Projects Cederholm build - Was 1930 Coupe, now 1929 Tudor

Slow progress but moving in the right direction. Made some motor mounts and got them installed. Originally I had wanted to rivet things like this in (this an the 32 K member) but I've since moved away from that idea based on my skill level and lack of experience with rivets. I also don't want to weld to allow flexing so nuts and bolts it is. Went with slotted screws for a more "old Ford" approach. ...at least in my head.

 

That looks great any photos of the finished piece out of the car or an installed shot showing inside the rail?


The slotted hole in the mount would allow a nice bit of wiggle room for pushing the motor into place but I may get worried about it shifting placement over time?

edit, I see the metal dish part of the rubber biscuit bits against the top of the frame rail so it’s probably not going anywhere with out a lot of force.

 

Thanks! I'll try to snap some photos - no idea why I didn't when they were out of the car. I copied the wide opening from another set I saw. We'll see if things move around .

 

As I mentioned earlier I got my motor about 18 years ago as a frozen heap, tore it down and stashed it away. Years later I had it machined and rebuilt it and test fired it with a shot of starting fluid. Now with proper engine mounts installed I felt it was time to run her off a carb for the first time. Knowing multi-carbs can be a pain I chose to block two off for now. I'm a long way away from needing to balance the carbs.

Soon as the gas hit she fired right up.

https://youtube.com/shorts/lbrsm1W3AfA?si=BPqqsMgrV8LwBhM2

NOTE: seems like there is an issue embedding YouTube videos. The issue was mentioned in a thread dating back a year. Hmmmm.

 

The video “worked”. It’s just that short videos are turned into “reels” or whatever they want to call it and won’t properly imbed. You can still click to view.

you didn’t do anything wrong if it was a longer video it would have shown the preview in post

 

Thanks for that!

 

Slow going, but moving forward and I’m happy. Cut the torque tube down to size and now I need to focus on the radius rod. I’ve also gathered what I need for the clutch linkage and will have to do fabricating too get them to fit.

 

More progress. Found an awesome local machinist who doesn’t mind small project. He shortened my driveshaft and made some other (non-hot rod) parts for me. With that in hand I shortened the rear radial arms and test fit everything. So far so good. I also started to take the ‘28 apart. With the floors and fender off I can take measurements and transfer them to the ch***is. Very useful as I start to mock up the clutch/brake pedals.

 

Using what I got, I’m now working on the clutch/brake pedal linkage and mounting. I think the pedals are ‘39 but might be mistaken. And my clutch pivot is frame-mounted ‘40-‘48. I’ve fabricated a mount for the pivot ball that now sits below the ch***is and shorted the shaft that connect it to the transmission. To keep them from flopping and to give me some perspective I’ve temporarily mounted the pedals to the K member. Using my model A for reference I see they are set too far back and will need to be moved forward. This will put my master in a bad spot and my current line of thinking is to mount that behind the stock cross member making it accessible though a door below the driver’s seat. This will of course require a long connecting rod be fabricated between the pedals and master.

My custom made in NJ radiator also arrived. A thing of beauty.

Thoughts always welcome.

 

I have never built a model A V8,but I hear Vern Tardel has written some books that have a pretty clear recipe for how to make all this work together. I am really happy to so you working on your cars and in such a nice shop too. If I remember correctly you living in New York a few years ago with a small garage. Have fun!

 

Thank you, first time ever having this much space to work in. Even has a wood stove so I’m not freezing. Yes, you are correct after 25 years of a tiny garage in Brooklyn. We sold our house and moved to Connecticut. I’m still in the city daily though.

And yes, I have a copy of tardel’s big book. Extremely helpful and the basic recipe I’m following.

 

what an amazing thread! for someone like me who has never had any exposure to Ford model A's, this was extremely entertaining. my first car being a 1952 Ford customline flat head started my love afair with Fords.
the part I don't understand is;
how does anyone learn how to double clutch in the streets of brooklyn.
thanks for sharing!
Paul

 

It's a great build so far. Keep the update coming.

 

Big milestone on my project. After what felt like a thousand test fitting I had my rear coupling professionally welded to the drive shaft. The welding shop was great, located in Bridgeport Ct, home of the Bridgeport mill, this fourth generation shop was a pleasure to deal with and got a kick out of my project. I’m very confident in the security of their weld, but for good measure I returned to my machinist and had him bore through the driveshaft and press a hardened pin in. I’ll sleep better now. I also did the final welding (myself) on the torque tube and radius rods. A little paint and new inners from Mac at Van Pelt and everything is together. I now have a functioning drive train! …and I only bought that motor 18 years ago.

