Projects 1928 Model A 2 dr Phaeton Build

Yes that is a bit of a severe situation and thank you for the info on the other thread I will study your details and I edited my post by adding in the possibilities of using 72 rod first I am still engineering the block repair process and I think it will work IF you have any thickness left if not that's slot of Bridging lol

 

Mini update: got the steering column mounted and started on the lower Heim support mount. Trying to keep everything as simple and clean as possible.



That's Speedway's 1947-54 15" GM Truck Steering Wheel, I didn't want to go cookie cutter and do the 1940 Ford like everyone seems to nowadays. But the fit and finish on this one isn't great, so I may wind up going a different route. Does a perfect job for mockup though, and now the car steers! Way easier to move around the shop.



Steering column is meant to go between the pedal on the Boling chassis, but even with the narrowest column (1.75"), I can tell that my feel will be wearing through the paint on the column by dragging on it constantly. I might look into altering the pedals or doing some custom pads to get my feet away from the column.



For now that's a piece of 1/2 square in place of the Double D Shaft.


Trying to maximize exhaust clearance and also hide the shaft as much as possible. Should have that lower mount at least tacked in place tomorrow so I can continue with the exhaust.

~Peter

 

I think even in the 50’s off set pedal pads were available and making them was for sure a thing. I’d give it a go.

making quick progress! Been fun to watch

 

Making some progress on the exhaust while I wait for a few other parts to arrive. Really trying to make this look like a vintage piece, so purposefully Wire welding vs TIG.




I decided to tuck it a bit closer to the chassis and have a slight downward rake as it goes back. I think clearances should be fine to avoid heat damage. I think I'm going to have these ceramic coated so that should also reduce radiant temps.




Here I went a little crazy trying to maximize the flow of the 2nd exhaust into the collector. By making it super gradual, the theory is that it will have an easier time combining with the 1st cylinder's exhaust. Never was a fan of the the 90" entrance:


The 2nd-4th pipes there are forced to make an abrupt right hand turn to try and exit. Easy to build, but not gonna do the job right.



Clearance to the body should be fine, not too concerned about melting paint. With the way the Model A doors open, there's plenty of room for either a turnout, or whatever kind of block off plate I end up using.

More exhaust work in the next few days. Very time consuming, but I think having them purpose built will work out better in the long run.

~Peter

 

Awesome build, love your shop, what's the go with the front wishbones, they look upside down, isn't that a panhard tab on outside of left front bone - am I missing something here ? Glen

 

I think that's a brake line mount on the bars. Not really sure yet, didn't get instruction manual and I haven't run brake lines yet.


Just checked, and the wishbones only go one way because the top has the countersunk area for the spring perch to fit into. As shown here:





~Peter

 

I was Going to say I’ve seen one or two people run hard lines down the inside of the wishbone and then use a connection like that for a flex line instead of it all being on the frame but I couldn’t find a photo of the passenger side to see if it also has a tab.

i would also think a pan hard mount would be double sheer.

good catch and now I’m curious either way lol

 

Finally got an OEM Ford fan assembly from a buddy. Went ahead and tore it down and restored it and all the wear surfaces looked really nice!


Then bolted it on the Fenton intake and started looking at clearances and all that:


Right off the bat I realized I needed to space it out from the intake about .25" to get it lined up with the lower pulley.



And clearances to the Stromberg e-Fire Distributor was tight, but not crazy tight.

Then I started thinking about how the offset PowerGen alternator would work for it's own belt.


A straight edge showed just barely enough clearance to the fan mount, and that's all the way down in the groove. But what I really don't like is that in order to get the Belt to clear that mount, the PowerGen ends up taller than the carbs...



So then I got to researching other cars to see how they do it, and I quickly realized that almost everyone who is running a mechanical fan is running a center generator mount. After analyzing the dimensions of the Offenhauser intake I have, I realized that it also would eliminate the spacer I was needing for the fan mount.




So I threw the Offy on to check things out.


Much better, I didn't have the right fan Belt for this setup, so that's why it's not installed at the moment.


But belt alignment is spot on and the distributor clearance will be better as well.



I'm going to trim the fan blades down to get a little breathing room for the upper and lower water necks. Also, since I'm using this aluminum radiator that's designed for the narrower 32 Grillshell, the fan is wider than the core. I'll make sure to keep the fan blades symmetrical so I don't throw off the balance.

