Well I had a great time at the Ballarat swap meet! Caught up with some cool fellas and sold a bunch of parts! The true hot rod community are such a supporting bunch! Cleaning out my shed today and couldn't resist taking a snap of the old girl! I bloody love it! It's unbelievable how all this hunting and gathering has paid off with my dream car!
Did you get any good stuff at Ballarat, I didn't get any 32 stuff ,got some 34 chassis bits and some 40 bits I needed plus had a great time as usual
There were some 32 bits about.. I didn't get any though.. I heard some bargains were had, in a bragging session over a beer or two... I got a few bits, but nothing worth sharing. One lucky bugger got a 32 heavy for $50, and another snagged some 32 Aussie roadster doors for $200! But I had fun and cleared out a lot of stuff at my site.
Got my rumble seat belts this morning at the swap meet! Been looking for a matching second pair for a couple of years! These have the same aged finish as the other pair and look perfect for what I'm trying to achieve! Couldn't resist the old sign either ha ha. The windshield frame was very cheap and fits the 35 truck cab. Successful morning!
Roadster is looking pretty cool. How big is the Ballarat swap meet? Do you pronounce it like it looks? "Ball-a-rat"
Thanks! Pronounced bal-a-rat, it's the biggest in Australia, but not real big compared to the American swap meets. The ones I went to this morning were small ones in Adelaide.
One thing I have been looking for since I got my roadster is a suitable grille shell. I may have lined up just the right one, right colour too!
A set of older used acorn nut covers arrived today, and I couldn't resist slipping them on to see how they look! Also started playing with the idler pulley fan that I purchased from Ballarat swap meet. Reversed the mounting arm of the fan and will need to shorten the shaft a little for clearance. Hopefully I'll get some time in the shed tomorrow and get a few more photos.
Got some work in on the stiffening legs for the chassis today. Welding and grinding nothing too exciting, but progress!
Got some time in on the cycle guards and chasing pin holes on the fuel tank today. Cycle guards were bare metal and painted on the underside. Also cleaned up a 35 grille for fun. Plan is to weld a patch in the tank, run a citric acid clean through it and buy a sealer kit for it. All this allows me to keep the crusty painted tank like the rest of the body.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have a couple questions. Did the shorter pitman arm give easier steering? Did it affect the turning radius? What ratio pitman arm to steering arm did you end up with? Thanks, Gene
With the model a pitman arm the ball is forged onto the end. Mac’s actually sell a 1” shorter pitman arm for this reason. I have had one on my coupe for a few years. I hope for your sake you prepped, preheated, properly penetrated then post heated that during the welding process. We all know what happens if it let’s go....
Take it how you want man but I didn’t mean it to be negative. I am trade qualified engineer. The hands on dude not the clip board man. Some of the stuff if been asked to do and some of the stuff I’ve had to repair is downright scary. I’d just hate to see something bad happen to you or any other road user if it went pear shaped.
What type of steering box do you have? if a later Gemmer type, the stock length pitman arm would be fine, especially in a lightweight car like a roadster. It's cars with the less efficient worm and sector boxes that would benefit from the shorter pitman arm. My roadster (Old Rusty) has a gemmer box (actually Hudson) and a 32 arm and steers great. Mart.
How do they compare? What is your experience and benefit with ranex? I'm interested and willing to give it a go.
I've used it for 20 years. It's mostly phosphoric acid. I always rub it on raw metal and it dries to a dull grey and unless you handle things a lot will stay rust free for a very long time. Depends on how damp the environment is too of course. I soak small parts in it and it removes rust effectively. I use supermarket vinegar for larger things (takes a lot longer, but cheap) Keeps raw metal good, like this chassis: And this firewall and windshield frame: I would clean the firewall with a black Scotch disc, then similar to you except with the Ranex.
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