Hot Rods 32 cabriolet that was in same Spokane family 75 years now DRIVING with 425 GS Buick engine!!

Have a Great 4th Al! Don't forget the pics.

 

A Ask and you shall receive. The above show both the new and old water pumps. I already had transferred the fan assembly to the new pump... ain't it pretty?!
You can see that the old pump also had been modified to provide a hot water inlet for the heater. I wasn't inclined to start drilling an tapping on my new pump. No dang way; particularly when these water pump cores are so hard to find… at least for me.
In the above picture I have removed the old pump, covered up the old chevy orange with ford red, and cleaned the pump mounting surface. That Ford red sure still looks an awful lot like the old Chevy orange in the picture. It is red.
Here's the completed installation. Need to add water pump lubricant, anti-freeze, and a little grease to the back grease fitting... the one with a cap on it. I've got to consult with the local tractor service company in town to ensure I get the right grease and get educated on using the old style grease fitting. If it gets cumbersome, you can bet that jim dandy capped old style grease fitting will get updated!
I also had to remove the SECOND fitting for hot water heater access toward the rear of the head and plug it. I left the THIRD hole and fitting installed long ago for the temperature sending unit. I get nervous just thinking about drilling into cast material; let alone the process of tapping it.
The wheels are going to tire store first thing tomorrow and I hope to get them back, mounted with new tires and balanced, tomorrow afternoon. After dropping the wheels, I'll go to the tractor repair business for help with maintaining the water pump.
We are making progress!!

 

They put grease fittings on everything back then. When you got a lube job, it really meant something! Are you getting anxious yet? Enjoy the ride, maybe some ice cream?! Later, Carp

 

Just a bit of trivia. The Model A guys frequently use a cast aluminum fan that looks like the original two blade fan. The original 2 blade fan was carried over from 1931 and used on the 1932. The original two blade fans had a tendency to fail and throw a blade into the hood or elsewhere. If you get a two blade aluminum fan be sure to get a new one from a reputable vendor (Bratton's?). Be careful if buying one used as the early ones had manufacturing problems. The one you have is the one designed for 1933 and used by Ford as a replacement for 1928-34. Look carefully at your fan blade especially around the rivets for cracks starting to develop or evidence that the fan blades were bent and straightened. People in the past had the bad habit of using the fan to turn the engine. The 4 blade fans have been reported to fail but not as often. I run them (the 4 blade fans like you have) on on my cars and don't worry about them.

Charlie Stephens

 

Check with the guy that built your water pump about how to care for it. Some of the rebuilders blocked off passages when they installed a sealed bearing and installed a grease fitting only for looks. Using a high pressure grease gun where there is no place for the grease to go can potentially crack the water pump casting. Ford in their instruction book recommended pressure gun lubricant every 1000 miles. A lot of guys use water proof grease for the water pump but I would be afraid it would block the radiator if it got by the seals. Again check with the guy that rebuilt the pump, he may have installed a bearing that doesn't need to be greased and the fitting is there only for show.

I referenced the "Instruction Book". Hope you have a copy of it along with "The 1932 Ford Book" from the Early Ford V8 Club (https://shop.efv8.org/collections/ford-books/products/1932-ford-book-softbound-all-new).

Charlie Stephens

 

I had a pretty lousy experience with Posies a few years back. I ordered a spring direct from them for the front of my 34. Reversed eyes, sliders, etc.
After waiting a few weeks for them to 'custom make it' and paying an arm and a leg for shipping to Canada (and duty!) I finally got my prized new spring out of the box... just to find out that it was arched off centre.
I called them to ask about a replacement, and was advised that once I shipped it back (on my dime), they would confirm a manufacturing defect, make a new one, and ship it out to me.
They'll never get another buck from me.

 

