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Projects A 40 Ford Sedan Deluxe Build

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Scott's 40, Jun 5, 2020.

  1. I would definitely be looking into just replacing all the regulators. You'd probably time and money ahead by just replacing them.
     
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  2. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Oh-oh, Tuesday in the garage! Today was the completion of window removals and a bit of other stuff.

    First rear window out - it took me a while to figure out how to do this as I didn't want to break the glass or cut the rubber (not that that would matter, I don't think)
    June 30 first pane of rear window out  R.jpg
    The rubber was surprisingly soft considering it is about 50 years old. Both rear windows out:
    June 30 rear windows out  R.jpg
    The windshield took me quite a while, but I finally got both panes out:
    June 30 windshield out  R.jpg
    So time for lunch and I've got my major goals for the day done. After lunch it was time for front floor panel removal:
    June 30 front floor panels  R.jpg
    Considering I made these wood panels in 1967, they looked pretty nice. I had to use penetrating oil and my impact hammer to get some of the screws loose:
    June 30 floor panels out  R.jpg
    I hit the transmission and engine mounting bolts with penetrating oil so they'd be loose when the time came.
     
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  3. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Couple of interesting things. Here is the passenger side defrost vent:
    June 30 defrost vent passenger side  R.jpg
    And here is the driver's side defrost vent. A lot bigger! But it looks like a post-factory modification. No?
    June 30 defrost vent drivers side  R.jpg
    I also took a lot of under-dash pictures. Since it didn't have a radio in it when I bought it and because I couldn't afford one, I soldered the aerial hole shut. Here's an inside look - that square white patch is actually metal from a soup can:
    June 30 arial soldered shut  R.jpg I also put a little patch of fiberglas over the crack at the front of right front quarter panel. The stuff was still sticking!
    June 30 fiberglas repair to front qtr panel  R.jpg
     
  4. I am enjoying your disassembly pictures, mostly because mine came as a totally gutted shell. It's educational.
     
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  5. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    What would we do without our buddies? Mark came over this morning with all the necessaries:
    July 1 engine extraction #1  R.jpg
    I "undid" the closed driveshaft connection. I was surprised yesterday when I pulled the front floorpans to find the rear transmission mount all in one piece. My 283 powerpack had broken the left arm. I guess I must have replaced it back in 1983 when I replaced the 283 with a flathead that I had rebuilt. (My biggest ever mistake on this car was deciding to restore it to original and trading off my 283. And the reason it got stalled for so many years: I didn't want a restored 40, I wanted my hot-rod 40!)
    July 1 engine extraction #2  R.jpg
    Mark separated the shift arms and it took us both (3 hands are better than 2, and 4 hands are even better) to get the clutch shaft off:
    July 1 engine extraction #4  R.jpg
    I stuck some blocks under the transmission because we knew that the way we had hooked up the engine on the engine hoist it would be unbalanced (sound affect: Plunk!!)
    July 1 engine extraction #5  R.jpg
    All done. And now we wait for Mark's engine guy to finish his current rebuild and be ready to look at mine.
    July 1 engine extraction #6  R.jpg
    The heads on this engine are marked "59AB". The guy that got this engine for me years ago said it was a 1940. Is that true?

    So now I go back to scraping the sound deadening stuff off the floor pan and removing what ever else I need to remove to lighten the body in anticipation of lifting it off the frame. Any suggestions on the easiest way for me to do that? I have to assume that the ceiling beams will not be strong enough to use in any hoisting scheme.

    Also, the inside of the door panels and side panels look to have been sprayed with some kind of tar as part of the production process. Do you try to remove that, or just leave it in place? I plan to eventually line the interior surfaces with sound/heat reducing foil (or whatever the heck it is called).
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  6. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That's a lot of weight to hang on the engine stand like that. Later flatheads with a full bell housing will take it but I would leave that flathead hanging like that. Better to mount it from the exhaust bolts with an engine stand adapter. Just FYI.

    Enjoying your thread.
     
  7. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 20,407

    alchemy
    Member

    Yes, the engine is a 1945-48. And for God's sake get a piece of 2x4 propped under the oilpan to keep the weight off the front of it. They have been known to crack the extended bellhousing.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
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  8. The 39 guy
    Joined: Nov 5, 2010
    Posts: 3,524

    The 39 guy
    Member

    IMG_8715R.JPG IMG_8717R.JPG
    I made two spreader beams to lift mine. I used 1 inch tubing for the front and used the hood spring holes. A similar beam was built for the rear but out of 1 1/2" tubing. It bolted to the trunk spring holes . I used a cherry picker to lift the back of the car and a a chainfall connected to a beam that spans 4 trusses in the ceiling for the front. The body realy isn't all that heavy when stripped down like you are doing.

    I have seen a lot of different methods for lifting the bodies off of the frames here on the HAMB. Some good and not so good . This is just one method that works.
    IMG_2940.JPG
    I made this adapter for mounting my 59 series block. They can be purchased also. I initially used the 2x4 option to take some load off of the bell housing.

    I am enjoying your build and plan to follow along.
     
  9. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Since my work on it back in the 80's was supposed to be a restoration, the joke would have been on me when the judges told me "not quite, wrong engine".
     
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  10. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Thanks for catching that. I thought I was done. See pictures in my next post.
     
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  11. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Thanks for that suggestion. I didn't have a 2x4 but cut a 1x6 and wedged it in there. Probably brought the front up by 3/8". I think that should do it.

    Also, since I had already removed the head bolts to check the cylinders a couple weeks ago, I went ahead and pulled the heads off. That should relieve quite a bit of weight.
    July 2 engine on stand  R.jpg
    Here is where it is wedged:
    July 2 engine on stand detail  R.jpg
    That should hold it. I appreciate you guys catching that and keeping me out of trouble. I hadn't been concerned at all.
     
