FNG Dumb Questions - 30 Tudor AV8 Related

Building my first Model A and bought someone else's project with a bin full of parts. Coming towards the finish line of getting this thing done and having some problems figuring out the last few parts and have a few questions. I already have shelves of the wrong parts that I've bought over the past year and a half, so I am trying to minimize my ordering mistakes and finish up the car.

If anyone knows a George from Pilesgrove, NJ, tell him his 30 Tudor is almost on the road. Should be another few months. I bought it from a muscle car guy down there that had it for a few years after George but didn't get much done on it.

Question 1 - I have a stock round model A speedo and 39 trans. What speedo cable do I need? Will this work?
http://macsautoparts.com/model-a-fo...ot-long-a17260b/camid/MDA/cp/JS0R3CHL1068542/

Question 2 - I have an F1 box in the car. I need the clamp that holds the steering column to the top of the box and a nut to hold the pitman arm on. I can't find anything in the parts pile or anything online. Is the nut anything special?

Question 3 - I want to use the asphalt wire loom to hide my rebel wiring harness. I have the Tardel book at home, but itching to order stuff today at work. What diameter and length of loom does the book recommend?

Question 4 - What is the "best" low pressure brake light switch? I've read all about them and heard some are good and some are bad. I want to start with the best I can get and then when/if it fails I will switch to the mechanical lever switch.

Question 5 - Exhaust. I know it is all opinion, but 1.75" straight pipes or 2" with short glass packs? Rebuilt stock 8ba Flathead that will be getting some speed parts, but nothing crazy.

I am sure I will have more questions as I try and finish this up. Have it at a buddies shop right now and he is doing the things I don't have the skills for. Looking better every day.

Here she is before she made the trip to my friends shop. I just want to get in and drive.....

 

Its a nice looking A to start with.

Why not just use the mechanical brake light switch to start with? I have pressure switches on two of my projects and they both are fuctional but if they were not or I was running new pluming to my brakes I would use a mechanical switch.

You should be able to find a nut to hold your pitman arm on at any fastener place, you will need to measure the dia of the shaft @ the nut and decide if it is course ot fine thread. I am going to guess that it is fine thread.

I can't help you on the rest of your questions, I imagine that the speedo cable will work as they probably haven't changed much in the last 100 years or so.

Oh I ment to ask you are going to put the drip rails back on it right?

 

Brake lite switch - Harley Davidson
The speedo cable should work. It depends which turtle you have. 28-29 or late 30-31
Better sound with the smaller pipes
A good hardware store should have your loom in the electrical department
Butch

 

thanks for the responses.

porknbeaner - don't really have an exact reason why i want to do the pressure switch, I just want to. just one of those things. still have to install all the top wood, visor and windshield, so I haven't even thought about drip rails yet. might be in the cards in the future, but who knows.

I will track down the nut locally and buy the speedo cable.

Anyone know where I can find the clamp at the base of the column to the F1 steering box?

 

I'll look in my junk for a clamp for ya.

Do me a favor get me a dia for the clamp, I kppe stuff like that but most of the time I can't tell you what it came off of. Or if you want a new one Sacremento Ford will have one. a quick google search should put you in touch with them.

 

I just love a tudor, anybody can build a hot little coupe, but a tudor done right is the tits.
Asphalt tubing, as far as i know, only comes in 50' boxes. I use 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 some larger is handy - 3/4" but i have a hard time getting it. If you want to get fancy, mcmaster-carr has loom that is like a nylon mesh, expandible and get the highheat version (it comes in black and has a white tracer), i really like that stuff. Each have thier good & bad points, the asphalt tube is a whore to get the wires in it with anything longer than 4'.

 

I think I have a steering column clamp if you need on. PM me.

 

Question 1 - That looks like the correct speedo cable.

Question 2 - If you can't get a clamp from one of these guys, Mac's sells them cheap. They probably also sell the sector nut as well. It's the same part from 32 through 48 passenger cars, and on pickups up to 52 also.

