Projects Shade tree Model A speedster kind of thing

So cool. Yes, certainly motivation to keep going!

 

Thanks, man. For those who haven't been following from the beginning, maybe I should describe this engine. It's the 1928 mill that belongs with this frame. Still got what I assume is the original babbitt on the mains and big ends, although after I checked it using that tinfoil method I had to remove almost all of the shims. Has a "police" head, Brierley C camshaft, valve spring shims, self-locking adjustable lifters, and new rings. Model B distributor. The carburetors are SU H6's (1 3/4" throats) with trial-and-error modified tapers on the needles. That's a homemade conduit manifold. The exhaust manifolds are the ass-ends of two stock Model A ones with the front ports cut off and plates brazed over the resultant gaping holes. It's a mid-year 1928 car, so it has the multi-plate clutch. I had our local machine shop remove about 15 pounds from the flywheel. I don't have any idea what the numbers are, but it seems plenty peppy to me.



As far as the brakes, I'll fine tune those with the old school skidding on dirt method. Just get going good in 2nd and slam on the brakes. Examine the skid marks and adjust accordingly. I had the original brakes set so that the fronts left tracks about twice as long and the backs, all even from side to side, and I was real happy with how it stopped on pavement. Hardly pulled at all, and never tried to swap ends on me. I can't see how the cables should really change things there. It's all about getting the lengths even and then using the shoe adjusters to finesse it all. I'm not stressing on it at this point, though. I feel now like they should turn out OK.

 

Thanks for the details on the engine, clutch, brakes and your method of adjusting those brakes. When I was 19 and bought my first car, a '29 A standard coupe, I drove it home through rush hour traffic and along the way lost two of the brake clevis pins, broke one brake rod and was relying on just one functioning right rear brake and the E-brake to stop or slow it. At one point I had to stand on the brake pedal and yank the E-brake so hard to avoid a nasty rear-end crash that I smoked the right rear tire - I mean BILLOWS of smoke! Scared the hell out of me and the guy in front of me who I narrowly avoided slamming into. When I got it home and tried to park it on our driveway, I pulled the E-brake again to lock it down and the pin fell out of the clevis - broken cotter pin. Finally got it stopped and waited for my dad to find a large enough concrete block to put in front of the wheel to keep it from rolling into the next yard.
I recognized those carburetors from the '64 Jaguar XK-E I briefly owned three years later. Horrible car! Sure wish I still had that '29 A coupe. Ran great after I worked on it.
Keep up the great work and keep us posted.

 

What a good story, @osage organge. I guess that's maybe the main advantage of mechanical brakes, the way they are independently operated. Hydraulic failure would have left you nothing but the emergency brakes, and those thin little Model A bands might have let you down for real. Still, trying to stop with just one skinny tire, though...

I'm on to the front part of the floorboards. First, had to heat and bend the clutch and brake pedals again to give me as much room on the outside as possible.



They are pretty close together, but work for yard driving. I don't anticipate any speed shifts in this thing, so I should be able to plant my clutch foot pretty deliberately. As far as braking goes, the clutch travels much farther than the brake, and that helps get my left foot out of the way. If it proves to be a problem, I'll just have to address it. I'm planning on rigging up the hand brake, which will work on all four wheels on this rig, so that should also help in emergencies.

Next was the familiar mark/cut/adjust/cut/repeat fitting process. Masonite Assisted Design. Haha. I did the driver's side first because it was the most involved. See that white-ish blob on the firewall? Epoxy doesn't like heat. Momentary lapse while bending those pedals. I can fix it.



These are just the patterns. I can finesse that shift tower cut-out on the real thing. Passenger's side was easier.



I am going to have to move the battery. I'm planning on a recess in the driver's side floorboard to drop my heels down a couple of inches, and the stock battery location interferes with that. Also, since the car is so much lower, it just seems prudent to get it out of there. I'm thinking of putting it behind the seats. It's about the only option.



That means it will be sharing space with the gas tank, but I think if I put a bulkhead between them so I don't have to worry about spills when I'm fueling up, It should be OK. I can also put the battery in a box. I guess I could always spring for one of those tiny, expensive lithium jobs?



That's the recycled air tank from the original build. It ended up about 30 feet down the road after the wreck, still full of gas. The brazed-on filler pipe broke off, but it took enough force to bend that thick tank. Hard to see in that picture, but the edge of the hole is pretty deformed. I was impressed.

Next will be duplicating what I did on the firewall for those front floorboards (I'll use the thin plywood, because I won't be standing or sitting on them) and figuring out an appropriately substantial way to mount the battery and fuel tank. Piddle piddle.