Projects Shade tree Model A speedster kind of thing

Seriously though... this build is so freakin' cool.

 

45degree to tire. Down makes too much dust. Looks great.

 

Flatford, I agree:

Aesthetically, I like the straight down, too, but that's a good point about the dust. I can try it out a few different ways. I'll end up with extra screw holes on the inside part, but I don't care about that. Thank you all for the input.

 

I'd say turned out, there's nothing "muscle car" about that ride! Get the damned fumes and sound waves away from you, turn it out.

 

Ok. I compromised, for now. This is about 45 degrees, like 48ford suggested. The one screw is holding it fine. It's a tight fit. I appreciate the feedback. You guys made some good points. Blues, there is a slight but noticeable difference in the volume of sound between turned down and sideways.

 

That's because it's not bouncing off the ground.. Get it on a horse track and enjoy.

 

A little late, but check this out.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/cheap-stainless-steel-muffler-tech.123933/

 

Now you tell me. Hahaha. That's a good idea, though.

 

Being a really old SU carb guy, I might add some insite. The tapered needle is identified by very small letters stamped into the staight part of the needle that is secured in place by a set screw. Take the needle out and read the numbers. Then look up on line Joe Curto SU carb restorer. They will have a chart that gives the different dimensions of the needles You can get a different taper for richer idle or the reverse a leaner mixture. You will need to offer the size of your motor the model of your SU carb .

These guys are not speed merchants they are restorers and suppliers of SU parts and they also rebuild. The other issue maybe the oil used in your damper chamber. Most often use motor oil which will slow the piston action down. I found it best to use 10wt or less. The trick is to use light enough oil to get quick response to throttling up, and thick enough to keep the piston from falling down on decell.

Good luck,

brsscarguy

 

Brass,
Thank you. I know about Joe Curto, and the myriad needle choices for these. To tell the truth, I'm getting awfully happy with the way it's running now. I'm pretty far out on the mixture adjusting nut, but still have enough spring compression to keep it from adjusting itself, and it's running better than it ever has. I already played around with the damper oil, as well. I have 10 in it know, which seems ideal. I hooked up a cable and knob to the enriching arm so I can "choke" it from inside (?) the car, and it starts from cold in a couple of turns, warms up nice. I still have to do something about the smoking issue, and of course those flex pipes. That's OK. Piddling with this thing is therapeutic.

 

Great Build! how much you selling those wood body kits for?

 

I just read through this entire thread (because I'm building a Jag-based special myself, and look everywhere for inspiration) and I am blown over by the sheer amount of ingenuity and imagination poured into this car. While i'm not going to build a wood-strip body or seats, the methods by which you reached these ends will work in steel just as well. My Dad, an old A fanatic from his youth, would have gone apoplectic over what you've accomplished, but I'm just amazed at how great you've made a pile of rough parts come out. MORE!

 

Thank you both. It's cool to read compliments like that. I have a few more things to do to it, but I'm not sure of the timeline. It's pretty good for bombing around the woods in as it is. Suspension is still a little stiff, though. I'll be sure to document anything else I do.

 

Awesome Build. I hope to be starting a build of my own that is the same type of thing. Very Cool.

 

man what a build.. when i saw you nabbed those leather tack stuff up and added it. i literally said out loud, awe wow that just made his build. SO COOL!!!!!!!

 

Thank you both. I added some buckles and straps to the front. I think they will look fine, once they weather in a bit. My pin arrangement didn't inspire enough confidence. The little hood kind of waggles around up there, and I could just picture it getting loose from the radiator shell and flopping back. The rear straps would probably hold it, but still... This way, it can dance all it wants to, but I know it's staying put. Other than that, I haven't had much time for the poor old thing. Life and work, work and life. And a damn hot summer. Fall is coming down here, though, you can feel the slightest little nip in the air, if you get up early enough. I'm going to try to get it tagged and insured and get a little actual road-time, as soon as I find where I put the bill of sale. Ha.

