cheap skate

It seemed like only a couple weeks ago I had made a clean work bench in the garage.
Somehow it was reduced to a 1 by 2 foot wide workspace!
That's all I really need actually.

typical perich work bench

Today's project (actually a couple days ago) was rebuilding a Ford motorcraft 2100 carburetor.
I've done a bunch of carburetors 94's, 97's and bigger 4-barrels,
but not much inbetween.
Well there was a couple chevy 2 barrels but it has been a while.
Anyway you get the idea it's not a daily occurence.

ford motorcraft 2100 carburetor

Old buddy CopMike donated this one to the cause.
Thanks dude!
At first it looked complicated but that's cause of the choke contraption.

busted ford motorcraft 2100 carburetor

After further inspection,
I found that the later models had a choke slow-down mechanism too,
and the casting had broken off on this one.
It is that hole next to the 3-bolt flange there.

A quick teardown and the carb was definitely rebuildable,
but that cracked hole was bugging me.

carburetor teardown

After some internet searching,
I found a replacement parts store replacement is over $200!
Ouch!
A rebuild on ebay would run at least $100,
and a questionable core is about half that.
There seemed to be many Autolite and Motorcraft available,
but not all these carbs are the same.

Ford Autolite and Motorcraft 2100 carburetors

The main issue is there are a ton of different venturi sizes,
the  big hole diameter.
.98, 1.01, 1.08, 1.14, 1.23...
Even though this is a 2-barrel,
the 2100 model came on various ford engines from 221-260-289-302-351-390... ci's.
According to those in the know,
each carburetor is tied to a specific engine,
and over carbing usually makes less power.
Great.
Now I had better find out what the venturi size was on this old one.
Fortunately it was 1.08,
which is the size needed for a 302/5.0.
Since a rebuild kit was only $15,
the choice was clear.

autolite motorcraft 2100 carburetor diagram

At first glance the instructions looked a little intimidating,
but exploded diagrams always look like that at first.
This is actually a really simple carburetor,
like a large holley or ford 94.
Somehow I did backspray myself in the eye with some carb cleaner.
After that it was safer to clean with some denatured alcohol and a brush.

streamlined motorcraft 2100 carburetor

A short while later,
and the puzzle was reassembled.

how to keep your volkswagen alive

Since I'm a faithful follower of the 

"how to keep your volkswagen alive" mentality...

the best automotive manual ever.

I decided to basically ditch the entire choke mechanism.

The hole was plugged with a carriage bolt,

and the choke was wired up with some SS.

choke wired 2100 carburetor

If you read the book,
old John Muir was not a fan of the electronic chokes,
especially if you are in a warmer climate.
Later on I'll figure out a basic pull lever or something,
like a hot rod should.

302 ford

A quick mock-up and it looked like the carb belonged there.
It should cause it was on that manifold!

302 ford 

Yeah I really strung you guys along on this one huh!
Not much substance really,
but it is an important piece of the project.

TP

gilligan's island - 3 hour tour!

Aahhh.
Full moon and a thick fog layer.
Perfect night to go for a drive in the roadster pickup.

chief - 1929 ford roadster pickup

The main post office down on Midway is open late,
so there was a purpose to the drive,
not just a random gas burn.
This was the first time I had actually driven it since last weeks bit as a school bus.
At first it was a little poppy,
but after warming up it ran pretty good,
especially after sitting in the parking lot.
The heat kinda radiated through all the steel.
I should spring for some new spark plug wires though.

The drive home was too short.
The flathead purred away on the windy road home.
About 2 blocks from the house,
I decided what the hay...
I'd put 1.5 gallons in the tank,
why not really burn some fuel.
Detour time!

