Projects 32 Ford 3 window build finish details

Hi Everyone,

So here is a question; Who is the last person on HAMB to know they have shims for Chevy pulleys?? Answer: ME

Thanks for all the input on the pulley shims. I will get some this weekend. I wrote my good friend (also happens to be the guy I bought the car from) and asked about pulley and he wrote back and said they make shims for that and then I open HAMB and read more about shims. Thanks Guys!!!!


My son got on the laser the other night and made my parts.



Since I am trying to build a late 50’s to early 60’s Hot Rod and I don’t think that Hot Rodders used laser’s back then, the first thing I do is belt sand the edges to remove the laser marks.


First I tried the carburetor throttle bracket. Fits good and even inspector Audi (the barn cat) has approved the design.


Next the throttle cable bracket is installed. I had to do a little filing for a perfect fit and then it was fine. I know they make universal brackets for this but I wanted a heavy duty bracket because this car has dual quads and therefore lots of return springs and linkages.


The throttle bracket attaches with the last two intake bolts. The cable is installed and it works perfect. Now I can add finish gas pedal to my list. Of course I have to prime & paint the brackets before I can call them finished and cross off the list.


Thanks for input guys,
I am still working on what to do with clutch.
Greg

 

Your throttle bracket looks good! Nice idea. If there is enough shaft sticking out of the water pump you can press that snout out a little bit, looks doable.

 

I know a few people have already commented on this with good reason. Maximum allowable angle on the U-Joint. Another option would be to shorten your steering column. Keep posting looks great.

 

Yes.
I know you already bought your column but Ididit will sell you a column as short as 24 inches long IIRC, they may swap you. I bought one for my 66 Suburban.
Pretty easy to fill the hole in the firewall and redrill it, in my case only big enough to allow the 3/4" shaft to pass through it. A mount will need to be fabbed up to support the end of the column.
By putting the first u--joint inside the car and drilling the hole lower you free up a lot of space around the exhaust manifold. I also used a double joint in the Suburbans' engine compartment as you have.
This worked so well that I used the same configuration on my 32 roadster, except I built the aluminum column myself and used two standard joints near the engine.
I can't find a shot of the column mount, sorry.

 

^^^^^ I suggested because the hole is all ready there in the fire wall. I mean either way it's work. Most important also is this. If OP lower's his exit point, his steering wheel will be looking more like a Bus. And even Ralph wouldn't like driving that way all the time.

 

Johnny
With a much shorter column like mine and three joints its not the case. With the first joint inside the car, the shaft is already heading downhill before it passes through the firewall.
Allows for the column to be mounted at a comfortable angle. Actually, my roadster uses a Schroeder quick disconnect for the steering wheel, you can get the wheel closer to the drivers lap, it would be cramped for getting in and out without the quick disconnect.
You don't need a tilt column plus it doubles as an anti-theft device.

 

3 windows are not hard to get in and out. Lower the column drop if you want the wheel lower.

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for input and ideas!!! Keep it comin!! You guys have a lot of ideas I never thought of!!

Well as many of you guessed, the steering column exit at the firewall had to be moved down. Oh Poop!!! So I did it. I drilled another hole in the fire wall. Later when I am doing body work I will weld up and patch the old hole.

Here is the story: After I got the laser cut brackets to hold the column in place I went to town on the steering linkage. First I installed the universal on the steering box to the correct depth. It would not go on easy and I didn’t want to scratch the frame paint or dent exhaust so I removed the steering box. I loaded the shaft with neverseez since the universal is SS and SS likes to gall.


I didn’t really want to beat on it with a hammer so I used my Dake Arbor press to press it together. A little pull on the press and bingo one universal installed.



Then I moved to the firewall and steering column. On the outside of the firewall I have a bracket that will be welded to the firewall with two carriage bolts also welded to this bracket.


I like to grind the dome head down of the carriage bolts so they look better. This removes the letters forged in for ID and makes the bolts look more like a FoMoCo rivet part and not a carriage bolt I got at the local hardware store.
The one on the right is after I grind it down a little.


This is what it looks like from the engine compartment.



When linkage is mocked up I checked universal angles.




