Projects NOT THE TYPICAL '30 ROADSTER BUILD

Thank you. Glad you are enjoy it!

 

I used the same regulator...My first one lasted near 10 years...and then started leaking and malfunctioning...there are some horror stories on it from others...I'm not a fan of plastic fuel fittings...cant remember if the new one had plastic or not...

I actually replaced it with the same but have purchased a Holley unit which is modern and recommended by many here, it's Chromed but not that much of a looker. The pros are its dependability once installed and set...The one I got is 0-4psi...

Since I've replaced the defective regulator the duplicate replacement has performed flawlessly and maintains the 1.5psi I put to the Holley 94s...so as you can see I'm not panicking...in fact I just did 500 miles in 24 hours with it working flawlessly...

I still plan to change it out but it's current location makes for a challenge as it's right there in your face...with that dial type period correct...you have your's in the back a little outta sight...

I'll see if I can find that Thread...I just thought I should mention it as you might find it enlightening...

I have a Smallblock with a mechanical factory fuel pump running the regulator, to a fuel log with a gage, to 2 Holley 94s...
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Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day Holiday.!
LA has been too hot these days to get any real work done in the garage. Temps in the triple digits well in to the night
30-45 minutes at a time, inching closer to hear it run.

Had a chance to make some chatter rods out of 3/8" stainless steel rods. Some people tell me I don't need them others say I do.
It might not hurt having them. Easier to install them now as room keeps getting tighter and tighter



Tested the Stats and they worked as meant to do.
Secured them to the heads with stainless steel wiring. Tried to keep the holes high on the neck to avoid leaking.



With the rework completed to the fuel pump, I was able to complete the oil filter plumbing, finish the wiring to the oil/water temp sending units, header installation, with the right size bolts and br*** washers, that is!


Hopefully this heat wave cools off some and I can install the radiator and finally hear it run....

 

Glad you are bringing that up. Someone mentioned that to me a few years back but had no real details about it.
I tried to find info about it but couldn't find much at the time.

I wonder if all round like designs have issues, I noticed same design is used by Offenhauser, Mr Gasket, Speedway and others, or only a certain brand develops the leak.
Glad to hear that holley is good replacement. I was thinking if develop issues with the Offenhauser I was going to try a Malp***i unit, the one without the gl*** bowl...I've never heard any issues with that one.

The Holley should be an easy replacement for mine, with location and some reshaping to the fuel line.
I will keep an eye out on that regulator

 

I'll see if I can find that Thread...

Perhaps it like many things were farmed out to offshore production with QA falling to the wayside...

Again I am running it with no issues and it is only a year or so old...I think I replaced the plastic fittings with metal ones...

There is a chance corrosion was the issue with my old one...I did unscrew it all and take a look but again can't recall what it was that it did...I may have shared it in the Thread I am going to search for right now...

 

@roll of the dices...found it...I see my pressure reading was way high all of a sudden and couldn't repair it...that was my issue with it...

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/fuel-pressure-regulators-and-issues-and-options.1068368/

 

Excellent build and do***entation. Your attention to detail is fantastic. I'm thinking about a highboy several years in the future. I really like how you tackled the body work and other items, building your knowledge and skills. It's very inspirational.

Thanks!

 

Thank you for sharing. Some really good info there.

 

Thank you. I am glad you are enjoying it.
Definatey a journey worth experiencing.

 

Upper hoses arrived and was able to get them installed before the day was over. Radiator to fan distance was a bit tight, 1/4", so I moved radiator forward just a bit and now about +1/2". Hopefully, it doesn't change much the fit of the hood tops. I can always adjust it later.

She is filled with water, for now, and found no leaks. I will use water for now, until I can make sure the engine runs well and it has no leaks
Need to make a pit stop and buy oil for the engine, trans, and rear end.



Love the way the gauge looks. Everything looks nice and tight...almost as if it was meant to be that way
Still missing the water temp gauge on the head...but will get that one on after I drain the radiator


Finished the day by starting to lay down some of the lines on the wheel. Fixture still works well and still accurate

 

Wheel is done. Squeezing every minute I can to get some work done.
Real work is back to crazy...I will traveling all next week for work but hoping to come back soon and get tires mounted.

 

Work has been absolutely crazy, leaving me with little to no time to work on the roadster.
I am s****ping every minute I can...

I bled the brakes and clutch. Was happy to see I had no leaks on the lines...not bad for my 1st time building lines
Used the one person method and it worked well.





I decided to finished the emergency brakes and that's when it hit me....the cables were build wrong :-(




See that! They had the wrong ends...Dumb me, didn't see that the first time around.

