Features "Snoopy" Model A Hot Rod Survivor

What a wonderful day you made. That's just greatness. Kudos !!

 

Great pics and story. Thanks for sharing all of it with us. You're a good man Jer. Much respect!

 

Outstanding Sir.You gave them a day that they will always remember.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Awesome man

 

Very thought full , one with a happy ending. You are athe perfect caretaker of this ride. I Gould go on and on but I think you did real good!! Thanks for allow us to experience this. Frank

 

WOW that was a great thing you just did! Congrats Gary

 

That's as right as could be!
Congrats!, You are a stand up guy.
You did the right thing by the car and the family.

 

I knew it! This thread will end with BIG smiles and wet eyes in a good way. You are a very very good man Jer! Big thanks for sharing this with us. No no not end this,post every episod with your icon hotrod-please


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Too cool, man. That's the best thing I've read in quite a while.

 

Thanks everyone, I was really happy to share the car with them - I lost my father to cancer almost 17 years ago so I understand the connection/emotions, still have the widow's son to meet up with but he lives out of town, we are working on timing a visit -

Two videos to share the first one is a little "exhaust" demo, it doesn't smoke as bad as the video shows, still a little chilly this morning so it looks worse - Hard to capture the sound until it's rollin down the road, it has a nice "snap" when you get on it, but very mellow the rest of the time, think my Nephew's go pro will work better at capturing a running video, will try that soon...



And then a drive around the block, much quieter inside than before !!



Just left a message with original builder, he's next on my "list"

 

Yeah flatheads are a trip that way. Sewing machine at idle harley at the hint of throttle

 

Jer, I bet you never thought you would get this far by leaving things alone!
This story is over the top great!
It proves again that the Hot Rod spirit that lives in all of us
Hor Rod nuts, goes on and on and on!
Wonderful finish!.... or not yet finished!
It was great to be allong for the ride!

 

I've been lurking here for years, and have never been moved enough to post a single thing.......until now.
I've followed this thread from the beginning.......what an experience for all involved......you've done a wonderful thing.....my hats off to you!

 

Gee wiz man, you got me tearing up too. ..Way to go!! You make me proud to be a fellow car-guy.

-Dave

 

Well done on all of it Jer.
I hope to see both of you at St Iggy this year.
Torchie

 

You are the caretaker of this great car! Classy story from a class act. Great of you to be true to your word with the widow.

 

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

The original builder called me back yesterday & I went to visit this morning, he was smiling from ear to ear "My God you cleaned it up nice"... then he asked if we could go for a run across town to visit his brother, I agreed & he joked & said "Am I driving"... I replied "you sure are if you want to", he didn't miss a step & hopped behind the wheel !
He said "I made an old man feel young again"... even though we had a small ignition issue after we stopped at his brothers, but all good.. damn cheap points these days...
He said it driving it felt like an "old shoe" & I need to drop the tire pressure, too rough
Good times !!

 

You Sir are a Class act................................

 

Wow. Just...WOW. You did exactly what you said you were going to do way back when. Walked the talk. Wow.

You rock.

Andy

 

These followups are so great, and really makes me glad you went the route of preservation/restoration instead of updating or peronalizing the car in any way, down to the tire size, ect. Really great story and a great car.

 

Well done. It looks pretty darn good to me. Wish mine was on the road.......

 

It has been a joy to reunite Snewp's with some important people in his past, if the original builder said it once he said it a hundred times yesterday " I never, ever thought I would see the day when I would see my old car ever again, let alone the way it was & even drive it !"
How cool is that ? I can only imagine how that feels.

Just around 250 miles on it now, here is the "issues" that have shown up so far :

1) points failed.. of course when original builder is driving, started running like a sack of crap, then wouldnt even start at his brothers, I changed the coil at first because that was quicker to do in a driveway, started then but still not right, wouldn't start again at home, noticed the plastic bush on the pivot on new points chipped away, I could twist contact arm right off the contact pad... put original points in & problem solved.

2) I put new bushings in the transmission bell for the release bearing pivot shaft, seemed to be fine on assembly when it was cold... when the motor warms up ( and the bell housing as well) the shaft gets " sticky" & clutch travel is comprimised... because my transmission bell is an early version, there were no grease fittings, just dry bushing... think I will try drilling & tapping some grease fittings in place, dont see an issue even if I dimpled into the shaft... I need some lubrication there..

