Projects Shade tree Model A speedster kind of thing

So cool. Yes, certainly motivation to keep going!

 

Thanks, man. For those who haven't been following from the beginning, maybe I should describe this engine. It's the 1928 mill that belongs with this frame. Still got what I assume is the original babbitt on the mains and big ends, although after I checked it using that tinfoil method I had to remove almost all of the shims. Has a "police" head, Brierley C camshaft, valve spring shims, self-locking adjustable lifters, and new rings. Model B distributor. The carburetors are SU H6's (1 3/4" throats) with trial-and-error modified tapers on the needles. That's a homemade conduit manifold. The exhaust manifolds are the ass-ends of two stock Model A ones with the front ports cut off and plates brazed over the resultant gaping holes. It's a mid-year 1928 car, so it has the multi-plate clutch. I had our local machine shop remove about 15 pounds from the flywheel. I don't have any idea what the numbers are, but it seems plenty peppy to me.



As far as the brakes, I'll fine tune those with the old school skidding on dirt method. Just get going good in 2nd and slam on the brakes. Examine the skid marks and adjust accordingly. I had the original brakes set so that the fronts left tracks about twice as long and the backs, all even from side to side, and I was real happy with how it stopped on pavement. Hardly pulled at all, and never tried to swap ends on me. I can't see how the cables should really change things there. It's all about getting the lengths even and then using the shoe adjusters to finesse it all. I'm not stressing on it at this point, though. I feel now like they should turn out OK.

 

Thanks for the details on the engine, clutch, brakes and your method of adjusting those brakes. When I was 19 and bought my first car, a '29 A standard coupe, I drove it home through rush hour traffic and along the way lost two of the brake clevis pins, broke one brake rod and was relying on just one functioning right rear brake and the E-brake to stop or slow it. At one point I had to stand on the brake pedal and yank the E-brake so hard to avoid a nasty rear-end crash that I smoked the right rear tire - I mean BILLOWS of smoke! Scared the hell out of me and the guy in front of me who I narrowly avoided slamming into. When I got it home and tried to park it on our driveway, I pulled the E-brake again to lock it down and the pin fell out of the clevis - broken cotter pin. Finally got it stopped and waited for my dad to find a large enough concrete block to put in front of the wheel to keep it from rolling into the next yard.
I recognized those carburetors from the '64 Jaguar XK-E I briefly owned three years later. Horrible car! Sure wish I still had that '29 A coupe. Ran great after I worked on it.
Keep up the great work and keep us posted.

 

What a good story, @osage organge. I guess that's maybe the main advantage of mechanical brakes, the way they are independently operated. Hydraulic failure would have left you nothing but the emergency brakes, and those thin little Model A bands might have let you down for real. Still, trying to stop with just one skinny tire, though...

I'm on to the front part of the floorboards. First, had to heat and bend the clutch and brake pedals again to give me as much room on the outside as possible.



They are pretty close together, but work for yard driving. I don't anticipate any speed shifts in this thing, so I should be able to plant my clutch foot pretty deliberately. As far as braking goes, the clutch travels much farther than the brake, and that helps get my left foot out of the way. If it proves to be a problem, I'll just have to address it. I'm planning on rigging up the hand brake, which will work on all four wheels on this rig, so that should also help in emergencies.

Next was the familiar mark/cut/adjust/cut/repeat fitting process. Masonite Assisted Design. Haha. I did the driver's side first because it was the most involved. See that white-ish blob on the firewall? Epoxy doesn't like heat. Momentary lapse while bending those pedals. I can fix it.



These are just the patterns. I can finesse that shift tower cut-out on the real thing. Passenger's side was easier.



I am going to have to move the battery. I'm planning on a recess in the driver's side floorboard to drop my heels down a couple of inches, and the stock battery location interferes with that. Also, since the car is so much lower, it just seems prudent to get it out of there. I'm thinking of putting it behind the seats. It's about the only option.



That means it will be sharing space with the gas tank, but I think if I put a bulkhead between them so I don't have to worry about spills when I'm fueling up, It should be OK. I can also put the battery in a box. I guess I could always spring for one of those tiny, expensive lithium jobs?



That's the recycled air tank from the original build. It ended up about 30 feet down the road after the wreck, still full of gas. The brazed-on filler pipe broke off, but it took enough force to bend that thick tank. Hard to see in that picture, but the edge of the hole is pretty deformed. I was impressed.

Next will be duplicating what I did on the firewall for those front floorboards (I'll use the thin plywood, because I won't be standing or sitting on them) and figuring out an appropriately substantial way to mount the battery and fuel tank. Piddle piddle.

