Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Trust me, I do plenty of that too! hahahah

Thanks Tim!

Thank you! More updates happening soon. I love hunting this stuff down. Tbh I never was interested in running lakes headers on this car because I thought I wouldn't be able to find the right set. I'm really excited about these. I'm not a huge fan of the current header plug caps, so I'm going to torch cut some new ones and secure them with vintage hardware (and oversized wingnuts!)

Thanks Jeff! Diane and her crew make it happen. A top-notch place!

Thank you, Nobey. That's the goal!

Thank you for coming along for the ride. Slowly but surely we're getting there.

 

Picking up where we left off...

David's expertise really showed through on the torque tube shortening. Here you can see the fixture he made to align the pieces of the tube.
"Grab the wheels," David said. I had been looking forward to that moment for a long, long time. On went the rear wheels.

Just like that, we had a roller. We pushed it over to the corner of the shop and smiled. This is what we've been working towards since the fall.

Can you believe this is my car?

It still hasn't hit me yet.

I really like the ride height in the front. We'll be adding those three leaves back into the rear spring to give it a little more rake.

Hot rod hooligans!

 

Thank you! It's getting there and my "need to buy" list is getting shorter every day.

Very much so! And I'd say @trevorsworth is getting me fired up to find a T body for the A chassis. The problem is that I would have to street park one of them.

Thank you! I've never been more fired up about the project—and that's saying something!

Thanks! Just like the early rodders, I'm going all-out to build the best car possible.

Getting there!!

 

Those look like postcards! So good. As far as the future goes, I can't tell you because I'm not 100% sure. I have some ideas, but they're not fully developed. All I know is that I'm going to keep trying my hardest to build the best car(s) I possibly can.

 

While we're on the subject, I figured now would be a great time for a few more updates. These are in no particular order, but I feel they're worth sharing. Here we go.

Recently, I installed a "full" exhaust system. It isn't finished and, to be perfectly honest, I haven't even taken a picture of it. It's just straight pipes now, but I do have a pair of mufflers on the way. My goal is to have it in a presentable state by this weekend. That being said, it has been a ton of fun ripping around the city with the car sounding like some sort of sports car. Here's a snapshot from an evening drive to Sports Basement in the Presidio.
Why Sports Basement? Well, last weekend my friends and I went for a hike from the base of the Yosemite Valley all the way to Taft Point at the very top, and I needed to refresh my gear. It was a hell of a day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Driving through the Valley, I couldn't help but think of Ye Old Joe Barnett (TRJ #17 & 18) road tripping to Yosemite in his Model B-powered RPU in the 1950s. One thing's for sure: I'll be back there one day in my roadster.

When I got back, I took the car out for some errands. Somewhere between here and there, I stopped on my favorite street and called my brother. As we talked, I laid down on the bench seat with my feet sticking up over the side of the car. At the end of our conversation, I hopped out and sent this picture. His reply? "That's your car's natural habitat." I couldn't agree more.

 

Later in the week, I got my film back from the lab. Of all the shots, this one of @SAVAGE's coupe next to my car on the Terrace was amongst my favorites. It's hard to beat the feel of a 1968 Konica C35 with expired Ilford 400 film—it's certainly of another place and time.

Oh, and I also finally picked up the heads I bought this winter. They're an original pair of block-letter Edelbrocks from the late-'40s or early-'50s. Someone polished them back in the day and they're extremely nice. I've had my sights set on a pair of reproduction Navarros, so these may just stay in the collection for now (unless someone is looking to trade). Future plans aside, seeing this much speed equipment on my living room rug got me fired up for Version 2.0.

That's all for tonight. Stay tuned for plenty more updates in the not-so-distant future. I'll give you a hint—one includes a Model A road trip. But more on that later.

 

Hahah that's a great way to put it.

Only if you promise to drive it in the snow.

See the above comment hahah

Hahaha two hot rods sounds like a dream!

That's a great phrase. She sounds like she was super cool!

 

Sidebar 2-4: Not So Exhausting

Hot rodding means different things to different people, but for me it's all about fun. Things have been extra fun as of late, and I'm excited to finally share the latest piece of the roadster project.

What piece is that? It's the winding, bell-tipped, flex-piped, dual exhaust system that I put together as an experiment.

Initially, I wanted to weld the pieces together, but I had a big roadster road trip planned for the weekend and there wasn't enough time to make it over to Mazi Moto. So, I took the traditional route and did a no-weld special. First, I cut and bent the pipes to fit.
Next, I hit them with VHT hi-temp primer.

I played around with different ways to hang the pipes, and I eventually came up with this plan to make a single piece that hung from the spare tire mounting point. I started with a scrap piece of aluminum and cut it to shape. I drilled plently of holes and then polished it. It's hard to tell in this photo, but I painted the insides of the holes copper to match the wheels. I love this kind of stuff.

You know how it is. I also fabbed an exhaust hanger bracket off the original muffler mounting point and added another support under the crossmember. All points feature era-correct hardware and rubber washers.

 

For the final touch, I installed a pair of NOS chrome trumpet tips. They're held in place by a pair of throttle return springs, a la vintage motorcycle megaphone exhaust. Note the copper detail paint.

I made them canted and a littttle bit too long on purpose, and I couldn't be happier with the end result. It's a look that you rarely see on early Fords, but it's undoubtedly still in the traditional realm. I'd like to think it's a nod to choppers as well as Japanese Bosozoku style.

The best part? The whole setup increases performance. Compared to the baffles, it has more pull in all three gears and adds additional speed at the top end. I also plan to throw a set of shorty mufflers in the system (when I can find the right ones).

In the next installment, I'll have the tale of a hot rod road trip—and more!