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Hot Rods Nature Abhors a Vacuum, Or, The Hemi A Roadster fills a void.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by flynbrian48, Jul 18, 2020.

  1. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    The body is PARTLY steel...;) I should be all elitist about it, considering people now think "Original Henry steel Model A's are priceless.
     
  2. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Picking away a couple hours at a time on the roadster wiring. Wires pulled front to rear, harnessed up and clamped. I've got what looks like a tangled mess behind the instrument cluster, but that's how it was done in '52, so it's traditional. ;) I'm not sure about those in-line breakers, they may get tossed in favor of a fuse panel, but you know, spade fuses aren't traditional... 3411DE79-DFEC-4337-B898-1333EB78F251.jpeg E29867E8-71DC-4EFE-9AA8-8569F6EE2ACA.jpeg
     

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  3. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    I have quite a bit of original braided cover wiring left over (I used all new), so it's available. Don't low ball me, I know what I've got... BB8D1C81-F547-4B4D-8335-61ADECAF31D6.jpeg
     
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  4. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    When I dropped the steering arms, I'd gotten them a little too low, and the angle of the tie rod bosses wasn't "flat" or parallel to the ground. In addition, because of the latter, the tie rods ended up just past the scrub line. So, today I got busy and finessed them a little. Tipped the ends up a few degrees, which puts the boss level, and brings the tie rod ends up just enough to be above the scrub line. Not by much, but a miss is a good as a mile.
    I had to grind the chrome off the king pin boss of the Super Bell axle top and bottom on both sides, as the spindle would NOT go on with the thrust bearing in. Did with the flapper wheel on my 4/5" grinder, and dressed them with a bastard file. On the right, no shims needed, but I must have gotten a little carried away on the left, it needed two shims to get to .005 clearance.
    Nice and tight now, and I can get some more chrome 1/2" bolts for the backing plates, get the new front tires on the Daytons and get the thing back on the ground.
    Oh, I also discovered while under the car yesterday figuring out how to put a brake light switch in, that I'd not put a bolt in the trans mount. Duh. I gotta get a white board and start writing stuff down, and stop "mocking up" components. I have a buddy who was a NASCAR crew chief, they NEVER mocked up anything. Every fastener got torqued down, even during mock up, to prevent bone headed mistakes.
    I need to up my game. I found this, the bolts on the rear radius rod brackets weren't tight, and in the past I've left shock mounts and other important stuff just barely finger tight. Which leads to interesting clunking noises to chase down. Or worse... 89FCC897-E76C-48A2-9865-952D41E4B27C.jpeg 0D5A4162-92E7-4DD4-A1D3-353327152E8B.jpeg C0054CCD-DCBC-4201-AC45-9DFDBF36412F.jpeg C357C87A-027E-4ACF-BF2C-6F97114CF4F2.jpeg 09312AB9-91B4-4901-B754-3F0B22F128DA.jpeg 9F742CBA-C466-496B-8D97-4ACCF27C6971.jpeg
     
  5. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Big progress today! Went to a driveline shop and got a yoke for the TH350, measured everything up, the driveshaft will be DONE tomorrow! I am excited!
    The front end is going together permanently (I'm checking things off the list I put on the cabinet door!), although there was a little hiccup. When I took the bearings out of the hubs to clean them, I noticed the race on the inner spun in the hub like it WAS the bearing. I "knurled" it with a pick punch and ball peen hammer. I was gonna clean and repack the bearings, but found the outer had a couple of pitted rollers, and was kinda bummed that I'd have to order bearings and seals, but thought, "Seems like I already got them", and sure enough, in a baggie in the box parts were a complete rebuild kit for the front hubs!
    Sometimes I plan ahead...
    I had a momentary brain fade event when I couldn't remember if I had the brakes on the correct side of the car. Should the adjuster bars face rearward, as I have them, or forward? Several of my hot rodder buddies said I had 'em right, although I'm missing the return spring on the right front. A trip to the hardware store should get one close enough.
    True to my usual form, I was at O'Rielley's twice and forgot to get a brake light switch both times. Oh well, I'll be going by again tomorrow. I did remember two get a shorter generator belt, shortened the adjustment arm a couple inches and got the generator (really an alternator) tucked in behind the hood line. It's all looking good! D9F3F03B-B03D-4A4B-A544-5B0271729F7A.jpeg B23FD35C-0B50-4913-A8E9-F34FA5AF84DE.jpeg FB5AAAEA-2BAB-48F9-8FF5-3931A1139DED.jpeg 315CB4ED-0D8E-424E-B391-D0C5F6184171.jpeg
     
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  6. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 25,795

    Roothawg
    Member

    Looking good. I think a set of aluminum slots would be the ticket......
     
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  7. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 15,112

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    SLOT! :eek:
     
  8. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Oh sure, a THIRD set of wheels and tires...:p
     
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  9. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 25,795

    Roothawg
    Member

    Like a woman and her purses.....
     
