Projects Im getting Married! Project 46 ford begins!

video update because i was to tired to feel like typing, i also sucked a live wasp out of a gas line and into my mouth, thats not in the video though. haha

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Sarah votes we hit it hard Saturday night and Sunday morning hoping to drive it early afternoon Sunday, then if it seems like its not going to give us any more trouble then typical tune it stuff while driving those 3 or so days we will make a run for Kansas. Wish us luck!

 

Great progress in this heat Tim, Good luck

 

Thanks and I think I've figured out my dipstick issue mentioned in the video. It's a chrome mr gasket unit and I think instead of using the stock rubber top hat style grommet it will need an o ring placed in one if not both of the grooves in the tube. I don't know what the stock dipstick looks like on the trans side but with this one is pretty obvious that the rubber of the top hat is nearly twice of not three times the size of the gap.

I looked around here and at some other units in catalogs and it seems that o rings could be my fix, keep ya posted

 

It was the best of times, it was the worste of times.

We are officially no taking the 46 to salina sarah and I out in a 17 hour day yesterday and at 2 am we're defeated by tie rod/ drag link issues.

I thought the tie rid looked questionable so I got a new one, after aplying a bit of heat I got the old one about half out on each side before realizing that 1: it was defenintly solid enough that I didn't realy need to replace it but now after heat i couldn't just out it back in and 2: because they share a steering arm the bushing in the drag link soaked up the heat and totally fucking melted. Gah! The end is like a tie rod end but instead of being threaded on its welded to the rod so I couldnt just get a new end. I'll see what speedway and mac's offer and order parts before we leave for Kkoa so when we return we can finish up

We DID start the car, we DID get all the wiring done, it DOES run, Sarah DID hit her thumb with a 10 pound hammer while putting dust caps on after adjusting and cotter punning the spinal nuts and keep on going!

It just needs brakes bleed/ adjusted and exhaust with a handful of tiny non major things on top and it's cruising but I still feel defeated. Hopefully Kkoa recharges the battery! See you all there, come say hi

 

Sorry to hear you're not taking the car to Salina.
Still good progress, though!! See you down there.



Malcolm

 

Thanks I can't believe how much you guys got done! You all must have just been motion blurs to the naked eye!

I'm leaving Lincoln @ 6am Friday morning to salina hopefully I see you on the way down and see you at speed

 

You made a great effort and got a lot done! Have fun in Salina and finish it enough to bring to the Drags!

 

The drags would be pretty cool but I don't think it's in the cards. With the wedding coming up this is about the only window I had for a trip with the car time and $ wise. But maybe this fall we'll make it to KC with the car for some yarn and BBQ

 

Got a new drag link on its way from Mac's sadly not fast enough as ill be in Salina when it shows up but at least its coming. I think im going to save the old drag link and cut the end off of it and thread the inside of the tube to accept a tie rod end. that way if for some aweful reason i have to take it apart again or something gets messed up i have not only a back up drag link but one with a removable end so if it gets accedently melted i can just swap a new end on and be on my way.

that sound like something thats advisable? i dont know why they arent that way from the start :\

anyhow all the photos Malcolm/Nick is posted are getting my blood pressure up and we are super excited to hit KKOA get some inspiration and finish it up when we get home.

We are going to try to get rides in as many cool cars as possible and eat ice cream at every opportunity while in Kansas in the mean time

 

On most of the Ford cross-steer drag links I've come across the "long" end is a solid forging.

 

well that would certainly explain it haha. thanks

 

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made KKOA minus the 46, threw my photos and video all together with some horrible youtube freindly music.

more actual car updates in a week or two when i get home and back to it.

 

Good meeting you and Sarah. Was one heck of a weekend. Here's a pic of the second flat. We'll catch you around and safe travels.

 

Well everybody knows that tubes don't seal after lightening strikes! Come on guys

 

Enjoying your build. I have a 46 Ford long door coupe I bought from my grandfather when he was too old to drive it back in the early 1970's. Stored in pieces for decades as work moved us around the country and kids came along. Mine was finished in time for retirement. Looking forward to seeing your car completed in time for your big day. Congrats on the car and the lady.

 

Thanks! A quick note to anyone following along in preparation for their own 46-8 build. I was lucky enough to talk to the owner of a very nice, very low 46 Tudor about some finer details of his build and could t help but notice that he had used the same motor mounts as I did yet he had MILES of clearance in front compared to my hair of clearance!

Something was ascu! The front radiator shield that blocks the top half of the radiator looked off. I couldn't quite place it until I noticed the yoke support rod at the top was not only visible but nearly in front of the shield. It was all way shorter front to back!

I asked and I was confirmed! It was originally a 6 cylinder car and thus had room for the longer motor! I don't know if it's just the rad set up or the entire yoke etc that changes it all but I will for sure be keeping an eye out for the supplies to make it happen for either a car down the road or maybe something for this car down the road that may require a fatter belt

Anyone know how much is different on the 6 cylinder cars up front?

 

Good info.

 

Saturday night is getting close, hopefully by then I've recovered from 11 days on the road full of heat and driving. I'm so worn out its hard to find the gumption to get out there and get it buttoned up but im going out there motivated or not!

KKOA gave me tons of ideas and really made me wish the car was on the road, hopefully my next update will be a smiling one about getting it driving and home finally so we can tweak a few things and start in on the interior

Our sewing machines are inside so it seems alot less daunting then being under the car in the dirt ha.