Sorry to hear that others have bad experiences as well. Hopefully there are very few for all of us!
Good news and bad news.
The good news is my tire guy was able to get, mount, and balance the rear wheels today by closing time.
Looks pretty good to me as a starting point. The new setup definitely fills the wheelwell better. I've got to check the axle to frame clearance first but hope I can lower it at least 2 inches and maybe a bit more if there is adequate axle clearance.
The bad news the front tires, which WERE on hand locally, are out of stock and won't be here until Monday or Tuesday. That just gives me more time to check out the potential lowering block situation and time to gather more parts. I also ordered a case of the jim dandy water pump lubricant recommended by my pump builder. Stuff was cheap but shipping about matched cost of the case. Airosol makes the McKay 50807 water pump lubricant that was only $16.44 for a case of 12... heck of deal if not for $15 shipping. Hopefully it will get here about time have front tires ready to go.
With the size of old tires, I often ran around town in third and sometimes forth. With the new tires, I'll be running 50 MPH in first!! Well, maybe not that fast but I expect it will make a difference. These tires are about an inch and 3/4 shorter than the ones I put on my 36 flathead powered roadster. Sure made a difference in that car, too, but the sidewall seemed just a bit much to me so I stepped it down slightly for the 32 cabriolet.
I also noticed in the process that the passenger rear brake caliper seemed to be dragging but not sure if it is the caliper or how the emergency brake is adjusted... another opportunity!
Ain't hot rodding great?!
I'm itching to go riding in the new setup. Comfort will be greatly improved just by knowing no longer riding on twenty some year old tires; maybe older!
BTW, I checked the size and spacing of the wheels from Wheelsmith before I delivered the wheels to the tire shop and they were right on spec... as always.
I'm using 15X5 on front with 3 inch backspace and 16X6 on rear with 4 inch backspace... if anybody is interested.

 

Forgot to respond to Charlie that I ended up packing the rear fitting with white lithium grease by hand... removed trick vintage grease fitting and packed all I could in the hole with my finger and then reinstalled the fitting which I suspect put a bit of pressure on the grease I put in there I think but hopefully with no ill effects.

 

It took all day but 3" lowering blocks are now in place.

Before:
After:

I'm liking it.

 

Can you put an offset hole in the block and the spring clamp plate so you could move the axle back about an inch on the springs? With it that low the tire doesn't look centered in the fender anymore. I did this once on a 39 Chevy, and it wasn't hard at all. Shouldn't need to modify your driveshaft, and the shocks might have enough wiggle room too.

 

Chassis Engineering lowering blocks make that option very easy and use allen head bolts as centering pins. The tire is pretty close to center if not centered. I think the shape of the roll of the rear part of the fender looks like it might have gotten "reworked" at some time in the past to be a bit more open. I'm no authority on 32 fenders, or anything else for that matter!, so that may just be my imagination.
I'm satisfied with it as is for now but I'll keep your thoughts in mind for the future if I change the rear springs. A complicating factor for the future is that I had to drill out the locating holes on the rear axle pads to accept the larger locating pin used by the blocks. I guess there is a little room to be gained with the present setup if the smaller locating pins on the springs aren't exactly centered. In theory the blocks could be slid all the way to the rear on the smaller pin to gain a little movement but wouldn't be much. Probably a quarter inch at most. I believe them to be pretty much centered on the pin at present as I took considerable time to do so. I doubt my powerful 4 banger will be causing the rear end to move on the springs.

Since you mentioned the shocks, it reminded me of something I realized during the installation. I was adding 3" blocks so figured I'd need much shorter shocks. Wrong! I wasn't thinking the situation through.
Luckily I remembered to measure the mount to mount distance on the rear shocks before I started. It was 12".
Being so smart, I went ahead and removed both shocks even though getting to the top nut on the shock was a pain to reach. After I finished the installation of the new blocks, I reached up and bounced the car some and it was very springy. I looked at the shock mount and thought I should measure the new mount to mount distance as a needed reference when buying new shocks. Lo and behold! It was 11.5"! A difference of a half inch. I put the same shocks back on and all seems good... except I realize the job would have been much easier if I had just removed the shocks from the lower mount while I was installing the blocks.
I've done similar stuff in the past and guess I will in the future so I share this with hopes of maybe saving some of y'all some time by remembering to wait before jumping into such quick assumptions.

 

Tape measures don't mean a thing in tire fitment (except to keep both sides equal). If it looks right, it is right. Doesn't matter a bit if the fender's been reworked, as long as the tire looks like it belongs now. Just make sure you are happy with it.

My 32 sedan had some 16x7.00 bias ply Firestone tires and they looked like they were about a half inch too far forward in the fender. I just switched to some slightly larger tires, and now that they fill up the fender opening a bit more, you don't see the misalignment as much.

 

And... if it measures right, but looks wrong... it's wrong.

 

The late Randy aka "Deuce Roadster" used to preach quite often about moving the axle 3/4" on every 32 Ford full fender build. It works. It is also true with some other USA car brands around that year...an odd look if a stock car gets lowered, if you don't relocate the axle.
.

