Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Hi Art,

Thank you for the message. First and foremost, I hope you are feeling better. There's nothing worse than being out of commission. Also, thank you for reading my TRJ piece and this whole thread. We've covered a lot of ground, in the past two years, that's for sure.

To address your questions:

1) I considered a high-compression head on numerous occasions, but I ended up never pulling the trigger because of the condition of the babbitt. The engine is an older rebuild, and I didn't feel it was necessary to tear it down when it seemed to be doing just fine. I knew that this version wasn't forever, so my number one goal has always been reliability. I need to keep this thing on the road!

2) I never ended up running shocks. The main factor there was cost. Friction shocks were out of my budget, and I don't have the facilities to weld on tube shock brackets here at my home garage. For how I use the car, it seems to be fine without them?

3) The body on the car is actually really nice. The "wonkiest" part is near the tack strip on the passenger side where there's a homemade patch panel. Other than the filled bullet holes in the doors, brazed door handle holes and the usual rust in the wheelwells and lower cowl, it's a presentable body. The subrails are just about perfect.

Best of luck with the health and the firewall. Post some pictures when you're done!

 

I'm in the middle of a number of work deadlines right now, but I figured I would share a quick snapshot to let you guys know that the roadster is heading in the right direction. Yesterday, David and I combined a Portapower and a cross-beam on a 1928 building to work the frame back into shape. With any luck I'll be able to share the full update tomorrow.

 

Very much so! I'm about to jump into the more in-depth explanation. Speaking of Mr. Morrison: did you know he piloted wheelstanders during drag racing's Golden Age?

Don't worry, all. We took proper safety precautions!

 

I'm back at my desk and it's time for a long-overdue update. For those of you who were wondering where I've been, you can read the full account here.

And for those of you have already read and commented, I just wanted to say thank you. I appreciate you guys more than you know. Without you, there would be no Jalopy Journal and no Roadster Build Thread.

 

Let's turn back the clock to early October. The car is 100% disassembled, and the frame is sitting on a custom table built out of pieces of the Golden Gate Bridge (1937 International Orange paint and all). David has just purchased a Portapower, and we're determined to straighten the frame.

First, he recommends I create a plumbob out of a nut and some twine. I affix it the ceiling beam beneath a favorite Rodder's Journal poster.

Next, we break out the Portapower with extensions.

It's important to note that the iPhone lens makes this look crooked, even though it's not. We measured it in all directions using multiple levels. Once it was square, worked the handle and watched the Portapower slowly do its job. We had to push it pretty far because the frame wanted to spring back. When it was all said and done, we successfully brought the passenger side down 1/2-inch.

Much better.

We checked everything with a level and, after we gave it the green light, I started reassembly. I made a point to do it entirely by myself.

A fun part was installing the engine with this heavy duty chain hoist that David found at the local dump. It's a real workhorse.

While I was at it, I trimmed the lower motor mounts to better fit the frame.

 

As I prepared to install the front shock mounts, I had to fill these five holes.

It's far from perfect, but there's no denying that it's a genuine '32 frame. I plan to finesse it more prior to powdercoat. Due to popular demand, David revamped some vintage brown primer for me to spray.
Getting a feel for the front shock placement with our rigid Mocshocs.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work late on Wednedsay, which meant that I got to be in Petaluma at night for the first time ever. It was such a treat to see the Buckhorn's sign lit up on the Boulevard. I plan to take a picture of my roadster beneath its neon glow soon.

 

On Saturday morning I was back in Petaluma with a clear goal in mind: mount the front shocks. Whatever else I finished would be a bonus.

David and I started with a roadster trip to M. Maselli & Sons hardware. With its shelves, stacks and racks of rusty treasure, the place is like a real-life I Spy book.

Everywhere we looked, I found inspiration for future projects.

Motor Mountain, anyone?