Here is where outstanding customer service comes to life!!!
If you recall, I bought these cables over a year ago.
I reached out to Control Cables and asked if there was fix for these, maybe changing the tube guide for a later style mount.
Ed @ Control cables right away knew what was wrong and told me to send them back. Since I live relatively close to them, I drove there, took a bunch of pictures to make sure they knew what I needed and was a ready to buy new cables.

Ed told me go grab some lunch and he will get them ready for me. They made new cables at no charge. Now, that is outstanding customer service! Even when I offered to paid they said not to worry about it.


See, they got the right ends. Early Ford



Emergency brakes are connected and they work. Another thing I can cross off the list


Cables route nice and high. Plenty of room for driveshaft not to interfere.

 

I went back and looked at 10 pages when you were talking about painting but I can't find the info. I really like the color of your rims. What color did you use?

 

I used TCP Global's Burgandy. It is an already mixed color

https://tcpglobal.com/collections/acrylic-urethane-paint-burgundy/products/rsp-au1709-kit-q

 

Thanks

 

It is been a while since the last time I updated my build.
Unfortunately, I have been dealing with some health issues that have kept me away from the garage. My lower back has been an ongoing problem that has kept me grounded.
The pain is such that I can barely walk, sit, or stand for no longer than 20-25 mins. After a long day of work, is hard to build the strength to make it to the garage. Just enough time to rest and make it back to work the next day.

Tomorrow, I should be seeing a spe******t and should have a better idea of what is going on. Chiropractor and acupuncture has kept me functional, and lately, better enough to get in the garage and do some work Needless to say, very little at a time with a long enough list of miss-haves.

Picking up where I left off....Let's hear this engine run!

Not so fast, getting this engine running has been the toughest part of the build, so far, but then again, I have no experience and no clue of what I am doing. Literally, trial and error

Plumbed everything, wired everything, fired it up and nothing would happened. Engine would turn very slow.
It felt as the battery was dying or dead, the engine would drag and barely turned.
Troubleshoot the elctrical and found the alternator to be causing an issue. I am yet to fix it but removed it from the circuit, and the engine would spin freely. I will be sending it back to Powermaster so they can troubleshoot it and fix as needed.

With the alternator removed from the electrical, the engine would start but stop within seconds.
Squirted some fuel on the carbs and got it running enough to have the oil filter become a waterfall of oil. Yes, oil all over the place, firewall....cleaning it has been a total *****!
Cleaned it, added more oil and learned I was missing the restrictor. Found the right restrictor and added it.



Went for another round and this time the oil filter work well but lack of knowledge came and slapped me again. In my mind, I thought not having the driveshaft wouldn't make a difference since I wasn't going anywhere just starting the engine, right? WRONG!
All the oil from from the T5, all over the floor. Red sea of oil taught me a lesson. Install the driveshaft!
More oil added to the transmission.

Another round. This time there was no oil on the firewall or the floor. but the carbs felt as they were not getting enough fuel. I could see them squirting but just a little bit at a time
Troubleshooted, connected the fuel pump straight to a gas can and the engine ran well. Very nice to hear it come alive. Put a smile from ear to ear!!! At least, for that moment....Connected back to the car's fuel line and it was a no go :-(

The in-line fuel filter was my first suspect. It seems to be the culprit, too fine of a screen, or clogged, maybe? I bought one and after all I didn't paid attention to Micron counts...? because I didn't know how to pick the right filter.


Well, another lesson learned, I didn't added a shut off valve on the line, so I learned the hard way that replacing a fuel filter without a shutoff valve can get messy. No bueno, with a half full gas tank.
Replaced the filter, worked a little bit better but not all that great. I made sure to add a shut off valve now.



Disconnected the fuel pump, test it, and it wasn't getting much fuel pumped..but couldn't troubleshoot long enough as I stopped getting a spark. Damn!

Distributor took a dumped. Penotrix went out! Scratched my head for a few days deciding on points or redo the Petronix. Points won! I now have 2 distributors with points on the shelf in case I need one.

Installed the points distributor and it started right up but was still experiencing not enough fuel, it would stop running seconds later after starting.

I added an in-line electrical low pressure fuel pump, to help fuel reach the mechanical fuel pump. I put it on a switch, so I can turn on/off, as needed.
Tested again, got a little bit better but still no go. Frustrating!!


With the electrical fuel pump I could now test the regulator. Bingo!
The regulator was fully restricted, at the full open position and no fuel was making it to the mechanical pump. The engine would run on the little fuel from the carbs, or the little bit I would squirt inside, and stop.
Now that was bizarre. The dialed was working completely backwards ,1 was maximum flow and 5 was no fuel at all. Go figure! Once I removed it and tested it showed to be working perfectly. 5 was full flow and 0 was no flow.

I removed the regulator and added a Holley low pressure regulator, with yet another gauge on it. Now I have a gauge on the regulator and another one at the last carb. I also added a one way valve to help it keep the fuel between the mechanical fuel pump and regulator.


