It’s a rainy Sunday morning in Virginia this morning so time for some updates Got the mounts welded in on the run in stand Fuel pump bushing installed and reamed holes drilled for lifter adjustment previously before I knew better I had removed the’cam bearings’ This is a’34 it just has removable cast iron bearings front and rear with the block as the center bearing Got the front and rear reinstalled with out damaging them installed the pan rail freeze plugs and then epoxy over them machined angled back cuts on the valves Turned down the stops for the valve guides then did a swirl polish
Finished the porting on the block needed to open up the exhaust manifolds to match the block so I used a trick my father used by having one hole saw inside of another to open up a hole the manifolds were so warped they had gaskets stacked on some ports I don’t plan on using gaskets so machined them flat the next step is to clean the block then a coat of ford green From there it will go to the engine assembly room (the basement of the house) This week I will be attending the mid Atlantic pre war swap meet in Luray Virginia Always look forward to that Until the next time Todd
Found some interesting items at the swap meet this weekend Would like to know if anyone has seen modifications to model A spindles like this Looks like they used new spindles No bushings installed and one hole not even drilled after digging out my backing plate looks like all I need to do is cut a flat on top to clear the backing plate then mount the spindle in the lathe in between centers and cut it for centering indexing and of course drilling the one hole Had already made the parts for my backing plate modifications but haven’t welded them in yet Maybe won’t have to
Found what looks like a nos intake and got this distributor just for the adapter got home and looked at my distributor that l already have ready (‘34 case with’41 11A advance plate) and it already has the hole drilled here is the adapter I had already bought
Got a little obsessed about these spindles this week did some measuring and also followed speedways drawing did some machining Stock model A spindle is .312” on the backplate step I made mine .150” on the conversion kit you buy you have a bearing spacer and according to the Tardel book this spacer is to provide clearance between drum and backing plate I had previously bought this kit which uses a valve seat and didn’t like the fit so I had started machining my own but never finished in theory I can make this spacer.150” thicker The speedway motors diagram shows I am only.100” off And I may not be able to space the bearing out another.150” I’ll have to wait till I get back to working on the chassis before I can do some assembly measurements I feel I can take another.050”from the backing plate face I’m really happy with these Somebody did some great work on the welding no porosity and the material they used is really hard Had a hard time machining it with my limited tooling Machined alot like stainless If I can figure out the bearing spacing I will have Model A spindles that will take a’39-‘48 Backing plates with no modifications And if you were wondering what I payed for these When I saw them on the table I knew what somebody was trying to do and had to have them The sign on the table said This table everything $1 So I really didn’t need that burger for lunch and spent the $2 Now back to working on the motor
Looking into the future Checking out my generator https://youtube.com/shorts/tkkhzsy5mVo?feature=shared Bad armature Clean and adjusted cutout https://youtube.com/shorts/Fh_mU8E1mxQ?feature=shared https://youtube.com/shorts/1-r7QgjKnB8?feature=shared Have the sound on when watching it’s a audio and visual thing
Took some time out and worked on another project 1909-1918 Deering New Ideal type B horse drawn mower I think it is totally period correct to have a horse drawn mower behind a 1928 McCormick-Deering 10-20 https://youtube.com/shorts/xNwx_8EQl10?feature=shared
For this installment we’re looking at the transmission To paint the engine block I have decided to paint everything bolted together like the oil pan and transmission. This will save on time and things to mask off So first I need to clean the transmission using a wheel barrow and diesel fuel got it pretty clean was then able to inspect This transmission was still bolted to the engine so other than normal wear I wasn’t expecting anything catastrophic Here are the 3 problem areas 3rd gear synchronizer looks pretty worn 1st and rev sliding gear some pitting on 1st of the cluster gear but no chips or cracked teeth No excessive end play on cluster gear so now I know what parts to keep a look out for
I think previously I had showed how I made a new shifter socket for the’32 shifter tower that I am using often heard of issues of transmission popping out of 2nd gear Looking at this old repair manual I have since I have parts for 2 shifter towers decided to take a look Machined a new detent to create more space for a longer spring I recessed an old set screw to replace the plug then cut off the plunger Made it way too short the first time it wanted to go sideways in the bore Pretty satisfied with the results what would probably work better is a ball the proper size with the same radius in the shaft you need about a 13/32” ball I used a 9/32” end mill for the detent The shafts are pretty hard I probably trashed that end mill The plugs are 1/2-20 thread size
I was always taught that slipping out of second is caused by too much end clearance inside the transmission. Does the manual say anything about that?
