Your welding skills are fine. Looks like a factory-stamped bracket to me, and that 's a compliment. You're clicking off the punch list at a steady pace. Seems like its always the smaller details that take the most time and effort, but they are the details that peg the quality of the build.
Looks good Dave . Your attention to the little details is commendable . This will be one fine looking truck when all said and done . Stay at it , sabbaticals are motivating at times aren't they ! Andy..
Thanks osage. I'm so close to finishing the chassis so I'm trying to make some good progress. Thanks Andy, and yes the sabbatical was definitely nice. I suppose we all need to step away from our projects from time to time....we just need to make sure we eventually get back to them! haha
Just a small update. The plug wires finally arrived so I installed them. I never thought I have this much trouble with plug wires but it was difficult finding a set that would work with the headers and old style cap. In my research, most plug wires that fit the old style cap had straight boots for the spark plugs but the straight boots didn't work with the headers; the number 4 and 7 wires were millimeters from the header pipes. Modern plug wires with the 115 degree angle boots had the wrong end for the old style cap. I thought I was going to end up having to make my own but I finally found some wires while looking on National Parts Depot's web site. They are for a '78 F-150 with electronic ignition. The plug wires have the correct end for the cap and the spark plug boot is angled giving me plenty of header clearance.
Sometimes the things that we figure are simple , well this was one those times, not so simple . Good for you though Dave !
Just a small update. I'm dividing my time a bit between projects; a friend of mine asked me if I'd rewire his cherry 39 Fordor so I'm going to try working on both vehicles for a bit. Anyway, so I've had paint issues with a bracket which holds the transmission cooler. When I originally built it I had sprayed it in etch primer and of course it's been in my attic for a few years. When I finally pulled it out to paint it I ran out of black paint half way through. So I bought some more paint, scuffed down the bracket and painted it again. That time the paint had bad fisheyes and "camera case" texture all over it. Grrr. So I took the bracket to Eglin AFB auto shop and used their bead blaster to clean it back down to bare metal. Got home and cleaned it real good, etched it and then painted it again. This time the paint laid down good but I ended up with some thin spots. Perhaps 10th time is the charm for paint. haha I've also been working on a little bracket to support the fuel log-regulator-filter. The combination of those items put together is heavy and I thought it would be too much for the fuel lines to support. These pictures will show what I came up with. Not the pretties but I plan on doing some "fashionable grinding" on it to make it a little prettier. Also, it looks like it is off plumb but I think it is due to the angle of my camera. I used some 1/8" tubing and some 16 ga metal to make it. I'll probably paint it silver so that it blends in better. It supports the fuel log-regulator-filter very well and I think it will relieve any stress on the fuel lines.
Well, it's been awhile since I did any work on the F4. The past few months I've been working on a friend's cherry '39 Fordor Deluxe. I rewired it, replaced a broken exhaust manifold, fixed the leaking steering box and rebuilt the front steering linkage. So today I decided it was time to get back on the F4 and make the lower radiator hose. Consider this a lesson learned; the water pump inlet is on the left and the radiator hose outlet is on the right. The radiator was one of the first things I bought and I didn't realize I could get the radiator hose outlet on the left. So I took some U-bends and made a lower hose. I got my photos a bit out of order, sorry. Here's the hose/pipe coming off the water pump. The hose/pipe from the radiator. This is looking under the frame cross member showing the hose/pipe hanging slightly under the crossmember. What I started with, a couple of U bends from Speedway. And this is what the pipe looks like. I still need to finish welding it together and paint it. This is my first time to attempt making a pipe from U bends. I'm really excited that it actually worked!
Dave I'm glad to see more progress on the F4. Good fix on the coolant pipe too. I do hope you're going to make some sort of support bracket though.
Given your hose is lower than the bottom of the radiator (looks to be by the photo) and made from steel I would add a bottom drain bung to it. Sure saves a lot of work cleaning out a radiator than removing the hose. I would also add some welds so the rubber hose does not pull off and the clamps stay in place. Keep up the good work, looking good.
Thank you Sir! The work on your Buick is coming along nicely as well. Thank you! So on the support bracket, what are your thoughts? Would the rubber hose connections between the pipe and water pump / radiator suffice in holding everything in position while also allowing for engine movement? I'm not questioning your suggestion, just trying to understand your thoughts on it. You are correct that the hose is lower than the bottom of the radiator and the recommendation for adding a drain plug is an excellent one. And yes, I was going to add some weld beads around the ends to help keep the rubber hose from pulling off.
The thought comes from the stresses the hoses & pipe full of coolant will see when bouncing down the road. Without support it would be bobbing up and down, flexing both ends. A simple brace from the front of the oil pan should give that "peace of mind" factor a boost. Try laying under and jiggle it around, then figure the added weight of coolant under pressure. On another thought, chrome that pipe! That would fit in with the rest of your detail work.