I turned the ignition on, flip on the electrical fuel pump until the line was full, turn off the electrical pump, push the go ****on...and she finally ran!!!



...and got the video to show for it. Hopefully you can see it

I still got some work to do. The gauge on the regulator is showing no pressure while the one on the carb is showing 3.5 lbs.
Don't want to run it for too long as i don't have a fan or alternator but at least now I know she runs.

 

Phew! That’s a hill to push up! Congrats on getting it goin

 

Congratulations! Perseverance pays off especially dealing with your pain.... Maybe that will help with your pain a little bit.. I'm certain that you feel a great deal of satisfaction getting over all those humps!

 

So sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope they can help you get back to a better quality of life.

Congratulations on getting your engine running!! That's a sweet sound!!

Keep the updates coming.

Brian

 

It looks great - your perseverence paid off.

I would really like to see some detials/make/part number of the inline electric pump you used and also the anti drain-back valve you put in the line. I have a concern that the fuel is going to drain back from the mechanical pump on my flathed to the tank.

I do already have a stop valve on my tank outlet though

LT

 

That is one nice roadster!

 

Beautiful car! I had the same problem with fuel pressure gauge not working when up to temp and drained the gauge of glycerin and presto, gauge works! Black rubber plug on gauge, easy to check.

 

Thank you for sharing your whole build here! It’s a great thread to go through.

 

Thank you all for the positive comments and wishes.
My back continues to be an issue and continues to keep me away from the roadster. Trying to get as much work done as my back allows me.
Had an MRI done last week and going for results this Wednesday. Fingers crossed

For some overdue updates....



This is the redesign for my fuel line, parts and prices. Hope it is useful to others. It seems to be working fine.

In preparation to do a first time test run, I got the tires on the roadster. Damn! I like them!
It wasn't as easy as I was thinking. Most tire places I went (5 of them) turned me away the moment they heard they were to install tubes. One place told they could try but no responsible if they damage the tubes...Another place wanted $200 for all 4 and they would take 2 days to get them back to me.

Finally, I found J&J Tires in Canoga Park and they were awesome. Waited while they mounted and balance them and $25/wheel.


I think the red on the wheels and the whitewalls are a nice combination. Can't wait to see the chrome rings and hubcaps on them.
Love the stand and the way the rear tire looks against the rear wheel well.
The Buick style drums do stick out just enough. Money!



Got the seat wood frame all sanded and put a couple coats of clear on it. Yes, I am reusing all the original wood, with exception of the top cross member in the seat, that I had to remake since the original piece was damaged beyond repair.
Laid the burlap over the springs...getting it ready for ulphostery...but first, I am going to need a seat to take a test drive so burlap will do.



Now for a quick update on the alternator.
I went back and forth on how to troubleshoot it and fix the issue. For a moment, I though about taking it to a local alternator shop and have them look at it. I opted to contact Powermaster and see what they recommended...
Their customer service over the phone was very re***uring. I knew, that even though I never really ran it, the unit no longer had a warranty. I had bought it years ago when getting my engine rebuilt.
They told me that even with no warranty left, they would cover the labor part of it and I would be responsible for paying the parts. Sounded like deal right from the start.
I shipped the alternator and within a couple of days Ed called me to give me the findings... Nothing was wrong with it yet everything was wrong for it
When I purchased the alternator, along with the rebuilding of my engine, I was supposed to get a 12v negative ground unit. Damn! the unit I received was a 6v positive ground. Wha, wha, whaaa!
As Ed delivered the news, in the back of my mind, I was starting to freak out as new alternator was not on the budget list...and then Ed told me they could replace it and I was only responsible for the difference in price....Wait!, What?
...Now, that is awesome customer service!!! A couple of days later a new alternator was at my door step.



Engine is back together. I had to remove the radiator to get access to the alternator and ensure it was as tight as recommended. New antifreeze in it, and now waiting for this weekend to get it fire up again.

 

Looking great!
Question, what size are the front tires and where did you get them? I tried to zoom in and they look like 5.50s, I have the same rear tires that you have and I need to find the fronts.

 

It's pretty evident that you are a patient man and take your time to do it right.. not to mention what seems like your do***entation efforts... The only thing I noticed in your fuel line setup is perhaps to add an oil pressure cut off safety switch in your electrical circuit.

 

Good luck with your human body issues !

 

Fronts are 16x550 on 4" wheels and rears are 16x750 on 4-1/2" wheels

 

That's a good idea. I hadn't though about that. Thank you

 

Thank you. MRI results are in and not the best results but not the worst results.
Got fro ind a way to live with the issues and find a happy point. Surgery is the best option, but not for me, at least not for now.