Question 3 - Measure the diameter of your actual bundles, because it will be different than what some book says. You will probably need at least 8 feet of all the sizes. It's good to have an assortment on hand. You will find it hard to thread the wire through the small sizes though. Use a wire to PULL a bundle rather than PUSH it.

Question 4 - Forget the pressure and go with the mechanical right now. You will thank us all, I guarantee it.

Question 5 - I'd go with the 1.75 for a more authentic look. But the 2 inch will be easier for the exhaust man.

 

Question 1 - ordered speedo cable

Question 2 - Ordered clamp from Mac's. Gotta find nut somewhere else.

Question 3 - Tardel book says 10 ft of 1/2", 7/16"and 3/8". 30 ft of 1/4". Ordered from Brillman. http://brillman.com/store/q-wire-loom-conduit/asphaltic-wire-loom.html

Question 4 - OK. You guys talked me into the mechanical brake switch. Gonna see my local auto parts store this weekend.

Question 5 - Will be going with 1.75 straight pipes. Hope is sounds similar to Elrod's when it's done. I PM'd him a little while back and that's what he was running but he has some extra parts on top of his engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbul1eO2z8&feature=player_embedded

Thanks for all the help fellas. I am sure I will have a bunch more questions soon.

 

Looks great man! Moving right along!

 

Nice car!

 

I am back with another newbie question and might have painted myself into a corner:

The roof wood was shot and I finally got it all out this weekend. Ready to start fitting the new top wood kit, but have some alignment issues with the body and the doors closing. My passenger door has play in the hinge pins and won't close properly. Where should I start getting things aligned? My guess would be:

1. Remove and replace door hinge pins. Already ordered new sets from Macs, standard and oversized. I've read up that they are a real pain in the next to get out and I've been spraying them with PB Blaster for a while.
2. Shim body wood mounts so doors close properly.
3. Install top wood and then reshim body as needed.

Any tips/tricks to doing all this? Just take my time and check/recheck everything as I go?

 

Get the pins out with loose juice and tapping pressure if you can, but chances are they're rusty and/or wedged in there. You might need to drill them out. Drill small at first and go about 7/8 of the way up, from the underside. Then move up a size or two until you are just reaching through to the outer edge of the pin. Stop before you drill into the hinge body, and try a long narrow punch into the hole to drive it through, from bottom to top. A little heat at the head might be required at this time.

Once the new pins are in, and the new blocks are under the subframe, see if it lines up nice when tightened down. May require shims under the blocks, or grinding a little wood off some. Start aligning the doors at the cowl edge first, then the rear and top next. Will probably take lots of moving adjusting shims here and there.

The way the door gap fits in-and-out, not front or back, is easily adjusted on an A by twisting the door by hand. Then you will probably find cracks inside the door on the corners of the inside panels. After everything is aligned perfectly, hold the door closed and tight, and weld up these cracks. Should hold it solid then.

Install the top wood last, and grind the wood to fit if it seems to twist the body out of alignment. The chances of having the wood fit your body perfectly right out of the box is really slim.

 

Thanks for the quick response. going to get working on the door hinge pins out and replaced this weekend. Checked them last night and they are in there solid. Sprayed them all again and will every night this week.

Ever remove the hinges with the doors and try to beat the hinge pins out without any weight on them? Working by myself it is hard to mess with lifting the door and banging the hinge pins at the same time.

 

I believe there is a tool for removing the pins. I remember one of the catalogs maybe Mac's or Sacramento Ford?

 

They do. I was checking them out, but read up on them and most people think they don't work that well. $25 plus shipping is a little much for me for a one time use tool that may not work.

http://macsautoparts.com/model-a-fo...body-v46335pull/camid/MDA/cp/JS0R3CHL1094307/

 

They are usually pretty dang stuck in there. You are hitting from the bottom and up, right? (pretty obvious) Just don't mushroom out the pins. Consider buying the tool for $25 and then reselling it on the FordBarn for $18. That's now a 7 dollar tool that might be worth it vs the headache.

You may want to put a little heat to the hinges also if you can.

I personally didn't want to remove the hinges from the cowl. Those screws seemed REALLY stuck on my coupe.

