Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Hahah I'm going to have to keep the hood off just for that purpose!

Thanks! With a street full of Edwardian flats and the dorms looming in the distance, it was making all sorts of noise. Mufflers will be happening soon.

Hahaha I can tell that the place had some history to it. Next time I'm getting a shake with my meal! Maybe I'll even take the roadster?

 

Today I managed to buy the correct throttle return springs and find my missing Allen wrench (the only one that is the right size for the adjustable linkage ends). This weekend I plan to get all that squared away, grease the front wheel bearings with Sta-Lube and take it for a drive down the cul-de-sac.

Also, I got a huge batch of 35mm film back from Underdog Film Lab in Oakland. I was extremely happy with how all the expired Velvia 100 and Fujichrome slide film turned out. One of my favorites, however, was this black-and-white snapshot of the roadster in my driveway.

 

Thank you! I can't wait to get the irons for it. The firewall gauge is a 1960s SW piece off a fellow H.A.M.B.er's slingshot dragster. It is not liquid filled, but I figured with rubber insulation on both sides it should be okay.

Thank you! That was the goal. I shot it right before they came in and replaced our original garage doors.

A second angle, which gives a better look at the old doors.

 

Hahaha great eye. Looks like I just have to save it for my Deuce build!

What's old is new again!

That was very nice of you to do that. Using your H.A.M.B.-era knowledge for good.

Looks great!

x2 on that

Style then and style now. Great bit of history. I especially like that '39 with its Moon discs!

 

I hear ya loud and clear. The majority of the time, I'm working on the car by myself. Seeing that my selfie game is poor, there aren't too many pictures of me with the car. But! I'm working to change that. Speaking of which...

I need to have someone shoot one from the other side to highlight all my freshly installed speed equipment.

 

Over the weekend I was able to check a couple of boxes off the big list. The first area I attacked were the throttle return springs. I tried a number of different ones before I got the correct pedal feel. When they were too tight, the throttle response was poor. I had to custom bend one of the springs to make it work. Once I got that figured out, I painted the throttle arm to match. I think there are about four layers of paint on there that will weather nicely. Loc-tite was added so that the assembly will not rattle free.

Note dual return springs. I hate to take it apart, but I plan to re-paint the header VHT hi-temp silver in the coming weeks.

As paint was drying, I was able to roll the car into the driveway and re-grease the wheel bearings. Even though the green grease I was using was designed for boat trailer bearings, it didn't explicitly state that it was created for automotive use. Based on fellow H.A.M.B.ers' advice, I ordered the correct Sta-Lube bearing grease for drum brake-equipped vehicles. It's much more fibrous and feels like the right stuff for the job. I removed all old grease prior to re-packing/re-greasing.

Seeing that it's a messy task, I only took one photo while the incorrect grease was on there.

 

So, with the wheel bearings re-greased and the throttle linkage sorted that can only mean one thing: test drive time! Learning from past experience, I plan to only drive it up and down the terrace until I feel confident enough that things are working as they should. On Sunday afternoon, I fired it up, put it in reverse and backed down the street. I proceeded to make a few passes, taking note of the throttle response. With every hit of the throttle, the sound of the little straight-piped four-banger echoed off the buildings. Neighbors stood by, some of which were taking videos and cheering me on. As far as I know, nobody called the police.

Notes: The car runs so much better than before. Even with less than 1/4 tank of gas, it fires right up and does fine on my street, which, believe it or not, is on a hill. Although I still need to address the rear brakes, it stops well too. There's a little bit of squeaking but I hear that will improve once I get more than a mile on the car.

Overall, I'm really excited with how this is coming along. I realized that I would like to get the driver's door functioning properly before I install the windshield. Between that and the exhaust system, I have a busy week's worth of nights ahead of me. Stay tuned!

 

Naaaa - make one picture your signature picture.
The whole idea is for nothing to look fresh.
Frame that one Kid.
That's your signature picture.
"The Ukrop Special"

 

There you go Kid - the other side - Roads of Frisco to the Roads of Australia.....

 

Hahah I've never heard that, but it’s a great way of putting it. That being said, I'll refrain from posting my mullet pictures on this build thread—for now

 

Footage coming soon!

I'll ask around!

Haha that's exactly right. Thank you!

Right?! It's like an I Spy filled with so many mysteries.

Can you hear (can you hear) the thunder (of the old tube header?) Ya better run, ya better take cover.

Thanks!

 

The most important order of business is that this roadster is now officially H.A.M.B. powered. Thanks to @Ryan, I now have a pair of amazing Alliance tags. In all my years of working for The Jalopy Journal, I've never had a car to put one on. Well, looks like 2021 is my time to make that dream a reality.

Next up, I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out the best way to make a model of the exhaust sections that I am going to have bent. It's tricky to make a subtle two-part bend in such a short span (about three inches).

I planned to just bend it out of brake tubing and make a drawing with all the angles for the muffler shop team to reproduce in 1:1 scale. I made a mock-up with copper wire, but it was far from perfect.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to create mockups/models/drawings that will be easy for the people who will be bending your tubing to follow?
I plan to run a short length of 2-inch tubing that clamps onto the mufflers.