I bolted on the new Strombergs and the Pepper-Pot Fuel pump; this allowed me to start on getting the throttle linkage and cable setup:


I'm doing throttle cable because it will allow for a tighter and simpler firewall vs having to have clearance for rods or linkage passing through.



So I think I'm going to change plans and go back with what works. Use the Offenhauser or similar intake manifold and keep the generator in the center. It allows for a cleaner look and doesn't require radical machining or geometry equations. This Offy intake is a 20yr old reproduction, and I'd like to find a more unique/vintage option, but for now it's sure working out alright!

I got the 1940 Flathead back from the machine shop and it's full steam ahead, I'll share some engine pics and plans in the next few days.

~Peter

 

So here's the 239ci Flathead back from the machine shop.

There's the offending crack after decking the block surface. In reality it will be just fine with the sleeved bore and running some stop leak in the coolant once it's on the engine break-in stand.



Overall, very happy with the cleaning and prep work they did for me. I had them leave the valve seats and not do any of the other machining with the exception of a light hone on the cylinders.



Here's that floating sleeve^, everyone I spoke to says not to worry. So I'll try not to.



I started my work by honing all the lifter bores to encourage even oiling and prevent gouging of the new lifters.

Then it was time to port match the block to the intake.


Just needs a little bit off that inner edge, and then a smoothing of the casting inside.




Nothing crazy, just easier to do it now vs later.

I had the one cracked thread area on the intake area of the block, decided that since most of the threads are intact, that I'll use a stud and then rebuild the area around it.

So cleaned it out, used threadlocker, and installed the new stud.



Once the threadlocker cures, I'll go back in with JB weld and fill in the missing portion of the break to give added support to the stud. I know it's possible that the JB weld could release in the future and fall into my lifter galley, but I fear that leaving it as is could mean that when I torque my intake down, it could crack or strip the threads. We shall see.

I need to focus on assembling the engine so I can clear up some room in the shop that all these engine parts are taking up. So I'll be getting it assembled and painted next. Thanks for checking in.

~Peter

 

Glen, after looking things over, you were right. That's a panhard mount and I had the wishbones installed on the wrong side. Spent some time this weekend swapping them over and getting the panhard bar installed.



I'm not sure the Panhard is needed, since every rod from the 1950's didn't run one, but I'll do some research and look at the pros and cons.

Also got the radiator mounted and starting work on the grill shell mount as well.

I'm planning on filling in the gaps on either side of the aluminum radiator and running a mesh grill insert to mimic the original Model A radiator core and hide the fact that I'm running a sectioned aftermarket radiator. I'll have pics of the sample inserts in the next post.

Engine is in assembly, should have some pics of that as I get it done in the next few days.

~Peter

 

If it’s got cross steer you’ll appreciate it. And it’s already there and packaged well, I’d leave it.

 

Cross steer + panhard bar…for sure!

Great build thread…thanks.

 

Thanks for the advice on the Panhard bar, as soon as I got to thinking about how cross-steer works, I realized it was a good idea!!

In the meantime, got a color picked for the Engine, found a Red that's darker than most:


I always paint my oil pans before assembly because painting the underside of an engine is a paint in the rear.

I had some free time, so I started knocking out the Passenger side Header:


Just the preliminary welds, I'll pull it off the car and bench-weld it tomorrow. You're seeing behind the curtain here and I'll admit my welds are not pretty or uniform. Total Auto-Didact when it comes to metal, so I'm still learning from my mistakes.

Should have the headers finished tomorrow and they'll be ready and waiting for the engine to get assembled and broken in.

~Peter

 

Just finished the whole thread and enjoyed it a lot! Will be following.....keep up the great work!

 

Hey Peter, awesome build! Keep on it!

 

Got a mesh insert designed for the grill to hide the aluminum aftermarket radiator. Painted it black to see how it all looks and I'm very happy with the ability to hide the actual core. Added benefit of protecting the radiator from damage on the road!

Mocked up the headlight stands I got from @nickthebandit with the Speedway 7" buckets. Getting close to what I'd like, still a few things needing tweaking on the front.




Flywheel is machined and ready for install.



