Chassis assembly. Starting with the front end. Posies reversed eye spring and dropped axle and spindles from Kohler Kustom, and P&J shock mount kit. Spindles needed the upper edge ground off the clear the Lincoln style repro backing plates. P&J bolt on shocks for 40 Ford. Had to switch track bar and shock mount position in order not to interfere. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Found a pair of 46-48 rear shock mounts but without spacers a and the special bolts. Had to figure out and machine the missing parts: Also fabricated an adapter for a GM master cylinder. Frame is upside down Stainless actuator rod extension and insert for the rubber dust cap The GM m/c will require another access panel in the floor pan with a domed cover to clear the m/c cover. Could have saved me some work if I had known this before I made the floor pan and hole for stock m/c. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Rear suspension with stock height Posies replacement spring, 5” raised crossmember and 1” spring spacer (instead of 2” stock spacer) for a 6” drop. I will probably exchange the 1” spacer for the stock unit. Tires are rollers only. Fronts are 7.60-15 and rears are 7.10-15 which are 3/8” bigger in diameter. Have new 6.70 for front and back. Axle to bumper clearance is 3” currently. Rear shocks are on order. Still need a bunch of small parts for the brakes. A flywheel for the 331 Cad is also on order. So much for today! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Rear shock mounts fabricated out of thick wall DOM tubing. Grade 8 bolts go all the way through crossmember. Plumbed the brakes using Cunifer (copper nickel iron) tubing. First time working with the stuff and got some fake mystery metal tubing from Amazon. It was copper coated on the outside but silvery on inside. It was softer than steel and turned out real nice, but started to flash rust immediately just from touching. Ripped the whole deal out again and redid everything with the real stuff. Very nice to work with,but didn’t work with the Eastwood flaring tool which I love for steel tubing. “Traditional” Hand flaring tool gave nice results. I am using residual pressure valves for drums, they proved necessary with the same brake setup in my roadster. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Received the flywheel for the 331 from Wilcap. They didn’t drill the hole for the dowel but was able to drill it in my shop at work. Made some dowels for two of the existing holes to help align the flywheel, then indicate from one of the neighboring holes. Modified the engine stand to be able to remove the lower bell housing and mount the flywheel. The motor was rebuilt when I got it 10 plus years ago, but I wanted to check by removing the valve covers. I found one of the pushrods was broken and when I pulled the pushrod it pulled the lifter out of its bore. Time to dig a little deeper... Overall super clean I couldn’t determine a reason for the pushrod failure. The valve is free and the lifter was pristine. The break was at the boundary between the shaft and the separate tapered tip. Maybe a bad joint. NAPA still carries pushrods, lifters and gaskets. I will clean and paint the motor and exhaust manifolds. Not sure about the carb. Probably needs rebuild or a replacement. Anybody know any options? Want to keep the stock intake for now. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Inspected all lifters and found 2 cam lobes are toast and so are the lifters. Pushrods were installed upside down ( tapered end goes in lifter). Pushrod lengths were all over the place and varied by .020”. Cam is early, one year only with spring loaded button in snout. Pushrod length is different from later models. Timing chain has 1/8” deflection from taut. Probably ok but will have to research. Engine was rebuilt but crank has wear and needs regroups by another .010”. Bores and pistons are .030” and look good with the hone pattern still showing. No ridge at top. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Machine shop should be done next week. Spent the weekend cleaning up some parts for the motor assembly. Still have to order the parts from Terrill Machine in TX. The guy knows his stuff and has most parts in stock for early Old and Cad. Very knowledgeable. Exhaust and intake manifold, pulleys and such will get sand blasted before refinishing. I also stripped the running boards using a butane torch from the underside and scraping 10” sections at a time with the air scraper. Still trying to clean some more of the residue before giving it to the sandblaster. I can have them powder coated at the same time. Anybody know if contact cement will stick to powder coating? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Nice attention to detail Brother Man [emoji41][emoji106][emoji471] Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
This is such an inspiring build. Is it a 49 331? Contact will stick to powder coating but I would scuff it up with 120 grit to give it some bite.
Used a soy based paint stripper to remove the rubber residue which worked fairly well. One of the boards needed quite a bit of straightening as the edge was pushed in. There were also a couple of corners which needed cracks welded up. Next stop sandblaster and powder coating. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Caddy heads, block and crank came back from machine shop. Time to get the spray gun out. I used OMNi epoxy primer and single stage urethane. The small HF detail fun works great for small stuff with nooks and crannies Should have the new cam, lifters and pushrods by next weekend. Maybe time to start assembly? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I didn’t like the Wilcap pilot bearing adapter with only 3/8” press fit engagement in the crank hole and more then 1” unsupported length. I machined a new adapter which is held by four bolts and registers on the ring feature into which the new bolt pattern is drilled. I used the unfinished adapter as a drill guide. The crank is steel, not cast so this was somewhat of a delicate procedure. I installed the new stock replace my cam and machined crank. Clearances check out fine @.002” on main bearings. BestGasket includes a two piece rubber rear main seal to replace the rope seal. Pistons are cleaned up and re-ringed and ready for installation. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
New cam installed. Note one year only spring loaded cam button on cam. Checking lifter preload. Necessary with surfaced heads and uncertain rebuild history. Cam on heel, mark push rod, then completely loosen rocker arm assembly and mark again. Should fall within .025 to .060”. Ended up at .110 and needed to shim the rocker arm mounts with .048” shims which brought it in spec around .040” preload. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
New crossover pipe to replace the rotted and crushed original. Motor mounts are “hurst style” off eBay. Nicely made. Dropped the engine in place to check clearance with axle and tie rod. It looks good! Problem is exhaust routing. Rod draft tube also has to fit in space between block and x-member. Either notch the x-member and snake exhaust over x-member, or block off rear exit and use a 2-into 1 collector on the passenger side at the height of the opening in the x-member to connect the two crossover pipes and direct them to the rear. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Great build. I know some Wagner master cylinders came with a bolt on cap (if you can still find them). I did the same thing a few years ago on my '47 but I used a Mopar master as it was lower.
Did you have to fabricate those shims? And, oil pressure is fed through at least one of the rocker shaft stands. Correct?? So you had to make provisions for that, as well? Good Job !! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
They are just Aluminum 6061 T6. The hole size is the same as in the head. I used Shellac sealer to position them so they line up in order not to impede oil flow. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Great build !! I know it was quite a while ago but did not see an answer -You asked a question about the nuts on the rockers I believe they may be for bolts that go in the running boards in between the support rails .... Hopefully I can post some pics of my build - being a woodworker I too use wood as templates as well. Your work is admirable !!!
The Jalopy Journal
