I didn't waste any time installing Larry's fan this morning. This allowed me to straighten up the radiator, which corrects the appearance of the grille shell leaning forward. I took almost an inch out of the support rod, so the front angle is much better now. Most importantly, it corrects a vibration the tweaked stamped fan apparently had been causing. I don't have headlights yet but I went ahead and mounted the fog light.
That's really odd, when I search for "fan" I never got results. When I put the part number you gave me it pops up everywhere!
I like the fog light a lot... I'll probably have to move it when I get around to putting headlights on it but it's easy enough to do.
Welllll the fog light is a sealed beam unit and the bulb seems to be burnt out so I'll probably lose that pretty yellow lustre when I replace it, which is a bummer. Tested out the Manhattan High Speed Bake-coil-ite Supercoil. It runs great, but it's larger by quite a lot in every dimension than a standard coil and does not fit in any of the coil brackets I have laying around, even by stretching the flimsier ones, so I'll have to whip something up. My neighbor texted me asking if she could get a ride in the hot rod. I haven't known them very long and they seemed like sensible, responsible modern folks, but she had no compunctions about the dubious safety rating, jumped right in, and wanted to find out how fast it would go. Not fast enough, apparently... I am trying to work a deal for an old Simmons high compression head that my friend George has. I am confident the engine is healthy and it likes the dual carbs, so it's time to turn up the heat a bit more. Maybe a cam too? Stipe? I know this engine has had the works already... it's been decked, milled and bored .060 over if I recall and the valves are oversized too but I don't remember the exact spec... In the meantime I am starting to think about the less important things like a floor, and getting the battery away from the passenger seat. Since I don't have power in my workshop I am going to take the car to work where I can use my welder. Furthermore I am afraid good sense is winning out and I am looking for someone to cut me some glass for the windshield.
I think the amber sealed beam light is still readily available, if yours is in fact burnt. I think the addition of a windshield would look cool, give it a little more finished look but not too finished, if you know what I mean.
Lots came up, this one is expensive, but looks OLD https://www.unityusa.com/U-4015A-6-volt-Amber-Fog-Lamp_p_106.html
As for the windshield, I'm amazed one hasn't fallen into your lap, complete! You have worked for it, but your luck seems to be workin' too!
I have seen a few vintage sealed beams revived by cutting out the back and fitting a socket for a replaceable bulb, so if you're super attached to the burned-out bulb maybe that's an option. Otherwise, believe it or not, I've had decent luck with the lens-tinting film they sell on Amazon.
A bunch of places sell this UP copy complete for under 50 bucks. www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0YHN2Y There are Harley places selling just the 6V bulb too.
I don't want to lose the deep glassy golden lustre this lens has... the modern replacements don't seem to look as good. But I'm not that worried about that right now. Dug out my windshield chit. What am I missing that would allow me to affix this frame to the stanchion? I am envisioning some kind of clamp with a threaded rod for the windshield to pivot on? Can't find any clear pictures on the web.
Couldn't have asked for a better diagram. Thanks!!! Found everything I needed with Speedway. I didn't realize I had to drill & tap holes into the aluminum slugs on the end caps but that makes sense lol. Started mocking up. Had to straighten up the cowl a lot to get these stanchions even but starting to get there. When I chopped these stanchions I kept the tippy tops to weld back on. Once I get the windshield in I'll start looking at how to chop the original folding top I have...
Hahah. It kept popping off going down the road. I got called out for an in flight repair on my town's Facebook page... I had some old spark plug wire terminals laying around that were better (good clippy action) than what was on that wire, so I cut up an old plug wire and made a new coil wire. One of the many little things I got caught up on today. Side pro with the stanchions looks good. Splurged a little on the pretty stainless carriage bolts ($2.19 a pop ) but it looks right. I need to do some more tweaking on the cowl, it's slanted a bit, but I figured out the method. Using a ratchet strap on the end of the stanchions to a good anchor point I am able to pull the cowl into shape pretty easily. Eager to get a floor in the bed so I can get the battery box going and deal with the cable slack.