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  10. Women & cars need several sets of shoes-- formal, casual, athletic, etc.:)
     
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  11. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    More stuff! I need to get this stuff on the car so I have room on the make-shift table... 0784B089-F7F9-4D62-B35B-8E542759335E.jpeg 265D07BA-58DC-4108-AD41-ABF5FFD56860.jpeg BC609F67-97A5-4C77-A1B7-62A6C8A03E63.jpeg
     
  12. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    I'm down to the fiddly little chores that takes all day and I can't see much progress, but they have to be done. Todays project (of course involving a trip to the auto parts store and hardware store) was getting the horn relay wired, mounting the big trumpet horns under the floor behind the rear end, testing the headlight, parking, turn and taillights, getting a speedometer cable and finishing up the radiator hoses. Everything works as it should, so I can put the gauge panel in for good and start tidying up the harness under the dash and finishing up the wiring details. Maybe tomorrow I can hook up a battery and see if it'll start. That'd be fun! 271EB80C-2703-4F86-A589-598C494CFC1A.jpeg 254DFE7E-D620-4EC4-996A-CDB305577E5F.jpeg 6E94C296-B261-4912-8BA0-5A153A3B0D80.jpeg 30481DCC-AC15-479E-A937-9FCC44E740AB.jpeg
     
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  13. foolthrottle
    Joined: Oct 14, 2005
    Posts: 1,541

    foolthrottle
    Member

    That thing is nice!
     
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  14. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Got the gauge panel wired, all the gauges hooked up, speedo hooked up, panel mounted. Tomorrow the blinker switch gets wired in, brake light switch in, and maybe, just maybe, get a battery and fire this bad boy up. (Maybe you can't tell, but I really, REALLY like this dashboard...) 316E3C18-D849-441A-B65D-6C31EB7E3436.jpeg 75A21958-32EA-4338-A434-35FD4505689B.jpeg 86355F4A-1BD6-4209-B77F-3B52E03A4485.jpeg 266C9AAE-9518-4CB0-8970-62D083971CD7.jpeg
     
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  15. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 15,112

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I like that dash as well Brian. Not being the same as everyone else is a good thing and it works well on this roadster. let's hear it roar.
     
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  16. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Look Ma! No more dangling wires! I'm not DONE, as I still have to connect the heater fan to what used to be the wiper switch, connect the headlights and park lights to some little connector bars (that I forgot to buy the other day), and connect the taillights. But, I'm damn close. Next up, go get a battery, some cables and few other little trinket things, and I'll be able to see if it'll start. It had better at this point. I had it fired in the wagon 2.5 years ago when I brought the car home, so it should light right up. 9880E703-8E92-4ACB-B1BF-D253AAE79AB7.jpeg 9880E703-8E92-4ACB-B1BF-D253AAE79AB7.jpeg 36E1C668-AF4C-4715-B8C5-815FD6D48F85.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2022
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  17. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 19,580

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    What are the horn covers floating around in the dash going to be used for?
     
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  18. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    They're going to be defroster vents. I've got a heater/defroster on the firewall behind the dash, there will be vent tubes going to those '36 Ford horn grills, and one to a Southwind heater housing for floor heat. I'm going to get heated seat inserts as well, should be pretty comfy on autumn days.
     
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  19. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 19,580

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    That was my guess but when I saw them move I got curious. I love those things I’ve seen them used for dozen different purposes and dug them all
     
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  20. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Two steps forward, one back. I went to the hardware store and bought some little compression springs and two stainless bolts to mount the radiator to the crossmember. I'd dusted it with self-etch primer and satin black to cover the shiny aluminum, and felt pretty good about how it looked painted and permanently mounted. Just for fun, I rolled the engine over, and heard a VERY ominous, rythmic "clunk-clunk".

    The radiator has trans cooler bosses in the bottom tank that I didn't use because the engine has a cooler on the front of the timing cover, and lines would interfere with the fan. Turns out, with the slotted holes in the front crossmember to mount the radiator, it could, and did, slide back far enough that the fan just barely touched those bosses. The quick and dirty solution was a couple of tabs bolted to the radiators feet (which over hang the crossmember at the front by half an inch) that keep the radiator from sliding back in those slotted holes. Painted black and wrapped with some friction tape where they touch the crossmember to pad them the radiator stays where it should and the fan can't hit the radiator.

    Then I connected the headlights to the harness with a terminal strip mounted to the grill shell where the hood lace goes, and when I was done just the right one came on. Because the right side feeds from the left side terminals, and the park lamps and turn signals work, there had to be s simple solution, right?