  12. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Thanks for the suggestions. I am working in a 2-car garage with limited space and no heavy lifting equipment. I may have to rely on floor jacks and engine hoist, but haven't figured out how.
     
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  13. 67L36Driver
    Joined: Jun 1, 2020
    Posts: 77

    67L36Driver

    Body lift/replace:

    Invite five friends over for a fifteen minute after work beer thirty.

    Worked for me.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  14. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Flathead guys have to watch out for each other! I'll be following along on your journey.
     
  15. Maicobreako
    Joined: Jun 25, 2018
    Posts: 144

    Maicobreako
    Member

    I may have to rely on floor jacks and engine hoist, but haven't figured out how.[/QUOTE]

    the first time I lifted the body (39 coupe) , I used floor jack and jack stands, after that used two come-a-longs hanging from floor joists, worked so much better. Like '39guy' said, they aren't that heavy.
    CIMG4542.JPG CIMG4845.JPG CIMG4847.JPG
     
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  16. 1-SHOT
    Joined: Sep 23, 2014
    Posts: 2,693

    1-SHOT
    Member
    from Denton

    I dont think the middle picture is they way to go because it could get off center really easy, 4 come along would be better in my option and they are cheap.
     
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  17. There are several threads on the Ford Barn about supporting Flatheads with cast integral bellhousings and how the cantilevered weight will create enough stress to crack the bellhousing and allow it to break off of the engine.. I have a '40 truck engine that had to have the bellhousing welded back to the block after being put on an engine stand like shown above - it's not a project you'll want to tackle, especially if you can prevent the future catastrophe from happening. HEED OUR ADVICE!! Get or fabricate an adapter that will let you bolt to the exhaust ports and support the engine in the stand with heavy-wall tubing - the engine will sit sideways, helping reduce the cantilevering of weight.
     
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  18. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,245

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I have a 40 window regulator without the hand crank part, but the rest is in really good shape. My 39s are near perfect so don't need it. You could shag some gear sections to fix yours if you go that way.
     
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  19. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,401

    catdad49
    Member

    Great thread! You have a great car to start with and you are getting both a history lesson (of how things were made back then) and a "hands-on" education at the same time. Also, with all the great answers that are being supplied (ain't the HAMB Great), an awesome thread for anyone with a similar project. Good Luck with your '40, Carp.
     
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  20. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    So, today I am working on getting the steering column out. I loosened the bolt at the connecting tie rod but couldn't get it off, so took the steering arm off the box instead. I suppose I will have to get some kind of pry bar to get the connecting rod loose? What do you guys use?
    July 7 steering box connection R.jpg
    I see that I have some rust through near the floor access to the master brake cylinder. The floor seems very solid, but I've got a little crack/hole right on the edge of the stamping :
    July 7 rust thru near master brake cylinder access  R.jpg
    I took out the instrument cluster, but right now I am stumped. The steering column is held onto the dash by a bolt and nut (on the left in the picture below) and by a (what?) on the right. I would expect to see a nut just like on the left, but instead see something cone-shaped sticking up. What's going on here?
    July 7 steering column connection  R.jpg
     
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  21. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,278

    loudbang
    Member


    Google "Pickle fork" and not the kind you eat with and you will find what you need to separate them.
     
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  22. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Thanks! I'll do that.

    Anything on the weird steering column bolt?
     
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  23. 67L36Driver
    Joined: Jun 1, 2020
    Posts: 77

    67L36Driver

    Alternative to a ‘pickle fork’ many use a BFH and a Medium hammer. Using the large one as a anvil strike the fat end of the arm. The tie rod end should release from the taper fit.
     
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  24. The steering column is held in place by a special "shear bolt" or "shear head bolt"... when you tighten it enough the head shears off as a security measure. You'll have to drill and remove with an easy-out or cut a slot in the remains of the head and use a screwdriver to get it out. You might find another one holding the column drop/ignition switch assembly to the steering column.
     
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  25. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Okay, I got it out. It was some kind of brass threaded stud. I have no idea why it was used.
     
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  26. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    Interesting. I just clamped onto it with a large pliers and it turned out. I'll keep an eye out for one in the ignition switch assembly. Thanks!
     
    warbird1 likes this.
  27. Maicobreako
    Joined: Jun 25, 2018
    Posts: 144

    Maicobreako
    Member

    you're right, but the back end was a 2 point lift without a pulley. And I can easily control the body tilting by hand.
    BTW, I only have 2 come-a-longs.:rolleyes:
     
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  28. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    My goal was to get the steering column out today, but I spent most of my time removing the wiring loom under the dash and then getting the instrument cluster out. Great fun doing so many nut removals by touch. It looks a bit grungy and needs a good clean-up:
    July 7 instrument cluster  R.jpg
    Okay, I managed to get the shear bolt loose:
    July 7 shear bolt out  R.jpg
    A bit more effort and the steering column was out:
    July 7 steering column out  R.jpg
    I finished the day by pulling up the old felt. Front seat floor area is rusty but the back seat floor area shows the original paint:
    July 7 cabin floor  R.jpg
    Next is unloading the trunk and then start loosening the body bolts. That should be real fun!
     
  29. Scott's 40
    Joined: Apr 28, 2012
    Posts: 264

    Scott's 40
    Member
    from VA

    I am trying to get ahead of this project by watching Iron Trap Garage "1939 Ford Junkyard Hotrod Revival" on Youtube. I don't want to make a mistake or forget to do something now that I'll have to go back to do later out of sequence. Also, I'd like to order needed equipment ahead of time so I'm not wasting time waiting for something in the mail. Are there other building threads or sites that I should take a look at?
     

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