Projects COE build thread - "Git r' done"

Hi Mike
I told you not to take it all apart, I think that's what I said !!!!!
Seeya
Bill

 

It's back together again and the garage has been cleaned. I just need to strap a fuel tank to the bed , hook up a rubber fuel line and I'm good to go (well, onto a trailer)

Bill, I emailed Brain to get this rollback working so he can haul my COE with his COE. Now wouldn't that be a sight running down the highway.

 

Hi Mike
That was quick work !!!!!!!!!!!!

How far away is Brian from you?
I had a great photo I was going to attach but I have forgotten how to do it on the HAMB Grrrrr
Guess I will just send it to you via email.

Bill

 

cool Project!

subscribed ...

 

nothing like a little time crunch to make one truly motivated. hope you dont lose/mispack anything in the move

 

Good luck on your move. I hope this doesn't derail you for long. if for no other reason than I like what your doing.

 

really diggin the c.o.e.'s these days

 

You DO realize that we're gonna need pictures of this, now don't you!?

 

Been gone for a bit...it feels like forever. We put the house for sale on Wednesday at noon, and had an offer at 4pm. We went back and forth over some minor negotiations for a couple of days and then the buyers bought something else today because they didn't like that I needed to change the closing time by six hours so we could get moved out. (I don't think they could really afford it) What I really want to say is that this is really a huge pain in the @$$.

As for the COE, I am going to try to get it slammed back together between house showings and hopefully also put into primer so it won't rust.

The pace and stress around here is rediculous. FYI - I also missed Frog Follies again...!!!!AHHHHHH

 

A cabover on a cabover? Who ever heard of such silliness?

 

somebody has too many toys. i prefer they give me the red one, but will take the flamed one if i have to.

 

That red one is loooooong.

 

hey kscarguy ... did you get moved?

 

I met the guy that owns/owned them a couple of years ago at the Frog Follies, maybe a little too street roddy for some, but both are very innovative and well done. Heck of a nice down to earth guy, sat and visited with him for an hour.
I think both are Cummins powered.

 

I don't believe the picture at all..he neds to prove it to me by hauling MY coe to KC ...HA!

As for the move from hell...it is going badly and am afraid I will be homless in three weeks. I've moved almost all the junk out of the basement, reserved a 26' U-Haul truck to move the furnature and junk from the house, and have a terrible mess in the garage to figure out. I plan to wipe down all the bare metal on the COE and shoot a layer of lacquer primer over everything (rust and all) to protect it from moisture. I also plan to attempt to drive it to KC if it comes down to that. I don't think it will fit on most car trailers...need 81" betweeen the fenders to get it onto the trailer.

We still have no where to live and real estate agents that don't get the car building thing. Rentals in KC are expensive and junky, almost slumish. So to say I am stressed is an understatment...Stay tuned for "More stress from the Midwest."

 

if you are looking in johnson county things are WAY overpriced. any reason you have to live there?

 

You are SOoooo right about being overpriced. It is crazy. But property taxes are much higher in Wyandotte, Miami county is so far south, Douglas to far west and Kansas City Missouri takes 1% of your income just for living there. That seems to leave just Johnson or Leavenworth counties. ugh.

 

After a marathon sanding and priming session, I got my sub-frame de-rusted and painted. What a big, nasty, dirty job...makes me cring to think of all the work ahead to finish the bed.

 

there is always the outskirts of kc mo.
platte county is ideal. in my opinion, anyway.
if ya are ok storing the cabover outside i'm sure i can find a place for it around here. i'm in excelsior springs

 

I have been attempting to put my COE together to make the move/drive across Missouri. My goal was to get all the bare metal into lacquer primer. All was going well until today when I ran into a primer adhesion issue. I think I corrupted my thinner as the primer would not stick and simply flaked off, even after sanding, wiping with wax and grease remover and wiping with thinner and making numerous attempts to spray parts.


It worked just fine the other day, so my only thoughts were bad thinner, or moisture/oil through the hose. I put a new in-line filter on the spray gun, but still had issues. I tried rattle can primer and it worked fine. At this point I am simply running out of time so it will have to be assembled in bare metal after all.


I did get one box completly primed and one fuel tank installed so it is now driveable. I also bolted my frame plates to the chassis just for the trip. They will be welded later when I get a chance. I drilled and tapped holes in the boxed areas of the frame.

I keep trying to move some of the big and dirty stuff to my storage locker in KC, but every time I think I am done with a large tool, I need it again. So much is in the fabrication stage, but it all needs to be bolted together solid for the move.


I think the doors to the storage boxes will just be held on with rachet straps. Not really time to build the inner door frames to mount them to the hinges, but who knows...

