Hot Rods 1937 Dodge Ol Bessy is Coming Home....redux

Dad,

Dodge is insured. Full coverage for now at blue book value. Towing and rental, etc is included. Won't be enough at actual cash value but it gets her some protection as we test drive and get her to and from the final mechanical shops. And, it saved me a 1 hour phone call while standing at the DMV counter. Now I can go stand in line for days and get the title, registration and plate.

Once the paper is done, I'll look into just how much I'll be driving and go back through USAAs antique car insurance for an agreed value policy and hopefully find a policy without night time, interstate or other restrictions on use.

 

BigTen,

Thanks for taking my call today. I think I have the basic tune established. There is a lot (a ton) of advance in the adjustable can on the distributor. Got it backed nearly all the way off, about 3/4 turn from locked out and still pulling about 12 to 14 degrees of additional advance at 3400 rpm. But its much smoother and steadier through out the range.

Set the initial back to 6 degrees as you recommended for this bone stock motor. With the vacuum disconnected I'm seeing 28 to 30 degrees advance at 3400 rpm. Hooking the vacuum advance back up bumps it up to 40-42 degrees at the same rpm level. Good for now, some road time will tell if its too much or not enough.

Idle hovers around 730 to 750 rpm and smooth/quiter out of the short straight pipes. Ported vacuum seems to be under an inch on the gauge at that level. Manifold vacuum at hot idle is a steady 19ish inches.

I'm headed back to the garage to set up the progressive linkage on the second carb. I suspect a couple things will need done after the exhaust is on/front aligned and we can drive it. Most likely pull the carbs as I suspect two issues.

I believe the transition slot is uncovered a bit too much at hot idle on the primary carb. (idle mix screws will barely kill the engine when shut and their best run position is 1/4 to 1/3 turn out from closed, seemingly a bit tight....and though less stinky now, we'll see if she still spit lots of fuel fumes as we go. All the plugs are soot black/may need jetted down some.)

As for the secondary carb, I note the throttle plate has a tiny hitch on closing. (I checked and both idle circuit screws on the secondary carb are fully closed, so no extra fuel flow there on the idle.) May need the butterfly lapped to fit so it closes fully and smoothly. May just need a stiffer return spring and proper adjustment of the throttle rod.

On a side note, i did run it out of gas while tuning......guess we been running it a lot over the last month and used up the first 5 gallons. Added 2 more and she fired right back up.

Cold natured hussy too. I'll be converting that manual choke to automatic.

 

First trip to the gas pump in 30 years. 25 mile ride. 64 mph top speed. Carb #2 makes her dig in and leap forward with a rebel roar! Exhaust....we need an exhaust!

 

Some of the gals got together for Mothers Day

 

And what lovely ladies they are.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Have you got the fenders on this yet??

 

Woo Hoo! Bessy gets her custom exhaust on 6 July! Now off to the garage to tweak breaks, accelerator and springs, center the rack, get some positive cam-aster or what ever they call that Toppy Tire Outty - Bottom Tire Innie position, recenter the steering wheel, and drive it around the neighborhood enough to program the speedometer and drive the mosquitoes outta the yard with the open exhaust. FUN!!!!!

 

No sir. Just back yesterday from over a month taking care of Mother in VA. Have appointment for Tracey to bend up the custom exhaust on 6 July. For now, catching up on some home projects for the wife that langushed over the past 8 months while I worked on Bessy Daily. I did get out this week and get her tagged and registered. So, I can do some test rides and alignment tweaks while I wait for the exhaust appointment. Also need to finish setting up the automatic choke. Title should come shortly after I get the fenders back on and go get the final NC required mechanical inspection. Hope to have it all together and ready for that inspection by the end of july and we intend to drive her to Deer camp throughout Oct, Nov and Dec. Prolly be a few deer hauled home in the trunk this year. First we've done that in over 30 years too. Ol Bessy always took me hunting, had her up many a mountain fire road in my youth.