The angles are well within the Borgeson maximum limit. Actually when I did this with the column in the upper hole the angles were also within the limit as I had planned, but both the upper single universal and the middle double universal were at the maximum limit for angle. I couldn’t live with that. That is simply poor design to be at the limit on 2 of 3 universals. If the frame twisted a little and the engine rocks as it torques, it was not going to be good. Since I have a history of not controlling myself with my right foot I needed to redo this steering linkage before I found out it was a problem when I push my right foot too hard and can't steer the car!



Here is how it looks inside the car where the column exits the firewall. The floor boards are not in but this plate will be welded to the column after I finalize the steering column drop. I will then install two nice washers & SS acorn nuts.


I re-installed the seat foam and tested steering wheel location and it seems fine and comfortable with a 4 ½ inch column drop. Only issue is it might be a bit high which I can fix with a longer column drop bracket. Somehow the picture makes it look worse it is not really that high.



Take Care and thanks again for input
Greg

 

Looking good Greg. I built my cars in primer 1st, then took them apart to paint. There is always a little bracket to weld or move. Even after the car is on the road, always some minor changes to make it better.

 

Cool car, i may be wrong but i'm pretty sure that's not going to work correctly with that many universal joints. gonna have to have a fixed mount to the frame where the middle joint is think 59/60 el camino or cadillac drive shaft center support. Pretty sure it will be sloppy and/or bind up or wobble the way you currently have it.

 

vonpahrkur - Yes that is correct! I have two supports that I have to install. Next I am going to measure the length of the copper tubing I used to mock up the linkage. Then I can order the final SS splined shafts. When I have the actual shafts then I can place the supports and design some brackets for them that attach to the frame. The splined shafts may vary in length a little from copper tubing so I need to wait for them to do the supports. Good observation though!!

 

Hi Guys,
Well it is time to take a break from the steering linkage while I wait for the final cut to length SS splined shafts from Borgeson.
So now I am working on the back brakes. The car came with some serious drum brakes on the rear . They are 11 in x 2 ½ wide. Everything is brand new but they came without self-adjusters or emergency brakes(e-brake). I really like self-adjusters but I understand running without them is probably more correct for a traditional Hot Rod. I think back in fifties self-adjusters were probably relatively new and not popular. Besides Hot Rodder’s wanted manual adjusters so they could back the brakes off so there was no horse power loss due to brakes rubbing the drum. It made for a low pedal but more HP. In my case I am not worried about the HP. I just don’t want to crawl under there and adjust the brakes. I know …I know ….call me a whimp!!. As for the e-brake. My driveway is on a hill and I simply want a e-brake in case the brakes fail. When this car is on the road I will have plenty of excitement from the 327 …I don’t need any more excitement from brakes failing with no e-brake. Hopefully they never will but it can happen.

I purchase the self- adjusting hardware at the local auto parts store. The e-brakes parts were used from eBay.


I chose the Lokar chrome handle and cable kit. I really liked the throttle parts I got from Lokar so I went with them again for the e-brake.


After an hour or two, the rear brakes are done. The outer cable will have to come off when I cut it to size but it is on there now to keep everything clean.


After much thought and planning on the best location for the handle, I marked the floor board for a hole.


Then a little drilling and cutting. Tape works as a good cutting guide when you cut with a 4 1/2 in angle grinder.


Then I have a ½ X 3 ½ slot just like instruction said


But….with a ½ x 3 ½ slot no way will it fit.



So I had use the trusty carbide deburr. These work great but now I will be picking slivers out of my fingers and sweatshirt for 2 days. I couldn’t find my gloves or face shield. Ok that was my one whining for this post…no more whining I promise.


Then some drilling a few mounting holes. The e-brake fit perfect in the lower floor board as if it was designed to fit there. Hmmm… maybe my friend that I bought the car from was really going to put one in and when I asked about it he was kidding when he said. “e- brake ?? what for???”




So there it is in the car. And guess who is tired of helping me and wants to go play catch ??



This was the only place it would work and the cables clear the driveshaft and muffler. I see a few improvements I will make on the mounting. Now I can work on a bracket for holding the cables and getting them lined up to .


Greg

 

Nice. For a moment I thought I was looking at the top side of your floor board. Turn's out it's the underside. What are the plan's, if any, for the top side as a final surface. I ask because I'm doing a 32' pick up where I'll be making a steel trans tunnel (integral to the fire wall then fastened to cross support so firewall can still be removed) with drop in wood panels left and right it.