After spending a few minutes there, David and I decided that I need to build a minibike chopper next. We're naming it "The Pen Knife" and it's going to be unlike anything you've ever seen. But that'll be after the A is 100% dialed in.

Once we both got the hardware we needed, we hopped back in his roadster and headed back to the shop.

Over at home base, I rolled my chassis out into the parking lot. That's where David snapped this picture that I really like. The car is looking more complete than ever and, as you can clearly see, I'm happy to be right there working on it.

As I dove into the shock bracket installation, I heard a familiar sound. It was Brendan in his Model A roadster. The car is spot-on with its dropped axle, smooth running 'banger and Mitchell overdrive.

Such a clean car, inside and out.

If this isn't hot rodding, then I don't know what is!

 

To properly drill the holes for the brackets, I removed the front wheels and drums. Initially, I used a series of small drills, but they were no match for the frame. So, I broke out the heavy artillery.

This thing means business. It had no problem drilling the 7/16ths holes for the shock brackets.

Measure, measure and measure again.
Just like that, we have shocks!

For this car, I am running Ridetech shocks on all four corners. I've been working with Ridetech/Fox Factory as a writer/photographer for the past year and a half, and I'm genuinely interested to see how they'll work with all my original early Ford parts. They'll be painted white to match.

Oh, and see that decal on there? I designed the crest logo and made foil stickers to help give the shocks a more vintage look.
A couple more shots.

So, with that, we've finished all major chassis fabrication.

I jumped up and down on the frame; it feels good and doesn't bottom out.

 

Other odds'n ends

Started installing the exhaust bolts, but realized that I'm going to need some thick washers. Looks like another hardware store trip is in order.

Hammer Time!

I've been driving Version 1.5 a lot lately. Tonight I took it for a foggy night cruise through the Haight and Richmond. I always enjoy shopping at Amoeba and grabbing a slice of pizza from Escape from New York. The car was liking the crisp fall air.

Well, that about does it for the update. I have a few small parts on the way, and I'm itching to get back to the shop to turn some wrenches. Next up, we're tackling the pedals and rebuilding the F-1 steering box.

Thank you everyone for sticking with me!

 

Thanks guys for sticking with me!

Thanks, Tim! Whenever I build something, I stress the little things big time. My brother and I are both avid model builders (him more so than me these days, unfortunately), and we're always going to extra mile to add details that add the smallest pieces to the story. We agreed that in a lot of ways these projects are like big model kits. Big or small, the little things matter.

Maybe I told you this already, but back when I was building my Triumph I made a custom parking pass to put on the left front fork. Kind of like the old Missouri motorcycle registration stickers. I stitched together pieces of old postcards and added a slew of my own design elements.
The Arrow Head Motel was a historic motor court in Columbia, Missouri. It sparked my interest in neon signage and was the subject of my first published longform newspaper feature.

Anyways, the shock stickers have a similar feel to this.

I should do a sidebar on it one of these days!

That is some good trivia! I'll get the full scoop from David next time I'm up at the shop.

Thank you for the encouragement, Brian. It's fun to flip back and forth between your thread and mine. I've been loving your progress as of late. Let's keep this going!

Thank you so much. I'm having so much fun and learning every step of the way. What's cool is that I can definitely feel myself becoming more comfortable in the shop, with the tools and with the car itself. I can assemble and disassemble it at the drop of a hat, which I know will be very helpful in the coming years.

I appreciate that! I feel like we're really gaining momentum.

Nothing beats the ol' plumbob!

Feels good to be able to move forward. I've always loved the glow of neon. I'll try to shoot some more next time I'm up there late (hopefully soon).

Thank you! That is a completely fair question, and it's one I had myself. Two things. 1) I jumped around between holes, never filling a full hole at once. This allowed for some cooling. 2) Post-weld I measured everything when I drilled for the F-1 shock mounts. Using my Mocshocks as a rigid guide, the holes landed in the same spot on either side, meaning that everything is in check. I hope it stays that way!