 

Time for speedstering has been tight lately, but I've been chipping away at the front floorboard project. I refined my rough masonite patterns with some card stock and masking tape, then transferred them to the same thin marine plywood I made the firewall out of and cut them out with a jigsaw. The fit is pretty good, if I do say so myself.





That jigsaw did splinter the edges a bit, but I can pretty that back up when I fiberglass these. I know that's not period correct, but it's thin fiberglass, not really for strength, just so I don't have to replace these so often. I might just coat them with epoxy and not worry about the 'glass.

I hopped in (on?) the car and tried it out. Seems workable, but I would like my clutch heel to be a little lower, so I decided to make a box for it. I thought about folding one up out of sheet metal, but in the end I just used the same plywood. I just eyeballed the design, taped it together, and glued it with thickened epoxy. Again, not period correct, but they are just floorboards. Jeez. Haha.







Then just cut a hole in the floorboard (I had already figured out the maximum size it could be and still clear the frame rail and the brake rod) and glued the box in. Tried the modified mess out and discovered my usually reliable eyeball had let me down. Much too deep. Easy fix, though. I just cut the bottom out, marked and cut a new bottom, and boom.








Much better. There is barely room for both heels, but I think it's mostly for my clutching foot, anyway. The throttle is comfortable at floor level, and I usually just tip my foot to go from throttle to brake in normal driving situations. We'll see, I guess. I have run epoxy fillets around the new bottom and it's drying now. A little cosmetic sanding will finish that part of the project up. Oh yeah, I did have to remove the stock battery box, so I will have to put the battery back behind the seats.

 

Very cool, great work.
Greetings Harald

 

Thanks Harold. Glue is dry enough to handle. Here are both front floorboards semi-installed:



And here is an idea of how much foot-room there is.



Dead pedal/throttle.



If that turns out to be too crowded I'll just bend the cutch pedal back a little bit and plan on putting a bubble in the body for dead pedal room. One way or the other, it should be fine. I don't think this thing is going to have perfect ergonomics, no matter what. Just the nature of the beast.

 

Congrats on that first drive. It looks and sound great. I like the slightly raspy bark. Mediocrates you most certainly aren't.

 

Hahaaa, Jack. I forgot I had that shirt on in those pictures. I feel like I kind of am, though. Certainly not one to polish a sow's ear, at any rate.

I have started my battery/fuel tank tray thingamabob. It's just an angle iron framework that will be bolted through the rear bulkhead and the rear crossmember. All of this will be under the eventual bodywork. I found some heavy 1" C-channel that was just right to space it over the lip of the crossmember. I didn't want to compromise the strength of that thing by notching it, but I want the tank to be really securely attached this time.



I'm sticking with my tried and true converted air tank idea for the fuel. Since it's going to live right behind me I like the comfort of that thick metal, and I can't justify spending money on a custom or antique tank for this thing, anyway. This one is just for mocking it up. Haven't decided on a size yet.





I have a completely non period-correct plastic battery box coming. Remember, it'll be covered up, and I sure don't want to have to worry about spills and shorts burning this thing up. Personally, I don't stick to that period-correct business religiously. I want as much of this car as possible to be Depression era parts and practices, but I'll make exceptions for my safety without any qualms at all. Just hide or blend them as best I can and live with it. Safety is a moving target here, but no sense not doing what I can. Especially considering this car's recent history. Haha. I'll also put a thin bulkhead between the tank and the battery, for added peace of mind. Probably more of that marine plywood. Got to bolt this thing down and run a long positive wire to the starter, and I can trundle around the yard some more. What joy.

 

Looking great!

 

I got the battery moved and wired. Decided against the plastic box. Covered or no, I just couldn't like the idea of such a modern monstrosity sitting back there. I think I'll make a plywood one, instead. Anyway, since it's running again I decided to adjust the brakes a little better. My procedure is to get going pretty good in 1st, maybe 15 mph or so, and stand on them when I hit a spot in the drive where there are a bunch of little iron ore rocks. I use the adjustment screws on the backing plates to fine tune each wheel until they all skid, front before rear by a bit, and evenly side-to-side. I can tell by the length of the skid marks and by whether or not it's sliding straight when I'm close. As it is now, I can also just watch the wheels. Hahah. I didn't video the whole procedure, but here is where I am at the moment.



Look how that passenger seat back flips. Hahahaa. Once I get it on the road, I'll wait for a rain and go out to a parking lot and do it all again on wet pavement. I did that with the first iteration of this car and didn't really have to touch the adjusters, but it was good to check anyway. You may be able to hear that I also reinstalled my exhaust pipe/baffle deal. It's too long now (the car is shorter and the engine is farther back proportionally), poots out on the inside of the starboard rear tire, but at least I can hear myself think. It'll get modified in due time.