Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

I like the sound of that. If it were to happen, I'd have to push to have this car out here (note the team name on the rear of the body). Then we would really be rattling some windows.

 

As promised, I have a number of updates on the roadster project. First and foremost, as @winduptoy noted, I now have a fire extinguisher for the car. I splurged for a brand-new, refillable halotron for ease of cleanup. Buckeye has been around since the 1960s, and I like the classic look of the logo and green anodized accents. It came with a DOT mount with a quick-release. Right now the plan is to mount it next to or right behind the driver's seat—easily within reach. It's a no-brainer to have one in the car.

Between hiking to the summit of Mt. Diablo, camping at Samuel P. Taylor State Park and exploring the streets of San Francisco, Andrew and I decided to take a shot at finishing up the fuel system. Before we did, I purchased a Ford inertia switch that will be mounted underneath the dash. It will be here this week. (Thank you everyone for the guidance on that one.)

It took a little bit of finessing, but we managed to hook up all the fuel lines and hoses. Just like before, these are steel lines painted copper.

We also cut and drilled the bell-crank arm. One of the most fun parts was creating the linkage. We were both pretty excited to see it work smoothly with a press of the pedal.

I kept the arm and rods long in case I needed to make more adjustments. Before I drive the car, I will be installing a throttle return spring. The arm will eventually be painted too. Money is tight right now, but I'm hoping to buy a choke cable and mount for it soon-ish.

I am so happy to have all these old parts together on this engine. I have a small old chrome dress-up piece coming next week, but more on that later.

 

Andrew convinced me that we needed to try to start the car sooner rather than later. He was right. We rolled it out, re-tensioned the belt and I hopped behind the wheel.

Battery on. Fuel on. Fuel pump on. Lots of leaking. I had accidentally left a cork gasket in the fuel filter and then added another one, naturally causing it to leak. That was an easy fix. Next time I tried the pump, fuel was leaking out the filter fitting. Andrew inspected and re-tightened it. On the next attempt, it was leaking at the fitting going into the carb. Damn. Once again, we took it apart and re-secured it.

As the sun began to set on the terrace, I hit the fuel pump and we got a reading on the gauge. Once we confirmed it was leak-free, I hit the starter with my left foot and turned the key. With a blip of the throttle, the banger roared to life. I ran it for a few seconds before shutting it down. Smiles all around!



A second angle shot by my neighbor Jon who just so happened to stop by.

The good news is that it ran. The not-so-good news is that I didn't have much time to mess with it before it got dark. And then, when Andrew and I went to try it all again a couple of days later, the leak at the carb inlet was worse than ever. We tried just about everything: cutting down the tubing, straightening it more, pipe tape, even a second piece of tubing. It's a tight fit between the distributor and the carb, so there aren't a whole lot of options.

This is the second piece in position.

Finally, we decided that—just like everything else on the build—the simplest route is the best. This week, I'm going to install a banjo fitting on the carb inlet and run a slightly longer piece of Gates Barricade hose up to the pressure gauge on the firewall. I have a feeling that it'll check all the boxes and create a system that is less prone to leaking. We shall see!

 

Thank you! Yes, I'm happy to report that the hand throttle is still fully operational.

Yeah! I got mine off an early-2000s Mustang. Should be a straightforward install.

 

Nice placement! I don't have any data, but I'm sure both are good.

Hahahaha that's hot breakfast/hot rod ingenuity right there!

 

Today I received the Ford
inertia switch and tested it out. It's some very neat engineering. I will be installing it on the passenger side, possibly even beneath the floorboard.

Also, nothing beats a care package from a great friend—especially one that includes traditional hot rod information. I'm going to pay special attention to the Stromberg tuning section.

Tomorrow I'm going to go pick up my banjo fitting, fuel hose and correct sized P-clip for the firewall. More on that later!

 

Thank you! That's exactly—red button up.

 

I very much agree. I love the clean look of your setup.

Hahahah nothing beats the smell of a hot rod-cooked breakfast!

 

Yesterday was a huge day for the car. It started with a series of fun errands. First, I swung by @SAVAGE's place to catch up, talk strategy and pick up the Stromberg banjo. We considered running an old Eelco elbow fitting, but we concluded that it was the wrong thread size. He had a polished banjo in stock—and even hooked me up with his latest T-shirt of his Fueler (that I am currently wearing).
Here's a shot of the car that I took in Bakersfield back in 2016.

After leaving Aaron's, I bought my 5/16ths fuel hose, a large P-clip and stopped at a classic Oakland hamburg spot.

Yes, I did get a Giant 1/4 lb. Burger and it was delicious.

 

After finishing a few work items, I dove right into the fuel system upgrade. Seeing that Andrew and I tackled most of the difficult stuff last week, it was a straightforward process. After tightening up some hose clamps and fittings, I once again had a leak-free system. This time I felt much more confident. Fewer parts=better chance of success.

Power on. Petcock on. Fuel Pump on. I hit the starter, turned the key and the car rumbled to life. It still wouldn't idle and the throttle response was lagging. I adjusted the idle screw and the mixture screws on the carb, incrementally backing the mixture ones out to try to get the engine more fuel. Well, after a number of tries, I figured I would shorten the top linkage to reduce slop. It was then that I realized that it had come loose. So whenever I hit the pedal, it wasn't actually opening the carb! I tightened it up and throttle response improved—but it still wouldn't idle. I was perplexed.

Then, for whatever reason, I decided to change the Stromberg from "Winter" to "Summer" mode. With that, I gave it one more shot. It fired right up and went to a high idle. I jumped out and backed off the idle stop, bringing it down. Success!

Next, I'm going to install a pair of throttle return springs and Loc-tite those linkage ends so that they don't rattle free again.

Side item: whoever built that header back in the day did not use high-temp paint. I wasn't surprised by the smoke coming off of it, but I was kind of bummed to see the paint blistering and flaking off. Oh well, I may repaint them VHT silver or I may not.

Overall, a successful day!

 

Hahah I'm going to have to keep the hood off just for that purpose!

Thanks! With a street full of Edwardian flats and the dorms looming in the distance, it was making all sorts of noise. Mufflers will be happening soon.

Hahaha I can tell that the place had some history to it. Next time I'm getting a shake with my meal! Maybe I'll even take the roadster?