Merry Christmas to you all - I need to go start cooking soon. Those seven fish aren’t going to cook themselves.

 

Wishbone - a story in three acts.

Not sure which year the wishbone I had was from, but it needed to be lengthened and required to wider yolk. I located a model A yolk from a fellow HAMB’er and used the discarded sections of the rear radius rods to lengthen. All I had to do was weld the yolk in place and I could move on.

Act 1 - Easy Peasy
With the font two bars mounted to the car where Ford intended and the ball pivot in place at the rear, a few tack weld are all that was needed! So I thought. Once removed for final welding it was very apparent that it couldn’t have been more crooked if I tried. …while drunk. And blindfolded. This method was a failure. To embarr***ed to even photograph it.

Act 2 - a little weld will fill that
This time it was all about being square. Using the axel, but with the rods in front, I made a jig. It worked pretty well, but with the compound angles I needed I only lightly tacked things together expecting final adjustment under the car. With the wishbone installed properly and everything adjusted the gaps I was looking at would require a lot of weld to fill. It was getting dodgy at best. I didn’t like where this was going.

Act 3 - The Charm
The biggest issues were keeping things aligned and adjustable, but solid when welded. I needed a centering pin. One long enough to move forward and aft for adjustment and strong enough to get a solid weld. The leftover section of my driveshaft was perfect for the job. Once once the car I could move thing around and take a million measurements. Once happy a few tack welds then back on the bench for a proper welding. I gave myself a good gap so I could weld the tubes to the shaft before filling the void. It’s now solid and straight! It only took the whole three day weekend.

 

Moving right along. Feel good after years of inactivity. Another milestone this weekend. Using the driver’s side leg of the aftermarket K member, I m***aged it into a sturdy mount for my pedals. This was after a lot of trial and error to get the placement right. Then I fabricated the master cylinder mount. This was set back a little format the stock cross member to allow access from about. The subframe has a cross piece that somewhat blocked access. Now it’s time to machine the long linkage.

 

This weekend's updates. Pulled the motor, painted the ch***is, started plumbing the brakes and made a plate to weld the steering box too. Hopefully I can plumb the brake hard lines next weekend and put the motor back.

 

Moving along nicely with a few setbacks. Got the front breaks plumbed and dropped the motor back in. With that I discovered my steering box interfered with my Red's Headers. Since I'm using the double pulley fan set-up, my 8AB is pushed back a little more than normal which required some adjustments. In this case the steering box. I'm also getting a little pedal interference I'll need to adjust them too, but that'll wait until the body goes on.

I've also done a little shopping, my Porter mufflers, ***orted pipes and an ebrake kit from the "new" department and a cool Packard steering wheel and a restorable steering drop from the used department.

I love the look of the wheel but the spines are different than Ford. Not sure what my plan is yet as the Ford wheel I restored is keyed instead of splined so either way I'll need to modify the steering shaft. I might troll the Packard boards to see if I can find the splined upper part of the shaft to graft on. We'll see.

I also got to use my Eastwood double flare tool. I've never been good at using the standard tool so years ago I splurged for this expensive one and it's great. Perfect flares every time.

 

More progress. Built a battery box with the mount for the ebrakes attach. Pleased with the results but it took longer than you would think. Or perhaps I'm just slow. Everything will come off for some paint, but it's all working as it should. So happy that I even washed my tires so I could sit back and look at them.

 

Looks like some of my photos are missing and I think I they were uploaded to the HAMB. Hmmm, not good.

I’ll have to investigate.

In the meantime, some long overdue updates.
Got all my plumbing and fan belts in order and for the first time since the rebuild the motor now has coolant and soon I’ll break in the cam. Exciting!

I’ve also spent WAY too much time fabricating my exhaust. Once I install the shocks and rear brake lines I’ll have a completed ch***is. Then I’ll pull the body from the other car and start body work.

 

Looking good, all very neat

 

Making progress. Finished the rear brake plumbing and mounted the shocks.

 

Looks sharp!

 

Wow! You are doing some really nice work on your Model A! I happy to see you that you got yourself a nice shop to work in !

 

Awesome read! Cpl little things... the slot head screws youre using to hold your steering box in are concerning to me. I could be wrong but I think hardened bolts that can be torqued would be safer. Also, your elongated push rod for the master cylinder should also be hardened steel. 2 things you dont wanna be without when driving.... steering and brakes! Cant wait to see how it all turns out