Technical The Geoffrey Skene 1932 Roadster

Hooray!!

Glad to see you posting in this again. Cant wait to see the progress.

 

PART 9

After pie cutting the X legs as necessary I also used heat to fine tune the fit into the frame rails. This is one of those times where things have to get a little ugly before they get pretty. Just keep in mind if you’re doing things like this, it’s only metal! Once satisfied with the fit and verifying the X assembly is centered I match drilled 2 holes on each side that will be used when the car gets assembled. On top is the forward firewall foot bolt and on the side is one of the front fender bolts. After tightening the bolts, the clamps were removed and I began tacking the cuts and for the larger gaps making little filler wedges to weld in. The idea here is not to completely weld all the cuts that were made but to do enough that everything will stay put so the X assembly can be removed to work on outside of the frame.









At this point the X assembly is removed from the frame and all of the remaining welding, sanding and smoothing is done. As these X pieces were stamped by Ford there is extra, uneven material left in the 4 inside corners of the channel. They were marked and ground into a smooth radius.

















The X assembly was reinstalled using the previously matched bolt locations to check fit which, thankfully, is right-on.

 

PART 10

This part actually happened before any of the frame work began. This is the front axle setup that will be used. I didn’t get any pictures during the process but below is a description and pictures of the finished setup.

- Dropped original 32 axle by Greg Haynes / Anson Axle
- Original 32 spindles. Steering arms modified to fit axle by me. Brake mounting flanges modified by adding material, welding original 3/8” brake plate holes and drilling new 1/2” mounting holes in the 1937-1948 pattern by Neil Jennings.
- Original 32 style tie rod.
- Original 32 spring perches with mechanical brake supports removed and sculpted.
- Original Kinmont brakes.

 

I don't know how I missed this. You are a true craftsman.

 

Looks good, thanx for keeping us updated. Where did you source the tie rod ends, are you happy with the quality?
Tom

 

Hi Tom. The tie rod ends are from Snyders Model A in Ohio. Very high quality and look identical to the originals. There’s others on the market that are just awful.

 

Is the tie rod itself from Snyders too? Is it a thick wall tube?

 

Yes, the tie rod is also from Snyders, it is solid bar like original Model A’s. One could use tube like 32-34 but you will need to install 2” long plugs in each end like original so that when the tie rod end clamp bolts are tightened it doesn’t squeeze the tube.

 

Thanx for the info, Dennis.
Tom

 

Dennis, This project is a great collection of correct parts and I'm always amazed when I see another set of Kinmonts that look brand new. This will be a terrific build when completed. Ron

 

One of the signs of a craftsman is that he makes pretty even those areas that do not show.
Well done on the X-member. Wish that the caveman that did mine had been one.

 

PART 11

With the front of the X now fitted and the front axle assembly mocked up I felt the best next move was to offer up the front end, a mock up block and the transmission to see how all this stuff would play together. You can plan and plan and measure and measure but you just never know until you put it all together. Big thanks to my friend “Hudson Joe” Buffardi for donating the crusty mock up block!

I was very happy to find that everything I’ve done so far looks like it will work nicely just as I had envisioned. The transmission fits perfect through the X and modified saddle. For now I have installed a pair of original 1932 front motor mounts as a means to properly locate the engine fore/aft and am using the smaller parts of the motor mount biscuits that would normally go on the underside of the cross member to space the engine upward 1” which helps fill out the under hood and provides lots of clearance for the tie rod. The bottom of the firewall will require some trimming as expected.

The pedals are 1934 making them a bolt-in with the X and aside from some minor tweaking are already well positioned. I also mocked up one of my 1933/1934 master cylinder brackets which fits beautifully but after some discussions about rear suspension design with friends Derek Bower and Peter Eastwood, this will likely be abandoned.

The shocks are going to be a full set of reproduction Roto-Flo. As this project continues it will become apparent that there will be a prominent aluminum parts theme.

 

So cool that the pedals lined up well with the floorboard, just by positioning the X with the stock wishbone. I’ve got a 40 frame that could donate its X, and wonder how well the pedals will coordinate with the firewall and floor.

 

@Dennis Lacy is that at vent tube, coming from the pass. side?

 

That tube is part of my 33/34 hydraulic conversion bracket kit. The front parking brake cable runs through it. I had it there to see if it would fit around the trans.