Poboyross's Model A Build: "Faux'dster"

INDEED it has...by 4". It is now 24 1/2". I can't do the roadster door size anyway...I'm too big of a Hoss.

I should also clarify, I haven't welded the subframe back, yet. When you cut the door openings and scoot it back, you end up having a 1/2" deficiency inwards on both sides. To get the rails to line up again and make it so I only have to take the same section from my doors, widening the cowl by 1" is necessary. Hopefully others look at it and question what happened in the same way you did...4" doesnt turn out to be *that* noticable, except you'd know it was there if I put it back. I think the widening of the cowl might prove to be the same way....seeing all the mods but not realizing what has been changed.

 

I think it looks good. 100 x better than the photo shop. It had me doing a double take at first. I could tell it wasn't original, but I couldn't tell exactly what it was.

 

LOL. That's what I get for doing Photoshop jobs in the bottom corner of my second monitor at work so I don't get busted.

If you had to ask me what else I was going to do about the cab area at this exact moment, it would be that I'd plan on making a wide filler piece around the back curve similar to the Kany Coupe.

 

I like it. If anything, the haters should be grateful we're cutting up Model A's and not deuces.

I'm actually interested in seeing how widening the cowl an inch will play on the proportions. Taking half an inch off a few parts on my A completely changed the look of it so I'm a believer in several small changes all adding up to one big impact.

Keep them coming.

 

Here are coupesters I had. The full fendered one I traded for and kept it a while, windows and top were added. I traded it for a Nova.

The other one put together before selling it.

They can look good. Good luck.

 

Ha! I just gotta remember to take the gas tank apart before I cut the cowl in half. It's probably been at least 40 years since gas was in there, maybe 75, but I hear bad things can happen if you don't! That's a small change that would have a BIG impact...literally!

I think I'm going to get one side squared, aligned, and tacked before I then cut the cowl in half and widen it all. At least that way I'm working from a bona fide anchor point.

 

UPDATE:

So, my dad and I got outside and did some more damage to this poor old body yesterday, last day before they went back to TN after having come out for my son's 1st b-day. We got the cowl cut in half (sans the gas tank) and got it tack welded up (first foray into MIG welding, seemed to be much easier on the THICK CLEAN steel I practiced on...had some burn thrus, uneven penetration XP )

Here are the results:









We did all of our measuring, used some wood planks with predrilled holes to make sure we had even movement and to hold it together once we split it all. Door openings are now 22 3/4 down from, what, 29" standard length on coupe doors?

 

Good grief! I'm still not used to this app. Haha.

Stock coupe doors are 29 1/4" while roadster doors are 22". You've got a little more length than the roadster doors. Take your time with the MIG and you should do fine. If I can do it, so can you.


iPhone - TJJ app

 

I think that the ****pit setback will solve one of the biggest fit problems of Ford roadsters...getting your feet in and out in the space between seat riser and cowl! Steering will likely be easier to get to a good angle and postion, too. Stock there is very little room for any change in wheel position.

 

Instead of the bacon sizzle which I was able to get on the test piece of cut out subrail, I was getting more popcorn when working on the car. I kept the ground as close to the weld as possible, and using a Millermatic 130, voltage at 2, wirefeed at 30, it wasnt working so great. I welded top and bottom to make sure I got sufficient penetration because of my problems with it. Maybe the surface rust or remnant red primer on the metal was causing it? Forgive my ignorance, but could dirty metal be the problem? Didn't seem to be an issue on my test piece.

Good for me I'm doing cowl steering! I love the look of a pitman arm sticking out. I agree with you, this ought to solve some inherent problems with being a big **** dude!

 

It could very easily be dirty metal. I spent days wondering why I couldn't tack my frame to my frame jig. Eventually, I ground more off with a more rougher grit and finally was able to get clean metal for my tacks to stick to. That lacquer is tough to get off unless you go hard on it.

