Projects My '32 5 Window Project - Done and Cruising!!!

Thanks for the kind words. The dark green is basically the same as Rustoleum 2x Sage Green with a touch of dark gray added. The lighter green is a custom mix we call celery.

What a difference 24 hours makes! Shop gutters are cleaned, tools were all put away and some rearranging was done with the uni body project to accommodate the 32 Chassis. Got all the rear suspension squared away and re-tapped all the holes in the frame to clean out paint and debris. Brake lines are all back in and spreader bars are back on. Cut all the spreader bar bolts so they have no excess length. Remounted the exhaust and put the tranny mount back in.

By tonight the steering should be back in and the fuel system. Planning to mate the engine and transmission tomorrow and get them dropped in place.

SPark

 

Looks great, my hat is off to you with everything else going on in your life. I guess this is a great distraction and something else to focus on. I'm not a real green person, but I like this shade and the accent shade. For the record I think the Mustang is a hot rod also. I always considered something modified or altered from stock to enhance performance fits the bill.

 

Part 2 for today.

Gas lines and tank are in. Steering is done. Plan tomorrow is to drop in the engine.

Long day, pretty much junk for the rest of the evening.

SPark

 

That's a beautiful chassis.

 

It’s alive! Had it running this afternoon and it sounds great. Mufflers are really throaty but not too loud. Won’t let me post the video.

SPark

 

What kind of carb is that? Doesn't look like it would flow to much.

 

It's a slim line $5.95 special. Doesn't flow much but it's sturdy. I put a little 465 Holley on it I had on the shelf and it wouldn't behave. Stuck a Street Avenger 670 on it and it fired right up. Was running it on carb cleaner since I didn't have any gas in the tank yet. Just filled the float bowls thru the vent tubes. Works for a few seconds, about 30 max.

Got pissed at the carb situation and went in and ordered a new 600 aluminum body Holley for it.

SPark

 

Decided to stick the dash pieces all together and see if paint shrunk anything. It all fits great. Got the “hot rod with a touch of class” look I was going for. Very happy with the way it turned out.

SPark

 

Looks great. What are those went grilles from? Are you going to leave the paint as is or are you planning on polishing it?

 

I am in awe of the work you have put in. Love your attention to detail!

The color is perfect!

 

The defroster duct stuff started out with this kit:

https://www.southernrods.com/a-c-and-heat-components/air-vents/defrost-vent-kits.html

I used the nylon grates to build the recess in the dash top and will be using the aluminum grates for final assembly.

Don't really plan to cut and buff the paint. I don't want it to look like base/clear new car paint or be ultra glossy. It's kind of a look we're going for....I had a picture in my head and he pretty much nailed it. We might do some extra work in a few areas but it's not planned on.

SPark

 

Finished up the engine details today. Plug wires all cut to final length and routing finished.

Grease in the rearend and all fittings checked on the brakes and fuel lines.

New carb showed up this afternoon. Got the fuel lines finished along with vacuum advance and PCV lines.

Tomorrow’s agenda is bleeding the brakes. Then getting a little run time and tuning on the carb and timing.

Went into AFIB Monday night again. Get zapped a week from tomorrow. Will be short of breath and energy for a week or so. Changed up some drugs today at the Cardiologist’s office. Hoping to get the blood pressure down so my heart stays in rhythm. What fun!

SPark

 

You should be very proud !! u did a super job on this build, I've been around the block a few times, and I can tell ,that u really thought this build threw be for u jumped in. great job!!!! Gary

 

Got a picture from the painter this afternoon. Looks like they will be shooting paint in the next few days.

SPark

 

Got the brakes bled yesterday, no issues. Had a couple little leaks but a quick tightening fixed all of them. My first time using the aluminum compression fittings on stainless brake lines so I didn't want to get too radical right off the bat. Like how they sealed up and the whole system worked out great. Feels like I have a good pedal but hard to tell using my hand on the pedal to work it. Drop it in gear running and it stops the tires easily with minimal pressure.

Have header leaks at the head flange and the collector flange. Bad leaks. Ripped the headers and head pipes back off to get a better look at everything. Decided the best recourse for the header leaks was a bit of high temp silicone on the gaskets. The sealing bead on the gasket doesn't match the sealing bead on the header flange so it leaked top and bottom. The sealing bead on the header was pressing just above the sealing bead on the gasket at the top and below it at the bottom. Header ports are bigger than the head ports. Put a small bead of silicone on both sealing beads where the leaks were happening (see pics). It was plenty rich when we started it so had a good smoke pattern to go by.

On the collector end it comes down to cheap, thin rotating flange rings. They are really soft and just bend WAY before they are tight. Headers fit nice but they are cheap Speedway offerings that I got with another project years ago. I have absolutely nothing invested in them so it's worth messing with a couple options. I decided the best option was cutting all the collector flanges off and going to a band clamp to hook the headers to the head pipes. Those will be here tomorrow and I can see if we fixed the leaks.

