Projects NOT THE TYPICAL '30 ROADSTER BUILD

Glad to hear there wasn’t any shifting or movement after removing the temp braces!

 

With the rear corners and rear inner fender panels, finished it is time to start the final fitting of the floors.




The kick up section is fully welded on now. Rear cross rail fully welded too.


Next, is the angled floor and seat rear hump.
Happy to see the body finally coming together.

 

Looks restored! Awesome quality.

 

Awesome build thanks for the details in the build and time it take to share with us.

 

Very productive morning....Finished welding in the floors. It now has all the floors finished and installed
The front two pieces will be fab and install after the engine/transmission goes in



The bottom support for the fuel tank is installed and it aligned just right.


Bulls eye! The fuel tank below and filler neck aligned as I was hoping for. A small connecting piece of rubber hose should do the trick.


Bulkhead is in, installed, and welded in.


Most of the body is fully finished. I just have to finish weld the front firewall feet and I can cross the body repairs and mods off the list.

Engine and transmission will soon follow.

 

Not much progress this week....
Spent a lot of time making decisions and planning the engine/transmission installation.

A fellow Hamber suggested I get the radiator to have it available at time of engine install. I thought it was a really good suggestion but it opened a lot of decisions to be made, all at once.
Having the radiator will help align the bottom water inlet/outlets better....
My ultimate goal is to install the engine without cutting into the firewall.

I hope this post helps others in the same boat as I was....

To determine the radiator height, I first needed to know the grill shell height. After some eye balling, researching/reading, measuring and masking taping some...I decided on a 2" chop. I plan on running, at least, hood tops and don't want it running uphill.
I read about standing 20' back and looking at the relationship of the cowl and the grill....found it to be very helpful.

Then it came to the radiator selection, Aluminum vs cooper/brass, stock filler location vs side filler location, ebay, Griffin, Jamco Suspensions, Walker or Brassworks....damn, decisions, decisions decisions!...$150 vs $500-$600 vs $1k+

With a 2" chop, the hood line will follow the same slope of the cowl and it gives it a nice profile.
It put me at 25" height radiator, from the mounting points of the radiator to the top of the inside of the grill shell and 1" from the radiator mounting points to the top of the "U" bolts.

Price, well, a fellow Hamber said something that made a lot sense to me, " When you consider the total cost of your car or the cost of an overheated engine, money spent on a good radiator is money well spent! "

My engine was a huge investment and sure would hate to damaging it by cutting corners on a radiator.
I don't have spare money but figure I better save my money and invest on the right radiator.....

After lots of reading, I came to the conclusion, that lots of aluminum radiators are likely, not always, to leak after 1 or 2 years. Repairs for aluminum radiators are difficult and not always give the best results.
The idea of having to take my car apart only after a year or so of finishing, no good.
Read from lots of posters that their ebay, low priced, aluminum radiators tend to last less than a year.
The look of an aluminum radiator turn me off too and I felt it wasn't going to look right with my finished vision.
I saw a few aluminum radiators painted flat black but I still wasn't pleased.

That eliminated Jamco Suspensions, Griffin and ebay.

From the 3, Tony, at Jamco Supension had the best communication. If I would have gone with aluminum, I would have gone with their product. Price wasn't bad at $550 and waiting time was about a week.
Griffin's customer service was really good too.
I am big on customer service and always like to deal with a company that shows good customer service up front.

That left Walker and Brassworks. on the table...
I emailed Walker at least 3 times, 2 via email and 1 via their website form, but I am yet to get to an answer.
I was finally able to call them on Friday and their customer service....well....maybe it was me, I am just learning as I go.
$960 + shipping. Lots of good reviews and info out there. They quoted me 3 to 4 weeks to make.
Failure rate, based on what I read, seemed high but always addressed by Walker.

I emailed Brassworks and Lee called me the very next morning. He spent a great deal of time with me on the phone and took his time explaining, not only what I needed but also making some valid suggestions.
He asked me to measure the flathead center points for inlet/outlets to make sure these would go on the right location. We talked about an overflow tank, which it had never crossed my mind. Using a stock location filler neck was now a possibility.
I felt as if he was more interested on helping me make an educated decision than just making a sale.
Price was not cheap, $1,110 + shipping, but it included other add ons that the others didn't, so I think the price is justifiable and very fair...and due to current workload 5 to 6 weeks to have it made.
I can send my grill shell to him and he can use it for the final fitting to ensure all goes well....After all, I am chopping my own grill shell and better make sure all fits well.

