Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

On Monday morning, I walked to the local hardware store to get the Grade 8 bolts to install my gas tank. The sun was out, the air was warm, and I had a plan. As soon as I got home, I jumped right into it.

For the first order of business, I drilled four holes in the subrails. Two lined up with existing holes in the frame, and two more holes were added. My plan is to use four 1/2-inch Grade 8 bolts to secure the tank to the frame through the subrails.

I spent the better part of the afternoon tweaking my design. After two versions that I'm not too happy with, I believe the third version will be right on the money. I was getting a little bit frustrated, so I didn't take any pictures worth sharing.

It's been awhile since I've been hung up on a piece of the build, but I know taking a breather and ordering the right parts is the best solution. With any luck, I'll be able to have some fabrication updates this weekend.

 

Oh, and you'll notice the "Wanted" section of my signature is blank again. That's no accident. Remember when I was on the hunt of for the steering nut and lock washer? @Andy gave me the tip that it was just a 7/8ths jam nut and matching washer. So, I ordered them up and they showed up today. I'll give the stainless jam nut quick polish and it'll be ready for action. I think I'll paint or clearcoat the washer, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

Thank you, Warren! Not a day goes by where I'm not grateful for all the help/enthusiasm/support I've experienced on this thread. One thing's for sure: this car is a group effort!

 

I'm currently waiting on the box tubing to finish the gas tank mounting. With any luck, it should be here by the weekend. In the meantime, I turned my attention to the steering box.

Longtime readers will remember that I started with a complete box that just needed a little bit of TLC.
There was one area on the gasket mating surface that required some work, but I got things tuned up with some metal-to-metal.

All threads have been checked and cleaned too.

 

I didn't have a ton of time to work on the car this weekend, but I started my day with a quick 20-minute project.

Since the e-brake handle sits a little further right on a 1939 transmission, I had to modify the floor.

I then robbed hardware from Version 1.5's e-brake setup, which treated me well through the years. Check out the very old chrome on the handle on the left.

And there you have it, quick and simple. It'll all get an aluminum cover once I have the pedals and front floor sorted.

Oh, and because no update is too small for this thread, here's the steering clamp with paint.

 

Thank you!

 

Sidebar 40.00: Senior Year

Sometime in the late night hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning, this thread turned four years old. I'd like to think it was right around the time I was working on my steering box, although it may have been when I was sitting in a creaky wooden chair eating a barbecue beef brisket sandwich in the red-hued depths of Tommy's Joynt. Between bites, I studied my copy of Vern Tardel's Hot Rod Your Model A.



When I started this thread, I had no idea what I was about to learn. I know I've shared pieces and parts of the backstory on here before, but I'll say it once again that I'm so glad that I took the plunge and began documenting this build. I don't have any major revelations for this year, but it does still seem like yesterday that Yama and I made our trek to Fort Bragg.


35mm action shot on Geary Boulevard by @Kevin Carroll

This car has had a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year. It's been around longer than I was a journalism student at Mizzou. Nowadays, I'm feeling better than ever about the project. I have a big fall and winter ahead of me, and I'm excited to continue to post updates as time allows.

 

Thank you, Dennis. I can't wait to take the neighbors for a spin when it's all said and done.

 

I was pretty tired after a very full day, but I managed to head down to the garage to mock up the complete steering system for the first time. Thanks to the Dennis Lacy adjustable drag link, everything seems to line up great. Oh, and note the nut on the end of the splined steering shaft. Mac Van Pelt included it with my order. It will soon be painted to match.
And it gave me an excuse to break out my biggest wrench!

 

So close!

You and I both. For better or worse, the whole thing will be coming apart soon to paint the chassis. Then we'll be off to the races.

Hahah like the early hot rodders, I tend to over-build things!

 

Friday scene report.

 

It was a foggy one on Saturday morning, but that made it all the more scenic for my trip north to Petaluma. Seeing this '57 hardtop with Ohio plates glued a smile to my face. I don't know the story, but it looked to me like the folks inside were on a cross-country road trip. They seemed pretty excited to be crossing the bridge. I don't blame them!