No and I have been trying to find specifications on end play and haven’t found anything I guess the thrust washers are all the same and if the case is worn that is where your excess play would be
This is what van pelt says about popping out of 2nd basically all your wear adds up http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_transID_3speed-Poppingout.htm
These weekly updates are keeping me motivated to continue forward Decided that to properly clean the transmission needed to disassemble Pretty easy to work on the hardest part for me was figuring out the removal of 2nd gear Everything looks worn but still in good shape at least for my intended use and budget Have ordered new thrust washers and a good used cluster gear Picked up a1st and reverse gear from one of third gen’s .99cent auctions That is all I plan on replacing After looking at my parts couldn’t figure out the rear bearing retainer Like I was missing something after much searching finally found a diagram (vanpelts catalog) didn’t ever remember seeing this part then went through the old parts that I had taken off and there it was stuck to the back of the old’34 rear mount so everything looks right now
Got the shift tower reassembled with the’34 forks in the’32 tower Had to massage a little bit because the shifter fork is beefier than’32 then turned my attention to sealing the front bearing retainer It came with some type of cork ring that rides up the shoulder of the input shaft the recess in the retainer was just under 1.750” So I opened it up to 1.750” the casting is to thin to go deeper which would be nice The first seals I got were.250” width then I found these after installing and sliding it on the shaft it looks like it just starts going up the ramp of shoulder then turned my attention to the shafts Had read about o rings and since my father used to but o rings on everything found some tooling that I am sure was used for this Used a common o ring found in the harbor freight kit on first test fit it wanted to shear the o ring so I went back and chamfered the case also making sure there was no burs especially where the locking pin goes through and opened up the width of the o ring grove for squish room Test fitted again and everything went together nice Final dimensions for o ring grove.115” wide with a.590” diameter Should get remainder of parts in this week for final assembly
I plan on using a lot of safety wire on this project so I purchased a drill gig here are my observations you need to shim to get the hole centered especially on Henry’s tall bolt heads also the head gets cocked when you tighten the drill gig bolt so the hole will be slightly off on the opposite side I then put a chamfer to finish it off I will need to get proficient at sharpening these little drill bits
Wrapped up the trans this week Made a bushing driver for the release shaft bushings used a brake hone to get a perfect fit during the mock up I had made an extension for the clutch shaft and since I was going to replace the shaft I bought a piece of precision ground shaft to eliminate the extension here is a shot of the case before reassembly counter shaft going in with new thrust washers had purposely put the o ring groove close to the end of the shaft so you can push the shaft through install o ring and push back without the rear o ring coming out of its bore I think I assumed that the shaft was flush with the case but it sits out a little you can just see the o ring but I think it’s still doing its job I’ll know next time Really should replace the shaft it had wear on one side from the side load of the gears I turned it 180* when I installed it so the bearings are riding on a better surface for the side load Now I know how it is put together I can replace the shaft later Installed the front bearing retainer hopefully for the last time it’s not a perfect trans but I know what’s in it and for my purpose I think it’s going to be great really happy how it turned out and glad to have this part behind me so when I need it it will be ready to go Ready for paint
I'm sure you already knew, however referring back to your spindles blog the backing plates were the 42-48 units with the fixed lower anchors, good choice. Always wondered if the 39-41 type could be altered with fixed anchors & using the same shoes or 42-48 shoes, perhaps someone following along has done so & might chime in.
Thanks but actually when I bought the backing plates I was just starting this project and didn’t have a clue what I was doing have learned a lot in the past 4 years mostly due to the folks here on the HAMB That is why I’m showing what I’m doing maybe it will help someone else
Had a simple project for today Been working on the oil pan, cleaning, banging out dents, flattening the pan rails Third gen sells this for the dipstick boss kinda don’t like having nuts on the inside of the pan so I made a threaded plate Could use button head screws for a more rivet look but happen to have a box of 100 of these 10-32 socket head cap screws just had to cut them off and of course add safety wire holes They also have a nice shoulder I’ll have to make sure they are no clearance problems when I go to engine assembly
I like your 3 point boom crane for the tractor. Always thought those old sickle mowers would be fun to restore! Would be a nice backup for the Haybine if it ever fails during hay cutting. Your workmanship on this speedster is awesome. Learning a lot from this thread, thanks!
My father had made the “shop crane “ using a engine stand and a piece of an old gas station sign I just adapted it for the three point hitch and I can put the front legs back on to use it inside
When I started this project I had said that if I wasn’t having fun I should step back from it or work on another aspect of the project Well with this heat and humidity I’m not having fun so no updates this week I need to go back and read my own thread I think I have some content that I haven’t posted so next week I’ll bring you up to date with some of that Until then I just got this book in yesterday so I’m going to relax and do some reading it also helps with the motivation makes me want to get back in the shop Be safe out there
The Jalopy Journal