Then I can finish up the tune on the engine and get the welting in place for mounting the body. The painter wants the windshield frame so he can figure out where to put his dry seam on the A-pillars. He;s getting serious about painting something!

Had the wife talk to a friend at church this morning about who did their upholstery. He was happy with the work (he's a pretty picky guy so that's good) and with the price. Going to try to run down and talk to the guy this week.

SPark

 

If you want leak free headers you need a pair of Remflex header gaskets.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfl-3028/make/ford



And if you want leak free exhaust joints you should do like I did and switch to Marman exhaust joints.

https://gbemandrel.com/

 

This is the first time I've had the copper gaskets fail me. Always sealed nice on everything else I've used them on. Funky header flange is the main issue here.

We used to just run straight red silicone on our dirt late models (nobody makes gaskets for all the different exhaust port configurations when you get to Yates/Elliot style heads). Never had a failure doing that either. Will try the Remflex if this doesn't seal the copper/header offsets.

Going to try the band clamps and the collectors first and the Marmon style is my backup plan. Had a friend with a few of them left over from a project but his were all too big for me to use.

Thanks for the advise.
SPark

 

You’re welcome, the Remflex gaskets are great and the Marman joints are slick and really work well. Notice that they also have graphite-foil high temperature sealing rings.

GBE has them in all sizes, mild and Stainless steel.

My flat faced v band clamps leaked so badly that I cut them out and welded in the Marman joints, of course that was after the pipes were ceramic coated requiring them to be re-done.

 

Rumor has it that I will need to haul the finished chassis down to the paint shop Thursday to mount the body for the final time. They shot the bottom of the floor first thing this morning. Plan is to shoot the firewall late Tuesday afternoon or first thing Wednesday morning. That means it will be ready to put back on the frame Thursday. Works perfectly with my “getting zapped” on Friday schedule.

Got all the webbing put down this morning.

Shifter cable routed so it clears the exhaust. Some of it will still get some DEI Heat Shield on it just in case.

Band clamps should be here any minute to finish up the exhaust.

Have an appointment tomorrow to meet another upholstery guy that several folks around here have been using and are happy with. Will see what he has to offer.

Good progress.

SPark

 

Firewall got painted this morning! Headed down with the frame in the morning to mount the body. Should have it back in my shop before noon! Spent the morning tapping the last of the holes, working on front suspension and checking for leaks (again, part of my daily routine now). Think I'm ready to mount the body.

Spent yesterday afternoon with a different upholsterer. He saw it as a fun project and wants to do custom dyed leather to match my colors rather than "really close" to my colors that others have found. He won't be able to get to it until the dead of winter but as long as it's ready to drive in the spring it makes no difference. Not going to drive it in January anyway! I'm on his schedule for then. Going to haul the car to him (he's only a little over an hour away), give him my color samples and let him do some measuring so he can get skins ordered. Nice guy that's teaching the business to his grandson. They both impressed me.

Just happy to see things moving forward.
SPark

 

I built my exhaust from ss bends and used Sanderson headers. I used flat flanges at all joints. I did what Sanderson said and put a bead of hi temp silicone on each joint and haven’t had a single leak.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

I like the color of your car but you might find a matching interior to be a bit much. Contrast might be better or easier on your eyes.

 

I think I might tend to agree with this. I get the color matching thing however I also think a brown leather interior would also look really nice.

There are different shades from tan (maybe too light) to golden brown ( like a ball glove) that would look really warm and welcoming rather than the mono tone like look that you will achieve with the color matching greens.

Rusty Rocket had a really nice interior done for his 32 sedan.


Just something to think about.

 

Here's our brown leather in a black '32. It seems to go well with a lot of exterior colors. I think one of these shades of brown would go well with the exterior of your car.

 

Interior is going to be light green (engine color) and off white with very dark green carpet. Last 3 pictures below show the plan.

Got the body mounted this morning. Every bolt dropped right into place just like it was planned or something! No more work today or tomorrow due to dealing with the AFIB and getting things all ready to get zapped tomorrow morning.

SPark

 

Looking good. But that seat looks a little small.

 

That should look nice, seems like you have it well planned out. I agree though that interior looks a little on the small side

 

You’ve never met me. I’m actually only 3” tall.

SPark

 

Interior should be quite comfortable for a little guy!

Phil

 

Firewall is done. Heater hose shutoff in place, steering column in, gas and brake pedals in, created a seal for the brake pedal/floor area, radiator braces on and rear hood mount.

Found a perfect gasket material for the brake pedal to pass through. Wanted to use a bellows but just not enough room with my floor configuration. Neighbor showed up with a rubber roofing seal that slides down an electrical conduit going through a roof. Nice rubber, not too stiff and the perfect thickness. Made one gasket that seals the steering column and brake pedal to the outside of the firewall. It’s all held in place by the common plate that both pass through. Bottom of the steering column bolts to the same plate on the inside of the firewall with another seal.

Got my heart reset yesterday so not in AFIB now. A little sore in the back/neck/shoulder areas (something about running 120 Joules through your heart does that to you) but feeling pretty good overall.

On to the trunk area tonight.

SPark