The Family Hot Rod, or a Poor Man's Deuce Tudor

A quick update:

A local guru named Herb Howell is helping me rebuild my steering box, he does a lot of '32-34 steering boxes and is one heck of a talented guy. He suggested using a '35-37 passenger car steering shaft, which should give me the additional length that I need. He also thinks that this will allow me to use my '35-36 horn rod / light switch without any alterations. I am still skeptical since the steering box is different, but the light switch body is the same so maybe it will work? It is worth a try, I will know shortly.

So Herb pressed off my good '32 worm gear and pressed it onto a nice '37 steering shaft that I got from Jack Strunk. Herb is also going to bore out my '32 sector housing for needle bearings and a neoprene seal.

I got a good deal on a horn rod at the big Cincy Street Rods show this weekend, so I pulled it apart and painted it and the steering wheel ('35-36 banjo) today. Also ordered a tube to make a housing, and even made a spacer so I can clamp the 1.5" housing into the 1.75" Model A column drop.

So the steering setup is on the right track, and with a little luck I should be able to steer the chassis into my garage when I bring it home from Strunk's.

Body is off the chassis and laying on its side, I am planning to paint the underside of the floor on Thursday. The chassis is apart and the Strunks have finished up all the welding, so I am also going to go over the frame with files & sandpaper on Thursday. Then we are going to send the frame out to be sprayed with DP90.

Still trying to get the oil pan on the engine, I thought I had the right rope seals for the front but turned out I was wrong. I ordered a one piece seal and will try again this weekend.

Thanks for all the encouragement, I have been working hard at this lately. Gonna have to take a break and get back to making mandolins shortly!!!

Will

 

I love seeing one built right, no modern "shortcuts".

 

The quality of your work is outstanding, keep up the good job and enjoy the ride.

 

An exciting day, the sedan is home and in the garage.









I am really happy with where the rear is sitting. The front will come down a bunch with the engine in place but a dropped axle may be in order... Still considering a 2" chop, but it looks pretty good as is.

Gotta figure out the steering before I put the engine in, so that is the priority. Gonna paint a few things while I am waiting on the steering box. I have plenty to do in the meantime, LOL!

Will Kimble
www.kimblemandolins.com

 

A dropped axle? Didn't you have one of those in your garage a few years ago? No worries it's going to good use.

You have convinced me that I must put my sedan on 32 rails, yours just look's too nice.

Ron

 

Sugar-SWEET!

 

Looks great! It's funny that you mentioned the chop. I was planning a 3 inch chop on mine, but the past few days as I walk around it, well, I'm not so sure. Like you say it looks pretty good as is.

 

OK, the firewall and floors are painted satin black. Got seam sealer on the new floor. Front & rear shocks are mounted. Made a spacer for the rear spring clamps and painted the rearend black. Got shims and body blocks made and the body cinched down. Got the striker plates, dovetails and door bumper kit mounted. Also sanded everything back and did a "Shaw-style" brush job. It looks great but not a heck of a lot different than the most recent pictures.

The '32 steering box has been rebuilt with the longer '37 shaft, feels really good and the horn rod / light switch ('35-36) works with no alterations. I made a new tube for it and my next job is to locate the column in the chassis and drill the holes for the sector housing bolts. Then I can put the engine & tranny in the chassis.

Bit of a bummer on the rearend, it is a 4.44. I am still optimistic that I will get to drive a little bit this year, so I am going to wait until the winter to make a change.

New pics when I get the steering & engine in the car.

 

Looks killer! Herb Howell was my neighbor growing up. I mowed his grass year after year and hung out there a lot. He was a huge help to me on my 32.

J Shaw

 

Looks great, Will. I like chops but I think it looks good stock. It would be a hard decission if it was mine.

 

Looks good and very interesting. I've got this one saved for later reference.

 

The ENGINE is IN!



Nose is still a little high, but dropped another inch with me standing on the front crossmember - my estimate for radiator, water, gas, oil, headlights, carbs, etc.



Rear looks purposeful but I can see why everybody likes the Model A rear crossmember. Oh well, this rod is meant to haul people in the back seats. Gonna use a single tail light in the middle and will hang the license plate below, should break things up a little.