I am big on customer service and from all the posts I read, the reviews on Lee and Brassworks, were all good.
I am about 3 hrs drive from them, which gives me extra peace of mind and a gives me an excuse to go wine tasting!

If all goes well, I will place my order tomorrow.

In the meantime, let's chop a grill shell. The plan is not to chop it 2" but raise the sides, so it can sit 2" lower on the crossmember..


Should I cut the opening for the filler neck and use the stock location?
Always thought it looked goofy the side filler on the back of the radiator.

 

As I wait for my radiator to be ready, I am trying to do some of the little odds and ends

I chopped the grill shell. Still have to do the welding part. 2" are now gone.


Finished welding the mini channel up front and welded the braces back on


The driver side will have the high/low beam switch on.



On a different note, I am starting to debate if I should build my own lakester headers or if I should buy them already made.
I made the ones for my '36 truck but never got to install the engine, so couldn't find out if all the welding I did worked or how loud these were. I sure feel my welding has gotten better but not sure if I should give it another attempt.
I feel better welding is needed.

Here is what I did for my '36...maybe I should do the same??

Made a wood base to support the 4" cones at the angle and height that I wanted them.


Bought 3/8" flanges from eBay. I used cardboard cut outs to figure the angles and radius for the arms.



Transferred all to metal, cut, cut some more, carefully cut some more, and welded all together...very slowly.




I made turn outs and silencers, expecting it to be loud, and hoping to quiet them down a bit.


These were meant to be wrapped in fiberglass to help with the noise.

Never got to use them. Not bad for my first go at it.
Got them ceramic coated but project sold before it was finished so never heard them run.

Not sure what options are out there for already made headers. I loved Gear Drive's headers but he is no longer doing them. I don't like Patriot's or Sanderson's....more decisions to make.

 

Had sometime today and finished welding the chop on the grill shell. A little bit more dolly/hammer and it should be done for now.


Before


After

 

X-mas came early this year. I treated myself to set of headers from Gear Drive and couldn't be happier. Very well invested money.
Haven't work on the roadster much, still waiting on my radiator to move forward; in the meantime, I have been spending more money than anything else....No Bueno!

I had my eyes set on a set of these headers but unfortunately Matt announced that he was no longer fabricating them. Luckily enough, I reached out to him and he had a set available., with turn outs and slip-on baffles. I pulled the trigger and yes, all the great reviews out there are accurate.
Great communication and outstanding customer service! Thank you Matt!


Before going to chrome


After flash dip. These will look badass against that Ford Washington Blue.

 

Progress is still moving slow, as I am still waiting for my radiator. In the meantime, I've been taking care of loose ends.
Finish sandblasting the wheels, soon ready for epoxy primer


Before


After

My HF blasting cabinet has been one great investment!

 

Very nice. Which HF blasting cabinet do you have? Thanks.

 

I have their 40 lb capacity floor unit. Bought it for close to nothing in Craigslist and been using it with HF's Black Diamond abrasive.
I learned that HF discontinued the Black Diamond. I haven't had a need to buy more but I do like a lot the finish that it leaves on the metal.

 

Thank you.

 

Tractor supply has a black sand in two grits. I have the same blast cabinet and like the finish I get.

Sent from my smartass phone when it wants toThe H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Do you use the Fine or Medium grit?

 

We use the fine. Seems to work well. They don't always have it in our local store but usually can get it within a week from their dist. center.

 

I use both depending on what I am doing. I also have a very fine powder close to baking soda. I store them in 5 gallon plastic pails, they fit under the dump door on the blast cabinet

 

As I continue to wait for my radiator to be ready, which it should be ready anytime now I decided to take some TIG welding classes.
I've been having a ton of fun learning the process...not proud enough to post any pictures of my welds yet, but getting better at it....damm, puddle keeps running out on me

Not promoting them, however, If any one in the LA area is in the boat as I was, this place is a great place to start. It is hands on and the even though the cost of the classes are a bit high for me, found it to be great because it takes you right in to the practice. Found a community college to be cheaper but with a long learning process, that I don't have the time or patience for it.

Lap, butt, T-welds, setting up the machine, all of that is covered in the basic class and then one day in each of the different materials, steel, aluminum, stainless is covered on their more advance class.

I am looking at their other classes too. Very curious of the CNC plasma cutting class and maybe a MIG class to help me clean up what I've been learning all on my own.

I finally set up the Eastwood TIG machine I bought several months ago, fire it up, and starting to practice on it.

 

X-mas came early. Will soon be able to continue my build

Look at that overflow tank



Not cheap but totally worth the money and wait time.

 

Felt good to be back on the roadster again. Couldn't get a lot done as the TIG classes are taking most of my free time for now but any progress keeps me moving forward.

