I got 2 9/16" studs on the way, i'll have to check when they get here if they are long enough. I took the width of the exhaust flange, intake manifold, washer and nut to get my stud size. It just all barely fits on the stud, I may not have room to play with but we'll see!
Playing with photos, relaxing on the couch tonight... I got my studs but I need a tap to clean out the block threads, lots of junk in there... I did get the carb studs into the intake manifold so some progress!
Ooooooffff! Let me tell ya, one is enough for now. I'd definitely starve if I had to make these for living, thanks for the interest though!
I'm back on the Banger this weekend and working on the steering column... With the '32 dash and column drop in there the original steering column is at the wrong angle. It needs to come down a few degrees, about 2 1/2" at the dash. I don't really want to change steering boxes or cut up the frame so I decided to cut off the mounting flange on the Model A box and weld on a new one at the right angle. Easier said than done as the original flange is at an angle to the pitman shaft matching the angle of the frame. The piece is also a casting so no machined surface to clamp to really. I ended up mounting it to a piece of round stock and chucking that up. I chopped the old flange off after measuring the frame mounting holes and was able to true it up in my 4 jaw chuck using the inside of the bearing race retainer and a dial indicator. I then cut off as little as possible to get a nice round surface for the flange to sit on. The flange itself will be beveled for welding on both sides. The rebuilt column is going to be fairly complicated bit with a reduction in outer tubing diameter to fit the column drop, a spliced in taper at the top for a different steering wheel, new horn wiring, and a column lock. The inner rods, light switch and horn are all going...
Thank you sir! It felt like a real accomplishment after spending an hour+ setting it up to do 6 minutes of cutting, lol.
I modified the repro dash a bit... Originally the sides of the dash just ended and had a bent over tab as a fastener. I didn't like that you could just see the edge so I welded some metal on the side and tapered it towards the top. I put a slight radius on the corner and it looks much better now, doesn't look like a cheap cut 2D shape at the ends. I also made a tool to countersink the Model A dash screws I decided to use in the lower corners for fastening as I chopped the original bent tab off. I drilled the hole in the dash, inserted the screw, backed it up with my tool and squeezed it in the vise... The result is a little dimple the screw fits in nicely. Nothing much else going on but some measuring dimensions for some raw materials for the steering column. As soon as I get the dash mounted I'll be able to mock it up pretty quickly.
Since i'm not using the original light and horn wiring/switch I made a blank plate for the bottom of the steering shaft... I also finished up the weld on flange for clocking the steering shaft at a lower angle. I'll put the steering box and shaft back on the car and tack weld it with the dash and column drop in place to get the correct angle in relation to those parts and the frame where it pinches in.
I got the new steering box flange tacked to the housing today. Lots of checking and double checking but it didn't go too bad, the steering shaft stayed right where I wanted it to after welding so I was pretty happy with that. I had been waiting on getting the dash in it's finale place so I could use the '32 column drop to position the steering shaft and in turn align the steering box to the fabricated flange bolted inside the frame. Everything kinda relied on everything else to make it work but I got it in the end. The aftermarket dash has a flange on the top but the angle was too much for my taste and made the bottom lip of the dash stick out further than I wanted. I bent the whole flange back bring the ends of the dashback so they are straight up and down. The center of the dash still points out and down some but the ends now line up with the doors which I like, any space I can gain I'll take! For the column drop I put the old bushing in my lathe and opened it up to fit the Model A steering shaft as a spacer to keep it centered during mock up. It's going to take some finessing but it allowed me to get the flange welded to the steering box and position the shaft in the right location side/side and up/down. It's little low in the pic but there's enough slop in the bolts holes on the frame for it to sit tight to the dash. Before I can mount the column drop to the dash I need to fabricate the steering tube. The hogged out bushing worked to center the steering shaft but it's not long enough to set the column drop angle with any real accuracy. The '32 drop takes a 1.5" OD tube but the Model A steering box had a larger tube so I'll have to reduce the diameter at the box to the 1.5" and continue with that up to the wheel. I'm thinking maybe I can find and exhaust reducer and weld that to my tube to make it all work.
I found an exhaust adapter that would work for the steering tube and tacked it onto the 1.5" tubing that goes up through the column drop. The original Model A clamp fits it just fine, I put a slit in the backside to allow for some compression when tightening the clamp. Now that I had the steering tube I used the spacer again to center it on the steering shaft to be able to locate the column drop. There was a fair bit of putting things together and taking them apart and so on to get things just fight. The repro dash didn't quite have the correct angle so I had to modify it a bit to make the CD work. I could have made a spacer but space is at a premium and I didn't want the steering wheel any lower than it had to be. It looks pretty good, the column drop just kind of disappears up under the edge of the dash without a hint that it was modified unless you know what they look like. With the dash and steering column in place I was able to modify the top rail to fit over the new dash. I ended up cutting the flange back some that would normally wrap around the front. It had cutouts for the original steering column support and something else so I cut it back to hid those and then cut it back a bit more to make the edges line up with the top of the doors where they meet the rail. I also picked up a horn, darn thing is NOS, clean as can be. I had originally planned to mount a horn down low, out front by the radiator shell but with the drop there wasn't really room. I ended up finding a place for it on the firewall where something had once been mounted. I was able to turn the trumpet on the horn 90 degrees and use the horn's original mount straight on to the firewall without modifying it.