If you are driving on I-70 and see COE parts on the side of the road, they are mine...!

 

Latest update...my mad dash to make it roadworthy for the move.

1. Truck looks weird with the front bumper on it.
2. Discovered I have two different wiper motors (90 degree and 110 degree sweeps)
3. FIxed my cooling fan issue (loose wire that I pushed back into the stock switch and then I broke the switch) New switch, repaired fan.
4. No way I will get it all into primer so it is going to travel naked.
5. Fighting with windshield hinges in an attempt to get them to align and close.
6. Legal ... licensed and insured (with the extra towing insurance for good measure)
7. Bought Lokar emergency brake cables...not looking forward to getting them installed onto the dually rear end.
8. Door glass and handles installed. Back glass still not in it.

9. Hears the kicker...Kris may have to drive it, as I drive the 26' moving truck and trailer. SHE can deal with the wind noise, lack of window seals, no heat or a/c....HA!!!!! (It does have a good stereo though). Hmmm wonder if ther gas gauge works?

 

...let me just say "ah crap!!!" Nothing is working or coming together today. The Lokar cables won't fit the 14 bolt rear end. The knurled adapter for the new wiper arms stripped the cheapy allen screw and is stuck on the shaft, the new wiper arms are 1 1/2" too short. The other longer wiper stuff the local hotrod shop has that might fit is the cheapy stuff and I already they don't have the right length wiper blade. This "hurry up and bolt it together stuff" is a real pain.

I did get 4 years of dirt wiped off the roof...so at least I have that goin' for me.

 

DROVE It...!


Have three quirks to deal with.


1. Starter would not crank with the key after it was driven. Used a think piece of metal to jump the lugs and it cranked. After that it cranked with key again. I measured the voltage on the starter wire and it was about 9.8 volts...any ideas? Thinking of using a relay to prevent voltage drop.


2. Water dripping from overflow hose. I run two radiator caps, 19 pound on the radiator and 15 pound on the engine. No overflow tank at this point. Do I need a higher pound cap on the engine and radiator? Do I need an overflow tank?


3. Brake pedal is touchy at first, and then drops to a normal feel. Used a 3/8" hard line to plumb it. Wonder if I need a reserve tank?

 

Don't know on the starter, get a good push button and bypass your key swtch.

Yeah, you need an overflow, or let some run out on the ground. Without an overflow tank, you need some air space in your system.

3/8 hard line? Are the brakes grabby like when you let a vehicle sit and the discs get rusty? Maybe they need to be run in a little.

If Kris has to drive it, keep her in front where you can watch her and the truck. (Wobbling wheels, low tires, smoke, parts falling off, etc)

 

Strapped an universal fit overflow tank to the frame rails. It's not big, but it is the best I can fit in there for now. My lower pressure cap was actually 13 pounds so I swapped it for a 16 pound one.

I was thinking that perhaps the reason the voltage was low was because the fcooling an was running at the same time and drawing a lot of current. I bought a new solenoid to try and I am also contemplating putting a relay in to trigger the starter rather than running the power through 20 feet of wire (from the battery cable to the ignition switch and then back to the starter.)

Brakes..well they work ok, but that first touch of the pedal does seem quite grabby.

 

Truck is looking badass

 

Things were going good until I tested it on the highway. When I got home, I found oil all over the back of the truck. With a little digging, I discovered the timing cover seal around the harmonic balancer was leaking. I have a chrome cover on the 400 SBC, and the seal was sticking out 1/8". I removed the seal, cleaned it it good with thinner and then installed the new sealer using hardening type sealer. I hope that acts like glue and keeps the seal in place. I really don't want to change the timing cover right now.

I also noticed a lot of wind noise. At 40 mph the noise gets loud, at 55 it is exteme. Is this the way all 38-47 Ford COE's are? I was wondering if the noise is being caused by my wiper blades? I don't have the window seals on it. I was thinking of taping over the cracks, but I noticed the wind noise is less with the windows open, even at speed.

 

Do you have door seals? I found my 36 GMC to be the same way till I made door seals.

 

Wipers won't cause THAT much noise. I'd imagine a COE could be noisier than a similar era car, but not significantly.

Wind/road noise is going to be bad until gaps are sealed and the cab is well insulated. Look for the thread on Peel and Seal. It's cheap and the results seem to be very good.

My '27 T Roadster build:  http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

What daddio211 said! If you don't have the right seals, go to a building center, (menards, lowes, home depot) and get cheap foam weather stripping and duct tape it into the door jambs and duct tape around any windows that you don't have to open, throw a piece of scrap carpet on the floor. It will all help.

KC, I don't know what your experience with older vehicles is, but they will always have more wind noise than modern vehicles because of aerodynamics