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Projects A Speedster Comes Out of the Weeds—Build Thread

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by ClarkH, Dec 25, 2015.

  1. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER


    CLHEarlySummer4.jpg

    https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/friday-art-show-06-12-2020.1196595/#post-13623558

    :rolleyes:...Happy Friday...I didn't bob the Rear, I thought it seemed to blend in with the Splash Aprons the Fronts are though at the fwd end. Added Aprons and lowered the Headlights as well...What I gather from conversations in the Fender Threads the lower the aft end of the Fenders the lesser the streams heading upward...

    Happy Friday...I posted one in the Art Show minus the Rear Fender Brace...just for study...

    Credit to All That Inspired This
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2020
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  2. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Hey @Stogy, I really appreciate these ongoing photoshop musings. I find them very inspiring. I particularly got a kick out of your subtle touch of the Mercury Outboards advertisement.

    Reports on recent progress:

    After paint and fitting, I'm calling the rear firewall officially done. I expect I’ll improve it down the road (roll a bead into it and install period latches). But this will serve.

    rear-firewall.JPG

    Seat is refurbished. Same amateur covering, but with the addition of webbing and padding, it is far more comfortable. Again, like the firewall, it will serve until I’m ready for serious interior work.

    refurbed-seat.JPG

    I also addressed the problem of my “strictly decorative” driver’s door. I opened up the hinge relief slot with a die-grinder, buying myself four additional inches of door travel. The opening went from a very tight 13 inches to a still-tight-but-workable 17 inches.

    Before:
    driver-door-ipening-13.JPG

    After:
    driver-door-opening-17.JPG

    Made a similar cut on the passenger side and got 3 additional inches of door travel:
    right-door-opening.JPG

    Flush with success I decided the time had come to install some kind of a step plate on the passenger side to help with ingress and egress. I’ve been collecting cool looking old buggy steps over the years in anticipation of this, but on closer inspection they all ended up being kind of flimsy and difficult to attach to the frame around the splash apons.

    I figured an original running-board iron would be sturdier and easier to install, and could be augmented with bolt-on rumble-seat step pad for a “factory” look.

    Here’s my mockup prior to trimming:
    step.JPG

    My plan was to cut off the excess beyond the step pad and call it good. However, first I had my wife try the step for functionality, and after a few tries she deemed it to be more of an impediment than a help. She found it easier to climb in without the step in the way. It seems the newly widened door opening really helped with that, no step required

    So I’ve removed the step off and put it into the “someday” pile. I may want to bolt it back on when our golden years catch up with us…
     
  3. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
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    Thank you @ClarkH, I truly enjoy getting into the journey and it's a way of going back in a timewarp with a purpose but also to just ad a warm smile to your adventure...Such an awesome escape from reality machine. Love the details. I spy an interesting inner panel on the passenger side...and I was just thinking of how much you have done to bring this grassketcase back from its former resting place.

    That step may be one of those things you have to move up or down to find the right sweet spot to assist rather than hinder...I suspect that was actually below the frame a fair amount as that bracket is L shaped and below the apron but maybe it has to be lower yet.

    I'm sure it's much like my Sport Coupe in that there is really only one way to get in without getting oneself in knots or jammed...

    Hope your able to get out for a drive while your making these upgrades...
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2020
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  4. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Good eye, Stogy. I'm sure I don't need to tell you, of all people, that a picture is worth a thousand words. :D I carry a couple pics of the car as it was orginally found. They're in magnetic sleeves so I can show them with people who want to know more about the car's history.
    IMG_2166.JPG
     
  5. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    @ClarkH, has the former owner ever seen this since you brought it back...my rusty memory thinks you may have. I hope you may have that opportunity. I can't imagine you would be met with anything but a big thumbs up.
     
  6. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The former owner came by to check it out a number of years ago. He was delighted and took lots of pictures. But that was before paint and full assembly. At the time he told me he was moving out to the Olympic Peninsula. I told him he'll always have "visitation rights," but it's a long haul from Seattle.
     
