As long as you dont have buyers remorse it's all good! Looks like you are on your way to building a hot rod. Let me know if there is anything I can help you with.
The radiator came out of a 52 Ford truck he said... it's definitely a V8 radiator (two inlets/outlets). There is an ant colony in one of the brake drums so I will have to deal with that here pretty soon. Thanks for the tip on the brakes and spindles!
Trust me there will be plenty more I'm sure. But that's a two way street. Just holler if you need a hand up there.
Not sure what you are going to do with that radiator unless you want it for your engine stand. It's to big to use with a model A grille shell or deuce shell. I am running a Model A radiator with a deuce shell. I had the A radiator modified to accept the V8. That's pretty old school. Good A radiators are out there but hard to come by. I had this one so I used it. Point of reference an A radiator will hold 3 gallons of coolant.
The rad that was on it is a loaner and I am about to be tearing the whole cooling system back down to replace the thermostat housings & water pumps, so might as well take the opportunity to give amodel25’s radiator back to him. This one was free... so not being able to use it in the car is OK. When I am done with the stand I am going to give it to Robin & he can keep the rad.
So I guess aside from the piddly shit the engine still needs, priority 1 right now is getting the bits and pieces needed to make that frame into a roller. My garage is at capacity now lol so I need to get that engine on the frame ASAP for space reasons. I have nowhere to put a body right now even if one came up tomorrow for one dollar. This rear end looks entirely too wide for the A. Tomorrow (weather permitting) I will be breaking it down so it can also come live inside with the other parts, it's just too big with the drive shaft/torque tube on it... then I can figure out what else I need to do to it. It seems like it's stuck.
I have a 37 rear end in mine. The width is fine and I am going to run fenders. You do need to cut the drive shaft torque tube down to fit in the A frame. I think I took like 18" out of mine. One of the differences with the 37 thru 40 rear ends from the 35 36 is that they have a center bearing for the drive shaft to rest in. I made all my cuts upstream from this bearing to preserve it. I also bought 46 48 radius rods as they are much shorter. I would take the drive shaft off the banjo for storage for now.
This frame has no tag that I can find, not a big deal from what I understand in Texas. How can I determine the year of the frame? I need to go ahead and get a rear leaf ordered I suppose so I can make up the new perches. The sooner I can get 4 wheels on this thing the easier it will be to figure out the next steps. Kind of want to stick with a stock spring in the back, reverse eye in the front... give it a bit of a rake. Is the truck rear spring any different strength wise?
If you post a pic of the front cross member I can identify it. 30 31's have a slight indentation below the frame rails where the radiator sits. 28 29's are flush with the top of the frame. There are different rear springs but I wouldn't worry about which one you buy. You can always remove leaves if you think it's sitting to high. I am actually using a "T" spring on mine as I want it lower. If you can find some model A axle bells you can cut of the rear spring hangers and weld/bolt to the 40 rear end. There is a really good thread on it by @Chris on it that shows you what to do. The serial number is stamped in the frame under where the left cowl sits.
Sure looks like you have a 30-31 frame. Works just fine on a 28-29 too, and you can shim up the radiator if need be. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/a-v8-roadster-update-been-a-while.518562/ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/model-a-roadster-is-a-roller-updated-12-10-09.422635/ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/a-v8-roadster-mock-up-done-what-do-ya-think.438965/ Can't go wrong setting up an A chassis like Chris did. Use '49 truck pumps on the late block to get mounting legs like a 59A engine would have. Somewhere (I can't find) is a great thread on his use of the A rear spring perches on the later rearend like Flatford39 mentioned. Don't do any cutting of the torquetube and driveshaft until you have your engine and trans mounted. Don't do any engine mounting until you have your radiator and firewall (borrow some if possible).
@alchemy Probably this thread you're thinking about, regarding the rear end. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...el-a-simple-tricks-to-update-your-car.435510/
Playing hell trying to get this torque tube off. Seems like it is seized to the drive shaft. I have removed all the bolts holding it to the pumpkin, the radius rods, and the speedometer gear housing. I can turn the torque tube back and forth a little but the drive shaft moves with it and they will not separate. I have soaked it in PB blaster to no avail.
As I said there is a bearing in the torque tube about midway. Look for a zerk fitting. If the Zerk is there try greasing it. You can spray PB Blaster down it and let it sit for awhile. It's probably hung up there. Sounds like it got full of water. Hope not, as that is the kiss of death for the gears.
I gave I think $150 for the rear end with brakes, gears, shaft and torque tube so hopefully I didn't get burned too bad & the rest can be salvaged even if the gears are toast. I'll go mess with it some more in a bit. What's the clip yall are referring to? I removed the whole turtle-shaped speedometer blister deal. There was a gear inside it. All I can see through the hole it left is the drive shaft.
You should be able to see the drive gear through the window, there'll be a circlip holding it in place
What do the gears in the rear end look like? Hopefully it isn't like flatford39 suggested, and has gotten water in it at some time in it's life!
I still haven’t been able to remove the torque tube but I’m not optimistic about what I’m going to find when I finally get in there. Frame was definitely a good buy but not so sure about the rear end. I guess you win some you lose some.
Even if the gears are toast, the brakes, drums, driveshaft, etc. all make it worth whatever you paid for it. I was in a pinch last week and bought a ‘46-‘48 rear hub/drum for probably more than you spent on the rear. Never a bad thing to have a parts surplus.... well, unless you’re running out of space. Hopefully the center bearing isn’t seized to the driveshaft. Those bearings are hard to come by and NOS ones cost a fortune. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Didn't get anything done today on the car, but I did use some left over money from the hot rod budget to go buy a welding machine as a present to myself for finishing welding school. I didn't really do this on purpose but I ended up with an early 50s Lincoln, which will surely add "period correctness" points when I take this thing to the concourse. Right? Lol. The machine runs great and should be plenty for what I'm doing. Based on the serial number it was made in 1953.
I'm glad I wasn't around when it was time to lift that heavy bastard out of the back of that hatchback! I dont know what you paid for it, but I bet the copper inside it is worth what you paid!
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