I am finally starting to see more consitancy on my beads. Loving this TIG thing more than what I could've ever imagine
1/8" stainless steel this week and next week is 1/16"...looking forward to it

Only 12 hours at it, so far, but I can tell this is my new found love

Back on the roadster...I carved out some time to mock up the radiator and I couldn't be more happy with it.
After some trimming of the bottom bar, locating and drilling the mounting holes, it fitted like a glove.


The overflow tank on the passenger side fits right at home. Brassworks sure does some quality work.


The 2" chop looks just right. It follows the angle and slope of the fuel tank.
I won't be running a full hood but I will be doing hood tops and sure don't want them running uphill.

I am placing an order for the longer firewall support rods....and waiting for next weekend to start stabbing that engine and tranny.

 

I like it and am impressed with your new welding skills.

 

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.

 

I had some time to spare today and decided to start working on setting the engine and transmission.


First thing that came to my mind, how am I going to fit this in? This looks huge!!!


Measured back 6 1/2" from the centerline of the radiator holes to help find a location for the water pump mount holes and it seems to be in the right location.

The engine is close to center and close to level, front to back. Still adjusting my level side to side. Frame is level.
Using a spacer at the transmission mount to compensate for the rubber mount.
It is looking VERY VERY tight in there,



I am trying to get the engine fully leveled while trying to keep the water pump mounts as flush to the frame as possible, as pictured. Right now the sweet spot appears to about 1/2" below the top of the frame rails. I am adjusting the transmission to see if I can gain some height.
As pictured, I am 1 degree off from level, at the top of the block
The transmission is as high as I can go, without creating an issue with the level of the rear end., using the 3+ / 3- method.


I am so closed to the frame that I will have to custom made mounts, maybe scoop out the frame some to fit them properly.
The Vega steering box is not in yet and the room for the lakester headers is looking very confined. Those Gear Drive headers are walking a thin line....


On a positive note, I still have some room to the firewall. But I am yet to measure my distance from the fan to radiator.
The water pump outlets line up pretty good to the radiator, as the engine sits now....

More to come....

Any feedback or inspirational pictures of motor mounts with a '32 frame and a 59AB are welcome!

 

I've found the best way to do it is: Mount your radiator and grill shell. Align your hood to the shell and body. This insures your radiator and firewall are in the right place. Remove the hood. With your fan in place on your motor, slide the motor forward to the correct distance you want from the radiator. If you do it this way it will give you the right distance fore and aft for your motor mounts.

 

Setting my engine and tranny has been a learning curve and I am taking that curve really slow.
Thanks for all the tips and all the advise given. Couldn't be where I am today without the feedback and the HAMB.
I feel that I am on the right path.

I raised the frame to the final rake, assuming 16x550 tires in the front and 16x750 tires in the rear. That made a huge difference. I was working with a leveled frame before
The rake on the frame forced the front of the motor to come up. That put the feet of the water pumps above the frame. Engine mounts mounts will be flush to the frame.
Water pump outlets and radiator's are almost in line. The water pump outlets are about 1/8" higher than the radiator.



I pushed the engine back and now have between 7" to 7-1/2" centerline to centerline from the radiator mounts to the water pump mounts. I might go with the 7-1/2" as final measurement.
7-1/2" helps me get 1" clearance between the radiator and the fan blades.


In the rear of the block, I have 2-1/4" clearance to the firewall.


I made some cardboard templates to have an idea of the angle for cutting the mounting brackets. Measure a lot times and cut once...I don't want to mess up the cut and have to buy new mounts again.


Everything is looking good, so far. With the new location, the Vega box seems to clear fine. I still haven't tried the headers on for fitment.
Hoping to start cutting and welding on the brackets this weekend.

 

All the paper templating, measuring and cutting once is paying off. Tomorrow or Saturday I will be spot welding them in place. Just ran out of time this afternoon.
7 -1/2" ended up being the magic number between the radiator mounting holes and centerline to the mounts.
2-1/4" is my clearance to the firewall.

 

Might want to throw whatever exhaust manifolds or headers you plan on using on that as well to see what they will interact with. I used an F1 steering box on mine and had to push the motor over to the pass side as much as possible with the mounts in place and got about a half inch clearance on the steering column. You may have no problem there with the vega box but should check your steering mast as well. I think my motor is about 7 inches from the rad. mount holes and I have about 3/4 inch clearance from fan to rad.

 

Nice work.

 

Thank you. That is a good advice!
Room is very tight in that area. As is, I think I will need one or two universal joints to connect the steering to the box.

 

Thank you!