Up at the shop, David, Justin, and our friend Ted (now on the H.A.M.B. as @Ted Yamagishi) were tearing into Ted's latest project. He's teaming up with David to build a 1930 Model A highboy with a super hot flathead and a Bass-built magnesium quickchange. The fun has just begun—and I'm pushing him to start a build thread!

Here's how his car sits. Look familiar?

Longtime readers will remember that this is how my car looked a long time ago.

 

A little uncharacteristically for me, I didn't take any photos of what we were working on. David helped me weld my steering flange and shorten the steering shaft. We also took a Barnstormers club trip out to lunch with four roadster owners in two roadsters. Ted and I are looking forward to making it a four roadster trip one of these days.

ICYMI, Justin's roadster was the camera car on this year's Northern California Roadster Run.

 

Back at home, I tried the steering box on for size. The steering arm isn't bolted to the spindle and I still have to rebuild the box, but it is pretty wild to be able to turn the wheel and see the drag link move. Signs of life!

The picture is really starting to come together. I know I always say it, but I'm so grateful to have so many great friends helping me with this project. I don't know where I'd be without them. It's looking like an early-'50s street roadster, isn't it?

 

That's all for now. Tomorrow, I'll tell a story about bending pedals with a MAP gas torch on a cool San Francisco night.

 

I like that take, although most seasons aren't too bad for hot rodding around these parts. That said, I will be driving this car in snow in a couple of years here.


When I think fall and hot rodding, my mind jumps to Don Williams' Deuce five-window. Such a good era. Maybe we'll shoot my car on the hockey rink when it's finished?

Hahah I'll have to forward him the message. Don't worry, this thread isn't in any danger of ending any time soon.

 

As I was working on the steering on Saturday, I was talking to Justin about bending the pedals. "You know," he said, "you can heat them with a MAP gas torch, although it might take a long time." That's how he did them on his car. I had originally planned to make metal mock-ups and then bring the pedals to Yama's to bend with oxy/acetylene. This seemed like a simpler solution. So, $59.95 at ACE hardware later, I was in business.

With the garage door wide open and my safety glasses on, I flicked the torch to life. Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it huffed onto the pedals. I moved the flame around the zone I wanted to heat. Just as Justin had told me, it began getting hot very slowly. After what felt like 15 minutes, I started to see the cherry red. I grabbed my biggest wrench and began to bend. Nothing. More heat. Still nothing. I changed my clamp position and heated it longer than the last two times. Arghhhh. I groaned and the metal responded. It moved! I then applied the same heating technique to the top of the pedal to clear the column.

It's hard to say for sure, but I think it worked? I applied plenty of heat and managed to unscrew the rusted pedal pad. Fun fact: you can use a Milwaukee angle grinder wrench to take these off.

And here we have the finished product.

 

Tonight, I revised my strategy on the clutch pedal. Rather than heating it in the car, I strung it up on a piece of wire and hung it from a nearby fence. As night fell, I wielded my torch, aiming the flame at the metal until it glowed cherry red (again).

Donned in my grease-stained jumpsuit and SUMMIT wraparound sunglasses, I was pulling off one of my better looks. (Nobody approached me to ask why I was heating this strange piece of metal with a torch on a fence after dark.) Although this piece needed less persuasion, I heated it the same as the brake pedal. Much to my frustration, I couldn't get it to bend how I wanted it. As a matter of fact, I could hardly get it to bend at all. I gave it everything I had before it was time to call it quits for the night. Frustrating, but that's the reality of it.

This is just another reminder that building these cars is tough. Being a first-time builder with limited tools adds to the challenge. Once I make my way over to Yama's, I'm sure things will go quickly with the O/A torch.

The task reminded me of this scene from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which I re-watched at the Roxie Theater in the Mission on Saturday.



Building hot rods is all about being someone who tries. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Either way, we learn something.