 

It's probably a good idea to remove the hinges from the cowl, as beating on the hinges while bolted to the car is WAY MORE work than needed. If you have to drill the machine screws out of the cowl, do it the same way as the pins -- sneak up on it.

But try using an air chisel with a large screwdriver bit welded on the end and a handle out the side first. Just a little air and hand pressure and the screws may bust free. My little brother showed me this trick, and he learned it from somewhere on the HAMB.

 

I believe Brattons' has a better pin removal tool than macs. It'll also take a lot of heat to loosten them up.
Like Alchemys' tool i use an impact driver on the 'a' piller hinge screws. Mine is the old fashioned kind you use with a hammer, his sounds worth trying but either way spend lots of time cleaning the slot so it is nice and square and make sure your bit fits tight.

 

I ordered the tool from Bratton's (Macs was out of stick). I am going to soak the hinge pins twice a day until the tool gets here. If the tool doesn't work, air chisel time. Thanks for all the tips. I will post my progess, but it probably won't be for a week or so. Plenty of other stuff to keep me busy.

 

The air chisel is only for the screws, not the pins. If you use the air chisel on the hinge pins when they aren't supported from the other direction, you WILL bend the hinges.

 

Got the tool and it worked great on the bottom hinge pin. Came right out and the tool worked exactly as it should. Started with the short pin, then used the next size up and then pulled the hinge pin out from the top.

Top and middle hinges are stuck and the pins for the tool bent way too easily. The short pin was too short that the tool bottomed out and the next size up pin was too long that it bent. Looks like I will be drilling the hinge pins out.

 

Excellent thread, Very direct and concise.
Specefic questions and answers were posted and you summarized what you did in the end.

I like the Tudor!

 

Plan to do the wiring Sat AM. Have all the books, rebel harness and isolated most of the wiring I don't need. Any wiring "experts" in the area want to stop by Sat AM to check my layout before I final connect everything? Real simple wiring, I am just way over thinking it.

Hope to do the top wood and interior this weekend and try to make the drive to the race of gentlemen Sat the 20th. Only 6 miles away, I hope to be able to make it.

 

Wiring done, fired up and runs pretty good. Had it running a few months ago and had problems getting it started again this time. Fuel delivery issue and the gas from a few month ago gummed up the fittings and was starving the carbs. Took the fuel lines apart, cleaned it up and she fired right up.

Now for questions.

1. Trans to Torque tube Clamshell has a threaded bung that I was told it for a grease fitting. Installed grease fitting on the top. How much grease do I put in there. Fill it all the way?

2. At low idol it backfires. Was told I need to advance the timing. Running stock distributor, but didn't hook up the vacuum. Have a new bubba distributor to go on soon, but want to finish other stuff before I mess with that. Should I advance it?

3. If I accidentally leave the ignition on, it smokes at the ballast resistor. Happens pretty quickly. Thoughts?

Everything else is running great so far.

 

1. The clamshell zerk is only meant to grease between the inner clam and the outer. You will need to grease the U-joint thoroughly at initial assembly. The scuttlebut is to use John Deere cornhead grease on the U-joint, which is a sticky grease that will stay in the U-joint rather than flinging to the outside.

 

Thanks alchemy.

2.) Going to adjust the timing and see what happens.
3.) Checked and rechecked the wiring and it looks like all is well. Just need to keep the ignition key off.

Question 4. I am running stock model a interior, but moving the front seats back. I have the front brackets with the curve to them. It looks like they should curve towards the rear, but I can't find any photos. Anyone know for sure?

Brackets.


EDIT: As soon as I ask the question, I find a photo on the ford barn. Searched there for almost an hour last night. Curved towards the rear.

 

First drive was Saturday AM. Tried to take the car to the Race of Gentlemen on Saturday, but had some problems and had to drag it home. My car is no longer a pile of parts, it runs and drives. Super stoked!

Back in the garage for a few more nights of work.

 

A week after the last post about my car, Hurricane Sandy came through and destroyed our area and kept me very busy at my day job. Found a few hours this weekend to get back on it and installed the top wood. Felt good to make some progress in the garage after over 4 months.

 

That is a great car you have built. Congratulations.