Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

I'm going to give it a shot! I'm interested to see how it turns out!

 

Just got back from a quick trip to Michigan for a wedding and a visit with my family. Right when I walked in the door, my Mom hit me with a surprise.

I couldn't believe it! It's Rod 2.0 on a mug that she threw on the wheel!

Over the past few years, she has grown into an incredible ceramicist. I couldn't have been more excited. Her original plan was to give it to me for Christmas, but she finished the top-secret project ahead of schedule. There's so much to love, from the colors to the car and everything in between. Note the paintjob!

I had to test it right away. It's my new favorite mug!

 

Also in Michigan: running errands in style.

When I got back to San Francisco, I had some great things waiting for me. As much as I like the brake lines and fittings, the postcard from my brother brought the biggest smile to my face. Rumor has it that he'll be returning to SF for more hot rod hi-jinx later this fall.

Before I went to bed, I wanted to mock up the brake hoses to get a feel for where they'll live. I plan to drill the frame rails for the brake lines to pass through.

That's all for tonight. Oh wait, a couple more things. I stumbled upon this model box and I saved it for two reasons. 1) I love the color. 2) You can't beat those descriptions! Time to sign off. Looking forward to making more progress soon.

 

Great input, advice and memories, everyone! I thought I'd drop in for a super quick update before I call it a night.

Today is Monday. On my drive to work, I was thinking about all the things I can do to my car tonight. I have transmission parts in the Chem-dip bucket, new brake components to inventory and brake line routing to figure out. Well, by the time I had cleaned up dinner and finished my chores around the house, it was dark. A soft rain had started to fall.

I thought about all the things I needed to do. I was still excited to do them, but I didn't know where to start. Nonetheless, I put on my raincoat and my boots and walked down to the garage.

As the world around me readied themselves for Tuesday, I opened the door and flipped on the lights. The neon buzzed, and I scanned my surroundings. It was warm and dry in the garage—my cozy safe haven.

The first order of business? Think about the brake lines. Recalling @Speedy Canuck's advice, I realized it will be best to actually mount the brake lines beneath the frame on small tabs rather than through it. In this configuration, the lines will be easier to service and the rubber hoses will not interfere with the turning. (I'll conduct another test when I can get a jack under the front end.)

Next, I broke out all my new fittings. As I pulled them out of the bag, I kept on thinking about the old Eelco slogan: "Fittings That Fit." Luckily for me, everything seemed to fit nicely.

Progress on the master cylinder.

And on the front driver's side too.

It didn't take long in the garage for my mood to change. All of a sudden I was excited to set up the brakes again.

For my final bit of fun, I broke out the Eastwood tubing straightener. With the nicopp, it was as simple as could be.

I know many of you have set up countless juice brake systems, but this is my first one—ever. To be completely transparent, I'm feeling a little intimidated. But that's a good thing. Because if I take my time, I can make it work (and grow along the way, too). That's what this project is all about.

We're now up to date. Stay tuned for more!

 

Oh, one more thing! Last week, I finally got my very own SF corner store sign. It's been a dream of mine ever since I moved to the city in 2015. Can't wait to hang it up next to the roadster.

 

Thank you, everyone! It feels like you're all in the garage helping me. I do have very limited experience with this kind of thing from when I was setting up the fuel lines on Version 1.5. The more I hear about it, the more excited I am to get moving on it. You guys rule!

 

Another day means another night in the garage. Last night, I ordered my brake hose tabs and cushion clamps. On the way home from work today, I picked up the hardware to bolt the master cylinder to the frame (more on that in a future installment). As I shopped, I chatted on the phone with my friend Bob Galbraith of Newport Engineering.

I've known Bob for close to a decade at this point, and I always enjoy hearing his stories about driving early Fords during the traditional hot rod resurgence of the early 1970s. Last time we talked, he was providing background information for a very special feature in TRJ #86. Today, we dove into a fun conversation about quality, quickchanges and doing things the right way. Soon thereafter, I was back in the garage turning wrenches.

In order to run the brake lines, I needed brakes on all four corners. I went to the back of the garage and pulled the loaded backing plates that were once on David's roadster. I jacked up the rear, put it on jack stands and pulled the drums. While they were apart, I took a few minutes to measure them.

One was just over 0.040. The other was 0.120 (scrap). Hey, that means I'm one drum closer than I thought I was. When combined with my two good (?) fronts, I'm only a drum away. David says we can turn them on a friend's brake lathe on a future trip to Petaluma. That's exciting stuff!

Even though it's just a mockup, it made me wonder: when the last time this rearend had brakes? I also bolted the rear radius rods into position. Real hardware will be installed at a later date.

Brake #2.

 

Since I was on a roll, I knew I had to do one more thing. I hiked back up to the hall closet and pulled out a heavy box that had been sitting in there for months. With the Buck 110 that my brother gave me a lifetime ago, I sliced open the cardboard and pulled out treasure: my @Steadfast mfg subrail kit. "Woah," I said. "This thing is really nice."

It's loosely mocked up right here, but I can already tell it's going to help a great deal once it's time to move on to the next steps.

That's all for tonight—hopefully more soon!

 

I fully intended to have a complete update for everyone tonight, but my couple hours in the garage ran much longer than expected. No problem. It felt good to be out there on a warm autumn night moving a few steps forward and a little bit backwards too.

There’s a lot to say, but that will have to wait. Just wanted to let you know I’m still making progress!