The fog has a way of amplifying the roar of the exhaust,
which just makes winding up to shift that much better.
On the way up 2nd gear...
Bam!
Actually - just silence...
Ahh hell.

stubborn

My supposed quick pass through Ocean Beach,
and now I'm sitting in the red zone with a dead car,
at the farthest point away from home!
Getting stuck is part of the deal with these old rigs.
Just not right now.
The wife was finishing up the bacon white sauce pasta dinner,
I had no tools,
and the truck bed was full of shiny chrome parts.
Chit.
Holey effin Chit.
Okay,
take a breath.
The beach fog is thick now,
and the street lamp has that spooky effect.
The walkers I was blasting by earlier are now passing by,
like zombies in the foggy mist.
Dang there's alot of action in this part of OB!
Chit
Okay snap out of it.
Let's figure this out,
I know this car like the back of my hand.
Better even.
The lights work and the fuel pump is on,
so there's power.
Let's check the coil wire.
Yep,
sparks mean power.
Popped the distributor cap,
flicked the points,
nothing.
Chit.
Must be that dang condenser I swapped out.
It is kinda hot.
I try to wiggle the nuts with my bare hands,
there's a little flicker but the car doesn't start.
Crapola.
Oh please 6-volt battery(s) don't die on me now!

Well I'm only a few miles from the house.
What a nice night for an unplanned walk!
Better hide that box of chrome under these rags.
I'll call the wife and tell her what's up.
Nothin'.
By the time I reach her,
I'm only a couple miles away,
but she's gonna come to my rescue.
Thanks hun!

hot rod repair kit

Back home I assemble a quick repair kit.
(Note that I only bring a 5/16" box-end wrench!)
My mind is racing at every possibility.
I can't rope tow it with the van,
too sketchy.
Dang if I can't get it running,
gotta use AAA.
Ouch that would hurt wasting a tow for barely 3 miles!
No,  I want to save that for a real road trip!

Should I stick with that old Mallory ignition system?
Maybe go with a stock distributor with the pertronix.
Yeah.
Then I'd have to go 12 volt.
How about ripping the flathead out and putting in a 283!
Okay now I really need to get the car home.

dago shelby cruiser

When I saw the full moon earlier before the drive,
I thought,
"wow what a nice night for a bike ride!"
Jinx!
Funny how that works.

OB bike ride

Riding to OB on the Dago Shelby cruiser really cleared my head.
Something about riding around in prewar stuff at night,
cars or bikes,
like a time warp.

trouble shoot light

Back at the car.
Why are all these fingerprints all over the windshield?
Friggin zombies.
At least we had picked up that chrome box.
Ok let's get this done.
I'm glad I put that work light in the firewall!
That's telling how many times I've gotten stuck.
I try starting it and it starts!
Only for a second though then nothing.
Okay let's swap these condensers out.
Hmm,
the main bolt attaching the coil wire/bar to the housing is unusually loose!

mallory ignition system - ford flathead

What?
That was it!?
We're outta here!

After all that suspense,
the drive home was about as sweet as could be.
Back in your cage, Chief!

home sweet home

Now I need a beer!

TP

Like A Boss

A raging bonfire is our new traditional birthday party for the kids.
Jakob's 11th birthday was yesterday,
so we prepared for the big burn.

van load

Last bonfire for Jaxon was a little out of hand for the area.

perich brothers (and sister): tweener (v.3)

Cop-Mike said there was a 3 foot maximum on the flame,
so in addition to having more really little kids/babies this time,
it was on the mellow side this time.
Still the biggest fire on the beach though!

Jakob's birthday october - 2012

Was the perfect evening.
Clear and warm.
Enough friends and family members for some good memories.

like a boss
griffin-jakob-landen

Jake had the best birthday present,
sand in the pants.

Jaxon's birthday may - 2012

A little comparison from last time.

Jakob Perich

Happy Birthday Jakob!

your P's...

trapped!

I'm an AAA club member,
and it has really shielded me from the need to go to a real DMV office.
Even if there is a wait,
it's not too bad,
since they have all the travel books and at least the SD Reader.

This time I had to get my drivers license renewed,
which meant a trip to the actual DMV.
Last time I went to the Clairemont office,
probably on a friday.
The line went out the door.
Craziness as this was before internet cell phones.
Mindnumbing.

