Great project Jess gonna be a fine ride. We are doing a "33" 3 window and have a tip on installing defrosters..as needed in Nebraska!! If interested PM me at [email protected] Keep the progress conning..Bill
Jess, I met your Dad at Speedy Bill's museum about a month ago when the Midwest Deuce Club was there for our spring meeting. He noticed I had a SCTA patch on my jacket and we talked at length about his experiences on the salt at Bonneville, and he told me about your '33 project. He asked if I was a Hamber and gave me the link to your project here. It was so cool to hear the pride and enthusiasm in his voice talking about you and your project! Both of you are so lucky to be sharing this experience together, and I hope to see you both in your '33 in the future. Maybe at Des Moines GoodGuys in July?
Down to the end folks. Just a few more things to take care of and we'll be cruisin' down 77. Thank you to everybody for your support and enthusiasm. You HAMBsters are the greatest. On with the progress. I'll start with bleeding the brakes. We didn't want to cut a whole in the floor so we had to fill the master cylinder with brake fluid while the car was on the lift. To do so, my dad ended up assembling a squeeze bottle with a clear tube, so we could gauge the fluid being put into the master cylinder. A note about brake fluid: apparently, it's one of the more dangerous substances you can find in a shop. Safety glasses on guys. It can destroy your eyes and eat the paint off your ride in no time. Brake fluid is also hygroscopic, so it absorbs water. It'll soak up water out of the air, so don't leave the cap off your new bottle of brake fluid for very long. That same water moisture the fluid is prone to absorb, will also cause corrosion within your system. My dad will flush the entire brake system of the bonneville tow vehicles every year as preventative maintenance. A mirror on a stick came in handy too. As my dad was pulling the brake fluid through the lines, I had to make sure the master cylinder had enough fluid in it. If it would have run too low, air could be pulled in from the m/c side and we'd have to start over by leaking the m/c again. Air is compressible, while fluid is not. Our m/c has two chambers for brake fluid. One chamber feeds the rear brakes and one feeds the front brakes. There are a couple ways to bleed brake lines. We chose this hand pump. A tube is stuck to the bleed valve on a caliper, a nut is loosened, and you pump the gun's trigger. It creates a vacuum and sucks fluid through the line. Excess fluid is pulled into the reservoir. And now the front. This was also a kind of moment of truth. My dad built and flared all the brake lines, so we had to check all the fittings to make sure they weren't leaking fluid. Then I reached up and pulled down the brake pedal and held it, while my dad opened and closed the bleed valve on the calipers. Pssst. Short bursts of air came out.
A couple years ago, Steve down at Lincoln Clutch and Brake honed the spindles for the king pins on the front end of the coupe. Steve and Virgil. Virgil owns and runs Lincoln Clutch and Brake. Thanks guys.
A long time ago, after Harry finished showing us how to install the top, we started working on the railing. This rail would be the key part to finishing the roof. We had been successfully putting off this part of the project, because it just looked like it would be a beast. So many things could go wrong, including kinking the railing or warping it somehow while rolling it. April 30th was a beautiful day. We pushed the coupe outside that evening, put our heads down and went to work, both thinking it might not go well. My dad did the bending of the railing: Once the bend was sufficient, he measured and marked locations on the rail for evenly spaced holes. Then drilled them: Once we had a few holes drilled in the body and a couple screws holding the railing piece down, I drilled the rest of the holes into the body, using the rail as a guide. Then pushed stainless steel screws down into place and loosely tightened the nuts. In all, it took three sections of railing to complete. The inner artist got the best of me here: Then we tightened down the nuts together. As we went, we figured out that they couldn't be too tight or the railing would be pulled down in certain spots. All in all, the whole process went smoothly. We were both pleasantly surprised.
May 1st was another beautiful day. We pushed the coupe back outside to finish the roof. The objective this evening was to install the rubber/plastic finishing strip onto the metal railing we installed the night before. Our only objective, because we simply didn't know how much struggling this strip would require. We started in the middle of the back of the roof top. A little heat help us make the first curve, but we were super cautious. After some trial and error, we figured out it was easier to get the plastic piece to start by pushing it in from the side... ...then pushing it in from the top. A few nuts had to be loosened from underneath to allow the strip to grasp the metal railing and look level. We kept working our way around until we met up with where we started. Warning me that this stuff is notorious for shrinking in the sun, my dad cut the end a little long and pushed it into place. Gorgeous. And we were done way early too. What else could we work on? Awe, let's look at that windshield...