  7. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Email him a link to your Thread...that said if he is like many older folk Internet and Computers and even Smart(stupid) Phones are not high on the priorities or affordable...you may have even done that at the time of your last visit...
     
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  8. Peanut 1959
    Joined: Oct 11, 2008
    Posts: 2,179

    Peanut 1959
    Member

    In order to be useful (ergonomically speaking), I would think that the step would need to be a bit further back on the frame. Maybe in line with the front of the seat cushion.
     
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  9. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
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    Afraid I don't have an email and he was a land-line guy. In fact, when he came by to take pictures, he appeared to be using an old school 35mm SLR.

    Good suggestion. If my wife strugges with it, I'll keep that in mind. For now she seems to be OK with hopping in.
     
  10. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    OK guys, more ups and downs…

    I think I mentioned last summer that I discovered a bent rear wheel. I could feel it around 25-30, and it would really shake around 40 mph. So last winter I got a replacement wheel, bolted it on, and still had a rear wobble.

    Turns out, not only was the wheel bent, but the drum/hub assembly was warped as well. So early in spring I secured a nice pair of ’40 drums in the Hamb classifieds, and last week I finally got around to installing them.

    Good news: The replacement drums spin true. The wobble is gone!

    Not so good news: As always, a number of related issues arose from this. And I’m hoping maybe some of you have input.

    The first issue: I am getting limited contact with my rear brake shoes. It’s obvious just from looking. And of course, nobody arcs brakes around here anymore. Now, I’ve heard of guys sticking longboard sandpaper to the drum and running/braking on jack stands as a kind of DIY way of seating the shoes to the drums. I’m thinking of giving it a try. Is that crazy, or worth a shot?

    The second issue: The way in which the previous owner converted these rears to hydraulic is OK, but not ideal. He did not trim of backing plate lip and drum brake surface, which I gather is the best way of getting clearance. Instead, he just shimmed the axel so as to bring the drum out far enough to eliminate interference.

    Thing is, the axles were shimmed so much that he had to get creative in order to spin the castle nuts far enough onto the spindles to allow for a cotter pin. His solution was to do away with the fiber seal and washer that are supposed to be positioned inside the castle nut. He simply torqued the nut right against the drum. The recess where the fiber washer is supposed to go was egged out so that the entire nut would seat inside the recess. When the nuts are properly torqued, you can just get the cotter pin through the hole

    Here’s the old drum, with the nut resting in the fiber seal recess; this is how it ran on the car:
    old-drum.JPG

    But of course, the nut doesn’t fit into the recess on the replacement drums (at least, not yet):
    new-drum.JPG

    So here’s my dilemma. The “correct” way of dealing with this would probably be to dismantle these brakes and do them right—i.e. trim the backing plate and drum. But thanks to the shutdown, what few local machine shops we have left around here all have months of backlog.

    I showed this setup to a couple guys (my brother and @Hitchhiker), and the general consensus was A) they’ve seen worse, and B) I drive it so little that seeking perfection is overkill. They seemed to think I could get away with the absence of a washer and seal, so long as the nut is properly torqued and secured with a cotter pin.

    What do you guys think? Right now I lean toward running it this way at least for summer, and maybe tearing back into it next winter if/when I can find a machine shop willing to do it.

    Assuming I go this route, the next decision is whether to widen the relief on these new drums so the nut will fit inside, or just grind the high shoulders off the nuts so they will fit into the existing recess. I would only need to take off the very tips of the hex, if that makes sense. They’re OEM Ford, so there will be plenty of good solid material left.

    I lean toward modifying the easily replaceable nuts instead of the more expensive drums.

    Any thoughts?
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2020
  11. 31Apickup
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 3,367

    31Apickup
    Member

    I know that brasscarguy had a full machine shop, he’s out my way but haven’t seen him on here in a while.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
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  12. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
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    That is a great suggestion! I've been by his place before. I will definitley give him a call.
     