 

Thanks for the added insight and I agree it has to look right.
Now that I've got the rear suspension completed, I got to looking a bit harder... and using a measuring tape because my eye said something wasn't quite right; I realized the car is a bit higher in the rear on the drivers side. Further examination looks to me like the driver side rear spring has a little more arch than on the passenger side.
Having no clue about the original source of these springs, it might be time to do some more spring measuring and maybe order a set of new rear springs. I could monkey with the individual springs on the driver side but each looks to have the same composition; just the driver side has more arch. Opportunities!
I'll wait until I get the new front wheels and tires mounted before launching into further adjustments.
It seems the front of the car is canted toward the passenger side as well.
We'll figure it out... I hope!
Thanks again for following along and sharing your thoughts and experiences.

 

put the tape away for a moment. The odd look is easy to spot "if" you only look at the rear fender as if the tail and front of the fender was blocked out of your vision.

What I can try to describe?, is to stare at the exact highest center of the wheel opening/fender beaded edge...then look just a little further forward and a little to the rear....study the gap differences in the two "circular" lines of the tire diameter, and the curve of the fender edge/bead in that mostly center part....you should see that they don't follow exactly if the axle is not relocated.

.

 

Before you buy new springs you might try removing both rear springs and swapping leaves around to come up with a pair that match.

 

The good news is I finally got the front wheels and installed them this morning.

Sure wish that front change had been the expected 3" versus the maybe 1.5". Also, the rear is a little off center as discussed and the dang thing leans front and rear to the passenger side!
Opportunities!
I'm looking at all the issues and researching and collecting ideas.
Still, I am VERY happy to be riding on new tires!! The car will ride much more comfortably to me no matter what the suspension is doing.
I also used the new super deluxe water pump lubricant and filled the radiator.
Hope to get a test drive later today.
All these new issues are just part of building or just tweaking a car to make it your own. It is fun even if it gets a bit frustrating at times.
Thanks again for following along and sharing your thoughts and ideas.
Happy Al

 

Sure does make a difference Al. Maybe the front will settle over time. Another excuse to get some ice cream?!

 

Sit in the drivers seat. That should fix your passenger lean issue.

 

^^^ Thank you, Speedy! I knew I was overlooking somethin'!!
Actually, given the springiness of the rear springs when both shocks were disconnected; you might be onto more than you think!
I just got back from a short test drive... it looked like it was about to rain!
The edge of the fender to the ground difference in the rear is only 5/8" or so, now.
The weird thing is that the front fenders, measured through the center of the wheel to bottom edge of fender differs by 1.25"! Need to look a little closer into that as well. The front has a new spring pack but I'm pretty certain I got the centering pin located in center of hole in the chassis. That is why I am really baffled why the front would be off by twice as much as the rear. Also, why is front leaning when triangulated front suspension with stock radius rod ball still in original location?
Maybe I do need to get in the driver's seat, as Speedy suggests, and have somebody else do the measuring.
I also looked into how much rubber overdrive I might get with the taller rear tires. Before changing the tires, 30 MPH on speedometer gave an actual speed of 40 MPH. Now, that same 30 MPH on speedometer gives and actual speed of 45 MPH. Calculates to about 12.5% but want to do further testing at higher speeds. Before it was pretty much a standard 10 MPH. I never got to 5th gear but I did wave at the motorcycle cop when I passed him going both ways.

 

Al, you could have sped along side the cop and asked for speedo check at 25-30-35-40-100 like I did years ago in my OT car. He laughed! One of the positive contacts with a cop.

If you are going to get crazy chasing a lean on a transverse leaf car, I'd suggest:

1. Measure at more than one point. Frame horn, frame at axle, frame at firewall, then sheet metal at a few spots. See if it's consistent. 86 year old car with a body swap again...
2. See if there is a circle track guy nearby with scales. Weigh each corner.

 

Decided it was a good time to follow up on the suggestion to go get ice cream.

Then I let some parents take pictures of their two children in the car.



