Projects The Flathead Flathead

@Jeff34 , I live on the south end of Madras right on Hwy 97. You probably saw all my old cars when you drove by. Too bad ya didn't stop. We had dinner August 15th for my birthday at Rio Mexican Restaurant. Still a nice place to eat.
We also have a 1/4 mile dirt track in addition to the drag strip. Plus a great Air Museum.
If you're ever by this way again, do stop and say hi.

Dave

 

Hey Dave,
Heading back up to Flathead Lake in Montana this weekend (Polson), but flying this time. Rio was a great place to eat! I heard there's a drag strip there as well. If I head through there again, and I will, I'll make sure to reach out.
Cheers!
Jeff.

 

Finally got the steering wheel off. 6 hours spent trying to remove this. Tried everything. Finally built a custom puller and it took about 3 seconds. Also fitted the 40 box and column to see how it fits. Need to bring the flathead down to mock it all up. Body comes off next.

 

For my brakes, I'm using '40 hubs and drums, and '35 wheels. I've heard I need spacers. Do I need the "piston ring" spacers, or the larger spacers that Speedway sells?

 

I think with 40-8 style hubs and drums
You just need the ring spacer shown.

 

the piston rings are for Hydraulic brake back plate centering on model A spindles.

Quick edit here : I was puling the rear end out of my coupe earlier and curious as to exactly how the adapter rings function I pulled a wheel and ring and lined up the ring with the mount face of the wheel. Turns out it IS a spacer . the slight return lip which I always thought centred the wheel actually takes up space between the wheel face and the drum face and stops the wheel nuts distorting the wheel centre as the nuts are tightened .. So a spacer it is .

Every days a school day

Great looking project ..we are roughly in the same place with our roadster projects ..I've decided to try fenders for a change ,

 

Thanks, guys! Just want to make sure to do this right. Nice looking roadster @redoxide

 

Thanks Jeff, its been a fighter . started off a bit like yours in that it was a poorly maintained mechanical heap . . Then to add insult to injury the rear tub was a mash up of bad repairs and rendered unsalvageable .. so unfortunately I was left with a tank and cowl plus the fenders .. So given they were the only decent bits I was determined to use them LOL The rear body panels and doors on mine are Brookville ,no option really ,but the paint finish will hopefully replicate something that has seen better days ,lived in but loved ..

Looking forward to your progress updates.

 

craigslist rebuild...?

 

Yup. It was removed from a '51 Merc to put in a modern engine (owner wanted the change) so I picked it up. I need to bring it down to my place to mock all this stuff up and see where it all fits. The seller said it "ran", whatever that means. I'm hoping to just put it in the car and run it. If it needs work, I'll deal with that later.

 

Got to sneak out between meetings over the past two days to modify the steering arms on the '40 spindles so they don't bang into the drop axle. Tie rod fits nicely now. Also got the front wishbone cut (I'll get pics later) and I'll try to get that put on the front axle this weekend. I still need to find time (and space) to get the motor down her to see how it all fits together.

 

Loving your build...

 

Drove up to my cousins house in Healdsburg yesterday. He found the original’34 engine from my truck. He asked if I wanted it. Not sure if I do or not. Probably just occupy space. The ‘48 in the truck is a much better engine.
Also took a peek in the big barn and the ‘35 flatbed is still there. Hasn’t been run in over 60 years. Also snapped a pic of a doodlebug sitting in the yard.
it was a good visit.

 

Thanks! It's been a fun project. Hope to have it back on the road next spring.

 

That's an interesting quarter elliptic setup on the4 doodle bug. The leaves are stacked in the proper order (short on top etc.) but appear to be arched upside-down. At least upside-down to "normal".

 

Hey guys,
Quick update on the roadster. I've been picking away at getting everything taken apart. I'm struggling with two subframe to frame attachments. They are between the rear axle and the back of the door on both sides. I believe they are carriage bolts on top with lock washers and nuts on the bottom. Problem is, the carriage bolt head is underneath the trunk pan and I can't get to it to keep it from spinning. 90 years of deterioration to the body wood just isn't holding the square on the head still. Any tips on how to get these two out? Once they're out, I can set the body aside and continue on the chassis.
Thanks!

