Hot Rods >>1935 Ford Coupe: An Idiots Guide To Buiding A Hot Rod PART THREE!!!<<<

This thread is going south real fast. Quick, someone say "35 coupe" or something more on-topic!!!!!!

 

Here Brett!

 

Whew! I feel better now!

That mo'sheen is aw-sum!

 

Tiny update. I went to shop night the other day to attempt to learn how to TIG this piece in but my friend and guru Damon aka Mr. Redtop convinced me that there were plenty of easier things to learn on other then this piece. So he did me a huge solid and took it into work and started on it during his coffee breaks. I am stoked to get that dash filled, primed and painted to get those gauges in there! My pants got a little tight when Jeremy sent me this pic of what had been done so far yesterday!




Also it the question of how reliable the OIL pressure and Temp gauges would be on the Desoto set I have. A friend Curt told me it would be wise to run SW temp and oil pressure gauges at the bottom of the dash to keep a good eye on the vitals. Or at the very least add some dummy lights which I planned on doing for the Oil Pressure anyways. Any thoughts?

 

Well, the need for "dummy" lights (actually "idiot" lights) is obvious to anyone who knows you .... dummy lights would be useless (like dummy spots, they wouldn't illuminate ). I like the 2 gage panel under the dash idea; if you can get the Desotos to work, too, you can use the others to verify their accuracy, then remove the underdash panel. Or, just keep them under there - the way it was done on many cars back then. vic

 

Thanks Uncle Vic....for the part that didn't slight me you old dog you!

I have a million questions to ask you at breakfast tomorrow. I am getting ready to wire and I need to know a bunch of stuff and since you're the best at this....well I trust you to put me in the right direction.

As for the Idiot lights....well I need one at least for the Oil Pressure. I was driving the T Bucket back one night and as I drove over a railroad I nicked the oil pan which I didn't know until I heard that "tick tick tick" sound and finally looked down at the oil pressure gauge which of course read ZERO. So yeah at least that one would be nice.

 

Aw, you didn't need Damon for that, we could've migged it up and a gallon of bondo later it would almost look as good as it does now

 

a flip down auxiliary gauge pod would be cool.

 

I was thinking about that but wouldn't the movement of the flip down disturb the copper tube that the temp and oil gauges use? Like Work harden them?

 

Mount the gauges, then fab an art/deco cover for them....make it look like a tissue box or something. Or you could mount them overhead and use a sun visor to camoflauge them.

 

Water temp is flexible. For the oil gauge you either go electric or you have to use a remote thing-a-ma-gadget....that I can't remember what it is called. It's really common on race cars.

 

I don't necessarily have to hide them. I just bought SW's and I love the look as I had them in my t bucket so I don't have to get crazy disguising them. I bought two that are sweep gauges like these... I might mount them under the waterfall with a deco looking piece of stainless or a chromed piece with the ignition switch in the center/bottom triangulating them.

 

as long as it's shiny, I'll like it.

 

Kind of something like this....

 

That will be awesome!

 

Another update sent from Mr. Redtop. This is almost real time here fellers hahah!!!! So nice!!!!

 

If you want to run the gauges and have idiot lights also, you will need to run multiple senders.

The idiot lights are pretty simple, the senders are just a switch. When the oil pressure (or temp) goes out of range, the switch turns on. Run a wire from the battery (through a fuse) to one side of the idiot light, and another wire from the other side of the light to the sender. (I'm assuming the sender screws into the block somewhere and has one terminal on it. If you get a sender that has two terminals on it, wire it the same way, just run the other terminal to ground.) The only thing you need to worry about is that the sender trips at the right pressure (or temp) for what you want, and that the threads match where you want to attach it.

 

Well that turned out super nice! Daemon is indeed a guru swami yogi.

 

That looks oddly familiar...

With the gauges mounted there, you'll have to do a reach around to get to the cowl vent. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

If you get the gauges checked and good senders I would run them. I went with classics and warning lights for my '36.

 

Is yours like that Django? I can't find any pics of your interior damn it!! Tell me what you did. I was thinking more along the lines of a Model a gauge pod but only with 3. And now that you mention it I was thinking about the cowl vent......

....wait I just got your joke about the reach around hahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Give me a Seinfeld reference anyday ( not the reach around but the "not that there's anything wrong with that")!!!!


Again like Vic said, I might just test my car with these and then see if the Desoto's work properly but I kind of like the reassurance of knowing that the SW's are doing their job.



Update: now I know what you're talking about. I googled that image and it's from your car isn't it? Hahah!!! I'm all over the place today!!

 

Haha, yeah, it is one that I am selling. It came out of our 3 window because we put a stock dash back in it. They all have functional stock gauges for most part. My oil temp gauge isn't hooked up, because I have a SW type gage hidden to the left of the steering column. I felt comfortable going back to the stock temp gauge because the car has never run hot since I put the Walker radiator in 4 years ago.

I like the dash filled in. Hmm, maybe I should fix it and keep it! It is one of the most solid dashes I've seen in several years.

I don't have any pics on the computer yet of the 5 window's new interior (and of the new paint ), but the dash is pretty much the same. I'm going to change out the dash knobs for something simpler I think too. Maybe when I put in my new Bob Drake windshield regulator that we ordered 2 years ago since it finally came last week.

 

Whoa I'm stoked to see all that progress. That sounds killer!!! I have a bunch of old light switches that i am going to put come simple chrome ball knobs to clean it up like you said. I just want to make sure I keep everything simple.

Sometimes I think I should have kept the '35 gauges because they are beautiful but I didn't have a good set on hand and I did have the desotos. I think it'll all turn out great in the end and give a little something to the interior with out punching you in the face.

Hurry updates us with some new pics of that new interior and paint!!!!

 

Jeffy - Maybe mount the idiot light(s) on the 2 gauge panel. I'll look in the shop for an "old" style light with a jeweled dome and bring it with me tomorrow am. vic

 

I like the DeSoto gauges. It's a good custom modification that alludes to the original gauges. It's cool that you have the freedom to do that. I've become kinda married to the stock stuff lately. Kevin says I am an enigma... I want my hot rods to look completely stock, even though they clearly are not.

I'm going to wait until after the Power Tour and the Hunnert Car Heads Up to post pics. It's a surprise.

 

It's done!! ready for some filler primer and paint!! Thanks so much Damon!!! I still have weld the studs for the gauges on the backside so they're just sitting under there but I am so damn stoked on them. Look exactly how I envisioned.



Uncle Vic, I think that's a good idea. I was either going to do there or one in the original ignition hole on the column. I'd very much appreciate any help there!!!

Django, thanks I think they are going to look pretty cool too but I get what you're saying. I feel like I'm getting that way in my age as well with some stuff. Pretty soon we'll be building on 100 point systems for the AACA.

 

Boy.. it is really looking good...I know all about kid's and the time it takes..but any delay is worth the time spent with them..keep postin'..sold my '36 5W..wish I had it back...d32

 

nice work on the dash it will look bitchin when done

 

Dash looks great dude, one step closer!

 

Let me just make another note that REDTOP did the dash for me and it's all his doing. He's incredibly talented and by far the best metal man I know. I'd put his work up against anyone. He's just that good.

He's also going to be helping me on my '32 very soon as we got some necessary pieces in and are almost ready to get cracking. But that's a whole other story.