Projects A late introduction-Junior Conway coupe build

Gettin' ready for tomorrow.

 

That is absolute perfection.......Centurion9

 

how difficult is it to manuever that car with it sitting that low?

 

Looking great as always.

 

PITA. It takes all the fun out of it.

 

View attachment 2677256 View attachment 2677256 I should add that there is no way to keep this car authentic and have care free driving. Air bags would definitely solve this problem, but I do ultimately feel that there’s more value keeping it this way than not and, I don’t necessarily mean money.

Having this car as a genuine historically accurate recreation of Jr’s car gives me the privilege of seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling what Jr’s car was like back in the day. What’s the value of that? Priceless! After all the obsessive/compulsive behavior related to Jr’s car over the decades, to now have it in my garage/trailer is unbelievable. After this car was completed for awhile I did call Jr up and ask him if he really knew how impressive this car was. He said that he did. The way all the color’s (exterior/interior) work in the Texas sun is stunning.

So pita, yup but, I wouldn’t change a thing. That is except for a time travel back to those smooth SoCal street’s and driveways of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Different kind of fun.

 

^^^Amen to that. Your painful attention to the minutia is why so many of us hang on every update & progress report...regardless of personal preference, these are incredible re-creations.

Sent VIA top secret BIGREDTODD Mobile HQ

 

Jerry thank you again for this amazing detailed build and comments as well.
this car is really starting to influence me as i begin my next build on a 51 ford coupe.
what is the next show you will be attending? any small shows coming before Invasion? i'd love to see the car again in person. i just cant get enough of it.

 

I appreciate the comments. You guys are who I had in mind when I built this car. Unfortunatley with my pressing obligations I'm not able to show this car at this time.

 

well then i guess i'll have to make the 15 minute drive to saginaw.

 

i'd love to see the JL car as well.

 

That can probably be arranged.

 

Jerry, let me know if you decide to have a garage crawl. I'm in Keller myself and would love to see the cars in person. I spoke with you briefly at the GNRS beside your Ford, but I'm sure my face is one thousands you met that weekend.

Junior's Ford is hands-down my favorite 'mild custom' car of all time and you did an amazing job of recreating it.

 

I don't think I'm up for a "crawl" but I could do a couple of people.

 

After initially getting the car done and the smoke clears you think about the little things that nag you about your completed build. One of mine has been the clutch operation. The car runs great and it’s a shame that I don’t have the streets and driveway’s that Junior and everybody else had in SoCal in the 50’s and 60’s. The thing that’s been annoying has been the slight shudder/chatter that the clutch makes when it’s engaged. I know that Junior would never have put up with it in the actual car.

As we all have from time to time, I’ve stumbled in my first attempt to address this issue. I believed I had my clutch guy because he said he could do it. This isn’t rocket science and I have had my success doing this stuff forty years ago, but if you have somebody that’s capable and you can afford it and give your body a break, you want to do that.

I contacted Chris at Shoebox Central and he impressed me by explaining that he doesn’t sell Chinese parts. He has a guy that rebuilds original Ford pressure plates and that’s what helps him build his business and keep his clientele happy. He had one in stock and I bought a pressure plate, clutch disk, and throw out bearing.

The initial pick up attempt was foiled by the clutch not engaging. I was told that it had just been ‘driven around the block so this shouldn’t be happening’. The second attempt was best characterized as the whole assy trying to get out of the bell housing when letting the clutch pedal out. After pulling myself together (behind the wheel), I just drove it (kinda) over to the trailer and took it home. This was many months back into last year.

I thought that I had an agreement with the old time flathead guy here in town that he was going to do this for me, as well as doing the alignment on Jesse’s car. He said to bring in when it got real cold. This would let me install that steering wheel. As the time came for this it was obvious that he didn’t want to do either of them.

It is strange how things work out. I asked if he could point me somewhere, and he pointed to two places. One for the clutch, and one for the alignment. Very close by. This is huge, as it lets me get past two obstacles that have been bugging me.

Here I am at the clutch/trans place.

 

Out of the trailer, and on their rack.

 

Here's hoping for a positive outcome on both fronts.

 

X's 2 Jer ^^^^^^
Torchie

 

Normally you have the vehicle and the parts to fix it when it comes into the shop. I had to tell them that the replacement parts are already installed (but don’t work). I also have the parts that were removed (that did work pretty good). I’m telling them that with these two assemblies they should be able to put something together that will be satisfactory.

The ideal situation would have for me to be there with my camera when all the piece’s were spread out on the shop bench. That didn’t happen.

They called and said that the car was ready. They had taken the original clutch disc that I had supplied and used it with the rebuilt pressure plate that was in the car. They had resurfaced the flywheel and assured me that everything was working great. I asked why they hadn’t used the new clutch disc that I had bought. ‘We’ll show you when you get here’, was they’re reply.

The disc that was in the car didn’t belong in this configuration. The only pic I have is of the (wrong) disc that came out. If my memory serve’s me correctly the bulky portion on the one side doesn’t belong. I’m almost sure that the OEM disc is the same on both sides. Where this clutch came from I have no idea.

Can someone show a pic of the correct ’50 Ford clutch disc? Can someone ID this clutch disc? The clutch ingagement is now smooth as silk.

 

Can't help you on the clutch ID Jer, but glad that it works correctly now.
Torchie.

 

Well then, it's time to come home.

 

Well Jerry, I would bet that you have seen these pics, but here you go just the same.

 

Thanks Jim, I actually was going to make a "flat Junior" from that one pic.. Obviously it didn't happen.

 

Love your car,JER!

 

Thank you very much. It's nice to see this thread going again. Life is going to get interesting for this recreation soon.

 

Do tell.

 

I'm going to have keep it "close to the vest" for a while.

 

just a little hint ? Jer come on , please

 

It's about managed exposure.