Projects My 1929 Model A Ford AV8 truck build thread

One project on the list for this winter is to build a fan shroud. I have struggled with how to do it. Then yesterday I found this one from a 62 Buick in my parts pile. I think I can make it fit.



First I had to remove 4" out of the middle:



And then shorten it to clear the tank:



This is what I came up with so far. I like it.

 

I like the shroud. Another great idea. Nobody wants one, and we likely all need one!

Great job on the truck. It has, and is turning out very nice.

 

Now that you've done all that work...a big baking pan is a good starting point. The commercial baking supply houses offer a really wide assortment of sizes and styles. Aluminum...steel...heck, maybe teflon will become popular.

 

Lol, baking pans aren't traditional.

 

[/QUOTe
Could you please send a set of those 75.00 heads you have in the advt. above thank you . And this one great build. After I finish my f1 the A model is next on the list.[/QUOTE]

Just send me cash in the mail and I will send them out tomorrow.

 

Here is fan shroud progress from today:

I make a pattern of the radiator to work off of:



And screwed it down





I had to reform the corners and weld them up.



I needed a piece of sheet metal so I cut if off of the 51 F1



And cut it to fit

 

I welded to center hole up and test fit the shroud. It fits good.



I installed the fan and found the center of it on the shroud.



Since I did not have a large enough compass, I made one out of a piece of scrap tin.



Then I started making a pattern out of 3/4" plywood to make a lip.

 

I cut a hole with a jig saw and then routered the edge to give it a smooth contour.



I screwed the shroud to the plywood and started hammering.

 

This is how it came out. I am very pleased with it. Now I need to reweld some places and get it ready for paint.

 

Very nice work!

 

Nice. I even noticed how genuine ford sheetmetal was used for the filler material

 

More progress this week.

I painted the shroud




I decided to make a short generator to be used as a fan hub. I was talking to a friend that owns a starter and alternator repair shop and he told me that a delco alternator has the same 17mm shaft size as my 36 Ford generator and the threads are the same also. He gave me a junk rotor that I pressed the shaft out of. I cut it down and welded it up to make a stop collar and then cut down a housing.










Next I made a stud intaller so I could speed wrench the studs in and not damage the threads. It is a 3/4" bolt drilled and tapped to 7/16-20 with a set screw in the head which acts as a stop. It worked well!









This is the old 13" fan which had to clear the filler neck and the replacement 34-36 truck fan. Having the shorty generator mounted tight to the intake allows for the larger 15 1/2" truck fan. It should cool at low speed now!

 

My 80 year old buddy Willie told me to skip the thermostats in the heads and make a plug with a bunch of holes in it to restrict the flow. So I made these on the lathe today out of aluminum. We will see if they do the trick.

 

Real nice start. Keep the boys involved when ever possible. Both my boys started young. My son with my cars and my stepson with dirt bikes. They both are till going at it with cars and bikes. Your truck body is better then mine and looks great. Have fun. I should have looked at more of your pics, great truck. Lots of good info in your tread, thanks it will help my project.

 

My next thing on the to do list was to remove the 2" spacer blocks above the rear spring and drop the rear cross member. I also tipped the cross member back so the spring does not bind now. Here is how I did it.

 

I was reading Vern Tardell's book about 3 speed toploaders a decided to upgrade the 39 trans in the truck now to a f-1 case with 42-48 internals but I don't have a 42-48 car trans so I am using the 40 trans I have "in stock". The 39 has a 2.82:1 1st gear and the 40 has a 3.11 1st gear which will work better with the 3.78 rear end gear for push starting the Fiat.

Here is the start of the trans switch:

 

Transmissions are apart and cleaned up. I ordered parts today from Mac's to rebuild it. The last picture is the case after I blasted it. No cracks!

 

Wow this is truly an amazing and inspiring Thread.
Thanks.
Any updates?

 

Yes there are updates, but no time to post them.
I got the trans assembled and in and have put about 200 miles on it so far. It works good.



I also added a leaf spring in front and in back. It bottomed out all the time and that cured it.

We made a 36 ford parts run with the truck in the end of March. The truck ran good and no longer bottoms out:

 

your truck is beautiful, very nice work.

 

I never put shock on the front and have not decided on how I am going to mount them. A friend who restores model A's had bought a tube shock kit for his car and was removing it because he wanted stock shocks. He borrowed me the brackets so I could copy them. I ordered the shocks and they cost $21.78 for the pair. I have about $30 invested in these. The front kit sells for $180

I don't like how they look but they work for now.

 

I have an 80 year old friend that has helped my alot with the build. He has been cutting glass his whole life. The other day he suprised me with a back window. Up until now it was missing. It sure makes the ride to work in the morning alot warmer.

 

This build is awesome...I love that you keep producing parts...That were just laying around!

 

Thanks guys, I am glad you like it.

We went for ice cream last night. Can you tell we were parked under the red billboard?

 

good job Paul

 

Thanks Paul!


I had an old South Bend lathe from the late 1950's but it was a little small and way to new. I sold it and bought this Rockford from 1920.



The same guy had this mill. That is what I went to buy but got a package deal. The mill is 220 single phase with DC controls. It is vertical and horizontal. It works well. now I can build stuff

 

very nice work on the lathe and mill, looks like you're off to a good start. nice machines too! MSC is a good source for lathe & mill tooling.

a suggestion...... (and I see a piece of something behind the lathe already)
get some masonite or similar low-cost material, paint it white, light blue or gray and make some wall protectors behind each machine. They can be cleaned/replaced much easier than the corrugated metal siding; and believe me, there'll be more oil slinging and piles of swarf as you become proficient with the metal cutting.

 

Don't scrap that belt pulley power take off assembly! There are guys out there that want that kind of stuff.......
Project looks like it's off to a good start!