like fine wine

There are a couple projects I have been wanting to post about,

and now the time has come for one of them.

The realization while writing this is a little embarrassing,

as basically this took 5 or 6 half days strung out all the way back to Halloween.

The concession is the steering,

my problem,

was finished only a day after the stainless brake line,

which was started a couple months earlier.

Fortunately my Uncle Steve is a very patient guy!

This 29 roadster project started over 17 years ago,

back when a Torrance halibrand quickchange 

cost as much as a banjo steering wheel and steering column.

The plan is to have a full fendered hot rod.

A good plan!

The first step may sound unusual,

as I just organized the parts and jacked up the car super high,

letting the project filter through my subconscious.

The TCI frame had set the steering box location,

and a Flaming River SS steering column was already purchased,

making this a clear cut project.

Get some u-joints and shaft, 

drop the column mount,

and cut a hole in the firewall.

 On paper or this screen it sounds easy,

but between each step parts were necessary,

the perfect excuse for the lag time.

By Thanksgiving the u-joints and DD shaft had arrived,

and the column could be set and not imagined.

By Christmas,

the steering wheel arrived,

changing the location of the mocked up column mount.

Typical!

That above picture is one of the first times he had sat in the car!

Unfortunately the wheel didn't match my template,

and a couple changes would need to be made.

By now it's January...

Luckily Uncle Steve has the help of his son-in-law Brandon,

who fills me in on the progress as he was doing the brake lines.

The goal was to get this driveable to the BIG3 swapmeet in February,

which meant time to get my a$$ in gear!

The column drop needed changing,

one to hide the wiring harness,

and two to scoot over for more u-joint clearance.

That above picture scared the chit out of Brandon and Uncle Steve.

Just give me a couple minutes with a grinder and it'll be all right!

So nice to work in a garage where neighbors don't complain,

but actually come over to visit and see what's going on.

Finally the firewall hole could be cut.

a simple template was made to place the gap.

This was one of the more tedious parts.

I had half expected to cut a larger hole,

then make some cover plates to close the gap,

then weld or clamp a tab to mount to the firewall.

The tediousness paid off.

The slotted hole only had a minor gap,

and a split hose bushing really cinched up the column.

For the first time in 17 years,

Uncle Steve got to turn the wheels with the steering wheel!

It was a bitchin moment for everyone.

The new energy really lit a fire,

Brandon and I were a tag team around the roadster that night.

"Honey I'll be home soon"

Yeah right...

With little more than a week to go,

I'm hoping to get the call this weekend to see the maiden voyage.

Special thanks to Aunt Georgette for hanging out with the kids too!

TP

A close call

For weeks now I've been slowly trying to get that model a engine started.

 Reaffirming the reasons I enjoy metal fabbing more than mechanicals,

as big changes happen with short bursts of time,

instead of the same thing looking the same.

Over the weekend a 4-banger enthusiast finally came by to see the old jalopy.

After a couple visual checks he was amazed at what looked like a rebuilt engine.

He had suggested pulling the pan,

but implied there was a possibility to clean the inside,

simply by changing the oil with diesel,

and giving it a good couple spins with the starter.

The important thing was cleaning the oil dip pans,

as this was the oiling system in the unpressurized block.

Unfortunately draining the oil opened up this nightmare scenario.

There was at least an inch of pure water,

followed by a mountain of white sludge.

Holey chit.

There was no way to not drop the pan.

These depression era cars were obviously built for the common man,

out in the dirt with limited tools.

The pan slid out easily within minutes.

No need to remove exhaust and raise the engine like newer Fords.

There was way more sludge then expected,

however the rods and crankshaft were above the white line.

The bummer was 40+ years of daily heat and cold,

evaporating and condensing the water inside the block,

churning up that oily gunk,

while rusting up any bare metal.

After a solid hour of tedious scrubbing with a diesel soaked scouring pad,

the insides were debris free.

The new babbitt bearings conveniently lubed with the oily diesel,

and the rope seal surface on the crankshaft pulley shined up.

Now the engine spun like it was meant to.

Meanwhile the nasty sludge had drained,

and the oil pan and oil pump scoured clean.

I'll give it a good wire-wheeling before install.

I had informed 4-banger Tim of the pan drop,

and he was relieved to hear the engine was cleaned correctly.

How many engines are ruined by either sitting or neglect?

He even came over again to inspect the open case,

and donated an era correct gasket kit.

Thanks Tim!

I almost cut one out of gasket material!

By this time you'd expect the engine to be buttoned up.

Nope.

Instead I cut out this patch of rust,

Adding a couple hours of low-priority work to the STD list.

What did you expect?

More later...

TP

No more holey chit

At one point I thought it would be cool to leave a couple rust spots on the 40.

This was more recent as I'm letting on,

As I changed my mind last Wednesday.

Maybe it was because I've got a vague memory of how far this has come,

That these last spots are nothing compared to how bad it was,

Or maybe it's cause I was too lazy to start more sheetmetal work.

Whatever the case the tables were turned last week,

And the coupe was dismantled even further.

Removing the running boards revealed the hidden mess.

I tried not to stray too far from the original build theme,

So a scrap piece of sheetmetal was used to make the patch.

A couple minutes later and voila,

A couple feet of welding is added to the STD list.

How did I try to talk myself into leaving that rusty hole on there?

The only casualty so far was that same finger I smashed months ago.

