!997,90 days start to finish. Bought the body at the L A Roadster Show in 1995, found the frame at a "yard" sale rest of parts came from stuff lying around or found a swap meets or we fabricated them. Motor mounts were welded in with just a bare block installed so I have to pull the head and rear studs and almost stand the engine vertical to remove. After all of the studying of the "line" and beer drinking the car ended up with only 2 3/4" or 3 " ground clearance. Tends to s****e over "speed" bumps. Special drop center rear crossmember on the car trailer. Car is currently licensed but I use the 1927 Ca. license plate given to me by a friend.
This gives a flat surface for my 66 F100 rims, however the studs now catch by 5 threads only. when i went to steel smothies , my stud length lost some also . i used blue loc***e on my nutz to insure them not coming loose . just my way .. steve this maybe a repeat . sorry .....
Hi guys! A fun and exhausting time was had by all in the 522 V4F/GMR camp! Here's a pic of the car next to friends' Keith and Katie Young's '39... The short version? All I got to say is Enbloc's motor kicks ***. The thing went 87mph on TWO cylinders! The head gasket was totally gone in the middle of the two center cylinders on that one and only run. We were blowing head gaskets all weekend... and when R2 loaned us a "You ain't gonna blow this gasket" gasket... we dumped water in the cylinders from somewhere else. I think there might be a crack that was allowing water to enter the cylinder(s) and when it started to run good, the water in the cylinder popped the gasket. Clark will figure it out. On the car side of things, we fought hydraulic throw out bearing problems... I'm gonna sort the car out in the next 360 days and Clark is gonna sort the motor out... and we'll be back, as a TEAM in 2011!! A full report will follow with better pics of the car. For now, I rest. Sam
My brother Matt has some better pics... but this one of most of the TEAM is pretty cool. At this point we were all tired and ready to go home.
Congratulations.... despite the engine troubles, you have to be happy with the success for only it's first time out!!!! You'll get them next year. .
Yea... It was an awesome experience! And a big plus was making it through tech with flying colors! They were impressed, and liked several features on the car like the Carbon Fiber seat and the front wish bone retaining devices. I can't wait until next year... Sam
so, i dont know how this thread works....but i asked this question and someone told me to post on the "banger thread" to get more answers so here it goes So, i have a Model A thats all original (i want to use the original engine during this build)with the exception of hydraulic brakes. my question is...what will it take to make this baby into a daily driver and good enough to keep up with traffic? whats the list of things to do to the engine? any pro's and con's im looking at? some things i do want to keep...is the cast iron head, and single downdraft carb. also, i wanted to ask if anyone out there uses their 4banger as a daily driver?
When you say "Keep up with traffic" do you mean mainly around town with some highway usage or mostly commuting long distance on mostly highways? How many miles per day? Is there a lot of stop and go traffic? What kind of comfort level do you expect? Do you want air conditioning? .
There is a lot of info on the Ford Barn model "A" forum regarding higher compression stock looking cast Iron heads from Snyder's, Brumfield, and others. 5.5 5.9 to 1 if your take care of the bottom end, rods and mains should have the slack removed. There are quite a few guys with the higher compression heads that say they keep up with the traffic with a "B" cam, a little more carburetion. and possibly a modified a or different distributor with mechanical advance. Some say the higher compression heads are a little more sensitive to spark advance. There is also a stock appearing but better performing exhaust Be warned, it can be a slippery slope. The engine needs to move more air/fuel at a slightly increased compression.
I got the snyders head, b-cam, stromberg 81 on an ansen intake, with a tube header. hydraulic brakes. on my RPU with 4.11 gears i think. I does good around town but would need more gear for the freeway and on some faster roads. Seems the engine wants it too. It is not comfortable to drive in lots of stop lights, or traffic. but i am 6 foot tall. the little ****ers need lots of attention and oil changing and stuff like that. but its alright couldnt imagine driveing it daily. but its been done before when they came off the line.
I would find a new rear from a car. I have put over 2000 miles on mine in the last 7 week as a daily driver Bill
i have been driving mine daily for 6 yrs . i have rediscovered weekly maintainance ! even if all i do is crawl under & touch things to see if they have come loose . these are not new cars ! 80 yr old cars to be daily drivers , to me , means constant care . not alot but constant . if you get the car clean so you can see things & keep it that way (underneath) they work well . a stock motor needs more care than a insert motor . oil needs to be changed @ 500-600 miles . i have insert & oil filter & change @ 1500-1800 miles . i also went to late model points so as not to have to set them so often . i have rebuilt the trans & diff (3:54's) , new rear end brgs , etc . front wheel bearings , seals , etc . my car will run @ 55-60 with no effort . 31" rear tires . very seldom ever lets me down , but i like tinkering alot . i love mine as my only car to drive . i put a thermostat & guage for winter + it keeps the motor warmer (160-170*) . oil pressure guage (i have a v8 oil pump set at 20#) . i dont know how old you are , but if you can , remember the '50-'60 for car care & youll be fine . pix of my car , motor , etc is in my profile . any questions , please ask . youll love the reaction of people ! its cool ................ steve
Car looks killer Sam! Congrats AND condolences, I am sure that even the downs were a positive learning experience.
OK Sam I think you have some nice new pic for a new Avatar... Man that car looks bad ***... congratulations again Do you have any more pic posted any where?
hey guys, I went on the monthly tour with the Long Beach model T club this past Saturday. The destination was a tour of **** Enterprises. They are making new forged 4140 counter weighted cranks for model T and Model A engines. Here is a link to the pictures I took. http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll122/Crazydaddyo/LB%20T%20Tour/ Some Highlights:
Isn't that what the opening screen is for.......... took mine off yesterday to see how it would look......... . .
Well, i already live in town...so i wont be going on the highway to often but once in awhile. less then 20 miles a day. and yes, there is alot of stop and go. no airconditioning. so you guys will stick with a higher compression head, and b camshaft....mechanical advance and better exhaust? is that good enough?
I see this has been discussed before, but I'm looking for up-to-date information. What do you fellows know about the Burtz engine? It sounds like a Donovan D, but maybe more affordable. -Dave
It's not just the expense of the D but the wait also..... I hope this turtns out well..... There is a real need for these engines. Perhaps not in huge numbers but a need still that will grow as good blocks become less and less common
I change my oil and filter about every 1000 miles. I run it at or above the fill mark and add oil 1/2 qt at a time. I'm splash on babbit. Water wetter also. I don't lug it or over rev it. Don't forget about the oil hole in the top of the dist. cam screw and the filler on the side- do this every tour or 200 miles. When I grease it I jack up the front end and give everything a good shake to see what needs my attention. As has been said- these are not modern engines/cars and require a lot more attention. If you don't find maintaining you old car enjoyable collect stamps!
Pulled the cam today, won't run with this one going to try and get it going with the stock set up. . .
it wouldn't run at all under load, you had to 'feather' the throttle very gently or it wouldn't pick up.........it just backfired. Keith
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