  13. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Can you possible find a castilated sub that has a lower profile perhaps with even a wider flange to seat on the outer face of the hub and of course a grade suited for this application?

    Yes it would be a bitch to tighten...but you just use proper tooling. Sometimes you have to mod a socket by removing material to eliminate built in chambers to increase contact to shallower nuts and lay on heavy pressure while torquing to suit to minimize slip off, damage and injury...

    61acj8FRgIL._AC_SY355_.jpg

    41dxEqpxhWL._AC_SX355_.jpg

    Castle-Slotted-Nuts.jpg

    :rolleyes:...so many and if you could source another it could be painted up to look like it's part of the vintage makeup of course...

    Credit to Photographers, Owners
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2020
  14. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
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    Thank you @Stogy, that is an interesting idea. I could check with the guys at Tacoma Screw Products, just down the road. Maybe they have something low profile in a grade 8.
     
  15. whtbaron
    Joined: Sep 12, 2012
    Posts: 579

    whtbaron
    Member
    from manitoba

    Been a while since I checked in on your progress... it`s looking great.
     
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  16. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I’m back on the road! Here’s the car after my wife and I took her for a holiday spin around the lake earlier this morning.
    roadster1.JPG
    roadster4.JPG
    roadster2.JPG

    First time out with the new windshield, and it was worth it! No more feeling like a dog with its heads stuck out the window. Also nice to have a working speedometer—can’t believe I put up no speedo for two years, and all that was needed to fix it was a $12 cable in stock at the local parts store. Doh!

    Obviously, this means I resolved my spindle/drum/hub issues. Another shout-out to my brother for his help with that. Also my thanks to @Stogy for putting me on the right path to spindle nuts. Had no luck with fastener suppliers (both local and online) but found exactly what I needed in the scrap bolt bucket at my brother’s shop.

    spindle-nut.JPG

    The Hamb also gifted me with the proper instructions for adjusting these ’40-style brakes. What a difference! I love this place.
     
  17. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
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    Love when a plan comes together @ClarkH it looks fantastic...Is this also the maiden voyage for the Newly mounted headlights? It sure is nice to get out and experience the Wild Blue Yonder to finalize the sometimes hard earned gains...
     
  18. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Yes @Stogy, also the first time out with the lights. It's nice to end a drive with the lights in the exact same postion as when I started!
     
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  19. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
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    Saturday, the car and I got our first really big test.



    180 miles running with a group of speedsters, including this 4,000 ft climb up Mt. Baker. How about that sheer drop? You better believe, I was mentally reviewing every suspension and brake attachment during that climb. I figure if she didn’t overheat there on a hot August day, she’s not going to overheat.

    group forward.JPG

    lodge.JPG
    Nice group of people and some really cool cars. And we ran them hard. The Mercury performed great. Had a rear main leak that cleared up after 100 miles (I figure the rope seal finally swelled) and by the end the water pump was starting to growl. But that’s minor stuff. All in all, ran like a champ! And I’m totally digging the windshield for long runs.

    sunset2.JPG
     
  20. ROADSTER1927
    Joined: Feb 14, 2009
    Posts: 3,127

    ROADSTER1927
    Member

    Super cool. great run!:)
     
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  21. Kume
    Joined: Jan 23, 2010
    Posts: 980

    Kume
    Member

    A couple of interesting looking Chevrolet speedsters there. group forward.JPG
     
  22. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That's the Spirit...It doesn't get much better than that...And a serious workout at 180 miles was that total or a 1 way...Either is still a great reliability run...
     
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  23. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
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    Here's a brief panorama. The first speedster you see (with the pass door open) has a straight-8 Buick and flat out flies.

     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2020
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  24. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,278

    loudbang
    Member

    The green one at 0:07 looking like he could use your loose headlight bucket trick. :)
     
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  25. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Yes, a busted headlight mount. Our only really significant casualty, easily fixed with duct tape.