Up in Ventura,
I remembered there was a website that gave the wait time in real time.
DMV Field Offices
That was out in hick town,
so the San Diego version had to be right,
right?

Normal Street DMV hours

Since it was friday with no appointment,
figured I'd better check to see which DMV office to go to.
I was surprised to see the wait at the usually busy Normal St office was 3 minutes,
that was with no appointment!
Heck,
no time for breakfast,
let's get this over with!

normal st DMV

Holey Chit.
Tons of people.
This doesn't look like a 3 minute wait without an appointment.
What gives!
Even the red letter board above the desk proclaims 1 minute wait!.
Holey Chit.
My droid battery is almost dead.
Didn't even bring a book.
Wife wasn't even playing wordfeud with me anyway.
Holey Chit.
20 minutes pass by.
The dude next to me is playing "word with friends".
He must be trapped at this office because of that shysty website they have.
Ok my number is almost up.
Only 4 more til G049.
C'mon.
45 minutes pass by.
If you're in to people watching,
then the Normal St office is a great place to go.
Much more diverse than other offices.
All walks of life.
I'm sitting next to a very muscular transvestyte.
Okay the next number is mine.
Why do all the other letter combinations seem to go faster?
65 minutes.
Oh mercy finally my number is picked!
Like winning the lottery!

8 minutes and $31 later it is over.
What the heck just happened?
At least I can drive the hot rod legally now!

TP

ford in a ford

Somehow I wrote all this up last week and didn't post it!
Here goes.

******************************

First off slapped the engine and transmission together.
No big surprises other than a missing nut.
One of the benefits of using a donor car rather then a mishmash of parts.

ford 302/5.0 & AOD transmission

Jaxon and I proceeded to muscle it in to the slot.

Jaxon -  Mr Muscles

Did I show you the hole yet?

unmolested 40 ford floor

The original floor obviously needed some cutting.

template is your friend

A cardboard template of the AOD helped make a vague outline.

The original template wasn't as precise,

and it looked like there was a possibility of cutting into the x-member.

After a couple "oh shit's",

I made a better template,

and it looked like the transmission would clear the verticals.

holey chit!

After some smokey torchwork and a little grinding,
a good size hole was made.
I'm still reeling from the burning smoke oil.
Not much clearance for a grinder,
and was trying to be quiet for the neighbors.
The crossmember section is a  catch-all for grease and oil debris,
and let's just say it was crazy.

perfect fit

The transmission fit perfectly.
Glad I made the better template!
Big effin transmission thats for sure.
It was still high in the tailshaft though,
so the stock rubber mount was removed,
and a bit of the crossmember was notched out.

aod tranny mount

A simple crossmember mount was cut out of flat plate.

rear AOD tranny mount

Everything was stick-welded up.
Way easier with the long skinny welding rods,
as the minimal clearance wasn't as much of an issue.

rear AOD mount

With only 1/4" of rubber cushion,
there was the perfect amount of clearance.
Later on I'll probably beef it up to 3/4" depending on the angle.

AOD in 1940 ford

Now the transmission was nice and snug,
and it didn't look like the driveshaft would hit the floor.

AOD in 1940 ford

Having the engine and transmission actually mounted was a huge step.
Not only could I move on with the project,
the garage floor was not nearly as cluttered!

Macey and the 40

Now it was time to clear the garage walls,
so some other goodies were mocked up.
What a difference some finned valve covers make.
Thanks Mario!

hot rod 302 ford in a 1940 ford

A 2-barrel intake was cleaned up.
Thanks Mike!
Will need to rebuild the carb though.
The stock Lincoln headers fit on the passenger side no problem.
They are ugly,
but I kinda like the log manifold styling.

ford 302/5.0

There's a ton more work.
At least it's starting to look like a hot rod.

TP

faster, dad, faster!

Finally broke Chief out from its incarceration!

Macey & Chief - 1929 ford roadster pickup with hallock windshield

Surprised Macey and picked her up from school in the old heap.
She loves driving in it even though she can barely see over the dash.
Faster Dad!
Faster!

