Technical PROGRESS REPORT, UPDATED, NOW WITH MORE PICS

This is my car to refresh your memories.

The problem is that my hood is running uphill to the grill as verified by a laser that I used to confirm my suspicion. I need to drop the grill 1 1/2 inches in order to fix it. However the water outlets wont allow the radiator/grille assembly to drop as they will barely clear the cross-member currently.

I am thinking of removing the cross-member and welding it back in an inch and a half lower. I don't see why this wont work other than it will raise the front end height and I like it where it is.

Even with the weight of the blown flathead the front end is RIGID on my car. I weigh in about 250 and I can barely make the frame bounce when I jump on it. So while I have the spring out I was going to remove a leaf from the chrome super slider Posie spring. This is both to lower the car and make it a bit softer so my kidneys don't bleed.

Here come the question, will one leaf being removed make up for the 1 1/2" drop I am making to the cross-member? Those with experience, leave a number. Those without, take one.

 

If you remove the main leaf I think you can get that 1.5" you need. If you remove any of the others, I doubt it.

Have you stepped back about 20 feet and looked at your car from the side? Does the hood look goofy from there? I don't think lasers belong in hot rod building. But a calibrated eyeball does.

 

IF (a big 'if') a good radiator shop could move your lower nipples up by a pair of flat (oval) tubes, how in the world would you make the shell match up with your inner fender fairings???
'Drop the crossmember'? Impractical... Please think this through.

 

Absolutely Alchemy, that is why I used the laser because it looked funky. I used a 1/4" green fine line tape and applied it to the under side of the body line from back to front. You can see the tape climb at the cowl to the grille. The laser was a buddy's idea to verify and clarify what we were looking at and the degree by which we are off. That is how I am sure about the inch and a half.

Well, I am running this car fender-less but your question and concern are still valid Mike as they relate to the inner fenders and how they mate to the grille and cowl. The inner fenders are repops and not good ones at that. Kiwitinbender has seen them on my car and remarked that the mold is really deteriorated on these stampings. As a result they don't fit the grille anyway so I was needing to rework them. It's just metal, cut, weld, grind, right?

Another idea was to cut into the cross member and weld in a half pipe around the water outlets but hat would make clamps and hose install a bitch. And that spring rests under the member so you cant go too far with that idea.

Still another idea was to increase the body height on the frame to account for the disparity. My body was deeply channeled but I did not want that look so I raised it to original height measured off the frame at the cowl. I checked those measurements carefully and I am positive my cowl height is not at issue.

My flathead is on bolt in motor mounts of my making so I can adjust the motor height if needed with relative ease, trans mount is also my design and can be adjusted the same way.

I'm open to suggestions.

 

Get a good radiator shop to remove the top tank, section the core down 1.5 ", then remount the shell and hood lower.. Probably less work to order a sectioned one and sell yours. Walker, and others, make them. I wonder if you also have too many leaves in that front spring. That is an unrelated problem to your Grille and Hood problem, however.....YMMV....

 

If he removes the main leaf, the frame will drop onto the axle.

And yeah, probably too many leaves in the spring. Take out the biggest one, that doesn't have the eyelets in it. Try that. If that is not enough, skip the next one you left in, and take out the one after that one.

 

http://modelengineeringco.com/hoseclam.htm

http://www.honestcharley.com/offset-hose-connectors.html

 

How does removing spring leaves going to change the grille shell to body cowl measurement? the crossmember remains the same as does the radiator.

Mick

 

It doesn't.

In this context, the OP was talking about lowering the crossmember in the frame, to lower the radiator and grille shell, which would raise the frame and body higher over the suspension.

Removing leaves, also in the context that he provided, being that the front suspension is too stiff, would bring the frame and body back down, and make the suspension less stiff.

 

This is the angle of the hood when everything is in the original spot.



Here is what can change your hood angle:

1. Car is still a little bit channeled. The cowl height has to be as tall as it was from factory.
2. Radiator is mounted too high
3. Radiator is not a 34 Ford radiator.
4. Grille is mounted too high on the radiator.

Figure out which one of these four you have going on and you will solve your mystery. My money is on the radiator. Original 34 radiators have brackets on top that the grille mounts to. Those brackets locate the top of the grille and the height of the radiator makes the total height of the grille relative to the air.

Got any radiator/ grille mount pics?

-Abone.

 

Flamedabone pretty much nailed it. We do need a side shot of the car as well as the radiator mounting. I'm now on my 4th 33-34 ford and I can't imagine you having that problem. My car is sectioned so I had to lower the radiator--through--the crossmember. I was able to since I am running a SBC engine. I still need to lower it more but am not in the mood to spend a grand on a (2" lower) radiator. I did notch the crossmember and had the lower outlet raised three inches. Tim

 

It doesn't Mick, but if I lower the cross member it this information will keep the ride height correct.

Bingo Gimpy

Lets deal with these points in order, you know what you are talking about, I respect your builds.
1. The car is heavily channeled but I have returned it to the original specs per 34 measurements
2. Agreed, this is the issue.
3. Radiator is a Brass Works 34 radiator, Lee knows his craft without debate. Aint his first rodeo.
4. The grille is mounted as low as possible on radiator, all brackets are installed and grille is mounted correctly.

