Update Boys,.... I am still alive,..... just slow! After a lot of dickin around and procrastinatin, the manifold and adapter are now one piece, machined and off to the powder coater. Color to match the basic engine color. Next pics in about a week.
Keep up the great work Bill, always enjoy the updates even if some mods don't. Don't take the deletions to heart. They are so hit and miss on here, the hypocrisy on it is sometimes nauseating. Keep on, keeping on Bill.
Just a week late, but here's the "coloring" results. Pretty pleased 'tho I'm inclined to fuss with bringing the colors of the blower and manifold closer together.
Here's the result of more fussin. I'm now satisfied with the color. I'll stick it on top of the engine tomorrow and hopefully admire the overall effect. In the meantime and in the critical path is spark plug tubes. Over the years I've collected a bunch to have for this and future builds. They all look the same at first glance. However, over the life of the early Hemi they were produced from aluminum and steel and,.....in three diff. lengths for Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler. True to Murphy's Law, I don't have 8 of the shortest, Dodge pieces, so an upcoming project will be to make a fixture to reform the top end of some of the longer tubes.
Oooh, very nice!! The first picture should be posted to the thread " images that need no explanation"... actually now that I think about it probably the second one too!
Did you remember to fly-cut the supercharger mounting surface after welding? Interestingly, even with that being done, it's often a surprise to run an indicator on the mounting surface AFTER the manifold is bolted down.
My focus recently has been the Model A part of the project. So, I edited the title of this thread to throw out the bait to a wider range of possible participants. Comments from all who are interested are appreciated. I purchased the very nice, previously pictured, pinched 32 frame from Blackboard Hot Rods in Bakersfield. The cost was reasonable and craftsmanship exceptional. I also chose them for their specialty of building 32 frames for Model A's and as protection against my inexperience. Never done an A on Deuce rails before. That said, I asked that the rear crossmember be raised to accommodate a longer coil-over. The longer coil-over and lighter 8" rearend will, I hope, contribute to a more supple ride. Sketches are not to scale. Sketch #2 is the mod. requested and is the configuration received. Sketch #3 is the goal and current fabrication activity.
Got my frame from Gary back in 2015, what a nice guy and a joy to work with. He was finishing the welds when I got to his shop, he’s a master with a TIG torch!
As of May 24, I have relocated the rear body mound hole to find out the gas tank flange interfered. Not a big deal and that has been resolved. The real "ball buster" was muscling a 5.50" hole saw thru each vertical side of the frame. Surviving that, lead to the good stuff,...welding in the half sections of the 5.00" pipe. Tomorrow I flip the frame over to finish welding the "C" notch detail.
Resolved tank flange interference. Now to the frame to body interface. Spent way too much time trying to visualize the details of mounting holes and insulators and how the frame will nest into the lower body detail. Stressed also about getting the rear wheel centered in the well. So, decided the obvious. Slide the frame under the body and decide from there what/where to cut and paste.
I'm liking that! I'm assuming that the c- notches (and the 2x4) are stopping it from sitting a little closer to the shape of the frame? Will it be channeled slightly over the frame when done.
I knew that it was a bit more complicated then plopping a Model A body on a 32 frame. Virtually nothing lines up. And I found it impossible to visualize,...to project in space where the attachment points should be. Soooo,....as you see, I've placed the two components in "approximity" (new word I invented, merging approximate and proximity) to one another in order to get an idea of the interfaces, their location and how they might be fabricated. The 2x4s and the square tube will go away. I believe the front body mount will need modification and the rear sub-rails re-constructed to accommodate the "kick-up" at the rear. Unique isolators will also have to be figgered out. In a perfect world, in side view, the cowl area will overlap the frame by about 3/4". From the front door cut to the rear wheel well, the body will appear to sit on top of the frame (w/no gap). And, the rear portion of the frame will disappear behind the sheet metal of the wheel well. That's what I'm thinking anyway.
Welllll,....boys and girls, I've had a little "blip" in the critical path. Got sidelined for a couple weeks but I am now back to serious procrastination! In that time, even after sliding the frame into place, I've discovered having a 32 tank on the back of a Model A is much, much more involved than at first thought,....especially if you want it to look right. I'd like the tank to look like it does on a 32 Coupe or Roadster. #1 discovery was that Sedan bodies, whether 30 or 32 are shorter than the coupes or roadsters. In the following pics, note the amount of frame horn hang out beyond the body. The distance from the axle center to the rear spreader bolt is the same in both cases. So,....the obvious solution is to slide the tank forward, right? Trouble is two fold. The coilover crossmember (as configured) prevents that. I'm looking at refabricating, relocating the crossmember on the other side of the coilovers and above the axle, yielding about 5"-6" to move the tank forward. Not only that, note the termination of the A body. The channel going across the back of the body will need to be raised a good 6" to allow the tank to slip under, like on a 32 Roadster/Coupe. A lot of work but unless I discover some deal breaker, that's what I'm signing up for.
Okay Fellers,...here's what I'm looking at. The drawing is pretty close (in proportion) and accurate plus or minus 1/4". The coil-over location is fixed. A new crossmember located above the diff. must respect that. Unless I am missing something, that means the tank can only slide forward about 2-1/2'. (The flange cannot be trimmed) Getting wild and crazy,....and if I can convince my TIG buddy, I'm thinking of a 2" vertical section thru the middle of the tank. Doing the math,...the yield of sliding 2-1/2" and sectioning 2" gets the 27-1/2" dimension down to 23" and the protrusion of the tank beyond the body down to 8". In addition to make this work, it requires that the Model A sheet metal be relieved vertically by about 5" to clear the top of the tank like on the 32. I think that would be pretty cool but I gotta sleep on it before I start cutting.
The Jalopy Journal