 

Wow Tim your a writer... I read the entire thread and WOW your doing awesome!!! I'm glad it will be done for the wedding!!! I am about to embark on the same journey as you are on in the next few months with my galaxie and I am glad to see that it is possible. I wish the best of memories for you and Sarah in the 46!!

 

Thanx man headed out tonight with sarah and crossed fingers for luck. The car first got rolled into the shop on aug 28th I think so honestly at this point I'd just be happy to have it driving in under a year.

I'll be sure to take video

 

Awesome Tim! I wish the best for you and Sarah!

 

Updates?

 

As of 1 am it runs!! Hopefully drive it this afternoon. I don't have be access unless I drive by someone's house and it beeps at me so no real updates till tonight or tomorrow. But it runs!

 

updates?



here's your update! haha



i got filthy running exhaust, im running duals to just in front of the back tires, 2 inches, 36 inch or so smithys. im using center dump manifolds and for the moment some flex pipe for the very beginning of the head pipes. its alot of snaking around and i want to see what works and what doesnt before i comit it to solid.

its extremly tight but the drivers side works. i have one piece im having done right now by some one with a mandrel bender, that right? that can make me a 90 deg bend on a super small radius and then its all hooked up

i think the plan will be run the flex for a while and see what doesnt work, then after its been figured what works fill the flex pipe with spray foam and bring it to the exhaust shop to have them bend the pieces up. on the drivers side i think you may need to maybe it more then one piece, its alot of squiggling around to clear stearing and the oil filter and id ont think youd be able to snake it up there in one piece. so maybe 2 and flange it?

either way i should have exhaust finished soon.



you can see the canted trumpet tips kinda peaking out there



we put a long day in yesterday and about a half today after some parts hunting. im probably forgetting something but the run down from memory looks like this

*removed front tie rod
* removed drag link
* painted new drag link and tie rod and installed them.
* re routed wiring under dash again, gotta make the lines to the back longer to let it tuck everything up nice and neat but ill deal with rain bow spaghetti for the moment.
* bent the brake pedal arm to clear shift linkage and bellhousing, damn things gotta be made out of whatever they used for wolverines claws lol shits tough
* got the brake mc rod attached to the arm and ran into trouble... more on that later
* adjusted rear brakes
* drilled and installed remaining brake line clamps
* shortened valve cover allen bolts to make a tighter seal
* put cotter pins in everything
* greased all the zerks, or tried to, might be out of grease
* installed front seat
* installed hood
* swapped around transmission dip stick o rings and tops hats and silicon-ed it for extra assurance
* put the upper ran shield back on.

Im sure there was other stuff that im forgeting but you get the idea. heres some pix



sarah test fitting the brake pedal placement



yup custom sheet seat covers, classy i know.



hood on the front of the car, first time off the roof in probably 11 months or so





shit it almost looks like a car again!



if it doesnt make you dirty it isnt yours! photos pretty washed out i was filthy. we agree that no more cars are being put together with out good lights, a clean floor and a lift. ha

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first time actualy kinda running! 1 am aug 13th

it doesnt want to idle and i havnt got the throttle in yet so i dumped some gas in the carb to prime it and turned it over. after this video sarah took charge of the key side and i throttled it at the carb. it idled fine before we took it out of the truck so a vacume leak seems possible, but the truck had tons of weird vacum leaks and things going on so the idle may have been tweaked to account for that? either way ill get it figured out with out to much hassle hopefully

all thats realy left is getting my brake pedal were i want it, it seems super far forward. like 90 pedal from the floor compaired so something closer to 45. and im thinking that it may make me need a slot in the floor to clear the arm not a hole. im going to try to figure out a shorter set up for the mc rod and see what happens. its the speedway set up for this car so of course it doesnt seem to look right to me at all. guess we'll see what i can figure out.

no pix of that i was angry and scratching my head.

after the pedal si figured out i can bleed the brakes, put the toe board in, put gas pedal and linkage in and drive it home. im going to try and do that all thursday or friday after work. so from 7pm till i get results is the plan i guess.

then ill drive it home to sioux city and finished tweaking it, put the seat belts in, new rear tires blah blah blah

 

If exhaust is becoming a real pain in the butt, there's nothing wrong with sticking a straight axle in and some fenderwell heads.. I hear those open up a lot of room!

 

Right on Tim ! Hopefully we will see a pic this weekend of it in front of your place. If you get a chance post a pic of the exhaust / steering clearance Thx.

 

I went the fenderwell headers... 4" drop axle and 2 leaved removed on a reverese eye Posies spring... 5/60x16 slightly rubs the header on full left lock, but that doesn't happen very often, and only for a second. a 283 is in teh works and it'll get ramhorns... Needs to go lower up front.

 

Yeah I'll snap some for you. And Matt I got the straight axle already and a lot of ppl do run the pipe out through the fender and under the running boards but they are way vid able at that point and I don't like seeing the exhaust hanging underneath. I ended up keeping mine as close to the middle of the car as I could to avoid seeing it.

 

you dont have a exhaust bender yet??
thats an advantage of being a bankrupt muffler shop, and kept just enough equip to still build glass packs, another unprofitable adventure in the "world of autos"
welcome tim its a ongoing adventure and you are almost over the hill