 

Greg, nice dog.
I don't care for the Lokar set screw cable set up. The block pulls the 2 cables at the same rate! If you look at OEM parking brakes, there is a swivel pickup that equalizes the cable pulls on both wheels. I took my set up from junk yard and incorporated the swivel set up.

 

Johnny - The floor is made with removable sections. The sections are constructed with square ½ x ½ steel tubing all around the perimeter of each section with sheet metal welded to the bottom. Then another layer of sheet metal is installed on the top to create the cab floor. This is a really strong floor. Insulation is placed between the top and bottom sheet metal. I wish I could take credit for it but my friend did the floor before I bought the car.


Ago – I agree on the set screws. I have some stainless steel weld wire and I was thinking of welding a ball on the end after the set screws. The only other compliant I heard on the Lokar handle was that you have to pull really hard on the handle in order to push the release button. I like your idea of equalizing the cables. How did you get the exact length? As I recall, on GM A bodies you buy replacement e-brake cables but they come made to the exact size. Thanks for ideas!! Keep em coming!!

 

Nice ! I really like how you did the notch in the floor cross member, then into the floor it's self for the shifter.

 

Used universal cables, cut them with a chisel or cut off wheel. you could use small cable clamps on the ends.

 

I've used these ends before,
The locar handles are short so you need to pull hard to get positive brake action.
It needs to be on a good brace

 

Hi Guys,
Johnny- Thanks for the kind words but the previous owner did the nice work not me. Unfortunately I am going to change that a little so I can put a Hurst shifter in.
Ago – When the body is off I am going to make changes to the e-brake cables and probably design a way to have them equalize. Thanks for input!
31 vicky – Thanks for posting that link. I am going to make a sturdy mounting for the hand brake like you said. I have to move the handle up more because when I put the floor back in I realized that the handle in the off position lays very low and will be into my trans tunnel. I will probably mount it on an angle to clear the tunnel.

In other news….

I am back on the throttle again. I got my order from SoCal this morning. Don’t everybody faint…… but I think I have finally finished something on this car!! I went with the new SoCal gas pedal because I just liked it and it looked a little different with the cross hatch on the pedal which seems really practical too.


First thing I noticed was that the Lokar throttle linkage was too small for the SoCal pedal.


I had to grind a little off the thickness of the pedal and then all is good!



Next, I got the throttle cable all drilled into the firewall and measured to cut the cable. First try was a little long and the cable twisted funny.


So I cut again. I cut with a cut off wheel and then poke a small drill through to open up the hole and remove any burr. Lastly I blow out the cable to make sure no burr got stuck in the cable.


Now the cable looks natural without a kink.


The new gas pedal is all mounted. When I do final assembly on the car I will use much cooler fasteners. The pedal feels good and smooth with about 2 ½ inches of travel. I think that will work fine but if not it is easy to changes with another carb bracket.


So there you have it I think I finally finished something I started on this car!! Now back to the barn to start on headlight brackets

Greg

 

Greg, Is that a real Magneto or the one with electronic look a like? You did read about the problems with the look a likes. I hope.

 

Ago- I was not familiar with the the Hunt distrbutor so I googled it a few weeks ago and most searches came back to the HAMB where I read of the many problems guys have had with them. There is a guy on the HAMB that fixes them buy removing the coil so it won't overheat. I might go that route. I really like the way it looks but I was disappointed to read so many guys had trouble with them.
Back in the 70's I had an Accel BEI distributor that just died one day and left me sitting. I sent it in for warranty and Accel sent me a brand new unit. I still have it sitting in the box. Ever since that Accel left me sitting I have been a points and condensor guy. Then on the Hot Rod Power Tour we had a bad condenser fight us across the country......distributors hate me!!

 

Greg,
OEM ignition parts seem to be the most reliable. Ask how many people you know that have trouble with a MSD box?

 

ago - I hear you on the OEM parts, My GTO has the OEM Distributor.

Time to mount the headlights.
So I went to my 32 design book (shown below) and several TRJ issues for a search for headlight mounting brackets.


I chose these from SoCal.


After marking holes, checking dimensions side to side and re-checking I drilled holes.


