March banger meet

Agh, those cars are cool. Any more photos?

One of the main issues they had with the Offy was in how they converted it to run on pump gas. With decades of hindsight this conversion isn't impossible but for a variety of reasons the motor didn't make power and wasn't reliable. As far as not using a 6 cylinder Offy...well, the main reason is probably that there was only one of those ever made.

This wasn't simply a problem that Cunningham faced. Lance Reventlow, in his quest to build a completely American GP car tried to use Offy power in his single seater Scarabs. Besides putting the engine at the wrong end of the car, it also had its fair share of problems when it came to power and reliability.

Cunningham and Reventlow could afford to dream big and make mistakes under the guise of patriotism. The world was a far more interesting and beautiful place thanks to them.

Cris

 

I've seen a picture of Reventlows Car he bought to OZ to race . That had a Olds V8 with what looked like a moon manifold with four DCOE webers . The biggest problem I can see with the F1 today which oppresses the versatile and the ingenious is called Bernie Eccleston.
The pictures are over 30 years old and belonged to an old friend ,long dead , who was a very acomplised racer in his day.

it's not a banger but cool is cool is ,right?

 

Need some input on how tight to put together an A engine.......seems awfull tight with rods and mains at .0015..............how tight is to tight?

Will the starter turn this thing over with 6 to one compression ?

Somebody reassure me, er or School me please.

 

Without spark plugs it should take 35 foot/lbs. or less to turn the engine over.

.0015 is not too tight. If you have bind on any of the caps it will seem tight. Make sure that all of the bearing caps are straight and not twisted. You should be able to wiggle the rods with your fingers front to back when they are torqued.
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Mines 6.0:1 and and pretty tight but the stock starter turns it over. Battery needs to be charged up though

 

has any one any advice on setting up a reverse lockout when fitting a borgwarner overdrive

 

Wow just went through the whole thread. Looking good guys! I my be bangin sooner then a I thought. Tracked down a complete semi restored stock model A chassis. It's from a car that's getting an aftermarket frame, which is fine by me. I can pretty much drive the chassis home LOL. Throw my cab on and wire some things up and I'll be putting around in no time! Kinda not too thrilled about the mechanicle brakes tho...

 

66 ,
dont be afraid of the mechanicals ! just go thru & fix em right . i use them & have no problems . make em like new & put "teds" kits in them .... steve

 

Hey Steve, I noticed that you have '32(ish) front brakes. Did you notice any difference in your braking over the Model A brakes?

 

Thanks for the replies on the reverse port, I appreciate it!

 

Thanks thats what I wanted to hear...its less than 35ft pounds
and I'm sure it will loosen up after in runs awhile.

 

Here a lock-out on the Miller's A-box Sorry it's so dark only photo I have

 

here you are Bluto a little lighter

Dick

 

Hey Steve, I noticed that you have '32(ish) front brakes. Did you notice any difference in your braking over the Model A brakes?
i have stock late (june) 1931 brakes all around . now i have done lots of work to them . aligned all rods for correct length , rebuilt all 4 brakes . installed all of "teds kits" . i really like my mechanicals . they will slide the tires anytime i need . they stop very well is traffic , even with little notice . im a ex truck driver , biker , so defensive driver is driven in my head . but , if you spend time on your mechanicals , you will be rewarded ......... would not change mine ! yes they take a little maintainance , but my whole car is that way ! its about 78 yrs old , im 63 & i need more work than my car .................... thanks .. steve ............ glad to help anyone on mechanicals .

 

(quote)i have stock late (june) 1931 brakes all around . now i have done lots of work to them . aligned all rods for correct length , rebuilt all 4 brakes . installed all of "teds kits" . i really like my mechanicals . they will slide the tires anytime i need . (Quote)
Amen to that. I had a guy in a Ranger pickup blow a stop sign in front of me last summer and was treated to the lovely sound of all four sliding in my '30 coupe. Ted's kits are the real deal, an easy install and a fair price for a great improvement in A brakes (and later mechanicals also).
Food for thought: with competent brakes, A wheels/tires are the limiting factor in safety and traction. A little sand or gravel on the road last summer and I could have had a much worse outcome. Think I'll look into upgrading to 16" wheels/tires at least...

Fearless

 

Ah, cool, my mistake on the year. I didn't realize that late '31 brakes were different. Are the late '31 brakes like the '32+ brakes or a different animal altogether? Are the rear brakes the same on all Model As or...?

 

I'll let Bruce be the real authority but I don't believe there's a substantive difference in A brakes after the AR series in mid-'28... An A guy saying he's got a late (June) '31 car is probably referring to the indented-firewall, gas-shutoff-outside-under-the-hood cars (like my Tudor).
Fearless

 

thanks for the info, what exactly does a ted kit do?

 

x2 i would aslo like to know and the price, not that there is a price on saftey, but I would like to know what you get for your dollar.

 

http://www.flatheadted.com/ the kits "floats the shoes" , more like say a '5o's ford . he has a rear cam for centering your shoes . he is ez to talk to & answers right away . ................ steve

i do have a "june" of '31 tudor deluxe ..............

 

Ted’s brake floaters replace the solid one piece adjusting wedge with two pieces, an adjusting bolt and a floating wedge.

You can read more here:
http://www.modelatimes.net/cart/

Here is another interesting article on the same concept:
http://home.comcast.net/~68c/brake/floaters.htm
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I think the brakes are the same. Its the drums - cast from ford. I wont to put newer 32-36 brakes (12" drums) on the front of mine but parts are hard to find. the A you can buy any part.

 

Man IM GUNNA GET SHOT DOWN for this ,here's our modern 'banger' ....give it to me I can take it

 

Is that a fiberglass body?
That is more of a no no here then the engine!!!!!!
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Say's who!

I like the dash.

 

I don't know if you guys saw my post on the roadster project, but here goes. I started with a bare A frame, and last weekend I bolted the engine/trans/front/rear end in place. I am now getting the body ready to go on. This is quick and easy, going to be a "beater" for a little while until other projects simmer down.

 

Chris,
Looks like a good start to a fun summer.
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Well, what is throwing me off is the picture below (from Steve's gallery):




Those drums look bigger than the normal Model A as well as being the later "ventalated" type. According to my interchange manual, all Model A passenger car brakes were the same. Hence, all of the questions. Just trying to figure it out, not doubt the guy.

 

Yeah Loogy, I would say they are 32-34 brakes as well...

 

Thanks Bluto was going to use a laycock-de normanville which has a better ratio but decided the houseing was too light if i was to go off road New Zealand back country roads can be rough so i have put in a quickchange as well as the overdrive hope to have a strong unit