Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

There's something relaxing about the fog. That's how I know I've really become accustomed to Northern California life. I love it up in Petaluma—very cool that you have family history there going back centuries. I'm booked Sunday with a motorcycle shoot at sunrise and our local car show at Ocean Beach after that. That being said, I'll be at David's shop Saturday. We would love to see you if you're free!

Oooh yeah! Thank you for the heads up. I'll take a look at the schedule and let you know if I'm going to make the trip north. Sounds like a great time.

I'm planning to shoot a feature on it at some point. Everything about it is spot-on. I encountered a similar fog experience on my chopper trip from SF to the Chandelier Drive-Through Tree in Leggett a few years back. Boy, makes you happy to see the sun, doesn't it?

I remember frozen fog from Michigan. Not good!

 

Well, even though it's the middle of the week, I have some catching up to do from this weekend's fun.

First, I was able to put the engine and the transmission next to each other. We were hoping to mock up the motor mounts, but my rear bearing retainer didn't show up at my house until later that afternoon. That'll be a project for next week.

Also, after further inspection, we decided that a double-detent shifter would be the right move. Does anyone have one that they would be willing to part with?

 

Next, we shifted our focus to the front axle. Since day one I knew I wanted to run tube shocks, but the big question was how should I mount them? There are numerous options. Bolt them to the lower spring perches? Drill holes in the axle and run a stud through it? Years ago, David came up with a smart and straightforward solution that he uses to this day. Here's how it goes.

Find a pair of early Ford V8 lug nuts. These were pretty rusty, but I got to use the sandblast cabinet for the first time in my life. It's like magic!

Next, center the nut on the axle.

MIG weld around the nut. The tapered bottom helps give the weld a place to go. Then install a universal shock stud with a thrust collar as a spacer.

Clean up any rough areas with the remnants of an antique sword.

Finally, once the process is complete, eat kiwi (only if ripe).

 

Here are some other highlights from Saturday.
I was able to fully disassemble the steering box. We'll clean and inspect the components next time so then I'll know what pieces to buy.

Spring cleaning in the fall.

Spotted this cat cruising the parking lot on my lunch break.

David on our friend Sonny's HD Servi-Car.
Well, after owning the car for more than a year, I finally splurged and bought spark plugs. The plugs on the car have been in place since the 1960s. Per my research, these Champions will be good for my application. Let's see how they do!

 

Instead of hanging fuzzy dice from your rear view mirror you can hang your fuzzy balls

 

Some old camera, 35mm film fun will be hitting The Jalopy Journal in the morning. Figured I'd let you folks know first!

 

I'll be back with replies in the morning, but I figured I'd let the local folks know I'll be at the Ocean Beach show tomorrow. I'm helping a friend with a project around seven, but I'll roll over to the beach after. Looking forward to it!

 

These are plugs for the current 'banger. Every resource I could find recommended the W18s for my driving application.

So the story on the trans is that its an early style case with later internals. I'm going to try to find a double-detent top with the correct corresponding shifter forks. I'm very quickly realizing that just because it was rebuilt and a good deal doesn't make it the right trans right out of the box. That being said, I am learning!

Hahaha these came from my friend's backyard where the kiwi trees have been growing for years.

Thank you so much for following along. And thanks! I try to carry over as many elements of that project into this one. Fun with old machines!

 

Note: I assembled the following update while on the plane flying halfway across the country. At the time of writing, it was still Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Before we dive into the update, I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming along for the ride. I have no idea where this project would be without your help, and not a day goes by where I’m not grateful for having such a supportive community. You guys are the best. Seriously.

Above photo by Xander Cesari.

So, where did we leave off? I’ve spent the past few weeks gathering parts—lots and lots of parts. Now that I’m actively building Version 2.0, it’s finally hit me how many little pieces I need to turn this thing into a functional vehicle. I’m chipping away at my list, but I still have a long way to go.

Just like with Version 1.0, I need to remember that the best way forward is to take small steps one day at a time. Whether it’s ordering a part, painting an assembly or bolting two pieces together, every little thing helps.

Last Saturday morning, I made my way up north to di Falco Fabrications. The sun was out, the air was warm, and I was ready to make some progress. My assignment? Prep and install the rear bearing retainer.

First, I removed the 1934 bearing retainer and scraped away the old gasket.

You’ll note that I painted it white. I suppose now is as good of a time as ever to let you know that I will be painting the driveline and suspension white with black accents on Version 2.0. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to the look. Will it get dirty? Yes. Very much so. But that’s okay by me.

Back when I was in school, my brother had a 1960s Harley that was red with white flames reminiscent of Earl Bruce’s Mercedes. The bike sported a white seat and a matching kicker pedal and shift rubber. After years of year-round use, it all aged together perfectly. No, my car won’t have flames, but I’m hoping the white components will do the same.

Anyways, with the parts painted, I bolted everything together for mockup. I’m still waiting on my six rear bolts with safety wire. Once the trans is painted, I’ll install the gasket and get it ready to go.

While we were waiting for paint to dry, we made our way over to Steve Nelson’s in Petaluma. Steve is a veteran hot rodder and racer who has an incredible garage—and a complete soda fountain in his house. I met Steve a few years ago during one of his famous ice cream socials, where I had the best banana split of my life. I still think about it to this day.

