Projects Jumping in the deep end

99 cents...???? Do I look like I’m made of money?

Really though, thanks. Not sure why that’s not mentioned anywhere or maybe I just didn’t phrase the search very well on here.

 

Save that 99 cents and cut up an old inner tube to wrap around the column!

 

At some point in the future you will probably switch to a different steering box than the Model A. I don't know the exact time frame but I think Ford boxes got better in '37, there are the F-1's, and I have the non-traditional Vega box. The model a turns harder and they do not self-center. I also have a '35 and that is not what you want either.

 

I have an F1 box that I was planning to use when I was building from the ground up, so if the A steering bothers me I will change it out. I didn’t find it difficult to steer while being towed in it but it might wear on me when it comes to actually driving. The car kind of feels like it has power steering when it has any forward momentum at all.

 

How clean is clean enough for this surface?



This is as good as I can get it. There is still some gunk but it is smooth to the touch.

 

It should seal. Looks good from my vantage point!

 

there is a kit (or a place that does it) available to add a roller bearing to the stock Model A box ...if you're anything like me you're probably going to end up keeping this chassis for a 4 banger project or selling it to finance the A-V8 chassis so the stock box upgrade keeps things simple...

 

I think I'm going to plan around eventually putting the V8 in this car rather than building a separate chassis. Space is becoming a concern...

 

do you still have pics of the backing plates of the mechanical drums you showed pics of earlier?

 

From when I was looking for brakes for the chassis I was building or off my coupe? (That still feels weird to say - my coupe!) The former pics were off eBay so I don't have them anymore, but I'll pick through the thread and see if I can find them.

I didn't get anything done on the car today. I decided to get rid of the terrible shed in my backyard which ended up being a lot of work and broke my brand new double gate in the process so I had to re-hang it when I wanted to be working on the car. Here's a picture that I saw that got me a little closer to knowing where I want to take the coupe.



The more I look at the car in the garage, the less I want to cut it up. I have already been thinking about running just the top of the hood.

 

@Nailhead A-V8, this is the only picture I posted of mech brakes that I can think of. Not sure if this is the one you were thinking of or what you need it for if it is, but here you go.

 

the chassis...no worries don't go to too much trouble pics of juice brake b/p's abound but pics of mechanical b/p seem hard to find...I'm trying to determine if a set of wide 5's I have are '37-8 mechanical or '39 juice the pic you posted showed it from the inside but I need a shot of the back...

 

Here's a back shot of '37-38 mechanical brakes.

 

Thanks that's very helpful...I have confirmed these are '39 Juice B/Ps what you need if going with wide 5s

 

I was sitting in the car this morning rowing through the gears. I kept hitting my knuckles on the gas tank. I realized that when the transmission is in second gear, the shift knob rests in the place where the gauge cluster will have to go. I fit up the bezel and sure enough it does not coexist with reverse or second gear. The body is located correctly on the frame as far as I can tell. I understand the A has a reputation for being a knuckle buster but as things are, I don't think it would possible to put the car in reverse or second gear with the gauge cluster installed.

Any insight here? Is this an unforeseen consequence of intermingling year models? The frame is a '29, the drivetrain is a '28, and the body is a '30. I was under the impression those components should all bolt up and play nice but perhaps some minor dimensional change between 29 and 30 required a different shift lever?

 

Heat the gearshift lever and tweak it back a bit? I dunno!

 

That seems like the solution. I did some more research and found that indeed the shift lever changed for this very reason. I just wanted to make sure something wasn't put together wrong somehow.

 

Knock on wood, my house seems to have run out of ways to fall apart for now so I'm going to try to get the pan installed today and tomorrow. Still anxious about this 4 piece nonsense but I guess if I screw it up I'll just do it again until it's right.



This is the rope that was provided with the kit. I have been told that some need to soak in oil first and others do not but I don’t know how to tell if one needs to soak or not. It is covered in a chalky substance and is dyed pink at one end. Any thoughts?