 

About have the alignment of the front end done. Digital angle gauge arrived today, much easier to read than a pointer gauge.

Settings should be close enough to ride well and not scrub up the tread too much until I get it to a shop for more accurate settings/double check. Per the FatMan, I put in about +1/2 degree camber both sides, +3 1/2 to 4 degree caster both sides and I'll check/set toe when I get the wheels on after brunch.

I did all the work wheels off and the lower control arms on jack stands set to ride height, should be close enough. Certainly, the Passenger side front is no longer pointing out for a hard right turn! Hard to find equal reference points on an 83 year old frame but with the fenders off, that one didn't even need a stretched string to see!

 

Alignment is done, finished up with 3/16" toe. Frame rails are pretty straight, was helpful to use them to get both wheels pointing forward/parallel to each other. Double checked with tape on front and back of rotors and tires. Good enough, except I stripped 3 of 5 lug nuts on the drivers side at 40 ft lbs. Lugs look okay, nuts are boogered. Off to the auto parts store to get 10 new ones.

 

Dad,

Drivers side was towed out a little....



Back of the passenger side front tire, towed out a lot......



Measured the ride height with the wheels on and set it up on jack stands at the same height, weight on the control arms. Above tire tow photos were taken after centering the box....just drove it into the garage, back and forth a few times and marked the support. Spun the wheel both ways once the wheels were up and the center was dead on the mark from driving it into place.



Put in the camber on both sides about .5 degrees....



Put in the caster on both sides, between 3.5 and 4 degrees. Did not check the 20 degree turn angles. Will leave that for the shop with the fancy equipment.



Once the wheels were back on and I set the toe for 3/16" in, buttoned her up and reset the strings and all looked good. What a pain in the ass.....first and hopefully last home tape measure and angle finder alignment!

 

Fenders and running boards and inner fenders tomorrow.....after i clean the BBQ grill.

 

Just a heads up for you. Some of the parts store lug nuts are questionable in the thread size and quality.

I found that out the hard way when I had one gall and destroy a stud on my Winter quick change because the only way it was coming off was to cut it off.

My solution was to go out to the self serve wrecking yard and remove some OEM lug nuts from several Ford Crown Victorias.

I got a full set and some spares.

Comparing them to the quality of the parts store lug nuts, the OEM Ford ones are obviously much better.

 

Yep, i got ten new ones for the front. Longer body to use the entire thread on the front studs. I think I'll loose the rear acorn nuts and replace with same that I got for the front. The other ones must have been a grade 2 or 3 as the threads pulled right out of them. The new ones took 50 ft lbs without any argument.

 

Glorious!!
Dad.
10 months ago I got your car back. I thought 90 days. I didn't know how much I didn't know. But the skills you and Pappy taught me carried us through. And now, she's driving again!!!!

 

Looks great. Congrats!

 

Gotta start doing a little driving. Got the smoothie fab running boards shimmed and quiet this morning. Probably do the battery box cover tomorrow and get started on the floor soon. Wish i had the exhaust done, would allow some hearing of stuff during test rides! I don't know how youngins ride around with straight pipes and shit cans on their cars......but they do and they can still hear well enough to talk on the phone while driving.

 

Ol Bessy has her first battery box cover in my lifetime.....56 years. Should keep the seat from shorting it out.

 

Dad
Good day today. I got the garage door on Ol Bessy's side working great. Marked off one mile to program the speedometer. Gonna make that ride tomorrow. Buffed out paint scuffs. Got the cowl vent aligned and sealing. Bent the hood trim back in the right direction, now it doesn't pop off. Adjusted the hood handles so they dont rub the fenders and tighten down the hood for no squeaks.

 

40 mile run today...


Got the speedometer programmed after about 6 tries. It kept shutting down about half way through the set up. Figgured it out. Every time it blinked off was when the electric fan spun up. Must have a heavy initial draw. I'll have to put it on a relay to keep if from spinning when I shut the motor off, should keep it from eating up the battery.


