Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a very relaxing surprise birthday weekend with my girlfriend on the island of Kauai, and I'll be the first to say it has been a little bit difficult returning to reality. Nonetheless, I'm ready to make 2023 the year that Version 2.0 gets on the road.

So, what have I been working on? Once I had finally gotten all the pieces in place to try to fire up the motor, I realized that I didn't have room for my mechanical fan. Damn. So, I looked high and low for other hot rodders' solutions. I already have my PowerGen, so my main stipulation is that I wanted to run it.

Initially, I thought it would be a good idea to mount a fan on the gen using the Offenhauser adapter pulley from Speedway. After talking with Powermaster, they strongly advised that I go another route because the bearings can't take the turbulence from the fan.

Then, I thought it may be wise to go with an offset generator bracket and idler made out of an old generator. That, however, meant pulling one of the heads, extracting studs and then putting it all back together again. Also, I like the look of a centered generator. I still may do this when I pull all the head studs for the Edelbrock heads sometime down the line.

Finally, I looked at cars built by folks I trust. Both Brandon Flaner and Lucky Burton run the stock, 1942-'48 Ford fans on their flathead-powered Model A's on '32 frames.

Brandon's '30 roadster.

Lucky's '31 roadster.

Having the radiator and grille a little bit forward defines the looks of these cars. If it can look good on theirs, it should—in theory—look good on mine too. I ordered a stock fan off eBay and gave it a shot.

When it arrived, everything looked good and it spun well. One of the blades somehow got bent, so I'll have to whip it back into shape.

Just like they did it at the factory. I'm going to fab some new lower radiator support tabs, but I'm liking where this is heading. I was told I should have between 1/2 and 1 inch of clearance between the fan and the radiator. Does that sound right?

Earlier today, I received my belts from my friends at All Ford, who now know me by name. I'll be in Flagstaff for work this weekend, but I'm hoping to have this thing ready to fire at some point next week. We shall see!

 

They came from Speedway! They come in stainless or chrome, and I opted for chrome. I think they look right at home on this build.

 

Little by little, it's getting there.

You and me both, Mitch! That's going to be a big day. We will get there.

Hi Rick, that's incredible that you used to live there. I can't wait to go back. No early Ford sightings, but I did spot a bright red 1941 Willys pickup Gasser in my travels. I couldn't believe my eyes! When you start your A-V8, you should do a build thread on it!

Thanks my man! Time really does fly. It felt good to take a break from work/hot rodding/just about everything for the weekend. I need a little bit more of that in my life haha

Happy early birthday!

I may still take you up on the 59AB fan. This one ended up being kinda bent. I'll see if my dual-crescent-wrench-straightening-while-talking-on-the-phone technique worked.

Hahahah I would have leaned towards the latter if I could, but my roommates might wonder about the water leak!

 

This was the weekend for events. Although I missed the Redwood Empire Early V8 club swap meet in Petaluma and the Time Flies Motorcycle Show in the Mission, I had a great time at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Arizona, for work.

Highlights included:
The Delmo Apache with an Eric Black-designed aluminum Trail Cap

My return to Hotel Monte Vista

...and a beer at the historic Monte Vista Lounge.

Before I left for Arizona on Friday morning, I was able to pick up some hardware to mount the fan.

As you can imagine, I got some strange looks as I carried this piece of equipment down the hardware aisle six minutes before closing time. The good news is that I got what I needed. This week, we'll get everything into position.

 

I will be moving the radiator forward 1.75 inches I believe (I’ll post the actual measurements when I know them). Way down the line I hope to run an extended hood top, but I have no plans for sides due to the headers.

Three weeks on Kauai? Perfection!

 

Yep, that's correct. It's in issue #92 of DicE.

 

This afternoon, I'm hanging out with Yama and building some simple brackets for the radiator's new position. Last night, I installed the fan, belts, wired the coil and treated the oil drain plug to a fresh copper washer. Once the radiator is in place, it's time for fluids and fire-up.

 

Also, I have 180 degree thermostats. What are people's thoughts on drilling them?

 

Thank you everyone for the thermostat advice. Since I live in a relatively cool climate, I'm going to try without drilling them at first. I'm running water, so it won't be a big deal to drain them to change it up down the line.

 

Last night, I went over to Yama's with some 3/16th angle iron and a plan. I proceeded to make my radiator relocation brackets. These will double as mounting points for my rubber brake line hoses. Real hardware—including large washers—to come.

I think I'm going to paint them to match the frame when it's all said and done.

Treated myself to a little mockup. When paired with the dropped steering arm, the drag link and the chrome backing plates, we're going to be in business.