As an aside, I hope everyone understands that I ask some of these basic questions to double check myself because, having never done any of this before, I just have no frame of reference for what’s right and what will work, not because I will need my hand held forever.

 

Well for better or worse the pan is back on the car. Hopefully I did it right because if it has to come off again I’m paying someone to do it.

On to fuel!

 

Just for argument's sake I pulled the fuel "system" off the V8 stand and rigged it up on the car to feed the carburetor. The engine will run quite happily when force fed ether through the intake but it's acting like it's getting no fuel when I try to let it run on gas. Not sure if it needs to be primed somehow or if the carburetor is not functioning properly.

@RMONTY, as it turns out the carburetor is not a Zenith. It is an aftermarket unit, a Tillotson Model X.

 

If the carb is getting fuel, it's probably just needing a rebuild.
Doing a quick search for that model came up with this video

I would not take it this far apart, at least at first. Just take the top and bottom apart and clean everything. Blow carb cleaner and air through each passage.

 

Order a kit. You can try to clean it as above but the aggravation isn't worth the cost of the kit.

Have you filled the radiator with water? Check for bubbles in the radiator while it's warmed up and running to give an idea of whether or not a head gasket is needed. You are close to being banger powered dude!

 

After ordering some other bits and bobs I'm running up against my budget ceiling, but the carburetor probably does need a full rebuild. The throttle and choke are both very stiff. That will have to wait until next payday.

No water just yet. I'm trying to prepare some way to deal with a flood in case the rad waits until it's full to start leaking, like the '49 one I bought for the stand did. All my buckets are too tall.

I noticed that after adding 5 quarts of oil to the engine yesterday, the dipstick shows the oil level barely above the 'L' on the stick. Does it just want more oil? It does not seem to be leaking anywhere and I feel like if it had lost that much oil overnight I'd have noticed a big black spot on the floor... Is there a convenient spot to rig up an oil pressure gauge?

 

http://users.lmi.net/~ryoung/2007/05/notes-on-overhauling-tillotson-model-x.html

https://modelagarage.com/model-a-oil-change-procedure/

http://modelafordclub.com.au/wp-con...-to-Use-Petroleum-vs-Synthetic-March-2012.pdf

 

Right, so- fuel must be going to the carburetor because gas drips out of the intake if I stay on the starter and now it catches on fire every time I try to start it. So for some reason it's not making it to the manifold. I don't think fire is supposed to come out of this part so it's definitely gonna be a rebuilder. Something is obviously plugged in there and carb cleaner didn't do anything. It would not surprise me to find a wasp nest in the carburetor when I pop it open.

I got some brake rods coming from a fellow HAMBer, so I'll let the car rest until those show up, get the brakes hooked up and the carb can be my next project.

 

Making leaps and bounds! You've come a long way from buying that old flathead.....

 

are you pinching the dipstick so it goes completely down into the block?

 

Likely one of the fuel passages or the area below the fuel mixture rod (GAV) is clogged. These passages can be cleaned out with a paper clip. Worst case, the flange of the Tillotson is warped, where it bolts to the intake, causing a vacuum leak.

An old timer told me that Tillotsons seem to like the GAV open 1/4 - 1/2 turns when warm. To start when cold, he opens the GAV an additional 1/2 turn, pulls out the choke, retards the timing [lever up], pulls the throttle lever down a couple clicks, and steps on the starter.

After about 1 revolution he pushes the choke back in and it'll start right up. A 1/2 mile or so down the road, he will turn the GAV back in a 1/2 turn..

 

Lol the loop at the top of the stick was bent outward so it couldn't go all the way in. I thought it was designed that way because that's how it was when I got it... that explains why it had oil on the stick even when the crank case was full of water... fixed.

Thanks. I think I am going to go ahead and pull the carb off and see what I can see. Since I am planning to rebuild it later there can be no harm in taking it apart now, maybe a good clean out will get it going again and save me some money.

That's good info for getting her lit up. Based on instructions intended for Zenith carburetors, I had the GAV open further than it needed to be (a turn and a half total) and I really had no idea where the timing lever should be.