Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Sometimes things just come together!

Hahahah we used to watch the Waltons all the time when I was a kid. I can totally see where he was coming from!

 

We're rolling into a jam-packed week, but I figured I'd post a progress photo from over the weekend.
I can't stop thinking about it. Full update happening soon.

 

Hahah that's how you know it's of the era! I'll have to take some black and white pictures of it again.

 

Thank you! I keep on going back to the pictures and smiling. David sent me this shot from the shop this morning. My reply? "The gang's all here!"

That's the plan, Tim. Hopefully I'll have a lot of the kinks worked out by then.

Thank you!

Thanks! Just taking things one step at a time.

 

I just finished writing a feature article for print that I'm extremely excited about, so I figure I better strike while the iron is hot. Let's dive into a roadster update.

Last Saturday, I had two distinct projects in mind. First, I planned to re-install the radiator, grille and headlight bar. Second, I would focus my attention to the pedals.

Just like on Version 1.5, I wanted to make rubber gaskets for the headlight bar. I cut pieces of reddish rubber to shape at home and drilled holes. When I showed them to David, he suggested that I hit them with his hole punch. Note the wood block backing. "You have a tool for every job," I said.

When I put the headlight bar into place, I could immediately sense something wasn't right. "What changed?" I asked myself. The answer? Nothing. The more I looked, the more I realized the headlights were way too far forward. I hadn't picked up on that last time.

Undeterred, I reconfigured everything and drilled two more holes in the frame.

This puts the headlight bar in line with the shocks and tucks it closer to the grille. Coincidentally, the base of the bar is in a nearly identical position on Version 1.5 and 2.0.

Once everything was in position, I couldn't help but grab an old step stool and jump behind the wheel. David handed me a banjo wheel and I was off to the races. This was the first time in a long time I've sat in the car. Talk about an exciting moment.

Getting a feel for things.

Imagining pedal and steering column placement—and dreaming of watching this wheel roll as I drive down the road.

A friendly reminder from @Lucky Burton. I love that it says that my lucky day is Saturday.

 

Sidebar 10.15: Leveling Up

Right before lunch, I started cleaning up tools. As I did, I kept on looking at the chassis sitting in front of the shop. There was no doubt about it: things are really coming together. I felt confident in the work David and I had done thus far, and everything looked good to the eye. Yet, for whatever reason, I felt the need to test it one more time. I walked into the shop and grabbed a bubble level. I set it on the headlight bar and took a deep breath.

It was almost perfectly level.

Back when David was building bicycle frames, Bruce Gordon told prospective employees that if they couldn't see a 90 degree angle, they should just pack up their things and go home. From day one, David saw the right angle. He went on to work with Bruce for more than a decade.

When I saw that level, I felt a sense of relief—and I thought about David and that story. I thought about all the pieces that had to work in concert to make that happen. Wheels, tires, spindles, front axle, shackles, spring, U-bolts, headlight bar, frame and more. These are all things we had our hands on to get this far.

As we sat down at our card table for lunch, I told David about our success. "That's what happens when you do things the right way," he said. "Now take off that level. It's blocking our view."

 

Next, I started working on the pedals. After consulting Vern's book, we decided that the '39 pedals would be the way to go. David gave me a few pointers on the disassembly process.

Off with the old master cylinder.

Then I ground down the head of the pin and drove it out with a punch. Much to my surprise, it slid out easily.

Then I soaked the pedal assembly and drove out the main shaft with a brass drift.

Once I had all the pieces on the faux wood paneled table, I was able to inspect them.

A new shaft and bushings are on their way.

I then made a template for the plate that will be added to the K-member. I'll be cutting this out of 10 gauge next time I'm at the shop, and David is going to show me the best way to get everything mounted.

 

As the day wound down, I rolled the chassis out towards the middle of the lot for a mini photo shoot. The lighting was good, and it's never been more complete.

For me, this was huge. You guys know how much time and effort we have in this chassis. You've been here every step of the way. I know we're far from finished, but it felt really good to take a step back and see it on all four wheels outside of the shop.

Oh, this reminds me that I still need to clean up those headlight stand pads!

So there you have it. I left the shop feeling great. I'm excited to jump back in next time I'm there and keep trucking on the pedals.

That's all for tonight!

 

Hahaha I can imagine the line drawings in the ad right now.

Thank you! You're totally right about the asking where the rest of the car is. It reminds of me of one of my favorite quotes, "It's simple to make something difficult, and it's difficult to make something simple."

Thank you, Nick!

Nick, you make a good point. By jumping up and down on the front frame horns, I was able to get them to touch a little bit. David and I plan to un-drop the tie rod ends a little bit and then narrow the tie rod some more. I think the Speedway ends are forged, but they kind of look cast to me? If that's the case, we'll have to find another solution.

What a great way to put it!

 

On Friday, I made the trip down to LA for Pat Ganahl's Celebration of Life. The whole thing was incredible. So many familiar faces from hot rodding's history books. Pat's son, Bill, and wife, Anna, shared some powerful words about him. He really was a huge inspiration for hot rodders worldwide.

I usually have a lot to say about hot rod happenings, but I feel like this isn't the time. I may share more later, or I may not.

 

The week before I left was a busy one. On Wednesday night, my friend Erik dove into Part I of a two part photo shoot on Version 1.5 of the roadster. With any luck, you'll be seeing the rest of the set soon.
As someone who takes photos for a living, it was interesting (and fun) to be on the other side of the camera.

The following morning, I hopped in the truck and drove up to Petaluma to make more headway on Version 2.0.

It all started with helping David with some things around the shop, including a final brake bleed on his customer's 1935 Ford pickup.

I then focused my attention to my pedals. Since the mounting points on the '39 pedals and the stock Deuce K-member don't align all that well, David recommended that I made a new plate out 10 gauge to weld into position. Clamping it in place and getting a feel for the general positioning.
The sun was out, so we decided to stop at a local park for a leisure lunch. It was refreshing to be out in the roadster and relaxing among the trees.
When we got back, we had a clear goal in mind: remove that piece of the K-member. We debated whether or not to use a cutoff wheel, and I opted for using the oxy/acetylene torch. After spending a whole lot of time removing the rear frame rails with the former, I figured this would be the more efficient route.

David gave me a few pieces of metal to practice on. After about 15 minutes, I realized I was as ready as I was ever going to be. I donned my shade 5 glasses, slipped on some gloves and started cutting.

As the torch hissed, I worked to follow the soapstone line. A couple minutes later, I pulled the old section out. Next time, I'll be cleaning up the perimeter and tacking the new plate in place.

Thursday was one of those days where I felt like I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to. But as I look back, I remind myself that I'm moving closer towards my goal every time I'm at the shop. My pedal pads, cross-shaft and bushings just showed up in my mailbox today, so we should be able to make some big progress next time I'm there.

Once the pedals are finished, we're going to focus on steering, brakes and firing the engine. One day at a time!

 

Thanks! He usually keeps it on there. If I recall correctly it does fold, but if it's down he takes it completely off.