Hot Rods 31 Model A Victoria Build w/Pics – Miss Vicky

Ummmm, no comment Lee.

I got a little more done today on the exhaust. I notched the driver's side header collector for steering linkage. I used a piece of the left over stainless tubing instead of heating the collector and bashing it with a hammer.

 

Great fix, good thinking!

 

This is one tight package!!! You're doing a great job and everything looks great.

 

Got the exhaust fully welded up, and had it blasted to give it a clean matte texture.








Then I made a new clutch cable bracket to clear the exhaust.

 

We've come to expect great stuff from you Dave...and you always deliver!

 

Nice work Dave!

 

Looking real good.

 

That bracket rules!

 

Great progress.

 

Great job of showing the details of some of the fabrication.
Thanks for sharing.
Keep workin'
Al

 

Got the fuel lines all wrapped up – all 3/8 steel, double flared.

I wanted to keep things tucked up nice and tight, so I ended up buying two tubing benders – a 180° and a 90°. I modified the 90° bender (the red one in pic) by cutting off the piece that holds the tube. This allowed me to make multiple bends very close together. I just used steel wire to hold the tube while bending it.

The brass block was an ordinary squared off tee – I cut and filed 45° angles on the corners to give it a little style.

 

Good idea on the tubing bender. And nice work as always

 

Nice looking fuel line work! Who's intake manifold is that? Bob

 

Thanks Bob. The intake belongs to me, but Weiand made it. HA HA!

 

Really nice work Dave. Great idea on the tube bender!

 

Things are getting really tight between the rails at this point. Because I'm running block hugger headers and I tucked the exhaust so close to the oil pan, there was no way to make the electrical connections to the starter solenoid because they were pointing down, straight into the exhaust. That meant I had to move the leads to the opposite side of the solenoid. Here's how I did it.


I cut up a piece of copper plate into two strips.




I bent them around the solenoid.




Then I press fit and soldered new threaded leads on the relocated ends.




And to wrap it up, I insulated the copper strips with shrink wrap and slipped a strip of rubber insulation between the leads and the solenoid.




Here's the starter installed. The blue at the bottom is the frame rail.

 

An elegant solution.....

 

Dave, you are doing a great job on your project and also doing a good job of showing us some really cool technical details; but... at the risk of upsetting a fellow Virginian, I think you ought to add a clamp to the rubber fuel hose that attaches to the really neat hard lines... just sayin'! Dang cool starter solution, too, BTW.
Keep workin'
Al

 

Al, under your advice, I have added hose clamps to the fuel line. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

 

Wow Dave , that's one heck of a noggin you're putting to use here.
I draw much inspiration from your posts. Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

Dave, Nice work on the starter connections!

 

Genius. Nice work.

 

OJ, from Clarke County Speed came by today to tune the carbs. And my club buddies John Mullen and Martin Fuchs also stopped by to help out and provide moral support. I only had two small electrical fires (because I'm a wiring neanderthal), but OJ and John got me on the right track. All-in-all it was a good day – here are a few pictures and videos.


Doctor OJ is in.




I thought we would just be firing the car up, but OJ broke out his jumper cables and put them in the exhaust pipes. I didn't want to question his methods, so I just let him do his thing.




Just a few more tweaks.




And finally, here are a couple of videos:

 

Great hanging with you guys yesterday! And I'm glad I finally heard that beast running...
Can't wait for you to have it all back together!

 

Oh boy, you've got to be excited !!!

 

A great day with friends is always special.... OJ you are truly a master carb builder and tuner Dave's hemi sounds and runs awesome, Great job man... Thanks for lunch Dave and thanks Martin for bringing the wire wheels down. I hope you and OJ had a great trip back home .

 

Sundays, HotRods and a couple buddies, it don't get better than that. We had a ball, a lot of fun was made at Daves' expense over some temporary wiring and a junk switch but he recovered with pizzas'.
That is a very sweet little 354, I am trying to build one myself and I can appreciate the time and effort he has put into this engine.
Model 'A' Vicky and a hemi, whats not to like about that, eh?

 

Thanks John, your praise is unearned but appreciated. I had a great ride home and stopped to visit with Bobby Hilton for a bit, he is thrashing on the 'Gentlemans Coupe' and it is nicer than the pics in the build thread.
Hope to see you guys again soon.

 

That thing sounds great!