Keeping the ground close to the weld is also a good tip to keep in mind. Make sure you have gas in the tank too.


iPhone - TJJ app

 

Then that's probably the issue. I ended up booger welding the hell out of it, then grinding the hell out of it. Not proud of it, but it is what it is. I'll take the wire cup to it next time before I weld.

 

I'm a rookie with the mig too, and just learned that trick recently. Suddenly my welds have gone from retched to mediocre. I'm progressing.

 

HA! Yeah, call me lazy, I don't want to go back, tear those welds out, and weld that all over again. If my boogering did the job there, I'll move on and get better as I go! Y'all think I should rip it out? Is there a way to test it?

SORRY for the huge image, here's the weld....behold it's hideous glory....

 

You just put your foot behind the weld and lift the cowl. The quality of the weld is determined by whether you or the body sill gets a hernia.
Seriously, if it's strong enough to hold thing together while working, wait til you have an oppoertunity to flip the body on its side, then grind and weld on the bottom of the seam.

 

That brings up another rookie mistake I made.. I remember welding a couple things together with a **** weld and as it turned out, I didn't get full penetration and there was still a line visible on the other side. That's when I learned for myself that to get full penetration, I need to bevel the edges where I'm welding it so I can get full penetration. Usually, you would see welds coming through to the other side that you need to knock down with the grinder.

I'm just grateful that I practiced a lot on other things before working on my frame.

 

The key to welding rusty metal is rusty wire but seriously wire brush both sides and set right you wont have to bevel sheetmetal.

 

Any new progress on this build?

 

Ha! Indeed there has been progress. I started welding the cowl back together...made a few mistakes but I'm not going to tear it out, going to figure out how to work through it, nothing catastrophic I don't think. I'll post pics in a bit.

Now I just gotta figure out the best way to cut the gas tank in half!

 

Well, however you cut it, be sure someone catches the action on Youtube in case it is... interesting.
There was a long discussion of best way to cut a tank on here once, and the best suggestion was approximately "Have the new guy do it. On the other side of the parking lot."

 

Sooooo....update. Got preliminary welding done on getting the cowl back together. Ended up needing a 1 1/8" strip to get it all back together. My welds are getting better, less "booger-y". Here's some pics of the process:












Andddd.......here's my progress today before the oppressive CA heat kicked in. I was scared as bawls to cut into that gas tank. I looked at the inside through the filler neck, and could tell that gas hadn't been in there for at least a decade or two. Didn't change my mindset to stay as safe as possible. I ran the nozzle of my shop vac in through the front access through the dashboard to pull any fumes, particles, or whatnot away from where I was cutting. I also didn't take any chances on my own personal safety either, as you can see with my flak jacket overkill. Granted it may not have done a hell of a lot if the thing did blow, but it's better than nothing....and I looked kinda bad*** I also said a prayer for my wife and kid(s) before hand in case it ended up hamburger XD











I drilled the spot welds from the upper firewall panel, and most of them came out easily...had one or two that wanted to hang on. The filler neck was the part I was nervous about, but was able to cut through it pretty easily via my el cheapo Harbor Freight electric high speed cutting tool.

I think I've decided to cut off the entire tank from the cowl cover and build a custom dash of some sort, or at least cut off the majority of the tank, leaving the dash area...I don't want to have to seam all that crud back together...no more than I have to at least.

My big debate now is that I found a couple juice banjo rears in the area and am debating on swapping one of those for the 8" setup I've got now. Not sure if the buggy spring would work on a stock 40s Ford rear, but I DO know I'd have to make or get one of those open drive line conversions. All said and done it might cost upwards of 600 bucks....dunno if I could sell my 8" setup or not to try and balance it out.

 

If you are still planning on the SBC I would run the 8 inch.

 

I was wondering if that might prove more beneficial in the short term. One day I'll get around to rebuilding the flathead that I've got, maybe then shift over to an open drive banjo.

 

Nice work so far, was that an ELECTRIC shop vac you used to pull possible gasoline fumes from the tank?