 

@Jeff34; as no one else has made any suggestions let me put in my #0.02. Is there any of the bolt protruding through the nut? If there is can you weld something onto JUST whatever bolt is sticking through the nut? Another bolt, rod, stud, anything. If you can that will give you something to hold onto and keep the carriage bolt from spinning.

If you can't do that can you get a nut splitter on the nuts? One of these guys:


Maybe you can put a wrench on the nut to keep it from spinning and drill the bolt down to where the bolt and nut are separated. Using a drill bit at least as large as the biggest part of the bolt threads. You might have to start with small bits and work your way up.

The only other thing I can think of is to carefully grind the whole shebang off down flush, using either a grinding wheel or cut-off wheel.

 

All great ideas! Thanks @atch I'll take a closer look and decide what to do. I think I like the grind it off option, or maybe a vibe cutter...I'll be back on it tomorrow. I will win.

 

Got a body dolly made this weekend between working on the kitchen and the yard. Hope to get the body off tomorrow.

 

Just read your whole thread, great story & a lovely car!

 

Thanks @Outback
I finally got the bolts out. I couldn't get a nut splitter around them since they were too close to the frame, and the angle grinder couldn't reach the bolt...too little space. I ended up using a dremel with a cut off wheel and cut the nut on either side to split it off the bolt. Worked like a charm. Now I need to get my engine hoist back to lift the body.

 

That's good news.

 

Model Airplane tools to the rescue! Yeah, me too on the Dremel. More and more!
I also have a stock of piano wire in different gauges I tap into from time to time...

 

Got the body off the frame Friday. Hoping to sell the engine/trans tomorrow and bring the Merc down for fitting.

 

Engine and transmission are sold and gone. Going up to get the Merc soon and start to see how this goes together

 

Question about cross steer and drag links. I clamped my motor mounts where I think they will go, and clamped the steering box in place as far forward as I can. The RED lines represent the drag link and tie rod where they would be currently. I can probably move the box forward by another 2" by modifying the mounting bracket. The GREEN line shows the angle of the drag link with the box moved forward. The picture is a bit distorted from my camera, but it give you the idea. Question is: Is it important that the drag link and tie rod are parallel? I can't make them parallel unless I move the motor mounts forward, which pushes the motor forward into the radiator. I plan to run hood top at least, so I'd rather not move the radiator forward.
Thanks!

 

Since I plan to put the gas tank in the trunk, I removed the cowl tank today. That was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. IF there's a market for these old '29 tanks, I'll plan to sell it when I'm done with the build. If NOT, I'll just hack it up and make it more usable for what I'm doing with the car. I hate doing that, but buying the cowl top and upper firewall is probably more $$ than I'll get for the tank, unless I can trade somebody.
Cheers!

 

I have to ask. If that tank is good, why not use it?

 

Hi Jeff...the cowl tank on my Model A coupe was full of old tank sealant a previous owner had put in it decades before I got the car. The crap kept clogging the fuel line so bad I finally pressed a 1" long piece of hardline into the intake of the fuel petcock for a stand-off, which fixed the problem until I tore the car apart to make a hot rod out of it. I advertised my tank for sale hoping to get enough for it to buy a Brookville tank top, but I had no takers so I ended up cutting the tank out to make room for under dash electrical and put a tank in the trunk like you're planning to do. In hind sight, I'm glad I wasn't able to sell my old cowl tank because the paint is the same as the rest of the car and I actually like the look of the gas cap up on the cowl even if it isn't serving a purpose anymore.

My Model A pickup still uses the cowl tank, and it's just fine, but if it ever starts leaking or shedding anything that clogs the fuel line, I won't have any hesitation about cutting it out and putting a Moon tank in the bed. I could've used that under dash space when I wired the truck, but I could still use that space for something.

 

Here're pictures of the process: