Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

So what's this video Timm's referencing? Well, my friends, that would be the full-length feature about our Oregon adventure.



I know they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, but I'm not sure how many words a video counts as. I'll tell you this—Yama nailed it. This video captures so many of the highs, lows and laughs from our time on the road.

I don't want to spoil anything, but the car's back in San Francisco safe and sound. It did so friggin' well at the races, on the back roads, on the city streets and even in tow. It's come a long, long way since last summer. And you know what? I'm proud of that little car.

Now that I'm home again, I can't help but feel nostalgic about it all. Earlier this week, I jotted down my thoughts about the past year, and I figured I would share them here.

Last weekend’s Harvest Drags marked the end of a big summer. I’ve spent the better part of the past four months on the road, shooting events, writing stories, hanging out with friends, and soaking up everything this year has to offer. From Born Free to the Street Rod Nationals, RPM to TROG, I’ve gotten to catch up with so many people I don’t get to see often enough.

This summer, I got to walk the same streets as my grandfather when he moved to this country from Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. I rode old motorcycles on winding Midwestern roads one month and down the California coast the next. I slept on floors, lost in pool, closed down bars, shot film, sent postcards and learned to appreciate olives.

And, through it all, I’ve been working on this car. Sometimes it was in the foreground and other times it was shuffled somewhere in the back of my mind. Racing it out in that field—with chunks of mud and pumpkin flying off all four wheels—is something I’ll never forget. Taking it for an extra 150-mile, weekend-long reliability run to (and through) the tree-lined streets of Portland was the perfect way to wind it all down.

What a season. Special thanks to Yama for coming along for the ride, and thank you to everyone who hosted me this year. You’re all the best. Seriously.

 

Now, for a selection of photos from here and there. Have I mentioned that I love the Pacific Northwest?

My inner Michigander loves the fall colors.

Darn hooligans.

Cruising the streets of Portland with Lindsey and Stella was definitely a highlight. People got a kick out of seeing Stella riding shotgun. She was a natural!

Shasta in all its glory.

Look who we found on the way home!
It was very special to see these two cars together. If it weren't for David's roadster, I wouldn't be building a 1930 Model A.

The following day, I even got a free car wash. Driving this thing out on the city streets in a downpour is quite the experience. I'm thinking I have a windshield wiper in my future.

Believe it or not, we have some updates on both versions of the car. It's getting late, so I'll try to pick up where we left off sooner rather than later.

 

And you came to Iowa......

 

Thanks for coming along for the ride to Oregon, Stogy! Not only does it look like a volcano—it is one! Not many fall colors here in San Francisco, so that made it extra special.

Doesn't that feel like a million years ago? Such a great time catching up. Won't be long and I'll be back again!

Thank you! Just like so many other friends on the H.A.M.B., I grew up reading about hot rodders going out, putting their machines to the test and sharing their stories in the next monthly or quarterly issue. I'd like to think we're following in their footsteps, but in fast-paced digital form!

Thanks for watching! Seeing that I'm pretty much always the one driving, it's fun to see the car in motion from a bunch of different angles. That being said, the one of the hood may be my favorite.

Hah! You read my mind. One day, the V8-version will have a top, side curtains and...cycle fenders up front and bobbed ones in the rear. I'm slowly gathering the pieces I need to make that a reality.

I wasn't familiar with Dave Deal, but you're exactly right! He certainly knew how to capture the fun!

Thank ya! Things have been pretty busy, but glad to hear that you're making moves.

Maybe we can make it happen once all the snow melts!

 

Thank you for coming along for the ride. As you now know, it's been quite the project, but we've had fun on here pretty much every step of the way. Nice work swapping the head!

As far as the tires go, they're 6.00x16 up front and 7.50x16 out back. IMHO that little extra size on the rear helps give it some rake, even without a dropped axle.

 

Thank you for watching! Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and see the world at a different pace.

I hear ya there!

The more I think about it, the more I like that idea.

Thank you! I'm not sure of the top speed, but Yama broke out the speedometer app on his phone while we were driving. We were in the 54-55mph zone for a good amount of the trip. My guess would be about 60mph, but I can't say for sure.

That's a good looking machine.

Thanks for following along. There's a whole lot of fun things in the works.

 

Tons of updates brewing on both versions of the car. We have new parts, old parts (a '39 Ford transmission!), fabrication, treasure hunting and hot rod dreaming. I'll be posting details soon. In the meantime, there have been two threads up on the main Jalopy Journal board that pertain to this project.

1) Ryan's Mazi Moto post here.
2) My full account of the 2021 Harvest Drags here.

 

Hell yeah. Looks like I may have to do some more road testing and report back with the results. Problem is, there aren't many places in the city to that.

Agreed, that's a good look. Can't wait to see the new meats on your machine.

Thank you my friend! Sometimes it's easy to forget that this stuff is all about fun. I'm doing what I can to keep that traditional spirit alive!

 

I'm up in Seattle right now and have the day off, so I figured I'd post a partial update.

Sidebar #32: Into Position

During my most recent workday at di Falco Fabrications, we had a couple of options of what to attack next. Weld the lower shock mounts to the '32 heavy axle? Mock up the rear crossmember? It didn't take long for us to realize that the best route was to put the firewall in position and start thinking about motor mounts. I didn't have my transmission or rear trans mount, so this would just be a rough outline.

First, we unloaded my engine.

Very neat to see it out of the truck an on the dolly.

Next, we moved to the main area of the shop.

Clamping the firewall to the frame was a big moment for me. It's the first step towards becoming a car! While mocking it up, we discovered two things. 1) The frame has been pinched, thanks to the So-Cal Model A front crossmember. 2) It very well may have been set up for a Model A at one time, seeing that the rear frame horns were bobbed and there were marks exactly where we put the firewall.

It was a beautiful fall day in Petaluma, and we took the opportunity to ride our choppers to the local sandwich shop. I was on my Coppertone 1966 Schwinn Stingray.

David hoisted down his 100% hand-built chopper. His background is in high-end bicycle fabrication; this bike is a work of art that blends old and new parts. Best of all, it was designed to be ridden. I took it for a spin and it's a blast!

Riding these bikes on the tree-lined streets of Petaluma was like taking a trip back in time. David pointed out historic sites and directed my attention to his favorite buildings.
This hatchery dates back to 1898. After lunch in the park, we got right back to work.

 

With that, we started on the motor mounts. First, we took measurements of the frame width and the lower water pump legs. Then, we broke out the bandsaw and cut pieces of heavy-duty U-channel to shape.

Using the base of a tin can, we got the shape sorted out. A holesaw was used for the main mounting point.

We then roughed it out with the bandsaw.

And then cleaned them up with the belt sander.

We'll attack the bottom curve next time I'm there. David has built countless pairs of the same mounts, but I appreciate how he took his time and guided me though the finer points.

Before I left, David gave me an assignment: have a transmission and rear trans mount by next time so we could mock up the driveline. It was a tall order, but I knew I could make it happen.