 

Two Things my Brother:
1. NEVER USE A SHOP VACUUM WHEN THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR VAPOR TO GET ****ED INTO THE VACUUM. THE VACUUM CAN EXPLODE!
The brushes from the electric motor(s) and the coinfined space of the vacuum create a combustion chamber. As reference see a 1000 ways to die TV series.

2. The easiest way and cleanest method IMO is to sweat the filler neck out. They weren't welded in they were lead soldered into place. You could use a gas cutting set-up, a big sodiering iron like those used for radiator repair or sometimes even a prophane torch. The filler bung will fall out when a little heat is added and there will be this neat little void left that was stamped in the tank to create a place for a solder fillet for the bung.
Another note of caution: When working with lead make sure you use a respirator with the proper vapor filter. Not a big thing you can get them through Granger or most any paint supply house.

Thought I had a better shot of this but this one will have to do,

So when you go to fill the filler hole in, it is easier to fabricate a round circle from sheet stock, make it slightly larger then the hole but smaller then the radiused void.
The disc will nest at the right height and you can either lead it back in; tack the edges and use a small skim of filler or weld all the way around and hammer and dolly.
Leading it is the quickest and cleanest because you don't distort the tank top and there is no need for any additional filler. But it isn't as easy to use as Bondo for us younger guys and the stuff reeks.

This opposed to a plate from the underside which still works but in the end is more work. Again just my two-cents.
Were pretty nearby eachother don't hesitate if you have a question or need to borrow a tool.

 

Flack jacket... now that is one thing I do not have in my vast collection of PPE, LOL I love it. The car is coming along! It looks as though your welder is not turned up hot enough. What machine are you working with? I bet we can get your welds straightened out in no time.

For doing structural stuff with MIG, I found this video to be very helpful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RrDeUKcH4

 

Thanks for the advice! I might have to take you up on the tool borrowing, either that or bribe you to come over and help

Yeah, see....I didn't even think of that regarding the shop vac. I just figured since it was set to push everything straight out the exhaust it would push any and all vapors out of the bucket. I dunno which would be worse...the bucket exploding or the tank, I'd reckon the tank? Wouldn't be the first time I've had stuff like that go off on me....I recall a cap on the back of a potato gun that blew off once!

This may sound dumb, but I was planning on putting the filler neck back in after I widen the cowl. Lucky mentioned that some guys mount a can on the bottom of the filler neck, put a cap on it, and keep their car info/ins/reg in there. I was thinking of doing that and getting a cap for it.

I'm using a Miller 140 or 135....I'd have to go look at it. When I went hotter than what I have it, I was getting burn through :/ I know my technique still needs a lot of help, but it's getting better. The new self adjusting welding helmet I got should help out significantly....I think half my problem is not being able to really focus on my weld because of the other helmet I had. The other half is being a noob

 

Now that's something I've never heard of.. I don't think it'd work with a Hallock style windshield however.

Is it possible that you could be getting blow through because you're not letting the previous welds cool a little? I've found that if I want to get good penetration then I need to go a little hotter and take my sweet, sweet time with it letting everything cool a little first.

 

I would have been more worried about the dust in the shop vac igniting......ever hear of grain elevator explosions!?!?!?! At least teh flak jacket would have saved most of your organs for donation!

 

It's quite possible that's the reason for the blow thru, letting it pool up too much instead of keeping a smooth movement like ex-lax.

Yah...the filler neck most definitely will not work with a Hallock, I'm still up in the air about what type of windshield I want. I saw one on here recently where they used stanchions from a T to make an awesome Hallock style windshield. I need to find that thread again.

Oh yeah, I've most definitely heard of grain elevator explosions. Although I dunno how much damage that el-cheapo shop vac would have done. Like I mentioned, it most likely would have just popped the top off like my tater-gun did that time. The motor unit barely holds on the top of the bucket. Not denying the inherent danger in it, but I'd rather that thing go than the gas tank XP.

Either way...it's a done deal now. The tank is fully cut apart, I'll have pics up at some point after I do all the cutting and splicing. Next time I'm just going to spring for the upper cowl cover that Brookville makes and be done with it.