The windshield needed a new rubber gasket installed. As we were looking at the frame, we noticed little bits of original gasket or rubber and started to cut/scrape it out of the way. Then we noticed that same old gasket was also underneath a lip of the frame. My dad pick out some strong welding wire, bent the end and shoved it under the lip. Slowly we each worked a side and got the crumbly gunk out. We spent a good chunk of the night doing this. He sloshed a liquid lubricant, usually used for changing tires, into the frame edges and over the rubber seal. Then slowly we worked from the bottom flat edge of the frame to the other flat edge, using a putty knife to force the rubber into the lip of the frame, and then force the under side of the same area of rubber into place. Then we started in the middle of the top part of the frame and worked our way out to the edges. The goal here was to make sure the seal didn't get stretched too much anywhere, so there would be no excess seal to deal with at the end. We patiently got to the ends with no problems or excess seal. So, now the new seal was installed in the windshield frame. We put the seat back into the coupe, installed the windshield and ended up putting the doors back on. This is where she stands now.
Reminds me of my Dads hands! Strong, Experienced, Teaching and Guiding! Give your Dad a hug tonight! Great build, luvin it! Cant wait for the road trip pics!
Over the very busy weekend, I wasn't able to go to the farm at all to work on the coupe. My dad finished up the emergency brakes (a custom project that will get it's own post later) and painted the drive shaft. On Monday, we installed the newly painted drive shaft: And of course we have a bunch of fun little loose ends to tie up:
Last night we installed the throttle pedal and throttle linkage. My brother was around, so he lent a hand. One gigantic plus of my brother's new shock-proof camera is that it can take video. So here it is folks, our first throttle pedal and linkage test. (The sound gets better as the video goes on, I promise.)
Wow! Your family knows how to do it right...right car, very nice shop and a Dad than anyone would love to have at their side. Now...where's the burnout video?
Wow, great post! I might get laghed at but I almost get choked up reading this. Its great to see a family and friends build; this is the way it should be! Your Dad is a sharp guy, the coupe is a fine piece of craftmanship. Congratulations Jess your a blessed girl and you should all be proud! Thanks for sharing!
How great is that feeling...behind the wheel motor running... I know, I know you can't wait to drive it. Great car, and great post. DD
Looking fantastic!... I can remember when the Bonneville streamliner was being built, looking up into the rafters and wishing that 5Window was mine. Glad to see the car is about done, I know how much work you, and everyone else have put into this car... Brian
Way cool! I love all the attention to detail and the fact that it is a project of love by family and friends. You're very fortunate to have a Pops around with the knowledge and equipment he has - really makes a difference when you get "stuck" on something and needs ideas and help. I'm building a 34 five window - am not as far along as you guys! I moved to Columbus, Ohio a few years ago and really don't have anybody here to work with me on my project - so it takes a lot longer than I'd like. Plus . . . I think I've become much more of a perfectionist in my old age (49) than when I was young . . . hot rods went together much faster back then! Thanks for all the posts - some of them give me ideas . . . which helps me along. Dale
You all are so great and supportive. I am truly lucky to have my dad and super lucky to have such a great extended family on the HAMB! Friday night was filled with finishing the smaller details like filling the tires to the correct psi, fixing the dzuses and attaching the moons, adjusting the headlights.... After dark on Friday night, my dad pushed my mom into the passenger seat and off we went down the driveway. I was so giddy. On Saturday I sanded the grille's shell while my dad did some metal work on a new ignition switch area in the dash. Tim came over and we worked on the hood a bit. Sunday, Bill and I ventured down the driveway in the coupe, this time we went to the corner of the section and back. The rest of Sunday afternoon was spent finishing up details. My dad installed the shifter boot while I installed the interior door handles and window cranks... stuff like that. Thanks for reading!
Wow, pictures in the sunshine! Always better than garage shots! So, does this mean you can finally drive it? Isn't that a great feeling?!?! I am really looking forward to seeing the coupe and meeting you and your dad this summer. Him and I have a lot of 6cyl Rajo to talk about!
Very nice! Congrats on the first drive...and THANK YOU for posting such a great photo-essay on the project!!!
I'm so THRILLED for you sweetie! Congrats to all involved. Looking forward to seeing it, and you again soon.
Can't wait to see the car in a week or so. Great reporting on the steps from the rafters to the road. It certainly captures the thrill and satisfaction of doing a job right the first time around. Your dad, Tim and all the others who have helped can share in your obvious delight as you get the car running. Now, on to that job list your mom has had waiting for your dad for over two years ...! Flagpole light?
YES! On Mother's Day he made time to hook up a light switch for the outside flag pole. She also got a new outside power outlet and another outside light under the deck. See you in a week!
Wow, that's a great-looking car. Thanks for this documentation! Next time when I'm having two hours free I'm gonna read all 12 pages. --mika
SHAAWEEING,oh,ah,excuse me,ladies post.WOW what a hotrod.That rocks.Can't wait to see this one.Cool cool cool.
The Jalopy Journal
