Scrolling by the oilpan modification pic I thought the pan's bottom was going to be a chopped '32 grill shell... check it out... good stuff b31...
Lou Crouch always takes good pics. Gaoldsman whooped me by .05 seconds on this run. I knew my visor fluttered at speed but I had no idea how bad it bowed out! I need to add a gusset in the center.
I think '33-'34 truck had a center brace... check out the COOL CARS / SQUARE ROLL BARS book, has some "wild" aerodynamic modifications for the w/s and visor area... if you are going to punch holes in the visor... plot them out so you can see the traffic lights through one...
The 30" tires are a bit too tall for the 3.89 gears. I swapped in a set of. 4.11 gears, which will put the engine at around 2200 rpm at 45 mph and 2900 rpm at 60 mph. I run 28 slicks at the strip, so 4.11s ought to spin it up pretty good. Ah, the smell of gear oil at 6:00 AM!
The 9.7:1 motor has been having a tough time cooling in the Georgia heat. Cooling was marginal until I changed cams and raised the dynamic compression. My radiator is behind a 4" chopped 32 shell and the core is only 15" X 17". I was running a 6-blade rigid Derale fan, which allowed the engine to run around 190F at speed. But at a long red light, it would get up to 230F fairly quickly. I decided to try an electric fan. I went with the 16" Flex-A-Lite Lowboy. I wanted to set it up as a puller. However, the fan was thick enough to require pushing the radiator and grill 1.5" forward. It was already a little bit further forward than I like. I hate the freight train look on Model As. So I ditched the mechanical fan, pushed the radiator back 3/4" and mounted the electric fan as a pusher. I used Rebel Wire's electric fan harness and a Hayden #3653 adjustable thermostat switch. Since I have a 180F thermostat, I tuned the Hayden switch to kick on around 200F. In high 80s heat today, it kicked on and the coolant temp never climbed during extended idling. At speed, it still runs 190F even without the mechanical fan. Stop for a few minutes and the fan kicks on to keep the temp in check. Conventional wisdom says that a pusher fan isn't the best choice. In this case, it seems to be working OK.
I decided to fix the bowing visor issue. I used an Eastwood dimple die to add speed holes to the visor. A hammer formed support under the middle of the visor should help control deflection.
Good stuff, keep the updates coming. Enjoying the ride. Father/son x 2 - check, check Ferd in a Ferd - check Getting it on the road stat - check When you said you were going with slicks I thought, "Uh oh, it'll bog off the line." Even with the light car and the deep gears, it might take a 2 step rev limiter so you could leave at the right (really high) RPMs. Glad to read that the kid had the cajones to stage aggressively. My bet that's the difference in ET. Love the "top end" modded visor. Makes perfect sense. Well done all around.
Wow, what a journey! I was touched and laughed until I cried, for example, about the story with the rocket. That's true Willy E. Coyote school. Your family is wonderful, your dad is a very special person. It's great that your sons enjoy it. That's something special these days. I'll keep reading; I can learn a lot. Best, Harald.
I found this build thread a couple of days ago. This is an awesome build. I have learned some things that I will use in my build. Thanks for sharing your story.
The Jalopy Journal
