Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

It's just fine down there. It's home to the closest accessible In-N-Out, so I definitely make the trip south from time to time. Gotta love the unique architecture of Daly City!

 

Last night I was reviewing my copy of The Ford Model A, As Henry Built It and I discovered something. The bottom caption indicates that the Deluxe Windshield is slightly lower than the Standard. I wonder if that means that I now have one of each in my possession, rather than a chopped one and a stock one? Seeing that the black "chopped" windshield frame is chrome underneath, it checks out. Plus the stanchions that came with the car are chrome...
Also, the previous owner sent me this photo. He found the lower stanchions! He says he'll be shipping them to me shortly. His '36 Ford roadster is powered by a four-carbed flathead and is super cool.

 

Great info! My car also has a chrome top assembly, so that once again makes me believe it was a Deluxe.

 

Sorry, what I meant was that it had Deluxe components. No sign of cowl light holes or repairs.

 

Thanks for the input and encouragement, everyone. @nickthebandit, I'll take a closer look at them this weekend and see what I have.

Today was a big day for both me and the car. After clearing some space in the new garage, I decided that it was time to drive it over. I had completed my pre-move checklist. Water pump? Check. Seat base? Check. Floor stained and sealed? Check. Removed running board mounts? Check. Brake rod install and adjustment? Check. I poured in a little bit of gas and got ready to go. But when I went to start it, the car had other plans. After several attempts, I ran the battery down under 12V trying to start it.

A little bit bummed, I threw it on the trickle charger while I went back to work. In the back of my mind, I thought about what may have caused the drain. Well, I hadn't driven it in over a month, so it could have been that. Also, the fuel bowl had some crud in it. So when I came back during lunch time, I cleaned the fuel bowl and it fired right up with the freshly charged battery.

With a little bit of help from the neighbor, I was able to back it out onto my busy street. Before I knew it, I was grabbin' gears (gently) and cruising around the neighborhood. Talk about being on top of the world! Just like last time, people were definitely confused. I loved every second of it.

That is, until I hit the top of the hill by my new house and ran out of gas. I coasted on to my new street with my heart pounding. Yes, it was mostly due to the excitement, but also because I had to push the car up another hill. Luckily, two new (to me) neighbors jumped in and helped me out. I told them to stop by for a cold one next time they saw the garage door open.

With the roadster basically in front of my driveway, I snagged one of my gas cans and get some gas in it. Even then it had less than two gallons in it (under 1/4 tank) and it was kind of hard to start. I wasn't 100% sure if it was still a battery issue or if it was just too little gas. Coming from the vintage motorcycle world (read: gravity feed), I know that it's pretty damn difficult to start an old machine that's low on gas.

When I start the car and have it idle, the ammeter reads zero. When I feather the throttle, it goes to heavy discharge and then quickly back to zero. As far as I know, that's normal because it shows it's charging? After putting in more gas, I fired up the car two more times today just to see how it's doing. No issues were had.

Even though it took some doing, I'm proud of the little roadster and its big trip to the new place. Once I finish moving, I'm really going to get down to business.

 

Now, for some photos.
Last night at the old garage. You guys probably have had this feeling before, but I had to take a step back and say "Damn, I can't believe this car is mine."

I think it's pretty interesting how the roadster's calico color pallete perfectly matches the old garage. I'm going to miss the place, that's for sure. Here's the completed seat and almost finished floor. I still have to bolt it down, but I'm going to do that once the brakes are how I want them and the battery box is painted and detailed. I went with black stain and spar urethane. Don't worry, I'm going to clean up the wiring a little bit more too.

 

Home safely! I can't tell you how good it felt to have made it. It wasn't all that far, but it was all city driving in a car that hasn't seen the road in half a century.

My new place was built in 1922. I can't wait to get the garage set up so then I can really turn some wrenches. I'll chalk up today as a win!

 

During lunch today, I tested the battery with a multimeter. 12.65V with the ignition off. Then I started it up and, at idle, it was up over 13V. When I feathered the throttle, it was above 14—even though the ammeter on the dash read discharge and then back to zero. Backwards? I think so. After reversing the wires, it reads around zero at idle and the charge level spikes when I hit the throttle. Nice to have that sorted out.

Other than that, not much progress today. I ordered hood latches and the final two screws for the door hinge assembly. Maybe it'll get doors soon? I have one rumble seat hinge and I'm on the market for another if anyone has one that they're holding.

 

There's a lot to like there, and I do plan to run a Deuce shell when I save up some more money. Think I'd take some heat for sporting those pipes in 2020? Hahaha