Projects Timm builds a model A

Fun Sunday the mounts turned out great!

 

@chlsnk Thanks for the help man! I’m really pleased with how it played out

 

You probably know already that you can get a little xtra shock lean and room but using the cast fender brackets.

 

yup I’ve got a set

I’ve been picking away at the 46’ in the garage lately. As the school year begins I’m trying to find my footing in the new schedule. Lots of stuff going on but a plan is brewing.

 

Just popping my head in. I think next week I’m doing oil changes and building shock mounts for the 46 again. All that goes to plan and I’ll get back to the A.

I’ve got a loose list of what steps are next but I’ll cement the order once I get started. There’s basically a few little things to add to the ch***is, few locations to note while it’s under weight and then I can move onto the body.

Im thinking before the body comes off I want to build the fire wall and trans tunnel. And then off it comes.

At that point the plan is clean, box, final weld and paint the ch***is. Then I need to get to work on the bottom of the body. I want to remove the tube structure /subframe I made to connect the stock front and rear sections that survived so I can clean the metal they mate to and get more surface area I can reliably weld to. This will also let me finish weld the joints of the subframe on the floor/bench and not in the car.

I was trying to find a way to brace the car that I could sit it on the firewall and pull the center subframe out with out it tacoing but it seems like a lot of extra effort compared to just sitting it on some saw horses and getting dirty.

I’m setting a ( probably unrealistic) goal of having it at the gathering at the roc in primer next year. 2027. I feel like if I can get it to yard driving level that’s good enough for parking lot cruising.

If I miss the goal at least I will have been changing forward for 13 months and made more progress than if I hadn’t set a date.


Guess we’ll see.

 

Have you looked into getting some old mattresses and carefully rolling the body on its side? Heard plenty of old timers talking about doing that

 

Seriously when I went in that shop my first thought was that it'd be impossible not to get in the mood to do vintage hot rod stuff there lol

 

It’s a good spot! Good the vibes right

 

The channeled a roadster does definitely help vibes lol

 

Tim, does that hood close completely without touching the valve covers? It looks pretty close....

 

Yup, sure does!

It’s close but I don’t think it’s enough to burn the paint or anything.

the p***enger side doesn’t, the generator mount is in the way. I can shut the hood side but it won’t latch. I’m going to run a small alternator down low on the p***enger side and that will take care of that issue.

the reminds me, I need an alternator! lol

I’ll have to mock up a Gm and see if that fits. As much as I’d like a little denzo that vanishes you can beat the ease of finding a one wire on the road.

 

Yeah I ordered mine for a 76 Vega at O'Reilly

 

Stepped out and took a few photos. Drivers side will need some 90 deg or shorter straight spark plug wire ends but otherwise clears fine. The exhaust manifolds point down so I’ve got maybe a half inch to the hood side. p***enger side, nothing a little t******* can’t fix. You can sorta see the clearance in the second photo a little better. since I was already there I stuck a gm alternator ( external regulated ) and realized it won’t fit where I had considered because it’s just to deep, and honestly the radiator hoses are probably going to be in the way. So I mocked it up up top where I had considered adding the factory option of an oil filter. Looks like it should fit perfect even though no one wants to look at an alternator but maybe if it’s black it’ll vanish. Don’t get to win them all when you’re cramming 700 lbs of Stude into a model A lol.

I think I’ve got a supposed good alternator, actually this one might be too, but I’ve had such **** luck with voltage regulators even new off the shelf the last 6 years or so that I’ve just started buying power master one wires for everything.

 

If you look at the PowerMaster online catalogue linked below, it gives detailed alternator dimensions. Particularly starting on page 66 is all the GM stuff. However you might be most interested in the CS121 on pages 72 and 73, it is a "5 x 5" compact alternator as it's about the most compact GM 1-wire you can get and fits roughly into a 5" x 5" space. It's sold as a solution for cramped engine bays, which you certainly have. Might be worth considering.

https://www.flipsnack.com/CCDDB59BDC9/powermaster-catalog/full-view.html