Finished painting the steering today, next step is to get that mounted and get the drag link ordered. Looks like the '32 pitman arm is gonna hit the frame when it pulls back, might need to be bent out a little.

From there I guess I am going to start working towards firing the engine.

Will

 

Steering is in:



I thought for sure the pitman arm was gonna hit the frame, but it just barely clears. I guess it oughta work - 32 frame, '32 box, '32 pitman...

Here's a shot of the wheel:



'35-36 banjo wheel & horn rod/light switch, '37 steering shaft with '32 worm gear, '32 steering box, no alterations to horn rod/light switch were necessary. By the way, took me four tries to get the spider lined up correctly so the "V8" emblem is level, LOL!!!

Here's a closeup of the column drop:



I used the late '31 column drop and cut off most of the original gas tank column mount. Figured it was a good idea for a couple reasons - Ford switched to it because the gas tank mounts were leaking, and it gave me more flexibility to line up with the '32 placement. I did end up slotting the holes in the column drop about 1/4" so I could hedge the drop towards the center of the car a little.

Model A columns are 1 3/4" and '32s are 1 1/2" so I made a moon shaped spacer out of hard maple and painted it black. A simple solution that looks pretty good.

Will Kimble

 

2" chopped radiator mockup, looks about 2" too low to me...





I will fuss with it some more once I have the radiator support rods in place and the grill shell painted. Hopefully some 1" wooden spacer blocks painted black will do the trick and not be too noticeable.

Will Kimble

 

looking awesome

 

This looks great! Won't be long now.

 

dare to be diffrent dont chop it

 

Very cool!

 

hey Will... looking great! If everyone saw your mandolins, they wouldn't be surprised with the craft and care you are showing with this car... I've missed this thread until now, how things have changed in a year... seems like just a year ago you were showing me the Manx.. you're moving much faster than me! cheers!

 

Will, car looks great! Front end needs to come down just a bit in my opinion. Thinking Dago dropped...

 

Hey Andy - thanks for the kind words, that V8 I sold you would have come in handy for this car. Now get to work, LOL! I miss the Manx but am very happy with how this one is shaping up. Room for the kids, too.

And Minewithnoshine - I am happy with the stance and no chop, guess we can call it a "tallboy" instead of a "highboy"!!! I still need to stop by and see what you are up to, maybe once I get this jalopy on the road.

Will

 

Yea, I'll have the frame back from the Rolling Bones in a couple weeks, all the lead work on the body is just about finished, you'll have to make it over our way some time.

 

That car is wonderful! Subscribing to this one.

 

Got the 2" chopped radiator shimmed up 1 1/4" and it is looking pretty good to me now. Might be a little tall, but I think it is close enough that I can live with it until I get serious about having a hood top made.



With blue tape to mark the hood line:



Grill is crooked from the front, I think I need to rotate it clockwise a little on the radiator. The mounting bolts are all a tight fit so I will have to slot the holes in the shell a little. Should straighten up with a little tinkering.



I bought a neat French fuel pump from So-Cal Sacramento, it has a lever that allows you to fill the float bowls by hand. Boy, would that have been handy all those times I had the carb off my B engine! The outlet is like a fuel barb, and the inlet is like an old Ford fuel pump but with finer threads. I was hoping to jam a Stromberg-sized fuel barb in the inlet but it won't go and now I am not sure what to do...

Will Kimble

 

looks great ,,

 

Very nice work, Will. It's coming along nicely!!

 

Great work. I always liked a sedan like this

 

Can you show me how you mounted the raidiator and grill shell? Where did you hide the shims? Thanks!

 

Love this build! Keep up the good work man!!

 

Hey Rathbone, here are a couple photos of how I shimmed up the radiator:





I kept the original mounting setup with the springs. The bolts from the radiator mounting kit were 1 3/4" so I got some new ones that were 3" long. And some nylocs instead of the castle nuts & cotters. I had a scrap of mahogany and cut 2 blocks the same shape as the rubber shim that were 1 1/4" thick - to keep the relationship of the spring, nut & bolt the same. Drilled a hole & painted them black.

Will Kimble