So my lady and I recently purchased a 28' roadster on a 32' frame. SBC 350, T-10 4 speed with a 57' chevy rear end. Drove the car about 25 miles and issues started. First the linkage on the tri power was acting up. Then the front Holley 2100 or 94 was puking fuel into the motor. Rebuilt all 3 carbs with Speedway kits. Had fuel flood the motor 3 times and changed the oil. I changed the Holley red pump to an Edelbrock pump. Wanted to run a mechanical pump off the motor but the lower radiator hose won't let me. I had the carb tops off and set and reset the float to still have some fuel issues. I cleaned the needles and seats with 90% rubbing alcohol and it seemed to help. Then after getting that straightened out the old coil went bad and smoked the points. I was reading 12 volts on both + and - side of the coil. Bought a Pertronix kit and the proper ohm'd coil. Not sure of the brand of dizzy but with the magnetic wheel attached to the underside of the mechanical advance the pickup would not clear the mag wheel and attach to the points plate. Friday we went to Lane Automotive in Michigan and purchased a Pertronix flame thrower dizzy, Edelbrock intake and carb. Today I will install it all and see what happens. I will shelf the tri power for now until I can find the info and proper parts needed to make it all work properly. The roadster in it's current condition was built back in the early 60's according to the guy we bought it from. For now with the new carb and intake we just want to enjoy the car for the rest of the summer.
It is not a 1928 A roadster body. It is a (gl***?) 32 body that's been shortened and possibly narrowed. If it really was built in the early 60's I guess it would be steel. The frame has been whacked off at the front and a suicide arrangement put there. Fuel pressure regulator? (Yes, on the firewall. Setting?) If an old car - or not so old - I'd be suspect of the whole wiring. Time for a thorough inspection and possible replacement. Who knows what hackery has gone on over the years. With the body channeled the full frame width and steering box where it seems to be, the rear exhaust ports are probably right on top of it. Headers inside the frame would be tricky as a result.
The 94s won't tolerate much more than 3 psi fuel pressure. The Holley red pump you had is about 7 psi, so is there a regulator in the system? Not necessarily part of your current issue, but be aware that the new Holley power valves don't fit correctly in the old 94s. But it sounds like it's on the shelf for now.
It is a steel 28' body on the 32' frame. Yes forgot to mention there is a fuel pressure regulator. The wiring is going to be removed this winter and a new harness will be installed. It is a bird nest up under the dash. I'm also going to install a 65' mustang fuel tank as I was told it will fit between the rear frame rails. It will also give me a sending unit and more fuel capacity. Also need to replace some of the front end bushings. I spent the last 5 years doing a frame off restomod on my 65' Chevelle SS. So all this is not new to me other than the tri power. When I rebuilt the carbs only the center carb got a new power valve.
It's ***led as a 28' and has been since the 60's. If it's not a 28' steel body then what do we have X38?
Ok it's what we were told by the seller. Like the small bump in the frame in front of the body is there something I can look for on the body that tells me it's a 32' body? We want to learn and know all we can about the old iron.
You didn't specifically ask the question or make comment on this...but be prepared, when going over bumps, the car is likely going to dart from side to side if you hold the steering wheel firmly...alternately, you can hold the steering wheel with a relaxed wrist to allow the steering wheel to move while the car tracks straight(ish). The reason for this has to do with the geometry in your front suspension/steering box/pitman arm/drag link. Welcome to the world of hot rods. They can be made to drive and behave very well...but it will take some learning, re-engineering, and often some "do-overs"
12 volts on both the coil + and - terminal only means that either the points are open, or the circuit to the points has an open circuit. It doesn't indicate a bad coil on it's own. You won't see a voltage drop across a coil unless you have a complete circuit and current is flowing.
Just look at pictures of '32 roadsters and compare them with the '28-'29 roadsters. They look different. The '32 looks different than all the others.
Mine is a 29, but is the same Where the cowl meets the A pillar there is a step 32s have a smooth transition also the doors on a model A overlap the aft door jamb 32s fit the door jamb
I fought a Tri Power built by Charley in Florida for about 2 years did everything suggested above and when I sold the truck to a man in England I included a new Edelbrock carb and intake. About 6 months after he got the truck he e-mailed me and said the 3 deuce setup looked really nice sitting on the shelf in his shop. I'd check Tanks Inc for a trunk mounted tank they have several. I've used them with great success. As said above, leave the Mustang tank to a Mustang.
fried points might mean there is no ballast resistor. and just a friendly fyi, the apostrophe goes on the end of the word that is shortened, ie: '32 = 1932 whereas 28' = 28 feet
thats a '32 body...what a cool car if it is a steel body ...have a look into whether or not youre able to do a simple change at the DMV like maybe it was printing error...a steel '32 is a lot more valuable than any Model A...it might be opening up a can of worms though...enjoy as is then pursue that when you're ready to sell
Ok even better it's a steel '32...channelled for sure...but why are some members saying it looks shortened?
Your car was shortened just after the doors. I just measured my Deuce roadster and the measurement from the door to the wheel well should be around 17". Yours looks more like 6".
Yeah! That's ********! Who in there right mind would cut up a damn car and modify it!! And then put a damn Chevy engine in it!! Damn travesty
Wow! A steel 32 roadster for model a budget! That is awesome. I would enjoy it all summer, and stretch it back out next winter. That car is worth a small fortune, put back to full length.
A lot going on here, but yes, that's a '32 body, and even if it's been cut up, that's a HUGE bonus over what you thought it was. The bad part is it's ***led as a '28, and there is no part of that car that is from 1928. I also agree that the steering geometry is ****ed, that car is going to be hard to control on anything but a very smooth road. That front axle/spring mount is pretty brutal looking, too. Personally I'd replace the front 2 feet of frame with proper frame horns and a crossmember that will line the front axle up underneath the radiator instead of in front of it, and I'd probably move the engine to match and lengthen that body back to stock length. There's not a lot that I wouldn't change, just to feel comfortable driving it, I don't like the looks of the re-engineering that's been done. That said, a real original steel '32 roadster is the absolute holy grail of hotrodding, and if you bought it for Model A prices, you scored in a major way. It would be well worth the effort and expense to rework this car a bit, and I think you'll be happy you did in the end.
@pantodd74 , time to play a game of foresnic archeaology. What's the vin# on your ***le. It might give us a clue to what the builder was thinking when he called it a 1928 roadster. 20's,30's and 40's Fords were registered with the engine number. When produced the engines were ***igned a serial number, when they were married to a ch***is the engine serial number was stamped in the frame. Usually in 3 places. On '32 they were stamped in front of the firewall on the top of the frame on the drivers side, approximatly where the drivers seat would be and on the kickup over the rearend. There were no serial numbers afixed to the bodies. 1932 V8 models serial number starts with a star and 18-001. Four cylinder models continued the number sequence from the model A, which started about B 5,000,000. 1928 numbers started A-001 thru about A 810,000. If your ***le number falls within the '28 Model A numbers, then we can surmize that the builder had a '28 ***le on hand and the DMV went along with it. Over the last 60 years there has been a lot of different methods by different states to ***le a hot rod.
So I installed the new intake, carb and dizzy. The motor came back to life and put big *** smiles on our faces. It drives better than the tri power ever did. I'm familiar with Tanks.inc as I have their tank for my 65 chevelle. As far as the VIN it's a builders tag #280546 attached to the drivers door frame. There is alot of stuff going on a list to take care of over the winter besides finishing my chevelle for next year.
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