I understand what you're saying now OahuEli, thank you. Let me ask this, what if I used an exhaust hanger of sorts (rubber isolated) and attached the pipe to the frame cross member? There is a hole in the cross member that is easily accessible and the pipe is right there at it. It would be easier than attaching a support bracket to an oil pan bolt or even a bolt on the front of the motor. The rubber isolated hanger would help support the tube while also being flexible for engine movement? Your thoughts?
If you add a hanger of some type allow for movement. With a drain bung go for a brass fitting as big as you can and if you chrome the pipe per the suggestion the brass bung would look good.
I went by a muffler shop yesterday and got a hanger and weld-on threaded bung. The guy wouldn't even let me pay him for the items so I'll definitely need to repay his kindness somehow. Last night I welded the pipes together and ground the welds smooth and to ensure I didn't have any pin holes I took a light that has an LED on the end of a flexible wand and ran it down the tubes. I stepped outside in the dark and only saw one pin hole so I welded it up. Then I mocked up the hanger. This morning at the office, while trying to focus on my "real" work, I realized that the way I have the hanger it would not provide any support to the tube at all. Time to go back to the drawing board. As for chroming the pipe....Mmmmm chrome.....I love chrome.....anyway, I probably won't do that but it would be pretty cool.
If you use a hanger like that it should work, but I'd be more inclined to mount it on the engine. I'm sure you're not going be doing too many 5000 rpm launches so movement won't be real bad. If it was my engine I'd want the pipe to follow the engine. As for chrome, I hear its good for 5 hp...
If chrome is good for 5 hp would a NOS sticker be good for 10 hp?? haha I installed the drain on the pipe last night and laid down some weld at the ends of the pipe to help grip the rubber hose. Still working on the support hanger...... I even installed the drain in the center! So here's my dilemma for a support bracket. The pic is looking straight up. There's just not many options here.
The bolt on your oil pan, right next to the hump for the front main cap would do just fine. The bracket doesn't have to be centered, just supportive.
You could have install an early water pump to your engine and had the water inlet on the pass side . But you did wonderful work
Ok. I'll make some templates and see what I can come up with. The transmission cooler lines are a bit in the way but I should be able to make it work. I actually did try an early water pump when I first started working on the truck. The problem I had was several of the bolt holes and even the water passages through the timing cover didn't line up with the early water pump. I think the only way to have successively done it would have been to change the front cover to the earlier style as well.
You are correct, front cover must match the pump. Note to Ford: Standardize these auxiliary parts the next time you build an engine platform to last 40 years or so. Beat Chevy at their own game. Here's a chart I keep in my computer:
Alright, here's what I came up with to support the lower radiator hose/pipe. Possibly overkill on part of it but the pipe doesn't move. I made it two pieces so that it'd be easier to get the pipe on and off as needed. It's made from 16 ga metal. Here you can see how I used two oil pan bolts. Thank you for the suggestion Eli. I wanted to get y'alls comments before I paint it. I thought about putting a gusset on the top bracket but I didn't.
Wow, I just got on the computer and saw your message first. Cool! I like the bracket you made, the two piece idea is even better and if its overkill so what. Better safe than sitting on the side of the road in the middle of the night. As for the gusset, run the motor and watch what happens, most of the weight is supported by the hoses, your bracket just helps calm things down a little. If it seems to vibrate a lot, a little extra weld in the bend can't hurt. I hear chrome adds support too.
Another wow. Bracket looks great and like you I go for overkill to be sure. It will be interesting to see how much movement it has and the rubber hose fittings should allow for that and absorb any movement.
Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. Like both of you commented, the rubber hose portions provide most of the pipe support and absorb most of the movement. I think I will add a little bit of weld to the bends of the upper bracket like you suggested Eli. Trying to remember back to the Mechanical Engineering class I had in college, I placed the bracket on the drivers side so that the "moment arm" of the pipe would "hinge" on the axis of the lower radiator hose. I think that makes sense. Anyway, next on the agenda is to replace the transmission pan gasket....again. When I put the chrome pan on it the gasket must have cracked. When I poured the transmission fluid in the other day I ended up with two leaks dripping off of two bolts. This Friday I'm taking the chassis to a muffler shop to have the exhaust installed. I'm having 30 inch glass packs put on. The engine is stock '89 Mercury and I feel the 30" glass packs will provide a nice lower rumble which should sound nice without being obnoxious. I need to fill the crankcase with oil. I need to make the fuel lines between the carbs and fuel log and from the log to the fuel pump. I need to fix the rust holes in the running board support brackets, paint them and mount them to the frame. I should be done with the chassis at that point. Now to light a fire under the body shop guy to get the body finished.
It's all this little stuff that makes all the difference . Time consuming yes! But a nice tidy job makes it worth while . Great job Dave , Andy..
I had the exhaust pipes installed this morning. Decided to put turn downs on for now until the flat bed is in place at which time I can decide if the pipes should be extended or not. I pretty pleased with the work done. It would have been nice to use mandrel bent tubing and made a system but such is life. I can hardly wait to hear it run.
I worked on the fuel lines today. Nothing is tightened up yet because I didn't have any compression fittings for where the fuel lines attach to the carbs. I also need to clean off the sharpie marks. Haha
The Jalopy Journal