Anyway, got it out on the road. 55 mph out bound. Max speed per the speedometer log was 63 mph on the way back. Rides great, loud as hell with 6 ft straight pipes coming out right by my ear at the B pillar. Ah well, ol man quite exhaust gets fabbed up on 6 July.


The rough home alignment is much better and she tracks straight. On our rough country roads there is no noticeable bump steer. But, i think she's going to need a sway bar fabricated. I'll have to call the mfgr and see what they have.


For now, I gotta go buy a new grease gun and get the front and rear suspension fully greased.


Next week some time I should have the flooring and insulation for the floor. That'll start to help with the heat and noise.


Coming together.

I believe I'm going to have to ditch the Thunderbird and get either a real coupe or truck to keep Ol Bessy company.

 

Floor is insulated. Doubled up on the trans hump to stop some heat. Had enough to get the rear wheel arches at the rear seat and in the trunk as well. Ribbed black flooring is on the way, that'll keep the flooring very close to original.

 

Front doors insulated, 3/8 in Siless closed cell foam. Half the firewall done. Doubled up for about 6/10 in of the Siless closed cell foam. More is on the way for roof, back doors and rear quarters.


Lap belts for four also arrived.

 

Dad,
Rear seat belts installed. Prolly should have removed the new spare tire first....earned myself tire patch today.

 

Front belts in, no additional tires murdered completing the job.

 

Double plug leaked down but I got the jack and flat spare secured.

 

Dad,
Insulation completed and started making patterns to cut the flooring when it arrives in July..

 

Car looks real nice,youll have a lot of fun in it,back when you started this thread you didnt know what you were going to do,it wasnt really all that hard was it.your dad will be real happy.One thing when you cut your flooring,make it a little too big,so you can have room to trim it,you can make it smaller but not bigger,ask me how i found out the hard way,on my car the carpet is about 1/4 inch too small all the way around.. Good Luck and keep posting. Harvey

 

Thanks Harvey, loving the work. The complements, encouragement and help here and from some local guys has made a big difference. Its all coming together now. Couple weeks to an exhaust and should get final title inspection in late july. Already on the road some. Having fun. Dad asked, and I told him yes.....I'm ready to do a truck or coupe with a 292 L6 and tri carbs or a V8 and Auto OD to replace the 03 Tbird and I'm also ready to do a few cars for flipping. Dad seems to want to get involved. We'll see how this works out.

 

Spent some time today double checking things after I finished the roof insulation and doubling up insulation on the passenger side floor (exhaust side), and rear seat areas.

Found a drip from the front transmission seal. Will probably let it go unless it gets bad. It may stop, but probably not.

Crawled under and ran the entire length of fuel and brake lines. No leaks and the tank is solid in place with no leaks. Time to fill it to the top.

While under I took measurements from known points on the frame to the rear axle, good and pushing straight forward on the parallel leaf springs. Measurements were within 1/16" and I doubt I could get it any better by fiddling any more. I figured there was no need to calculate the thrust angle since its essentially perfect.

Checked all the tie rods, ball joints and rear spring shackles. Naturally the front is new and accepted grease just fine. Lubed them again anyway. The rear shackles were NOS installs in 1986 time frame along with new springs. They had about 2500 miles on them when the wreck ocured and about 30 years of sitting around. I was glad Friday when all 4 took grease left to right and after a 30 mile run today, shot them again with grease. All seems well.

Found a squeek in the running board and temporarily fixed it....permanent fix will be to dismount the front bracket and trim 1/4" off an offending piece of sheet metal that is rubbing the inside bottom edge of the board.

Looked under the car and compared it to photos of factory exhaust. Looks like we can go under the frame as needed. Part will have to be due to battery cables crossing over under the floor from drivers seat box to passenger side starter. Muffler can tuck up under the passenger rear seat area like original. I think we'll run 2.25" aluminized all the way out. Just a single exhaust.

 

I think that's about right, and just about time to hit the road.