Steel bumper bolts with SS sheetmetal caps (factory) crimped over the head of them work OK too, but I do like all stainless
Took the car to another historic burger/shake joint in town and it made some friends there. Damn good burgers!!! I'm starting to rack up some real miles on the car and it's been pretty trouble-free. I am trying to work up the nerve to drive it the 30 or so miles to work once I get the windshield installed. It was my only car over the weekend as I've loaned out my modern truck and the Dart is currently down and it hasn't given me any trouble using it for my regular errands. Got the speedometer back in and according to GPS, it is pretty close to correct at around-town speeds but will read 80 when I am doing 70. I ran out of room to see how fast the car would actually go. It doesn't rev that much higher than it did before and 69 mph was the fastest I got it with the 1 barrel, so I expect its true top speed with the A transmission is about 75. Around there it starts floating valves and doesn't want to pull any more. It is pretty happy cruising at 55 or so but I think the engine has plenty of power and certainly will once I put a 6.5:1 head on it. I happen to have the hogshead I need to bolt a T5 into this thing so I'm starting to consider my options there... this transmission I fear is not long for this world. My "gentle" driving habits notwithstanding, it has a second-gear ejection issue and a pretty good rear leak has developed. One concerning thing I've noticed is that every once in a while it pushes some water out of the overflow and eventually it runs itself low and starts running on the hot side. Not overheating, but it will run 150-160 right after I put water in it and eventually it pushes enough water out and wants to run about 200, sometimes up to 210. This radiator is designed to be pressurized and I have a 9lb cap on it right now. The water in the radiator is staying nice and clean. The seats are not holding up. I did some weld repairs on the frames but they are just too weak and have broken in a bunch of spots. I might make up some bomber seats or something.
Did some thinking on the seat situation. I knew I wanted a bomber style seat, but I don't like many of the options out there right now. I started thinking about the time and material cost of building my own, then having someone upholster them. I figured if I did it myself I might save what, $200? Speedway has a couple options... but one comes without upholstery, and is a little too smooth. The other has lightening holes but for two it'd be like $600 before upholstery. They have one I could rivet together, but it looks a little rat roddy... Long story short, $780 for a pair of these in red seemed like a good deal.
Hehehe... that's kinda what I've been doing but the passenger seat has degraded to the point that nobody can sit in it safely. These seats are like 6 weeks out, built to order, so I've got some time to play with the rest of the car. Hoping to get floors in the bucket and bed. Once I have it pretty well sorted in the distant future I intend to start playing with the turtle deck again. I have a Model T spring for the rear, which I'll install when I get new tires... 7.50x16s should look pretty tough back there.
I was scrolling through marketplace a while back and saw a listing for an unknown grille shell. He was pretty far away, further than I wanted to drive, but I could tell the guy was a fellow rodder so I let him know it was a commercial shell and he had it way cheap. After chatting for a bit he said if it didn't sell at LSRU he'd hang on to it, because he frequently roadtrips through my neck of the woods, and I could have it for his too cheap price. Ordinarily that's the kind of deal you never expect to close but Hayden followed through and now I've got a pretty nice commercial shell for the car. It has some bullet holes, but it isn't thin, so they will be easy to pound out and fill. I'll section it and paint it. I think it will probably look better than the widow's peak shell. If not I'll weld it back together and keep it as a backup for my AA or a future project.
Trev, keep looking thru the online stuff, you should be able to come up with some seats cheap enough that they won't make you cry when it rains. You want them short and flat? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1298754111217115 wrecking yards too.
I have already placed the order for those. The covers are faux leather/vinyl and are removable, so until I get a top on the car, the covers will probably be stored, but I don't think weather will bother them too much under my carport if I forget to take them out one night or whatever. I always knew this car had to have buckets and in terms of what's out there that's small enough, looks right, can be found within a reasonable timeframe and be in good enough condition to use (in the case of a used vintage seat), to me, it just makes more sense to buy these. Although there is plenty of finish work to do on the car, nice seats are a big step in making it feel more intentional and finished. I really like how low profile these are. The Tudor seat is about twice or three times as thick and still puts me at a comfortable height for driving. That means I might be able to get some useful storage space underneath the seats with risers... maybe even sliders? By the way, I forgot to mention but these are Ultra Shields, so I know they will be a quality product. I almost went with their Cobra bucket, which looks more comfortable, but I honestly like the deco aviation look of this seat much better. This car is always gonna be a bit rough around the edges and even if it ever gets "done" it will be subject to abuse. I have never minded tearing up nice stuff (as long as it belongs to me). I don't like minivan seats.
Fair enough. It makes sense that the surfaces you rub against should be a good fit. They do look nice!
The Speedway kit comes undrilled, so you have to figure out where you want the windshield to hang. These aluminum slugs sit in the tops of the windshield frame & you drill and tap them to accept a 3/8" stud. I broke a drill bit in one of them (just snapped under basically no pressure - harbor freight pos) which required me to flip the slug around, drill it again, then counter sink the top for the windshield cap, drill a vertical hole & tap that for the screw that holds the cap in. Doesn't sound as hard as it ended up being, but I am working without electricity or a vice. For basically free handing all this wiggly, bent up, ill fitting shit I am pretty happy with it. Now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing, I will probably order new slugs and lower the windshield like half an inch, but there it is.
Keep on truckin'! Once you have headlights and all four wheels are the same color, I may have to book a trip to Texas to shoot a proper feature on this machine.
The Jalopy Journal
