Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Don't forget to run a file over the mating surfaces and check the block side for flatness.
Use the right hardware too!

 

No need to feel apprehensive about brazing on the intake manifold. My Dad made marine exhaust manifolds for our homemade '55 Pontiac powered ski boat and they were totally brazed together. Even with exhaust heat and minimal water cooling they lasted years until we went to a different engine and had to change the exhaust. That's when I learned how to braze, I was about 12 or 13. Lookin' good, can't wait to see how much improvement you feel.

 

@J.Ukrop I brought my roadster windshield frame to the local glass shop and asked them to make up and install the glass in it. I asked him what kind of rubber or welting he was going to use because I wanted it to look original. He said "nope, I will glue it in, we don't use that old stuff". So, I have a glued in windshield. It looks and performs fine but I still think about how maybe I should have shopped around.

 

This is what restorers use:
https://www.mikes-afordable.com/product/A3403X.html

 

I love how much vintage hardware you're able to come up with. Nobody's ever gonna be able to tell you started building this thing just last year.

David's roadster puts a smile on my face every time I see it, and so does yours. Great work brazing that intake up! Git it!

 

When you get to this part of the build I've got some more pieces for you but it would undo a lot of what you have done.
https://thoughtintensivedesign.wordpress.com/overhead-valve-model-a/

 

I know you said air is free at the gas station, I couldn't be without a compressor. I just had a quick look at Craigslist for SFbay there were several small compressors for like $10 to $60 and an air tank for $25 that you could fill at the gas station. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/tls/d/petaluma-air-compressor/7283675182.html
https://images.craigslist.org/00808_dj8QStahMfrz_0t20CI_300x300.jpg
https://images.craigslist.org/00707_DkG004dQ7Kz_0CI0t2_300x300.jpg
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/tls/d/san-francisco-gallon-37-cfm-compressor/7284932487.html

 

Living in SF, if you decide to buy one, make sure it’s not an oiless compressor, be pretty noisy for your neighbors. Make sure it has a belt driven compressor from a motor.

 

One quick tip about brass intake and exhaust nuts.

Dodge,plymouth, and Chrysler flathead sixes use brass washers or nuts with a steel nut torqued on after them. Brass expands when heated and doesn't contract afterwards. This applies extra torque to the gaskets. It works great! I've used this trick on headers to stop the fasteners loosening off.

 

@dumprat filing that one away for later for sure!

 

Dumprat, I didn't know that either.
Good to know!

 

"Gives me goosebumps thinking of a pack of hot rods roaming these streets..." As an old light tented country guy it sorta' gives me goose bumps to think of driving a very noticeable little open car through just about any modern city. But if I ever get my roadster done and a some others would come along........that would be a fun drive for sure.
Maybe I just worry too much if they do this in LA. Found it when researching where we lived when I was born.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...n_and_Observatory_includes_Breakfast-Los.html
The manifold looks great you two did a great job. A decent compressor has always been an issue here. We make our own power and 220 v is a problem. Some of the job site portable models are fairly quiet and do fine for jobs smaller than most air tools & painting.

 

Here is a great deal, highly portable and will do pretty much anything you need to do, you’ll just have to wait sometimes for it to build air. But, waiting to do something might be a good thing!
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/d/lafayette-roll-air-compressor/7284090629.html
and it’s CHEAP!

 

Those small compressors are a real life-saver, and sized for your current situation. They will run a blow gun, stapler, grease gun, fill tires, air brush, air ratchets and air chisel (with waiting), and other low CFM tools.
However, they will NOT run an impact gun, DA sander or a paint gun reliably down the road.
Also make sure you have adequate power supply. Most do not like weak wiring/extension cords.

https://www.garagetooladvisor.com/air-tools/what-size-air-compressor/

I have no idea what's available in your area, but I've found lots of cheap hand, air and power tools in the local thrift stores. Most are junk, but there are diamonds among the manure.

One tool that doesn't register for a lot of people is one I used a lot in the shop. It is a suction tank. You supply air to it and it has a valved hose that can suck fluids out. New they are expensive, but maybe you can find one used. EXAMPLE
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200623859_200623859
A friend with a shop would probably be very happy to store/use any bigger and rarely used tools.
Great for sucking old oil out of motorcycle engines.

A siphon blow gun is pretty neat for cleaning too. Having a solvent in aerosol is probably illegal in CA and not very nice in a heavily populated area, though. Soap and water/air and a brush will be better than just a brush.
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/xtra-seal-siphon-blow-gun-15-5603/28200646-p

 

I started prowling pawn shops for air tools and was able to pick up a lot of kool air tools for cheap. I think I paid $28 for my 1940s Snap-On impact and it runs like a bull. I paid $150 or maybe $250 for a used 30 gallon 150 psi Sears shop compressor a while back, it was a worthwhile investment even though it meant eating chili for a week. Granted I live in suburban Texas with neighbors spaced far enough apart that noisy tools don't bother anyone.

Only problem is I'm chronically bad at tool management and air tools come with lots of attachments, chuck wrenches, hoses, etc etc to trip over and lose...

I would skip a small compressor unless you need to move it from one site to another often... for working in your garage a big used compressor with a long hose is perfect and will run everything.

 

Sorry, but no that's a construction (nailer/stapler) deal. Too small of a tank, and that price is too high for used.
EXAMPLE $200 new
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Califor...l-Free-Electric-Air-Compressor-8010/206087284

There is an antique compressor listed on CL there too. I'd be very leery of that tank, even if the rest of it fit the HAMB aesthetic.

 

a guy could fashion something like this from string (drill a hole in one end).
https://www.performancetoolcenter.c...der/?msclkid=1749bc5101af167ab5dddc10281670b6
and an old wheel mounted on the wall will handle the hose.

 

When I was a teenager I bought a really cheap glass bead blaster and rounded up a pail of clean dry sand and some tools. I knew that the local college had free air for bicycles outside one of the buildings, so I went there, took the air chuck off and screwed my crappy little glass bead setup to it and blasted away for awhile.

Then I put the air chuck back on and went home. No problems but maybe I annoyed a few cyclists.

 

Your banger is looking really sweet! Pity about the glass but hopefully they can get it straightened out!

 

My experience with gas station air borrowing: When I was going in JR College I broke the cleaning rod and left the jag in the bore on my muzzle loading rifle. After trying to fish it out for an hours or so I pulled the barrel andwent the the gas station where my friend worked. I pulled the nipple where the percussion cap goes and put a new valve stem in the air chuck. I put the end of the valve stem over the hole where the nipple screws in and put the air to it. With a pretty good pop the jag came out and hit a car goin down the street. The driver stopped, we hid, he picked up the jag looked at it, threw it down, and drove off. I retrieved the jag and went home. Could have been worse.

 

I've seen hockey stick tape or even multiple layers of regular electrical tape used to set glass. Probably get flamed for admitting it; but I used black silicone to set the windshield glass on my T. I'd stay away from urethane; might look like a good idea but always proves to be nasty stuff.

 

I don’t know man. Figuring it out before you force the shit out of it and break it doesn’t sound very traditional to me. Haha.

good catch. That small of margin they might be able to sand it down

 

electrical tape works good. Glue can cause problems if you ever have to change it.