    There was, the plug on the bulb in the housing pulled off, probably manipulating the wiring to tuck it all in the radiator shell. Once again, to simple projects that I though would take an hour took all afternoon. Not counting two trips to the hardware store and one to a NAPA store, but it's coming together. 092D5110-591B-49A9-8C42-6B61C9D2A4C8.jpeg
     
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  21. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 19,580

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    This shits so tedious lol. Thanks for the update
     
  22. GordonC
    Joined: Mar 6, 2006
    Posts: 3,456

    GordonC
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Keep at er Brian! You are on the home stretch!
     
  23. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    How slow am I anyway? I had the wiring run 4 days ago, just today got both headlights to light. In my defense, we went to Shipsewana in northern Indiana yesterday to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Blue Gate. We stayed in the hotel, had a GREAT time. Did some antiquing on the way home and hit a couple of Indiana liquor stores for our favorite distillery, "Hard Truth" in Brown County.
    Got home around 3:30 and I went out to the shop and started diagnosing why the left headlight wouldn't work, as I left it on Wednesday.
    Turned out, as it came to me as we were driving down, that the plug may have come off the bulb in the bucket. Sure enough, that's what it was, it had just come off. I plugged it back in, got the terminal strips all mounted to the grill shell, and feel good.
    On the down side, some a-hole did a lane change in Kalamazoo right into the side of my wife's 300C, mangling the left front fender and door. And then drove off, after saying he "...would rather not involve the police..." So, he'll be involved with the police now...

    0C8ED4EA-B6EC-4AD4-B891-EC2F77BA7D9B.jpeg
     
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  24. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 15,112

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    “Brown county” made me laugh buddy. My friends refer to me as the “Mayor of Brown Town”. Brown county sounds like my kind of place! Brown is my fave liquor
     
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  25. rockable
    Joined: Dec 21, 2009
    Posts: 4,935

    rockable
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A lot of drivers suck these days. I had a similar experience last year when a 300C lane changed and hit my Plymouth. The bastard kept going. It's probably good we didn't get face to face. Anyway, Hagerty took care of me.
     
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  26. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

  27. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 15,112

    Bandit Billy
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    Far out man! Like crazy cool cat. Looking forward to some road footage! Good work buddy
     
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  28. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Today I spent more time looking for stuff I know I have than I did doing anything. A couple feet of 5/16" fuel line for starters. I got heater hoses hooked up to the under-dash heater/defroster, put a ballast resistor in the feed to the coil, and got the new tube (it had been pinched by another tire shop mounting a tire) in the tire for the left front. That lead to a perplexing problem, the 1" wheel adaptor to enable the 15" wheels to clear the Buick drums and mate the small Ford bolt pattern in the hubs to the Chevy pattern on the knock off doesn't clear the step on the left front hub.
    Huh? The one on the left side, on the Buick drum, clears the center hole in the adaptor, the one on the left does not. I guess now I need to have someone chuck it (the adaptor) in a lathe and cut a step to clear the lip.
    And, true to form, I discovered I'd switched the right and left brake light feeds, so they worked opposite. That was easy but time consuming.
    Next up is to get a fuel filler for the Crafty B cap to the tank in the trunk, and I can start it and let it run.
     
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  29. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 15,112

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Craft B makes fine of my favorite bits. Stay on her, you will be driving it in no time.
     
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  30. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,636

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Today called my pal Kirk Brown (aka "Crafty B") to see if he could turn the flange on the left front hub down to clear the wheel adaptor. "Sure, bring it on over! My lathe is all apart but it's time to get it back together!", he said, so off I went to the wilds of Cedar Creek, MI.
    After a quick tour of their new digs he chucked it up in the lathe and made quick work of turning the offending shoulder down. Oddly, the hub on the right side is completely different, having no shoulder on the center of the hub flange like the left one, and no evidence it had been machined off. Both have had the ribs machined off to fit flush on the outside of the Buick drums, but that's on the back.
    Anyway, I was excited to get home and get the wheel back on for good. I mounted the (sort of street-roddish) polished stainless FA8FE296-C1EB-4E03-A98C-C15C3B35656F.jpeg D3EEA1A4-3F31-43A3-9FE4-97B566BDCE75.jpeg A0E92606-6FA1-4EFD-8904-78331A7088BF.jpeg 1C635A00-21E3-489E-A187-CF2B6659EEBE.jpeg DE6389F3-8213-469E-99CE-97851ECCF76D.jpeg coolant recovery tank on the grill shell, and was aggravated I initially drilled mounting holes in the wrong spot, placing it too high up. On the bright side, hood lacing will cover them up, so, I guess it's all OK. It's close, but hood sides (if I ever get around to make them) will clear.
    I made a gas tank filler tube from a chunk of a 2 1/2" bend section left over from the exhaust, mated with a reducer to neck it down to 2" to meet the Crafty B gas cap, and will have that all finished up after the section of 2.5" rubber line I need to mate it to the tank gets here from NAPA tomorrow
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2022

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