Not much to report but did clean up the oil pan and get everything back together yesterday. Took a few photos of the cam while I was under the car. Somewhat worried about the lobes but I might install a new cam anyways. Just want to hear it run which is the next step on my list along with creating a hub puller (thanks @Tman).
Making some good progress, keep it up and keep posting for us. Its going to be fun once you get it up and running.
Here is the roadster pickup I have been blessed with. The long time owner was around for the restart, which was a big help, the crew was almost giddy when things worked out. I have a couple of others to chop up, so this one will likely stay on the original side, but I think the hotrodded ones are more fun and practical- as much as a model A can be practical.
Having a heck of a week here! Nothing has happened as I managed to catch Covid and now I can't find my key! This is super frustrating as I only want to know the engine is running fine before I invest money in the motor and switch over to 12v and electronic ignition. Any recommendations on how to "hotwire" or other?
Yyyyeeesss!!! Got the car running! I took all all the old wiring and rewired the ignition circuit. Had some trouble getting the motor to turn over so I hooked up a 12V battery and that solved the problem. Hooked up a bleach bottle for gas and she started right up! Had some leaking at the carb so couldn't get it to run for too long. Hope to fix this tomorrow so I can get it warmed up and try the gears. Then the disassembly can begin!
Congratulations! It becomes addicting, sometimes frustrating, but very rewarding. Especially when you go driving down the road for the first time. Take your time shifting gears, it takes some getting used to.
My project will be a slow go until the colder weather arrives but I did make some progress today. I got my rear drums off using a cheap puller that my dad had. I ground the ends off to fit the behind the hub ridge. A couple of wacks with a hammer and a few turns and they were off! I did manage to blow a hole in my favourite jacket from the aluminum sparks but oh well - shit happens! It seems that the car has later front drums and the original "AR" rear drums with the original service brakes also acting as parking brakes. I want to run '32 spokes which won't work with AR drums. Am currently in the process of figuring out if I can run later drums on the rear while utilizing the existing brake set up.
Nice find I too have a 28 Tudor mine is mid year, June, has parking brake on the left Had a black steering wheel, po replaced it with red one all brake drums are like the later model As I had a difficult time find the date stamp on my cowl but I did find it in the lower left corner of the tank firewall One question Why switch to 12 volts?
Your early '28 Model A Ford AR, does not have an emergency brake nor does any other Model A Ford. That brake is just on the rear two wheels and is just for parking the car. There is not enough brake surface to ruly stop the car in an emergency situation, plus just being on the rear wheels. I can't stress this enough it is a "Parking Brake" only. As for the proper wheels that you might upgrade to, there are three sources of information that I regularly use: The Model A Medic, Erick Weninger (316-619-1821), Snyder's Antique Auto Parts (888-262-5712), and Branton's Antique Auto Parts (301-829-9880). There are others that are good but also some bad ones but these three have proven to be very dependable parts suppliers and they have the technical staff and knowledge through years of experience to steer you right. You do want to at a minimum replace the steel brake drums with the new cast iron and turn your shoes to the drums. Go with Flat Head Teds Brake kits to give you even shoe contact with drums for the best possible braking. Some people recommend hydraulics, but if you have a very light car and properly adjusted the mechanical brakes will stop you every bit as fast as hydraulics. Also the hydraulic master cylinder on every kit I have seen wind up sitting lower than your wheel cylinders which makes bleeding the brakes almost impossible. As to why to switch to 12 volts system: all of your lights become more dependable, alternators are far more dependable than generators and if you switch to one of the reduction gear small starters, you virtually eliminate the potential of throwing a tooth off your flywheel and they spin your car up so fast that it starts almost instantly. Good Luck and Have Fun.
I need to rewire the entire car so I may as well switch to 12v. Will likely run a Powermaster alternator so it should look fine. So, you are using the original "service brakes as parking brakes" set-up with later style drums?
My brakes are like yours, no service brakes 6 volt systems can be very reliable Providing proper wire size is used the model A generator is also very reliable, unless it’s worn out but very easy to rebuild if you plan to run a heavy electrical load then switching to 12 volts makes sense the biggest problem with the lights is rusty old sockets I’m running all LED lights, besides being very bright they draw very little load All that being said it’s your build and make the way you want it I’v added your build to my watch list Keep up the good work
I took a grinder to the puller to shave a 1/4 inch off each side so it would fit over the hub. Sometimes you just gotta do things and good clothes get wrecked!
12V? YES! My RPU was never reliable to start with 6V, once I upgraded, never faltered once. Lights are brighter and safer at night. You can keep the original starter. Warren
Have you sourced a spot to purchase a Powermaster alternator? I as well am interested in switching to 12V. The 12V system isn't too much juice for the original starter?
Summit is probably the best source for all the different Powermaster alternators, but depending on model, they can get very expensive. I just have a run of the mill 70AMP off the shelf unit that doe the job and no pretenses. The starter is pretty well oblivious to the voltage. Warren
Haven't posted lately as I have been trying to educate myself, getting parts, cleaning grease and making new friends! I have had a change of plans on my wheels. I was doing research on the brakes on my car and came across an ad for complete '32 front brakes in great condition. Problem was, they were in Montreal over 500km away. That's a long drive for a set of brakes. However, the gentleman was also selling a set of 16" Kelsey Hayes spoke rims. A deal was struck, the drive now made sense and I drove out to Montreal to pick up the wheels and the brakes yesterday! I also somehow managed to buy a set of 16" Ford spokes at the same time out of Ohio that I will be getting next week! Oh well, I will save the Ford wheels for my next A project. I also picked up a set of Guide 682-C headlights! I am having a blast! Can wait to make some real progress on the car.
Not a heck of a lot to report on but I continue to educate myself and procure parts. The fact that I started with an "early '28" made things a little challenging w regards to mechanical brakes and wheels but I have finally sorted this out. After getting through the holidays, travel and the flu - I am now starting back on the car. I started removing the fenders yesterday and hope to continue to make progress as long as my heater is up to the challenge! And, more news to follow later this week!
Body is ready to come off! Going to remove the rear bumper and rear running board supports next. Then, I am going to roll it out into the driveway and use a couple of 4x4's and 2x4 cribbing and a jack along with a friend or two. Then I'll roll the chassis into the garage and build a wheeled base for the body to sit and roll on. That's the plan but we've got snow on the way! I could maybe do it inside but my garage roof is very low. We'll see.
Probably that pan had water sit in it for years (maybe just a half inch under a pan full of oil) causing rust holes, which were patched with braze: Your Powerbuilt puller is made of steel, hence the sparks.
Hi Beanscoot - Thanks for the info. I've also discovered that this is an early '28 pan with a seperate cleanout (and for access to the oil pump). I have a later style pan that I will replace it with.
I wouldn't hesitate to use the brazed up pan, and it actually is kind of appealing with that old old repair.
Someone just decided to stop a common drip source on a permanent basis..... Your cam looks typical. The A has very low spring pressure so it wears little. Dry starts from sitting for weeks at a time probably do the most damage.
Finally separated the body from the chassis yesterday with the help of my dad, a bunch of 2x4s, some jackstands, a variety of jacks and a few slices of apple pie. I was quite nervous when we started pulling the chassis out but everything worked according to plan (mostly). Looking forward to working on the chassis!
Check in this area for a number. When the cars were built the frame got stamped with the engine number they installed. You can only see it with the body lifted. They were registered by the engine number since that's the only number you see when the car is complete.
29Sleeper - That's one of the first things I looked for but I don't know if it's because the car is Canadian or a very early '28 but there is no number on the frame.
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