Projects '33 5w Build Thread

The elegance and impeccable attention to detail is on another level and has truly inspired me to do on my present and future projects better here in England. Thank you for your sharing this. The quality of the build compliments the beauty of the 33 / 34 Ford.

 

It's been a few since I updated this thread, so here are the latest shots of the car!

We took the car out to GNRS again this year, and had a great spot in Building 7 at the entrance. The trip to GNRS was actually double duty, as the car went to Sid afterward for his team to tackle the interior. We went with a custom dyed leather from Relicate, paired with a wool headliner and german square weave carpeting. It turned out better than we could've expected!

 

Looks fantastic!

 

Cory, crowning touch to a wonderful car. Hope to see it in person someday, along with You, Ashley, and Dan again ! It makes me wish I had kept mine, a $1500.00 investment in 1978.

 

Cory, I saw your beautiful 5W at the GNRS and it is a masterpiece. With Sid's great interior it is far and above any '33 I've ever seen. Thanks for the shots. Ron

 

Tastey!

Chris

 

That looked like a nice one Marty!

 

If you saw me at GNRS, you probably seen me working through my hydraulic clutch issue. When we went to unload the car, I was greeted with a clutch pedal that built no pressure. The hydraulic's last effort must've been when we loaded the car back in Michigan. I spent a couple of hours troubleshooting it, bleeding it several times, to no avail. It was now pretty late, so I started the car in first gear, and drove it into Building 7 that night.

I had come to the conclusion that the master cylinder must be bad because it would not refill the hydraulic circuit as I attempted to bleed it. The next day was still a setup day, so I hunted down a replacement master cylinder in Corona, bought some jack stands from Home Depot, borrowed a floor jack at the show, and replaced it on the floor of Building 7! I was able to get a pedal back, so I felt my theory was solid.

Fast forward a month later to getting the car back from Sid, I discovered a low pedal again as I went to drive the car off the carrier. I was able to pump it enough to get the clutch to disengage, and this time, in the comfort of my garage and with a borescope, I could see the hydraulic throwout bearing was weeping. That was a pretty disheartening find, with no so simple fix, but I buckled down and got to work.

I didn't want to disturb the fresh interior, so I spent a little extra time to access the bellhousing bolts from the underside and engine bay. I was fortunate that the engine came up and forward, with the fenders and side aprons still on the car. The front exhaust ports literally had less than 1/8" clearance per side, but with the help of Ashley, we guided the Cadillac out the engine bay. Interestingly enough, the QuickTime scattershield and plate sealed well enough to each other to never allow any hydraulic fluid to drip on the floor!

 

When I built the car, I decided to go with a McLeod hydraulic bearing. I used their 1400 series bearing, which has a slip-on body that "floats" on the bearing retainer. The two -4 AN hoses double as the anti-rotation features. I recall being skeptical of using the hoses in that manner, but was assured by online sources, and McLeod themselves, that this was sufficient. It did hold up for almost 5,000 miles......

For those who aren't familiar with the McLeod bearings, they have two -4 AN male swivel fittings - one on bottom of the housing (the pressure side) and one on top of the housing (to bleed side). The swivel fitting has a collar that seals against a rubber seal. At first glance, you might mistake it for an o-ring, but it seals in compression and not radially.

I found that the lower swivel fitting had some play in it, if you rocked the fitting laterally. I suspect that the rubber seal eventually took a permanent set to the compression, and couldn't expand for when that fitting rocked. Now, the only reason that fitting would rock was because the pressure hose was constant being tugged against, serving as the anti-rotation feature.

I ordered up a new McLeod bearing from Summit, but this time made an anti-rotation bracket to take the stress off the hoses and fittings. The backside of the bearing has about 10 8-32 screws, so I utilized a few of those to hold a 1/8" steel ear that I fabbed up on the bandsaw and mill. Then, I took a bearing retainer bolt out, counterbored the head slightly, and welded a pressed in pin to it. With everything assembled, the load goes into that pin (much like a Tilton), instead of the hoses.

 

The weather appears to have finally made the turn for spring here in Michigan, so we've been able to enjoy the car some more.

 

Gorgeous upholstery, but I’d have to drive it barefoot. It would last one day in my possession before the carpet was filthy.

 

Trust me, I carry the same risk! I have a towel on the floor to keep it clean.....

 

I always wondered how someone would go about a major repair like removing an engine in a perfectly done finished car like yours. Glad you got it done with minimal drama.

By the way, those chrome window frames are dreamy....

-Abone.

 

I took my time each night, trying not to rush and end up chipping something. Fortunately, I wired the entire engine on a mil-spec connector, so the whole thing simply unplugged.

 

Awesome!!! By chance canyou post details/pics on that connector and where you hid it? Thanks.

 

Stunning.

 

Deutsch HD30 and HDP20 series connectors work well for EFI harness bulkheads. From other photos, it looks like that’s what he used and placed them on the righthand (passenger) side of the firewall.

 

If you are doing this, try to keep inputs (sensor returns) separate from outputs (sensor feeds, solenoids, coil power). 2 separate connectors would be better.
If you only have mechanical gauges and the entire engine wiring is starter, gen/alt and coil, ignore this.

 

Correct - I decided to make the electrical functional and visible on the car, so there are two connectors on the lower right hand side of the firewall. One is to the engine, and one is to the chassis. I got deep into Deutsch connectors on this car, and love their compactness and ability to carry current.

 

Thanks!

 

@CTaulbert , does your coupe have any mufflers? What diameter is the exhaust?

I've seen & heard several videos of it at Gathering at the Roc & GG HROTY. It sounds wonderful!

 

The exhaust system is 2" stainless, with no mufflers.

 

Great Craftsmanship! Thanks for sharing!

 

Looks like this one is headed to Lincoln for the wheel hub magazine live event. Such a great hot rod I had to get a second read of the thread in.