3) Forgot to check header bolt torque after original install, thought i could hear an exhaust leak...yep the bolts were backing out - oops ! That is now fixed

4) Dropped tire pressure as suggested by original builder, much better ride now !

Once I get clutch pivot shaft issue corrected, original builder knows where his sidekick (guy who did most fabbing/ welding etc.) on the project lives, we are going to drive over & surprise him !

 

Jer, if those are the problems you have-----YOU DON"T HAVE ANY! Thanks for the story. Gary

 

I enjoyed this one from the start and it's good all the way through. A lot of cars have problems with the points closing up after sitting a long time. The cheap modern so called replacements don't help.

Mart.

 

Weather has been cold & rainy so Snewp's has been hiding out in the garage, however last night I got it up on ramps to investigate my clutch linkage as it still wasn't "right"... When I had put the transmission / engine back in I noticed that the clutch equilizer shaft ( the one that connects to the release bearing shaft tab over to the pivot bushing on the frame) was on angle (not level), didn't think much of it, but once I got driving I realized it was binding... I think when I put new mounts on the transmission it sat higher than before, because pictures of when I got it show the shaft level... anyways late last week I shimmed up the pivot on the frame side to level it out, worked much better, but something still seemed a bit wonky... last night I discovered that the "fork" on the one end of the equilizer shaft that slides over the tab on the release bearing shaft was cracked about 3/4 of the way thru on the one side ! Guess it didn't like running on that angle ! Made for a spongy clutch !!
So I have a new shaft ordered & the old one out, going to try welding it up tomorrow, it that fails the new one shipped today aside from that I located better quality points (at least they look better) & when the weather turns I'll go for some hot laps !

 

Those small problems can be pesky. But you are doing a great job! Enjoy, Gary

 

Got the clutch workin nice now, time will tell if it stays workin nice !

Might make it to a cruise night tonight... I will keep track of how many times people say:

1) Nice rat rod...
2) When are you going to paint it ?
3) That would be sweet with an LS motor in it.
4) So what are your plans ?
5) How much you want for it ? (I already have that answer - 2.5 million, only thing I want more than the car is to get an annuity & retire at 40 )

All good, but it is entertaining !

 

Remember back in the beginning I said you would become a teacher?
Now's the time to start.
You have all the answers, you have lived the period correct life to the fullest.
Some people will never get it but you will be surprised that many will.
Even some of the tuner guys if they understand that Snoopy was
them back in the day! And you already know that the old timers surely get it.
You will get a lot of respect from them.
And don't forget, you have a time capsule.
From this point on you will age but Snoopy won't!
The easy analogy is with my '31 avitar.
I was 54 when it was built.
It was built to be about 1952 and an 18 year old built it.
When i got in it I was 18 and it was 1952.
Now I am 64 but when I drive it the year is still 1952
and I am still 18!
Explain it this way and everybody will get it!
You haven't even begun to have fun!
With Snoopy you can always live in the moment!
Drive man drive!

 

Like I said at the first of this thread,, You have class,, rare in this day. I am very pleased with the out come of your endeavor. You brought joy into several lives. Kudos and Blessings on You. Earl

 

your right Tony, thats how I will explain it for sure !, thanks for the compliment Earl.
My buddy was held up with work so we missed the cruise night, but thats fine, we just cruised around, which is more fun anyways !

Then he took the wheel, I think his smile wrapped right right around his head ! He was stunned how well it tracks down the road, stops etc. etc. great to share it with him, he couldn't believe I would let him take the wheel - this buddy is the one who helped me over the winter, I laughed & said "you earned it !" plus it's nice to get feedback on it's operation, what a blast.

Now a favor to ask, I want to update the Insurance "agreed value" of Snewp's now that it's roadworthy etc., I have an idea what it might be worth but would appreciate feedback from people here on the HAMB I don't think local appraisers would have any good comparisons -I think people here that appreciate these type of cars would have a better idea. I don't want this request to turn into a shit storm so maybe it would be best to keep it to sending me a PM if you think you have an idea on an insurance value. Many thanks in advance.