1929 ford roadster pickup

The first mile or so was a little rough.
After that the engine really smoothed out,
and all of a sudden we were home.

floor space

Funny thing is it probably took 45 minutes to clean up the garage,
and I don't even know what all that clutter was!

TP

how to install a seat post clamp

This isn't really exciting,
but it is a really cool trick we just figured out.

seat post clamp

These seat post clamps are always tricky to install.
We had already chipped the paint when using a dual screwdriver and a bolt trick.
After a couple minutes,
the classic light bulb thought bubble shined bright.

how to install a seat post clamp

So simple.
A long socket and some channel locks.
Yeah we should have taped the clamp and pliers.
No marks were made at least.

red beauty

Within seconds the seat post slid on no problem.
Too bad we didn't figure this out before.
I did a quick google search and found nothing similar to help out this situation,
so hopefully this will help someone to not chip their paint!
Way better then the hammer and wood.

Jaxon's bad-a$$ schwinn stingray project

Jaxon's taking his time putting his Stingray together,
so here's a sneak peak.
The photo definitely doesn't do the candy apple red paint justice.
Not too much longer.

TP

do as I say not as I do

My struggles getting our roadster pickup running had stalled for the past couple weeks.
I've been distracted with enough projects
to know that I'll get more distracted with a perfectly tuned hot rod.
I'll want to just drive it around aimlessly in circles like our retired neighbor rides his harley.

perich brothers (and sister): troubleshooting a pumpkin

Last post was about me figuring out the static timing.
It helped out but didn't solve the problem.
(*symptoms - mid/high RPM misfire. idles ok. all plugs rich but dry.)
These past 2 weeks I've had little bursts of thought on how to fix it.
I came to the conclusion to replace the dual SHARP manifold
with the stock single manifold.
Then I could rejet one of the carbs,
 change the linkage and generator mount.
Yep.
Don't start at square 1.
Go straight to Broadway and don't even roll.

Before I started the dissection,
I figured I'd go through the distributor one more time.
The points were checked and filed a bit.
Timing was put to a static TDC to start.
Inside of cap and rotor were unnecessariliy cleaned up,
or was it?

mallory YB-247EX & mallory YC-275E
ford vs mercury flathead

There are many variations of early Mallory distributors for the ford flatheads.
The castings are similar but different,
point gaps change from 0.15 to 0.20,
but the 2-piece cap seems to be the same across the board.
The dizzy on the RPU is a ZB-247A.

mallory 2-piece distributor cap gasket

For some reason I decided to separate the cap.
Low and behold what had happened here?
Holey Chit!
The spark plug wire contacts were wasted!
There is a rubber gasket that holds the wires snug,
but not dry.
Well it did for most of the past 9 years I guess.
Must have been the 6 years leaving it out in the Ventura rain,
or the rain coming home from the GNRS show.

mallory 2-piece distributor cap base

The light corrosion was chipped off the points in the cap,
and the wires were trimmed to get a clean contact.
I've got to get the most out of this temporary OTC set of wires
that have lasted 9 years now.
Hey I'm a hack I know.

mallory 2-piece distributor cap

Spark plug wires are strange as they shoot a high current to the plug,
but the core inside is only a really thin wire.
Anyway everything was reattached and it was time to hear it run.

mallory flathead distributor

Wouldn't you know it the old flathead roared to life!
Started up much quicker even with the 6 volts.
Way smoother at the higher RPM's.
Yeah!
This may have solved the problem!
Glad I wasn't drinking.
Let's go drive!

vintage flathead mallory  ignition system 

Puta Madre!
We were trapped!

chief the storage unit

In a typical "do what I say not what I do" moment,
the night drive was cut short by not following my one simple rule,
that was actually brought up by a HAMB gearhead friend/reader the other day.
"not let my car become a shelf haha." - Tim in Iowa.
Thanks Tim for calling me out on my own chit!
(congratulations on your wedding today!)

stool time - garage clutter

I really didn't feel like moving junk around.
And now instead of cleaning this saturday morning,
I'm just typing about it.
Get me off this damn computer!

TP