Buddy, that is not bad. As you know we do not have a radiator shop any longer in the 'couve. Probably in Portland at Macs. I need to look at that option. It doesn't solve that rigid spring issue but it does beat cutting out the cross member. Hmmm.
I ask, I get. This is why I log in to this site. Thanks gents. I'll check in tomorrow.

 

I lost my radiator shop. They sold their building for $4,500,000, and got out of the business.

The building is going to be replaced with luxury condos.

 

Crap, 4.5 million? That wouldn't be a tough decision for me.

 

And it was about 5000-square-feet.

 

Loved the radiator hair cut idea but after talking to the local shop in Portland and Lee at brass works it lost it's flavor.
Ended up reverting to option 1. Also a good time to box the front of the rails, leaving room for the spreader. That weird bracket hanging out on this side is for my fog light. Still need to fill the gap on the radiator pad to the frame.

And the right side

Its a lot of work, perhaps the radiator itself was at fault but this will fix it. Pulling the leaf out of the spring and putting it back together to check the ride height. With my inner fenders on anyone would be hard pressed to see the change.

I think my next stop is over to Portland to SAR for a set of inner fenders. The ones I bought are horrible stampings. Kiwitinbender, you were right, time to cut my losses and start over with better panels.

I know, I have watched your builds and you put together a beautiful car Tim. Remember one thing though with regard to my build, the body is a steel Speed 33 (very cool but very not original), the frame is from Darrel Schroeder in Portland, a fantastic frame by a world class builder but...(not original. I had a 34 roadster frame but time and the PNW elements had eaten it alive, not worth saving), the Radiator is Brass Works and ridiculously cool with polished tanks and polished shroud (but not original), Drake 34 grille (not original) and of course the inner fenders are repopped crap corn. I have put together a lot of cars and I know that this many pieces from this many different suppliers are not going to fit properly without a ton of work. And it is taking a ton of work!!!

It will be painted this year and it will be wild, it is just taking a lot of work to get there.


Really, the only thing "ford" about my car is the flathead, dash,

 

BB: I hear ya! Walker does sell a 2" lower radiator and you CAN slide the grill down through the inner fenders some, I have done mine that way. That's a couple of things to think on.

 

Knowing what I know now that would have been a good choice, Tim. The welding went well on the cross member, it really is looking good. I will have to contend with the radiator outlets not lining up with the water pumps by an inch and a half but I will figure that out later. Maybe a piece like gimpy showed above or my own version will be the answer.

The goal is to have the car ready for paint by months end. Headed to SAR in Portland first thing tomorrow for new inner fender panels. Always like dropping by that place, like a roadster show in progress. Besides, I need some tower hose clamps for my 62 Nova project so I'll slide by and say hi to Kibby at Super Chevy Parts while I'm slumming south of the border.

 

BB: Side note. My nephew Joe Whitaker, is the owner of
Real Deal Steel in Sanford Florida. They build the new tri-five chevy bodies there as well as the 40 Ford coupe and the camaro bodies. They just started a new line, 66-67 Chevy 2's. Check out their web site, realdealsteel.com. Tim

 

On it!!!

 

I have been busy wrapping up the little Nova for the swap meet next weekend but now its time for some heavy metal updates on the roadster. Mostly pictorial.

Front frame horns boxed and finished. Spreader bar now slides in to mount, tidy.
]
Squaring up very nice. New hood blending into cowl and finishing the install I started a while back of the cowl vent.

Front inner fenders, now the outer inner fenders since this car is fenderless, fit to the grille.

Like a steel picture frame waiting for a flathead work of art...

Cowl ventedilated and hood gappilated,

Still thinking no louvers? Pretty busy already with that "Stromberg porthole" in it.

Last one for now, I am very happy with the lines

 

I like louvers like the next guy but if it was me I'd leave that gorgeous Alyn Swedberg metalwork around the blower as a centerpiece attraction.

 

^^^^^I like the way you think!

 

I could punch some for you, but i`m not going to...

 

Hey, kiwi, you headed to the swap meet next weekend?

 

Billy--I was there--I saw the Nova but didn`t stop. Have you got the 34 sorted?

 

Too bad buddy, I had BFK Coffee in the thermos. Perfect thing for a rainy swap meet.

I'm back on the 34 after freshening up the Nova. The metal work is coming along nicely, doing final fit on the windshield posts and hood. So far so good but slow going. .

 

The hood and inner fenders look like they are exactly where they need to be. As long as the hood sides still fit, you are golden. I love louvers in '34 hoods, but that hood of yours is perfect just the way it is.

The car looks great, glad you got it figured out.

-Abone.

 

So
Are you still stinking up the seats in that little shiverlay or did you find a buyer at PSM?

 

Still stinkin em up Doug. Don't get it, nice little car. May be the problem, sometimes a car can be too nice to cut up and stick a V-8 in it but just not desirable as a 6. I'd rather not do it myself for shear investment purposes. I may keep it and run it at MECUM in June. The Silver auction is at the Clark County Fairgrounds this weekend. I wont run it across that block because it is mostly 82nd ave stuff, if you catch my drift , but I thought I'd park it in the lot and get some visibility with a for sale sign in the window.