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Projects A/SR Model A Survivor Drag Coupster

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by RainierHooker, Mar 3, 2017.

  1. Stan Back
    Joined: Mar 9, 2007
    Posts: 2,178

    Stan Back
    Member
    from California

    I'll try again . . .
     

    Attached Files:

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  2. Stan Back
    Joined: Mar 9, 2007
    Posts: 2,178

    Stan Back
    Member
    from California

    . . . and when I bought it in 1962 . . .
     

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  3. Stan Back
    Joined: Mar 9, 2007
    Posts: 2,178

    Stan Back
    Member
    from California

    . . . an surveying the scenery at El Mirage 50 years later . . .
     

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  4. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    @Stan Back you say that you bought your car in 1962, but that it ran in C/SR in 1955, do you know what organization it ran in then?
     
  5. Stan Back
    Joined: Mar 9, 2007
    Posts: 2,178

    Stan Back
    Member
    from California

    It was marked C -- but I'm with you -- I don't know if the Street Roadster class even existed then. And what Colton organization ran -- I don't know. The SCTA did the timing at the meet I saw.
     
  6. as one guy said ^ "old race cars are dumb "... lol right Evan ......@rainierhooker
     
  7. Man this is neat!
     
  8. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    Tearing down the motor today. Popped the front cover off and found this...

    image.jpeg

    ...that's old congealed assembly lube on the timing gears. Pretty much confirmed that this engine was built a long time ago, but never actually run.

    Wish me luck on my cam and crank excavation.
     
  9. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER


    Stan Backs PDF's converted
    Stan said...
    Just for reference . . . here's mine when I ...first saw it in 1956 . . .

    1956-Roadster_StanBack_1.jpg


    . . . and when I bought it in 1962 . . .

    Roadster-Ad_cropped.jpg


    . . .and surveying the scenery at El Mirage 50 years later

    Spin-Sequence.jpg

    Stan tell us how fast did you go?

    Regards,

    Stogy

     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2017
  10. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    Motor inspection complete.

    All bearings are new. New original Johnson lifters. Valves and guides are re-used, but look lapped to freshly cut seats. Cam looks like a fresh re-grind, but no markings other than the Fort 5-T stamp. Crank is offset ground to 4 1/8".

    I'm going to take the cam down to Delta Camshaft tomorrow to have it checked and measured. And once I get it back I plan to just reassemble, re-lap the valves, and try to get this thing fired in short order.

    In the meantime, I'll clean up the block, paint it red like the motor that got pulled out, and start to work on plumbing.
     
  11. Nice Evan... So what heads are you going to run ? block script Edelbrock , Sharp, Navarro ? @RainierHooker
     
  12. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    I'm running the same 8:1 Edelbrock script heads that came on the car @rob-redm

    With the 3 3/16" bore, 4 1/8" inch stroke, those heads should give me a 9.25:1 compression ratio. With the reliefs cut into the block, that may drop to just at, or just under, 9:1 total. That seems about right for a fairly high-strung carbureted gas flathead.

    The cam has some pretty steep ramps so i'm fairly certain that it is a performance regrind, but we'll see what I get back from Delta. A few other cams were liberated from the same shop by Marshall, and all of those were some pretty wild Potvin and Isky grinds, so there's hope. If nothing else, I'm not above putting a different, silly, bump stick in this motor...
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2017
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  13. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    No blower on this motor @rob-redm

    At least for now this car is going to run pretty much as it did before being hung up.

    image.jpeg

    But, I'm still chugging along on the blown Merc 8CM that might, just might, make its way into this car for a few laughs.
     
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  14. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    Found out where all the seat padding went...

    image.jpeg
     
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  15. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    Man, this is gonna be good. Congrats and subscribed.
     
  16. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    It turns out that this car was, at one time, full fendered. I ran out and collected the original fenders today...

    image.jpeg

    And now I have some decisions to make...

    image.jpeg

    I guess that when this thing makes it back to the strip, it's Fenders on for Street Roadster, and fenders off for Roadster.
     
  17. Use wing nuts!
     
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  18. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    And while I was out, I took the cam over to Delta Camshaft to have it measured. The grind wasn't in any of their books, but looks like it was intended to run blown or on alcohol...

    image.jpeg

    Low duration, not exactly high lift, but a big lobe separation.

    If this grind looks familiar to you, please let me know.
     
  19. T5 was a Ford marking on the cam. Looks like a neat cam grind. I'd run it
     
  20. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    @Chris

    The original engine that was in the car when we drug it home had a Potvin Eliminator Cam in it, I'll probably run something more of that flavor in this motor as the mystery cam will likely need something other than pump gas to make any power.

    I may just have to throw this one in the Mercury blower mill...
     
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  21. Gotcha. I think it's neat that the engine is built with an offset grind and relieved, and I am sure that cam is something special. Do some digging, you will find out what it is.

    I screwed up a few years ago, a guy brought in a Potvin eliminator reground cam (never used) and asked if I wanted it. It had a crude oil slit carved in the center main journal (and rear too?) and I thought it was a back yard reground cam. I gave it to a friend (who still has it) as I figured I would never run such a junky looking thing, only to find out that Potvin liked using 1932 V8 cams for regrinds as they were forged and not cast. The crude oiling passage was Fords work. Hopefully my buddy will use it someday
     
  22. 31Apickup
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 3,366

    31Apickup
    Member

    Neat find, being that the aprons where removed, looks like it was moved to primarily fenderless race trim. I figured they'd have left them on if going back &forth.

    Sent from my SGH-T399 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  23. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    Very well could be. The more I look at this thing, the more convinced I am that this car was abandoned during a transition from a street-strip rig to a more serious dedicated drag car.

    The fenders definitely match the car, as everything, such as the holes for the hood-tiedowns, lines up. They left the brackets for the rear fenders, but removed the running board and front fender brackets.

    The tonneau cover is the other thing that tells me about this transition. With the roll bar in place, you can't install the tonneau, but it is definitely for this car. It is made of the same painted plywood as the dash, the contour fits where the coupe top was cut off, and it seems essential to cover up the ragged cuts and to tie the body sides together. As is the body flexes whenever you open either door, and the wood-framed tonneau should provide bracing to reduce this.

    The story that this thing is really starting to tell me is that whoever built it as a street-strip car to begin with was deep into making this thing a serious contender when all of a sudden it didn't make sense to invest in a flathead powered model A.

    The sad part is, that there was a lot of money sunk into this thing just before it was abandoned. The front and rear tires, the mag, the roll bar. They all look brand new and un-run.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2017
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  24. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    The question now becomes, do I preserve it as-is, back date it to its full-fendered, roll-bar-less version, or continue the likely direction that the original builder gave up on?

    I think I'm going to do the latter. While preserving the base car as is, I'm going to try and add pieces and parts that 'finish' this car's transition to a dedicated drag strip car, and make it 'mine' without irreversibly changing it.

    And as of now, I can't get this rig out of my mind:
    image.jpeg
     
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  25. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    And here's the "Tonneau" that I keep talking about but haven't shown:

    image.jpeg

    image.jpeg

    It is a single piece of plywood, with strips attached to the back end to curl over and conceal the flange where the old coupe top was cut off. Crude, but effective I guess.

    I'm going to make a copy of it, but cut to clear the roll bar. Just for my sake, I'm going to cover my version with some old Naugahyde for a slightly more finished look.
     
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