Although we weren’t able to stay long, Steve surprised us by unearthing a piece of San Francisco hot rod history. It was a real car club jacket from the Excelsior Throttlers Auto Club, which was given to him by a friend. Car club jackets from this era are rare, and San Francisco ones are like proverbial hen’s teeth. It made my day to get to see it.

Back at the shop, we heard the familiar sound of a Model A four-cylinder rumble up into the driveway. It didn’t take long to realize that it was our friend Jeff (@Jeff34) in his newly acquired Model A roadster. I first met him on one of the Northern California Reliability Runs, where he was cruising in his incredibly original 1934 Ford pickup.

Today, however, he was in the roadster. Earlier this fall, he picked it up from his cousin in Montana. Like any red-blooded hot rodder, he immediately dove in to make it a pre-war gow job. It was fun seeing it in its current state—stripped of its fenders and riding high on its original wheels and tires. Although the paint and bodywork are far more refined than my machine, it reminded me of the early days of my build.
I especially liked sitting behind the wheel. Future plans include ’35 Ford wires, reverse-eye springs and potentially a high-compression head. I’m looking forward to seeing it come together. With any luck, we’ll get to bomb around town on a reliability run soon. Make sure to check out his full build thread here.

 

Back at home base, I had a series of homework assignments. First and foremost, I’m painting my front suspension so that it’ll be ready when the time comes. A huge thank you to @Hitchhiker for digging up a clean set of perch pins and corresponding castle nuts. Seeing these pieces together makes me really excited. I also have my U-bolts on the way.

Hot rod stuff

 

Sidebar 88: Super 8

Last month, I was in a daze wandering around the NorCal Cycle Swap in Sacramento. The combination of a late night and an early morning put me in a less-than-social mood. Nonetheless, I walked the rows searching for parts for my non-existent Panhead project. I didn’t find any. I did, however, run into a friend of a friend who had also lived in Richmond, Virginia, for a spell. We got to talking, had a few good laughs, exchanged contact info, and parted ways.

Fast forward a few weeks, and he reached out to me about shooting a video profile on me and my car. This wasn’t just any profile, either. Instead, he recently had a Super 8 movie camera built in France, and he wanted to use it to capture the Model A in action. So, on Sunday morning, Kristian and Miles showed up in my driveway with two cameras, several rolls of film, a drone, and a plan.

With that, we spent the morning ripping around town and setting up shots at scenic locations. For someone who is rarely on the other side of the camera, the whole thing was an absolute blast; it was shades of the DicE Triumph shoot for sure.
Once the project was completed, we all rolled into the monthly Ocean Beach car show. I hadn’t been in a few months, and I was very much looking forward to seeing some old friends and meeting new ones. I know I promised that I would have coverage, but I spent the whole time catching up and goofing around.
That being said, I did get to try out one of my dream cars for size. If you were wondering if someone who stands 6’ 3” can fit in a Porsche 356, the answer is yes—comfortably!

After the show, I cruised over to one of our favorite burger spots with my friend Mike, and then spent the remainder of the morning crisscrossing through the Sunset. I was a big fan of this Streamline Moderne house on Noriega.

Records show that it was built in 1941. I would have no problem parking my roadster in the garage.

Per my calculations, I racked up about 40 miles on Sunday. The car ran perfectly the whole time. When I was rolling into my neighborhood, I noticed an ever-so-slight slight squeak from the engine bay. It didn’t take long to realize the belt was the culprit. I tried lubricating it, sanding it, and re-tensioning it, none of which made a big difference. I also greased the zerk on the water pump with the correct waterproof grease.

The crank pulley was repaired decades ago, so it does do the Hula a little bit. My guess is that this led to premature wear. We’ll see if a new belt remedies this. If not, we’ll dive back in

 

I like your logic!

Haha I have a feeling I'll be getting to that point in the not-so-distant future!

 

On Thanksgiving, I made the trip east to hang out with @Nick32vic. We're currently in St. Louis, somewhere in the middle of an all-out thrash to get his BSA chopper on the road.

It's been an incredible week thus far. Working alongside Nick, his dad, his cousin Michael (who I profiled in TRJ #83) and master metalman Luke Johnson, I've learned more about fabrication than I ever thought I could. From oil tanks to sissy bars, fender mounts to custom gas tanks, I'm excited to help with a few small things on such a high-quality bike.

Saying Luke's shop, LJ Customs & Blasting, is unbelievable is an understatement. Here's the Yoder Power Hammer that he built himself. I plan to share more of his story at a later date.

Luke and his dad are also big neon fans. Here's a historic sign that spent most of its life affixed to the roof of a liquor store.

While I'm away, I'm also working on my motor mounts and ordering parts. More on those soon-ish!

 

I'll be the first to admit that I've been slacking on the build as of late. Things are getting pretty busy around here with the holidays coming up, and I've basically just been driving the car and chasing down parts.

While I was in Illinois, Luke helped me finish up my motor mounts. I had a feeling they were going to look questionable to TSA, so I made sure to let them know they were for a very important art exhibit.

Now they're blasted and ready to rock. I also have my biscuit motor mounts from Bob Drake.

After being gone for a little over a week, it felt kind of surreal to come home and see my car sitting in my garage. Does that ever happen to you? It's like being reunited with an old friend.

Here's another fine shot from Xander, featuring the Palace of Fine Arts and Alcatraz.

One last thing for tonight: I think I have a line on another quickchange. I'm still doing some final investigation, but I'm super excited to possibly be closing the loop on it. I'll keep ya posted!