Then I drove over to the historic home that was built in the 1700s, I think, of the family that owned the whole area before it became a town.
I thought it was a great setting for a few pictures and the sun was shining brightly.
It rode and drove great.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Al

 

Shouldn't have added the hub caps!
I put the hub caps on the car and went for a longer ride to see how car ran.
Noticed after awhile that the brakes seemed to be dragging.
Not sure how many or where so pulled into parking lot to research.
Turns out the RF caliper was the only one that seemed really hot.
Car looks good with caps; doesn't it?
Anyway, I looked in trash bin and found a cup and walked around the building until I found a working outside faucet. After a number of trips with the cup filled with water to cool down the caliper and disc, I was able to roll the car.
I let it sit for about 30 minutes total and took off for home vowing not to use the brakes.
That worked for most of the way with some serious down shifting a time or two but I did decide to use the brakes at that light where the town policeman was sitting in a parking lot watching the intersection.
It was a relief when I let off brake and the car rolled a bit on its own. Drove the rest of the way home without incident.
Guess I'll be pulling at least one of those brand new hubcaps soon.
Dang! Things were going so well.
Can't wait to see the parts person start looking for RF brake caliper for 4WDB 1932 Ford with the 4 cylinder engine.
I'm thinking this puppy might be getting 4 new calipers.

Forgot to mention the destroyed barn in the background was in wrong place when some severe weather came through a week or so ago.

 

I like it with the caps!


Phil

 

Great story. Car is looking great. Thanks for sharing.

 

I put the trim rings on the car but can't get it out of the garage because I'm having the carport ceiling redone to eliminate any water leaks.
I'm trying to figure out how to get the gas gauge to work but the wiring is a challenge but the top of the tank is readily accessible and the PO had the tank cleaned and guaranteed by an outfit called Renew something or other and has a serial number they installed on the tank so I'm hoping it will last.
While messing around in the rumble trunk area, after I removed the seat, I decided to peek behind the upholstery panels.

Look what I found!!


How about that?
It seems to be the remnants of an old roll bar. Each piece had a heavy duty tab that might have been used to secure a removable portion of the roll bar.
What do y'all think?
Now we know that Doug was most likely very active with the Deer Park drag strip that he helped start.
Anybody up that way remember a dragging cabriolet?
Any pictures in anybody's pile of one?
Thanks,
Surprised Al

 

Just read the whole thread. Great story, thanks for posting and by all means keep it going. We want to see where you take this.

 

Thanks for the kind words about the thread.
Here's the car with the new trim rings and I purposely parked it so y'all get to see the river.

The gas gauge parts arrived today and I pretended it was the old days when you always installed whatever got delivered that day before you went to bed.
I'm not quite up to the old days standard but I did get the sending unit with adapter installed in my tank and also installed the panel to hold the new gas gauge.
I also found that my gas tank was not exactly stock on the inside.
I'm sure what it is but there are some definite panels within the gas tank that gave a whole new meaning to "opportunity!" I think I got it installed in such a manner that it will work properly. I was getting too tired to do all the added work of running a new sending wire and wiring the gauge for a test run before I installed the sending unit. I was getting so sick of trying to match up the wholes on the tank with the wholes on the adapter with the holes on the gasket and then repeating the process trying to get the sending unit, and gasket!, aligned with the adapter. I just kept at it and tweaked a few things, and it all eventually went together. And, I didn't cuss or throw anything.
More updates soon with further progress... I hope!!

 

Forgot to mention I found the answer to one of the possible reasons the old gas gauge wasn't working.
It looked like it wasn't stuck or anything and freely moved through the range but then I noticed something... a sloshing sound!! Dang float had gas in it... not an uncommon problem for old sending units. The sad part is the PO just installed this sending unit after having the tank cleaned and sealed.

Here is the installed sending unit with the adapter. You can tell by the many marks and arrows pointing in different directions that I had a time finally finding the correct combination of alignments.
I thought it was all ready and was trying to install the adapter and realized I was still off! That necessitated still another rework of the sending unit mechanism.
I determined that the old sending unit wire has failed somewhere between the tank and gauge so I've got to run a new one; which I had planned to do all along but thought I'd test it first.
In further news, I have run a direct sending unit wire out of the trunk and across the seat to the new gauge and hooked it up just to see if the gauge registered anything. About half a tank! Eureka!
Now if it will still work after I get it permanently mounted.
Updates to follow.
Thanks for your interest in the car's evolution.
I took it for a quick ride yesterday between showers and got an offer of a trade involving a 2018 Ford suv with a lot of blue lights but I was cautioned that there might be some trouble with the title... the police investigator making the offer should know!
BTW, when I stopped to speak to him; he asked for my driver's license and registration. Before I could react, he added that he also needed for me to exit the car... so he could take it for a spin around the block!
I've know both officers for some time and it was great to get a chance to speak to them and thank them for all they do to keep us safe.