And got the Edelbrock heads painted Cast Aluminum, lettered with the same Red as the engine will be, and then matte cleared. Should provide an easily cleaned finish while mimicing the look of bare aluminum when installed on the engine.

Finally sourced some replacement wrist pin clips, so Engine Assembly can begin:


~Peter

 

Mesh looks great! Where did you source it?

 

https://www.customcargrills.com/All-Grill-Mesh.asp

 

which one did you use, ?
looks great

 

https://www.customcargrills.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Sm_Dia_S24

The small diamonds. I tried three different kinds:


~Peter

 

The car is looking great

 

Assembly of the engine was temporarily delayed because the front Cam Bearing from Speedway was 8 thousandths out of round. My guess would be it got dropped at the factory floor because the box was in excellent condition. So I have a replacement set coming.


In the meantime, I am tired of having no rear body mounts, and got a dash of inspiration this afternoon. So I ordered up some 3/16" plate sheets (Same thickness as the Boling Brothers Subfloors) and got to work!


Started out with some 5" wide strips to go from the existing subfloors up and back to the rear of the car. They will have mounts to the body back there where the old Seat brackets are currently:



Made a template of the frame, and drew in space for the body mount insulator pads:


Then it was me and the 20ton hydraulic press as we endeavored to make 3/16 steel bend into a curve:



Not quite finished with that one yet, but you get the idea. Trying to maximize interior room while providing a strong inner floor structure. Going to get the other side done next and then work on driveshaft hoops and tying this new structure into the existing subfloor.

~Peter

 

Do you have access to a slip roller, they come in handy at a time like this.
I really like your grill insert especially protecting the radiator from road debree since I wiped one out only A. I think I will install one on my car. Thanks for the idea and link to source. Frank

 

I don't have access to any rollers for metal this thick. The actual floor-pans will be much easier to metalwork however.

Glad to provide assistance on the insert, though I got the idea from @Just Gary. ’28 Tudor update #7: Peaking the I-beam and adding a grill insert


~Peter

 

Are you going to drill the lifter bores for a rod to hold the lifters as you adjust them?

 

I have the adjustment "wrenches" that came with my lifters. They look like this:
I am personally not a fan of drilling the holes in the bores. That's just my take. I've seen enough success with these tools and I have every confidence it will be fine.

~Peter

 

If you mount the bottom of your steering column solid on your firewall you can eliminate the shaft support.
This would minimize vibration due to movement between the body and frame.
Maybe something like this.



View attachment 5577719

 

Thanks! Got something similar in the works once I get the front toe-board area done. That extra shaft support is just there in the meantime.

~Peter

 

Work continues on the floor structure. Got the rear components cut and bent to shape. Welding them tomorrow.


The two rear crossmembers will be the foundation of my fuel tank mounts, the tank arrives next week.



The two rear transmission tunnel hoops are both the same height from the ground, despite how they look here. Should provide more than enough driveshaft clearance. All 3/16" steel and I'll be adding subrails for the seat mounting points.




I'll cut/bend the rear body mounts tomorrow and we should have the primary floor structure finished by this weekend!

~Peter

 

Finally rocking and rolling with the engine assembly:



Using Johnson adjustable lifters with Lincoln Zephyr Springs and new retainers and clips. Tough job getting them all installed and adjusted, but everything went relatively smoothly.

Then it was on to pistons:


Using the 91A rods with the 239ci std bore pistons that came in the engine. New Hastings rings and installed in the block:




Did a valve check just to be safe, and no issues with added cam lift and valves hitting the Edelbrock heads.

Finished up the weekend with installing the new Offenhauser timing gear and then re-installing the cover and new water pumps:



Once the short block is assembled with pan installed, I'll be painting it red all together, that way all the silicone seams vanish and everything will look much cleaner and uniform.

I also got my fuel tank this weekend and started lining up where it's going to live in the back of the car:


Plan is offset so I can have a battery box next to it.


Fill neck out the rear through the inset license plate box:


and the fuel filler will be hidden behind the spring-loaded license plate bracket:


I toyed with surface mounting the license plate but I felt that on sedans it really kinda hangs out there and makes the rear of the car look cluttered or as though the plate and light were an after thought. I'll probably start messing around with the license plate area this week while I wait on my distributor adapter for the flathead.

~Peter