Seems like I'm constantly reminded that the grinder will always win.

This happened while grinding behind the fender,

And wouldn't have happened if I'd removed the front wheel.

Yeah I could've worn gloves,

But then they would've been ruined!
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oldies month!!
I guess I'm clueless cause this isn't who I thought sang this song,
really I never knew!
Originally offered to Aretha Franklin but passed to
Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man
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Never mind that,

There was still an hour or two left of daylight.

Now there was no turning back.

This time a thicker plate was used.

The secondary backing plate is what sponges up the moisture,

And we don't want someone to have to do this 70 years from now!

Just like clockwork,

The night showed up and called it a day.

I've now added 7 more corners like this on my STD list.

TP

smile when you eat it

Eating healthy is always a bit of a struggle.
We're fortunate in that we're not fast food or snack junkies.
Still we try to find a way to sneak greens into our diet.

macey - 2014 - spinach french toast

A couple weeks ago my Mom turned me on to this GREENFIX drink.
It's a bunch of leafy greens and fruits blended up into a green drink.

green concoction #1

Me and the wife were immediately hooked.
There's something about it that turns on a switch,
and your body starts to crave it.
Way better than coffee!

green concoction  #1

The problem is it gets a little pricey.
A quart size jug is $8,
and between 2 people that lasts barely a day,
although its probably 10x the green servings needed.
I hesitated at the $30/gallon jugs.

concoction #2

We ended up following in the footsteps of a habit we've picked up.
We'll go to a restaurant for a specific dish,
then end up reverse engineering it for home cooking.
It made going to a restaurant to eat not as fun,
usually a night out isn't for the food its to not do the dishes.

concoction #2

So now we've got our own green drink.
It's as tasty as it looks!

TP

booger

Yesterday I tried to make the most out of a couple spare hours.
Everything was going really well at first.

1940 ford coupe - chopped - channeled - sectioned - pie-cut hood

Got the hood sanded a little.
Not for any particular reason,
other than hiding some of the obvious imperfections!
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A little fakey for oldies month...

Otis Day and the Knights - Shama Lama Ding Dong
- guess this was a make believe song by a make believe band,
not sung by the guy singing it in the movie!
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dent

One thing on the glaring imperfection list was this dent.
It's been conveniently unfinished,
kinda like that house in the cartoons when the buildings are developed around it.

holey chit

The reason I've waited so long is this inner dome light.
Nothing a couple minutes with a grinder couldn't fix.

clearance

Within minutes the majoritiy of the dent was pounded out.

proper 1940 coupe rear windows

The big thing on my STD (chit to do) list were these pedals.
Subconsciously I was waiting for a better set to bubble up.

1939? ford pedal assembly

Long ago someone had masterfully extended the clutch throw.
I could only hope the booger welds were truly booger welds.

customized pedals

Just as I suspected,
the brass bushings had totally worn through.

booger

It felt so good to just grind.
Is it crazy to think a good time
is wearing a respirator mask and mickey mouse ear protectors?
Not sure how those around me liked the noise and dust!

shiny

After 5+ years,
a half hour with the grinder and what a difference.
Those tabs fell out just as expected.
Whoever welded it didn't even wirebrush off the flux!

I thought this was going to be a slam dunk deal.
The bushings were ordered months ago,
and had been one of those little bags cluttering the computer desk.
Well wouldn't you know it,
there are two bushings per pedal.
Even though it says there's a clutch and brake set on the bag.
Ahh... double booger.

TP

super bowl sunday

Super bowl Sunday.
A day when millions of Americans drop everything to watch their TV.
This is usually the best time to go outside and have fun,
beat the crowds at their own game.

perich super bowl sunday - 2014

If it's a charger game we'll usually listen to part of it on the radio,
then see if it's a close enough game to watch the last quarter.
Fortunately this super bowl took out that desire really early.

stool time

The kids and I ended up getting caught up in our own individual projects.
Besides some yardwork,
this was the perfect time to put that model A carburetor together.
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oldies month #2


bobby comstock - just a piece of paper
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zenith 2 carburetor - model a ford

I got lucky not needing a carb kit.
The brass pieces cleaned up quick and easy.
The only issue was the gasket.
Fortunately I had saved the perfect scrap of gasket material.
Usually a cereal box, playing card or milk carton comes in handy at this point.

crude but effective - carburetor gasket

Another scrap found its way on the water pump.
If you think this isn't normal,
try finding these gaskets at your car parts store!

holey chit

I'm actually running a homemade oil pan gasket on the RPU's flathead!
One night it was faster to buy a cork gasket roll and a sharp razor!

TP 

brown nose

Wow I can't believe it's already February.
I found out I was still tagging pictures 2013!
And guess what?
Now that a year has passed,
it's time for "oldies month"!

not metal finished

********************************************
I've got to kick it off with one of the top favorites here...
the floaters...float on...


So smooth...so good...
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big brown nose

This saturday marked a big step in the tres huevos game.
The hood was hammered out a little,
smoothed over a little with some evercoat filler,
and completed with a thick coat of brown epoxy.
It'll still needs a little fine tune smoothing,
but that constant nagging feeling seeing a hole is finally gone.

I'm hoping that that pie-cut or section was enough.
It looks a little pinnochio-ish.
If all goes as planned,
the hood will only be on there on the cold month or two.
Now time to figure out that grille.

TP