As I understand it canadian frames aren't stamped. My 1930 A is canadian and isn't stamped. The Robertson screws are another tell tale sign. Phil
Robertson screws in a canadian car of any vintage, may or may not be a factory install. Ford used them until a dispute with the inventor led to them being discontinued , I believe around 1932-33. In many areas slotted or phillips screws are special order. Disdained by retailers pushing the nationalist propaganda.
Spent some time today working on removing the brake components. I am replacing the "early" multi-piece cross shaft (shown on the right in first photo) with the "later" style (shown on the left in first photo). Also, note the clamshell design that supports the early 3 piece cross shaft. The thinking for now is to update the entire "early" brake system with the "later" style mechanical service brake system AND have the left side (second photo) parking brake lever operate all 4 wheels when pulled (just like it does now). I want to keep the lever in this position (because it's rare and cool) and I won't have a separate parking brake system like the later cars. Thanks to my good friend Warren (Wuga) for the help in figuring this out (so far) and locating parts!
The car had rotted tires so I could not drive it. But I did get engine running and also did a compression test where all cylinders were about 60 lbs. Good enough for me to tear the car down!
Yesterday I went on a little road trip. 500 miles in 12 hours. Two members on here needed something and I knew where those parts were. ‘tywy’ was looking for a head for his banger and really wanted a 7:1 something. Charlie Yapp and Jim Brierley have currently stopped making their’s, but I heard of a Lion head resting in the back of a garage in Ottawa Ontario. ‘meteorpete’ was looking for an S10 4x4 T5 and they also have become impossible to find. I phoned a friend in Montreal Quebec and low and behold he had two of them left. He rebuilds about 100 T5s a year. He told me he has now exhausted these particular T5s. Setting out at 9AM I drove 4 hours to Ottawa where I met John who had the Lion head and a Roof overhead conversion as well. The Roof was a little too rich for my wallet. We talked for about 1.5 hours and I left with the head still packaged in the original box. I then drove another 1.5 hours to Montreal where I met my friend. We had a nice 1 hour visit and then I headed home with the T5. At 9PM I dragged my sorry ass in the house but elated I could help a couple of banger guys get closer to their dream Warren
Apple pie is a vastly under rated tool in the shop. I suppose because it’s a consumable people don’t admit to using it as much as they do. I’ve also had good results with Pumpkin pie with whipping cream...
I can't say enough good things about Warren, both as a person and as a hot rodder willing to share his knowledge and his time. I can't wait until we are cruising together in our bangers!
I have decided to completely tear down my car to the frame. I've given myself until the Spring of 2025 to havc this banger on the road so I may as well do it top to bottom and front to back and really get to know the car. Today, when I removed the rad, I noticed that the front crossmember is cracked in multiple places and has had a repair at some point. Looks like I'll be replacing it! Can anyone recommend the best source for a new crossmember? I don't want any more drop so I'll be replacing it with a stock crossmember.
Not much to report other than everything is now off the frame. Had some difficulty locating a replacement crossmember. My good friends Wuga and Bogline were helping me as well with this search. A neighbour dropped by my house last a few days ago and he had a Model A frame leaning up against his garage with a decent crossmember! A quick deal was made and now I have a replacement. It has a few cracks that I will weld up before installing but it's in much better condition than my current crossmember. I'm thinking I will use the plug weld method to install it as rivets are beyond my scope and I don't think I'll like the look of bolts. Advice welcome on this. I'm also in the process of cleaning up the frame, etc. and thanks again to Wuga for loaning me his engine hoist, spring spreaders, etc. I can't thank the guy enough for helping me out.
Just a heads up with regard to the replacement crossmember - it is the 1930-31 version which has several differences, but the main one that affects anything is that the mounting area for the radiator is recessed/lowered when compared to the 1928-29 version. You may need to shim between the crossmember and the earlier radiator mounting brackets for everything to line up correctly, especially if you plan on running a hood. -
Haven't accomplished as much as I would like lately but I am making progress, having some fun (and some frustrations) and learning plenty. I did some minor crack repairs on the "new" crossmember and then welded it in to my frame by doing plug welds since most of the original rivet holes did not align perfectly due to using a '30/31 crossmember in a '28 frame. I think it looks great and am pleased with my work. I also riveted the brake linings to my front '32 Ford brake shoes as I had a tool on loan. This was a fun job and am pleased with this work as well. My front brakes are in great condition and now just need to be painted and reassembled. My rear brakes are at Dixies in Kitchener getting new cast drums swedged to the hubs. I am sticking with the original "early" style rear drums without a separate parking brake. I spent a few hours cleaning the rust off and grease off the enitre frame with a wire brush on a drill. This is such a dirty job that I swore I would never do again. I then sprayed the frame with rattle can rust converter that was supposed to also act as a primer. Well, I believe it has caused me many headaches and lost time as the rattle can semi-gloss black paint is "curdling" in spots when I add the second coat. I've tried re-sanding the frame and 2 different types of paint (spray on Tremclad and Rustoleum) with more curdling. I should have finished this frame last week! I am only building a banger so today I bought a litre of Tremclad and some brushes - I will let the frame dry again overnight, hit it with some sandpaper to remove the old paint and see if using brush on paint does the trick. Looks like I have some cracks in my passenger side rear motor mount which I'm not sure what to do about. Hoping to make alot of progress tomorrow with a full day planned in the garage!
