I was particularly amused by x38 's posting asking if your steering wheel was smelly ! If I'm not mistaken that limberger smell was a commonly used 40's-50's acetate type plastic that emitted a gassy odor, a handy steering wheel to lay the blame on after a night out . Better smelly than sticky, as we can recall some of the 80's era rubber covered wheels turned to a glue like surface in the summer heat.
Since I am cleaning up the chassis, I decided the old 1950's torch cut, flat plate master cylinder bracket with its flat washer spacers and 1/2" square bolts through the K-member needed to be replaced. The old bracket was not that bad, I just wanted something a little more sano... The bracket picks up two original holes in the back of the K-member and two pedal box bolts down below. The brakes worked well the way they had it set up, and this bracket sets the M/C in the same position...just a little upgraded bracket design
Yes, the pedal was already modified. They had done a nice job of relocating the mechanical brake arm to the bottom of the pedal.
I started assembling the front end this weekend. I assembled these Boling Bros Lincoln style brakes. I bought the bare backing plates from a friend and then pieced them together with various new parts. I spent a good portion of Saturday, gathering hardware, pressing in and honing kingpin bushings, etc. I ended up the day with this pile of parts, ready to assemble... So Sunday morning I had the easy job of assembly... I still have a few bolts to tighten and all of the cotter pins, but it's almost ready to slide under the truck. Hoping to have a roller again soon.
We really have to be careful with the deteriorated materials in these Ole clunkers, might grow you an extra arm...some of it ain't pretty...I'm glad I don't have no stinky wheel, it's a 40 Ford but maybe different material...
Me too. So much so that when I saw one in a bone yard a couple of years ago I bought it so I can try to do the same someday. I have a pristine original so I really don't need another but it would be fun to see how well I could do.
I made a little progress on the new engine for the pickup this weekend. This has been a long term project, as I had the machine work done shortly after I bought the truck, then got side tracked. The engine is a 59 block, bored .080" over, with a 4" stroke Merc crank, Harmon Collins 3/4 cam, original Johnsen adjustables, stainless valves. It is getting topped off with new Edelbrock block letter heads and an original Edelbrock "regular" hi-rise intake. My 84 year old dad had been helping on the build, but now moved into assisted living, so we didn't get to finish this one together. He knows more about flatheads than I'll ever know. I do plan to stop by and visit him once the truck is on the road, so he can see and hear it run. My dad and I with the "Green Flathead" that we built together 10-15 years ago. Here's the start on the engine for the closed cab, doing some minor port cleanup... Masked, ready for paint And freshly painted... My dad and I starting the assembly earlier this year.. Checking and shimming valve springs
Setting valve clearances using this old cam timing tool Pan installed The completed rotating assembly The obligatory mock up pic with some of the goodies on top
This recently turned up via Instagram. The 32 pickup as it was found back in 2010, sitting in a back yard in the Hayward, CA area, along with a 39 coupe. And this turned up on RPM Nationals website. Kinda cool pic of my buddy Josh and I facing off last year. It looks like I beat him off the line, but that didn't last for long. His old Tug Boat 36 is fast...
It's amazing what's in the back yards in Hayward, and the surrounding cities. I use to ride the BART train just so I could see into the back yards.
I did a little more engine assembly this weekend. I started routing plug wires, but need to order the correct connectors and boots for the distributor ends. I am questioning myself on running these clear red wires through the stock metal tubes. Do you think the insulation on these red wires is sufficient to to be all in one conduit tube like this? Feedback from anyone with personal experience with this style plug wire would be appreciated. I'm starting to get excited about getting this truck back together, as the build is really all about this engine... Neal
Hello Neil. The motor looks great. Tell me, what pumps are they? I can see you've trimmed off the engine mounts, but it was the raised hose retaining ring that caught my eye. A fancy bit of turning? Or are there some that are like that?
Mart - They are new sealed bearing pumps. I've bought several sets off of Ebay and had good luck with them. I think Speedway sells them too, but because I'm "thrifty" I've found them 1/2 price on Ebay... Neal
The Jalopy Journal