    Issues other than that inclued my growling water pump (my fault--belt was too tight) and a wonky electric fuel pump on one of the Chevys. The pump would gulp air periodically and stop moving fuel. Solution was for the driver to plug the vent with his thumb and blow hard down the fill tube for about five seconds. It would start right up and run fine for 2-3 hours until it did it again.
     
  26. 48fordnut
    Joined: Nov 4, 2005
    Posts: 4,215

    48fordnut
    Member Emeritus

    Clark, thanks for the ticket, and ride. Powerful job.
     
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  27. Part Junkie
    Joined: Apr 15, 2013
    Posts: 3

    Part Junkie
    Member
    from Seattle

    That was the most fun on 4 wheels that I have had in a long time. I am the brother that Clark talks about helping him from time to time. Felt like I was holding his hand leading up to this trip. But once we got going there was no stoping Clark. I have not seen a bigger smile on his face in years. Clementine was put threw the ringer on that run. We did loose 1 part Off the car on the trip. But I will let Clark tell you.
     
  28. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Most of my spare time since my last post has been spent on house issues. Ah, summer. You know how it goes. But did manage to squeeze in a little time for the speedster.

    Ordered a new sealed bearing water pump to replace the unit that had started growling on the Mt. Baker endurance run. Was kind of annoyed because the failing pump was relatively new, a year out of warranty but with only a couple hundred miles on it.

    Proceeded with my post-tour nut-and-bolt and made an odd discovery. Under the hood, I found one of the radiator support rods lying on the frame rail next to the generator. Visualizing how that could have gotten from the top of the engine compartment to the bottom, I zeroed in on the fan. Sure enough, each blade had a curl and fresh scar at the tip.

    Started the car and verified. The growling noise wasn’t the pump bearing. It was a bent fan. Immediately cancelled my water pump order and paid a visit to @Hitchhiker, keeper of the great parts hoard. He had a dozen or so nice fans in a box. (Thanks again, Matt.)

    This actually solved a lingering mystery from the Mt Baker tour—this is the episode that my brother @Part Junkie was referring to in his recent post (see above). At one point coming down the mountain we heard a sudden brief burst of loud bangs under the car. A momentary rat-tat-tat and then it was gone. We immediately stopped to check it out but couldn’t find anything. All vital connections look good, nothing appeared to be missing, and a walk of the preceding stretch of road revealed no escaped pieces. We finally decided it must have been a rock or maybe a wheel weight letting go.

    But obviously it was that support rod coming loose and coming into contact with the fan. Kind of a miracle it got flung into a nice safe spot and didn’t damage anything else (like, say, the freshly re-cored radiator).

    Since I had to remove the pump to change the fan, I took the opportunity to paint the pump yellow, so as to match the head. I should have done this when I originally installed it, but I was in a hurry. Ever since, each time I opened the hood, I’d look at the garish combination of red block, yellow head and green pump and think of Easter.

    Not that I’m especially happy with having it all red and yellow. But the block was already painted red when I got it, and I think an original Winfield yellow head deserves to be yellow, so that’s where I am. At least the green is gone.

    WaPump-paint.JPG

    As you can see, I also took a safety cue from aviation and painted the fan tips yellow. With the radiator mounted 4 inches forward, that fan sits in out in space, a hazard for the unwary. Looks kinda cool.

    Got everything installed and it the growl is gone.



    Finished just in time for another endurance run…
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2020
  29. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,097

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    Looks way better! I can about imagine how it felt putting the puzzle together in your head about the traveling radiator stay! Haha gotta love it
     
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  30. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Well, it didn't exactly take a Sherlock Holmes, but I was pleased at how quickly my aging brain put 2 and 2 together. Elementary!

    I was even more pleased that the solution was a used fan (¢¢¢) as opposed to a new water pump ($$$).
     
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