I thought the same thing but I forgot to mention that in addition to trying two types of aerosol paint I also followed the instructions for each paint and applied the second coat either within the short time window or the long time window (within a couple of hours or after 48 hours). I think it has something to do with the rust converter I used and perhaps the temperature I applied it at (around 5 degrees celsius) and/or perhaps I applied it to heavily. Some sections accepted the first and second coat and some reacted either at the first or the second. I am going to give the frame a good sanding today and maybe even bring it out into the sun and let it heat up this afternoon before I apply the Tremclad with a brush.
Slow progress but progress, nonetheless. Installed rear float-a-motor mounts on the frame to replace the cracked stock motor mount (bolts not tight in this image). Then I realized that my perch pins had ovalized shackle holes so had to order new perch pins. Had some difficulty removing the old perch pins but thanks to the HAMB resources I managed to get them out without too much fuss. Then I realized that my Posies drop springs use a 3/4 inch eye and the stock perch has an 11/16 inch eye so my stock shackle kit that I ordered would not work. So, more parts to order. I picked up a Pete and Jakes shackle kit but they didn't have 11/16 inch bushings so I had to grind down the P&J neoprene bushings to fit the stock perch. Finally, I was ready to install the spring shown here using @wuga spring spreader. Tonight I finally got the assembly installed in the crossmember. However, it seems the 30/31 crossmember that I installed may not be as tall as the 28/29 crossmember because the castle nuts on the square u-bolts threaded well past the cotter pin holes on the bolts. I will look at this further tomorrow. Comments welcome if I am missing something here. In the meantime, I have also put together my front brakes including the Ted's floater kit. I've been working on a few other parts in the background but really can't wait to get past this front end. One of my spindles has damaged threads so looking for a replacement (not much luck so far) and my steering balls are completely shot so trying to figure out what to do here (new or weld in new balls). Trying to keep costs down at this point as I wasn't planning on doing any of this extra work on the front end. In the meantime, I will begin cleaning up the motor for painting and the addition of the police head! I really want to get it in the frame so I can begin the installation of the T5 and the machining required. I have learned a ton so far working on this car so despite the set backs I am very happy for the education and for the advice and help of my good friend @wuga Pete
I'm learning every day......seems the Posies spring pack is 1 3/4 inches thick and my stock spring pack was 2 1/4 inches thick (11 leaves). I will order a spring spacer so that I can compress the spring pack properly.
If you are still looking for a good spindle, check with Bert’s Model A Store. They are in Colorado. Bratton’s rebuilds the steering arm with new balls.
In the Model A world, the popular wisdom is that the stock frame flexes enough that welds will crack and rivets are necessary. Just another skill to learn.
Ya, been thinking about adding some hardware. I want the car to be safe. Now that the spring pack is back out while I wait for spacers it's a good time to do it.
Long overdue update. The front end is now basically complete. I had to get new perches and replacement spindles w new balls. I also added some hardware to the crossmember/frame rails just to be safe. I'm super pumped with how it is looking. Now I am working on cleaning and reassembling the Houdaille shocks. I've placed a few sets in the BBQ to cook for a few hours and then dissassemble. This image shows a shock on the left disassembled after the BBQ. The shock on the right after cleaning in the ultrasonic cleaner. I used an ultrasonic cleaning solution for the first couple of hours and then a citric acid solution for the next couple of hours. The first one that I cleaned in the ultrasonic cleaner and reassembled seems to be working fine! I have 8 shocks on hand and am hoping that I have a complete set with a couple to spare once I am done.
Houdailles, although of French origin, came to America at the start of the 20th century. They were first made in New York city but soon made the transition to Buffalo where they were made for a long time. They were supplied for both the US and Canadian Ford plants, but were never manufactured in Canada. Warren
Nice progress. Is there an advantage to the 32 brakes? I have some on a piece of modified farm equipment. I met Warren at Jalopy Jamup, there is no question about his passion for traditional hot rods.
The '32 wheels are 1 inch larger diameter than the A - 12" vs 11" and the drums are cast for better stopping power. Plus, I got them cheap and they needed no work other than the floater kit and brake linings! Not sure about the openings in the drums but I won't be driving in harsh conditions so hopefully no worries.
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