 

One of the best build threads on the HAMB. Love seeing that SU on there myself.

~ Carl

 

This thing is soooooooooooooo cool!

 

The coincidental face on the air cleaner says it all...
​

 

Every time I see your thread come to the top of my unread queue I smile. This is such an original build! So simple yet so fun to look at, small details and great lines.

 

Man, thank you. I'm attaching a short video of the very beginning of hurricane Michael. We were real lucky , lots of trees down and power outages, but all of our stuff survived. I sure do feel for the folks just a little West of us, though. I just can't imagine.

 

I found this police head on the auction site for what seemed like a good price, as long as it wasn't busted. For those of you who are not Model A aficionados, the big letter B indicates a Model A police head, not a Model B head. Those have a big letter C cast into them, and use the 3 bolt water pump. Go figure. Anyway, those heart shaped combustion chambers are how you tell. Apparently, it bumps the compression from around 4.5:1 to around 5.5:1, although there is some disagreement on that. Not as much as one of the modern high compression heads, but it was much cheaper, and it has the advantage of being a period correct piece. I wire brushed the chambers and examined it for cracks, dont see any with my naked eye, so I'm encouraged by that. I think I'll try out that molasses business for rust removal and paint it up real pretty, then slap it on there and see what happens. Anyway, I'm tickled with it so far.

 

We'll, of course I found a couple of cracks. Don't think they are too big of a deal, though. They both stop at water and stud holes, so they shouldn't get any worse. If I'm lucky, they will be rust sealed, anyway. I'll try it. Worst that happens is it leaks and I go back to the stocker.

 

I have a post up on this in the October Banger thread, so I won't go into a lot of detail here. I pulled the head this morning to get ready to install that police head, and found oil in every cylinder. That explains the smoking problem I've been having. Anyway, I'm hoping the Banger guys will help me diagnose this. Head gasket? Valve guides? (Doesn't look like it to me, but...). I'll keep this thread updated. Here's what I found.

 

I just realized how stupid it is to suspect a flathead head gasket to be the source of an oil leak, since no oil goes up there. I already apologized in the Banger thread. Hopefully, they can still help me figure out where all of that oil is coming from, and how it ended up on my gasket. Probably should have tried to save face and delete my dumbass posts, but I've tried to make this an honest chronicle, so I just decided to eat crow and fess up. Ha

 

Rings maybe???

 

Dumb question, it's not the oil from the SU is it?

 

What cederholm said x 2. Gr8 car, build, lines, etc,etc........you've got a special banger !!!!!! mike

 

Thank you, Mike. Cactus, no such thing as a dumb question, but I don't see how it could be. An SU only holds a little bit of oil. There's just too much there.

 

Well, I had a pretty productive morning.



For what it's worth, the rear motor mounts on a Model A are a pain. I recommend taking the bottom bolts out first. Also, use a jack under the transmission to wiggle it so you can turn them with your fingers. I had to use two different box end wrenches with slightly different orientations on those bottom ones, swapping back and forth just to turn the bolt one flat at a time. I don't think this engine and frame have ever been apart since they were assembled in 1928, though, which is kind of cool.
I measured the bores. They are are all between 1 and 2 thousandths over, no taper that I could discern with my rudimentary equipment. No visible cross-hatching, and there are some vertical wear marks and some discoloration, but no real scuffing or pitting. There is a slight ridge that I'll remove before I pull the pistons. Pistons are marked Ford with an arrow, and each one has a roman numeral scratched into it with an awl, but no other markings. I'm assuming they are the stock pistons, and that this is not the first ring job it's had. I know some of you guys with more money than I have will recommend a full rebuild, but I'm just going to hone it, get some 30 over rings, gap them carefully, slap it back together with the police head, do a little painting, and get the old thing percolating again. I already checked and shimmed the babbitt bearings at the beginning of this adventure, so I'm pretty confident the bottom end is good. Can't wiggle any of the valves too much, so I think the guides and stems are ok, too. Remember, this is a low-budget affair.