened next. The Domino Effect took hold. While test fitting the radiator, we figured out that this universal radiator was nice, but it just didn’t fit. The bottom connection on the radiator was exactly where the power steering pump pulley was wanting to be. Sure it could be cut and rewelded and such but there just isn’t time for someone like me to learn how to TIG weld. A friend or two offered to help but they live an hour trip away and there just hasn’t been time to get it done. Add to that a new Champion Radiator is fairly inexpensive and a direct replacement to the original and it was time to order a new one.

Okay, so I’ll set this radiator aside for a future project and get a Champion direct drop in radiator, no problem this is going to go fine. It was just about the time we said that when Dad noticed the shaft of the power steering pump looked a bit odd. It was shiny right in front of the front bearing. He grabbed the pulley and gave it a little push, it wobbled…badly.

The power steering pump which was 3 or so years old was shot. After some online research I see a lot of people complaining that even after a rebuild this style of pump could fail fairly quickly. Many suggested upgrading to the venerable Saginaw pump… yup a GM part on my Ford, heresy. The alternator is also a GM 1 wire! Right about here the domino effect starts picking up steam.

The saginaw pump won’t work with the factory power steering pump bracket. The alternator requires new brackets as well. These brackets are built for a 65 or newer water pump… I have a 63. Okay so while I’m at it, a new high flow water pump will be ordered too. If I’m going to do this, it’s going to be done right and once. A little digging on the website of the company that builds the brackets shows that they also sell one for a sanderson style AC compressor for the Ford FE. Well since I’m doing it, I’m gonna do the damn thing all the way, ordered that bracket too and a new Sanderson AC compressor after a conference with a mechanic friend that assured me that it would work with the rest of my system.

Dad elbow deep in my Galaxie, thanks for your help Pop!

So all of the parts were ordered, all the brackets were ordered, it was sit and wait for the Santa in the brown truck to bring all the goodies to my door. Everything showed up and it was time to head back to the garage to start putting this thing back together.

Next up comes the fun part!

That’s it for the lead up, tomorrow the tale of how it all went together.

See you at a show,

Travis