Oh how I love my Banger- FEBUARY banger meet

I run a 4lb pressure cap on my A's. They are a little hard to find. I think a few of the A parts suppliers have them; but, I usually order them at my local Napa store. I have used reworked stock radiators and new ones. Snyders has the best deal I think. You can buy them all set up; but, are more $. The filler must be set up as high as you can- remember a little clearence for the hood. The water lies low in the filler neck- maybe a 1/4 inch. After filling it up 4 or 5 times you will see where it likes to be and just leave it there. Make sure the block is clean. Run a little Dash, Tide, Cascade, etc- something that will remove the years of sludge in the block. Flush it till the water comes out clear. Can take many flushes! Don't forget radiators do wear out and won't cool well. I run a thermostat. I also use Water Wetter. This has been discussed many time on here. Remember, the more you hope em up, the more cooling you need.

 

i was wondering if a model a flywheel housing and bell housing will fit on a model b engine? i would like to build the b motor i have with lightend flywheel set to run a v8 pressure plate with a clutch disc with t5 splines in it i found from speedway. all of the adapter plates i have found for the t5 fit onto a model a bell housing. any other options for running the t5 on a model b flywheel housing? i dont have a b bell housing but to have a b trans. any help would be appriciated. thanks

 

I'm running an A flywheel housing on a B engine. The bigest modification you have to do is the oil pan. The section of the B pan that is the lower half of the flywheel housing has to be cut off. Other then that, the A flywheel housing will bolt right up to the B block.

 

thanks! i didnt want to pull apart that b engine and have it not work.

 

will an a pan work on the b motor? i have pleanty of a parts to choose from.

 

Hey Binger good to see you posting here. I've seen the inside of that garage in your avitar. Say hi to Mom for me. Still have plans for B-ville?

 

Hey Binger good to see you posting here. I've seen the inside of that garage in your avitar. Say hi to Mom for me. Still have plans for B-ville?[/quote]
im doing well. mom is well too! i would love to go to bville this year but there is a glidden tour in golden co at the end on the month too. as for as the car goes i just have the frame built and am making decisons about engine trans rear end now. once the running gear is done then on to the chop. here are some photos.

 

Scarry... but it's a 4-banger, really. Apologies in advance, just had to post it. Gary

 

An A pan will fit on a B block, But, you have to drill and tap two holes in the block near the rear main cap for the pan bolts that are not there in the B pan. You also have to make indentations in the A pan that make room for the larger B rods. Not a hard addaptation.

 

thanks for the info. if i drill the crank and run full pressure oil can i just remove the tray in the oil pan?

 

Got my roadster home last night, will be banger powered with the old stock engine out of my coupe for the time being. As soon as the 3' of snow melts off my rollin A chassis, I will throw it together. Really going for the "Zach Suhr" look on this one...like his primer red one below.

 

cool deal! Congrats

 

The tray has baffles that help control the surge of oil. You can drill holes in the dipper wells so they no longer hold oil but if you are low on oil and you punch it the oil may surge away from the pump. I have welded baffles in my pan with openings that hold the oil around the pump. They have one way hinged gates in them to hold around the oil. Not a good feeling to be turning 3 grand or more and look and you have no or very little pressure when accelerating.

 

Just in time for Autorama. Dropped the Coupe down more in the rear last night and have it sitting where I want it now. More details here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=332870

 

Elrod,
The car looks good. how did you get the rear so low?

 

Thanks for the information on the pressure versus non-pressure cooling system. I understand the dynamics of the fluid under pressure, just not sure whether or not it is necessary or advised on a mild banger.

Being new to the banger scene, I have read many of the past "banger meet" threads and have learned a lot. However, I have not yet found any talk of the cooling system. I will keep looking, but searching inside a series of particular threads, for something specific, is a little daunting. If anyone has a recollection of which "banger meet", or meets, have this information, I would be very appreciative.

 

Elrod, I love it!

 

thanks for the info.

 

I was inspired by Chris and decided to break up my Sunday and take my camera for a ride. Enjoy.

 

Elrod! looks really old school!!
Crazydaddyo, enjoyed the ride, good video!! All the thrill of a James Bond chase!!

 

Thanks Bill! This picture from 1953 has been a big motivator in the build!

 

Hey guys, I need some rear spring advice...