Good idea using the exhaust reducer, reckon I'll be borrowing that one as I'm fitting a LandRover box the my A..
Occasionally I roll it out of the garage just to gander at it and see how far it's come... Still long way to go but getting closer! With the steering column in I started working on the seat to get it lower. It's got a nice aged cover on it and was reworked at some point. Somebody crudely cut out a piece of plywood and fastened it to the bottom of the springs with bent nails and staples. I wanted to reuse the cover and ditch the springs so I cut it off and separated the springs from the plywood also. The spring assembly is shot, lots of broken keepers and such, I've never seen one so beat up. I took the plywood base and modified it so I can add webbing by cutting holes and installing some braces for support. It had that nice "aged" scent you get from old wood when you cut it that the new stuff doesn't have, I love that smell! I glued and screwed the braces on so they won't be going anywhere. The braces also act to position the seat side to side and front to back. I trimmed and cleaned up the edges of the plywood as they weren't parallel or cut very cleanly, it's not 100% perfect but much better than it was. It actually fits in the seat channel now as opposed to before when it was too wide to sit all the way down on one side. I also turned it upside down for some fresh meat to fasten the cover too with tacks. I'll get some webbing and dense foam to finish the seat so I can decide on the final steering column length/wheel position. I'll have to redo the seat back also as it's lost most of the padding and one spring in particular pokes you in the upper left shoulder when you lean back.
A little seat work today... All I really want to do it install the steering wheel and gauge cluster but I need the seat in first so I can set the steering wheel position front to back based on my legs. It's not all bad, I don't mind some upholstery now and then since it's clean work. No dirt, dust, or grease... After I modified the old plywood seat base I gave it a few coats of varathane to seal it. I decided to put down a layer of jute strapping which will be followed by a layer of burlap, some foam, and the reused seat cover. I put the side to side jute straps in first, then wove the front to back straps in between those. I used tacks instead of staples. The only real special tool I used was a stretcher which I made with some nails and scrap wood. It worked good, got the straps nice and tight before I tacked them down. Took me about 2 hours to do it, could have been done in half the time but I ran out of tacks and had to hit the store. So far I've got about $16 into the seat, the foam will be the most expensive part but my wife is a coupon demon and can usually get at least 40% off anything at the fabric store, lol.
I had some time between other projects and got the seat bottom upholstered... I bought some 5" high density foam on sale at Joann's (it's on sale often, don't pay full price!) and cut it to fit the old cover. Unfortunately I cut it too small so I had to section it and glue in some pieces to get it to fill the cover. I'm no upholsterer so it was a learning experience! Took me about an hour or so to trim the foam a bit here and there, position everything, and then get it tacked down. I test fit it to make sure it would work and then finished installing the nails and trimming the excess. It turned out pretty good, it's 3" shorter than the old seat and much more comfortable. Still firm but no springs poking me in the rump. I think i've got the clearance I need for the steering wheel but if I need to drop the seat support I may do that too. My eyes are looking through the chopped windshield about 1/3 down from the top, a good spot. My eyes were level with the top frame sitting on the old seat, nobody wants that. In the roadster...
I found myself a complete 1933 rear axle and the guy even had a nice front axle so I grabbed that too... I took a trip this AM to get both axles, the seller was neat guy in his 80's who had been doing car stuff all his life. The price was right and both axles came from the same car, stored inside, and everything moves/turns. The seller had the front axle listed so I inquired if he had a rear one and got lucky.
A great project, I take my hat off to your skills, I hope I can do my front axle just as well. Greetings Harald
I had my local machine shop whip me up steering shaft adapter to convert the Model A shaft down to a mid 30's Chevy shaft end. I sent them a drawing with the specs and it turned out nice. I found a nice 33-36 standard chevy wheel which like as it's more slender than the Ford wheel and it doesn't have the lighting switches, just the horn. It's simple and looks clean. I also had them cut a small oblong hole in the center so I can use the steering lock in the '32 column support. It's there so I want it to work. Once I get the seat back done so I know where i'm sitting i'll be able to trim the steering shafts to comfort. The adapter is a press fit, i'll drill and pin it as well as weld it too so it's safe.
The Jalopy Journal