I mounted the headlights and the nut just didn’t tighten smooth. Hard to explain but they just didn’t feel right. So I put tape in the socket, re-installed headlights and rotated them about 25 -30 degrees. The headlight is only hitting on a small edge of the socket shown where the pencil is pointing and on the large ring opposite where I am pointing. Line to line contact is never good.


So I took my cone grinder and broke the sharp corner and put a small chamfer on the bracket edges. The larger contact area will help the headlight fit nicer.


Then I re-installed the headlights. Much better. They tightened down nicely. From an engineering standpoint the friction doesn’t change from a larger surface contact area but the parts just fit together better which will help the bolt stay tight. I forgot to order a rubber gasket so I couldn’t tighten them down all the way. The lens in the left headlight will need to be rotated a little. I will fix that later.


I sure am glad headlights came with the car. I also got a pair of smaller kingbees. I don’t see how people can say 32 Fords are cookie cutter cars. In deciding which headlight to use, these big ones or the kingbees, I looked at no less than 150 pictures of 32 Fords. In headlights alone there must be 15 choices, chrome vs. painted body, chrome vs. painted ring , with or without a little light on top, big ones or smaller ones, mounted high or mounted low and the list goes on… Anyways these are mine. Big, chrome and mounted slightly below center on the radiator.


During my headlight search I also noticed that is seems like street rods have smaller headlights and they are mounted flush or behind the radiator. Traditional hot rods seem to have bigger headlights and they are mounted ahead of the radiator. Mine are 4 inches ahead of the radiator and an 1 ½ inch below the center of the radiator top to bottom. (This photo is standing looking down at head light)


Now I have to think about tailights. With the car came two sets of 41-48 chevy tail lights one set with blue dots and one without. I am strongly leaning towards putting these in.
Thanks for looking. As always comments and especially ideas & pointers are welcome.
Greg

 

Aftermarket parts are always a problem in fitting. That's what nice about hot rods, make it how you want it.

 

Not the cheapest option, (or easy to find) but I have reeely become smitten with 35 Pontiac tail lights. Not sure about dimensions, could be tight on a 3 window.
This tablet stopped transferring photos but here is a link to search photos.

https://www.google.com/search?q=193...7j0j4&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#xxri=10

 

HAMB thread.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/32-ford-tail-lights.1026062/

 

One vote for blue dots in whichever ones you go with.

 

DD - thanks for link to tail light thread. I hadn't seen that yet.

When I bought the car my friend told me the tail panel on 3 windows is smaller than the others.
It is only 5 1/2 inches.


I will also have trouble with the license plate. A 32 Michigan plate is smaller than a current plate but still very tight. No room for a frame.


A current size plate will not fit at all


I like the 39 and 35 Pontiac lights or other tear drop shape but I think maybe to tight to fit tail panel.

 

Chief
There are some shorter versions of the 39 style available from aftermarket suppliers.

 

Hi Guys,
I am back on the 32. I haven’t posted in a while because my wife had final exams late November early December so computer was tied up. Then after she finished finals, the computer died so it had to go into the computer shop. But now it is fixed and I can post some progress. Not too much progress due to Holidays but some to show.

I am just finishing up the steering supports.

I got the final made to size steering shafts from Borgeson. But they didn’t fit the steering support.


They are about .001inch to big. So I chucked them in a lathe and polished them down a bit.


I filed hard , then sanded and finally touched up with scotch bright. Now all is good. I may buff later at final assembly.



Then unto the steering support brackets. Here is the design progression for the lower steering support. Prototype #1 was made from a thin sheet of aluminum. The thin aluminum is easy to cut and form and try out. From Prototype #1 my wife draws it up in CAD then off to the laser. For Prototype #2 I used a slot for the steering support so I could better fine tune the perfect in/out location. Prototype # 3 is the final design which has been optimized with a hole instead of the slot and made a little smaller. This will go in the car.


Same process for the upper steering support.


Then some C clamps to try it out and mark locations of brackets for welding to the frame later when the body is off and we can get a good weld angle for a nice weld. The steering works great and moves lock to lock nice and smooth and has reasonable clearance between exhaust manifolds & frame. This steering was a big task but I am happy with the results. Now on to the alternator brackets.
Greg