I Z'ed the rear of the frame per the Tardel Book, and am running an 8 leaf roadster spring minus the biggest leaf besides the main leaf (7 leaves). No reversed eye. There is only 1.5 to 2 inches clearance between my rear radius rods and the frame. Not a problem at the moment, because the spring is so stiff and the car is so light that the rear doesn't move at all. The ride is terrible and the car is real tail happy since the rear is so much stiffer than the front.

The Tardel book recommends (I think) 4 leaves and use the rest as spacers on the bottom of the spring. I have a friend with an AARA speedster that weighs pretty close to my car and he is running 3 leaves with spacers (on dirt...). How many springs are you guys running on the back of your highboy roadsters?

I am almost hitting with 7 leaves and a non-reversed eye main leaf, and it appears the reason the Tardel / Bishop car can run with 4 leaves and a reversed eye main leaf is the '42-48 rear radius rods. The V8 rear radius rods mount to the bottom two bolts and dip down, while the Model A rear radius rods mount to the two leading bolts and come pretty straight to the torque tube. Looks like a 4-6" difference in clearance to me.

I am gonna have to pull the rearend and go through it in the next month or two, and would like to make some changes to loosen up the rearend while I have it out. Would it be possible for me to put the spacers on top of the spring pack instead of the bottom of the spring pack? The thought would be that I could loosen up the spring without significantly altering the ride height. I worry that the rear spring might not be stable in the crossmemember, and that the spacers on top of the spring pack will still be adding too much to the overall stiffness?

I have a set of '42-48 rear radius rods (short) as well as a set of '37-41 rear radius rods (long). I am thinking about adapting (bending and shortening) a set of the long radius rods to mount to the stock Model A tab. Has anybody tried this? Just looking for advice and helpful hints... Looks like I may need to clearance the forged end of the radius rod around the zerk at the bottom of the axle by the hub.

If the V8 radius rods give more clearance - as it appears they will do - then I could put the spacers on the bottom of the spring pack and not worry about the subsequent lowering of the rearend. Just trying not to fix stuff that isn't broken...

Anything else you can do to make these springs work well? It is an old original spring and I did notice that the reversed eye main spring from Posies that we put on my Dad's coupe - with sliders - works MUCH better than mine. Sand them smooth and put a little grease between the leaves?

Here's a shot of the car for reference...



Thanks,
Will Kimble

 

if you put the space on top of the spring pack you will just raise the car back up
i would use some tubing and basically "c" notch the farm in the area where the radius rod would contact. it would be on an angle and then i would box the frame section. a friend of mine the same problem and that was the solutions that we came up with.
tk

 

Well I haven't driven my baby bangered Pop since August last year when I blew the engine. Decided that 2000 miles wasn't far enough to get between rebuilds so I dropped the idea of modifying them and put a stock engine back in. Reading the banger meet while I'm off work has got me all fired up again, though I won't be renewing the insurance on the car I certainly am craving some banger action again.

 

One other point that I didn't see mentioned is that the semi-circle at the rear of the pan, that presses on the cork seal on the rear main cap will have to be cut larger


Herb Kephart

 

Well, I appreciate the input but I'm not gonna C notch the frame - there has to be a better way.

The sad truth is I could've got the car just as low and would have been able to make these changes to the spring if I hadn't Z'ed the frame... Live and learn, this is my first Model A and I am figuring it out as I go.

So one out of the box idea would be to prep a stock (not Z'ed) frame and transfer the whole car over. Then remove leaves as desired and switch to a reversed main leaf if there is still room to go lower. I would have to make a new rear platform for the trunk, but that wouldn't be a big deal.

There are some old timers around here with a lot of dirt track experience, a couple of them advised me to split the rear bones and attach them to tabs on the frame rails with tie rod ends. Said that is one way you solve that clearance issue. I understand why this is not the best solution, but I see a lot of cars with split rear bones and wonder how well it might work on a 1600 lb car with 70 HP and very little travel in the rear?

I will take some pictures if I decide to work with the V8 rear radius rods, might help somebody with a similar problem.

I have also heard or read that there is a certain order you should remove leaves from the rear spring - anybody have any opinions about this?

Thanks,
Will Kimble

 

This whole post is great.....you guys do it right; that's for sure!!! Good stuff !!!

 

If it is over 30 when I get up I am driving my A to work. I got the bat. on charge good to go

 

Jonny nothing wrong with little pommy bangers lots of fun jilly is still enjoying her restored 1934 tudor ford y its slow but certainly gets heaps of looks especialy when folks see its a girl driving