SamIyam
06-16-2004, 03:30 AM
We started out the day with a trip up to Vern Tardels...
which needs no further intro... other than, if you're into Old Ford hot rod stuff, make a point to go there.
My brother Matt, and friend ChopperBob, were my co-pilots on this trip to the prune-orchard... Vern was really excited to show us one of his new products (to debute at the LA Roadster show).
Now I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but these little gems are kind of a CONNECTION between old Ford hardware and your youth... and only $25, so be sure to get one while supplies last.
Matt picked up one of Vern's fabricated '32 style K-members, (more on this part later) and Vern was more than gracious enough to run us through a couple of different ways to hang the pedals on it. (Anyone have a '36 pedal assembly we can buy??) Matt also picked up the rubber '32 Tranny mount and a couple of the clam shells to mount the torque tube.
Vern also treated us to lunch at one of the local Santa Rosa Hot Rod hang-outs... a muffler shop. Seems this generous rodder cooks up burgers, fries, slaw and drinks every Tuesday and then a lot of the local rodders come by to drop $5 in a can to enjoy the food and the atmosphere.
Fun, fun stuff.
Back at Verns we got the 10 cent tour which consists of a self guided walk around the grounds to check out all the neat old Ford stuff... and there is PLENTY to see.
We got home about 4:30 PM, and started in on our little parts pile. First up was to install the VT K-member. For anyone doing an A-V8 project, I got to tell you, this is one HELL of a time saver. I know a '32 K-member is more "correct", but it's under the car where you can't really see it, for one... and for another, it'll save you a SHITLOAD of time. av8 can tell you how much time he has invested in doing a stock one correctly... this one, the VT K-member, can be installed in an hour or so.
We decided not to notch the K-member to jockey it in... and instead chose to remove the original cross member by punching out the 16 rivits and sliding it backwards.
After we got it out, Matt hauled the frame to ChopperBob's and blasted it... just to get the majority of the rust off.
After that, we bolted the engine to the trans, the motor mounts on, and the trans mount on... and slid the whole shooting match into the frame... went right in, as expected.
I then cut out a couple of the front engine mounts and we positioned the engine roughly where it will end up.
The nice thing about this set up is that you can put it all together and then slide it fore and aft so you can dial your front wishbone and suspension.
Tomorrow I plan on cutting a 2x4 so it will fit just inside the frame rails to hold the motor up... we'll shim it up with some spacers and then bolt the wish bone up... but I'm getting ahead of ourselves...
More tomorrow.
Sam.
which needs no further intro... other than, if you're into Old Ford hot rod stuff, make a point to go there.
My brother Matt, and friend ChopperBob, were my co-pilots on this trip to the prune-orchard... Vern was really excited to show us one of his new products (to debute at the LA Roadster show).
Now I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but these little gems are kind of a CONNECTION between old Ford hardware and your youth... and only $25, so be sure to get one while supplies last.
Matt picked up one of Vern's fabricated '32 style K-members, (more on this part later) and Vern was more than gracious enough to run us through a couple of different ways to hang the pedals on it. (Anyone have a '36 pedal assembly we can buy??) Matt also picked up the rubber '32 Tranny mount and a couple of the clam shells to mount the torque tube.
Vern also treated us to lunch at one of the local Santa Rosa Hot Rod hang-outs... a muffler shop. Seems this generous rodder cooks up burgers, fries, slaw and drinks every Tuesday and then a lot of the local rodders come by to drop $5 in a can to enjoy the food and the atmosphere.
Fun, fun stuff.
Back at Verns we got the 10 cent tour which consists of a self guided walk around the grounds to check out all the neat old Ford stuff... and there is PLENTY to see.
We got home about 4:30 PM, and started in on our little parts pile. First up was to install the VT K-member. For anyone doing an A-V8 project, I got to tell you, this is one HELL of a time saver. I know a '32 K-member is more "correct", but it's under the car where you can't really see it, for one... and for another, it'll save you a SHITLOAD of time. av8 can tell you how much time he has invested in doing a stock one correctly... this one, the VT K-member, can be installed in an hour or so.
We decided not to notch the K-member to jockey it in... and instead chose to remove the original cross member by punching out the 16 rivits and sliding it backwards.
After we got it out, Matt hauled the frame to ChopperBob's and blasted it... just to get the majority of the rust off.
After that, we bolted the engine to the trans, the motor mounts on, and the trans mount on... and slid the whole shooting match into the frame... went right in, as expected.
I then cut out a couple of the front engine mounts and we positioned the engine roughly where it will end up.
The nice thing about this set up is that you can put it all together and then slide it fore and aft so you can dial your front wishbone and suspension.
Tomorrow I plan on cutting a 2x4 so it will fit just inside the frame rails to hold the motor up... we'll shim it up with some spacers and then bolt the wish bone up... but I'm getting ahead of ourselves...
More tomorrow.
Sam.