After getting that outburst out of my system, I was curious how much of a difference this would make. I lined them up next to each other to see what kind of drop it will provide. The driveway is sloped so I did the best I could just to show the difference.
The quality of the new member looks pretty good. It's a Speedway part. The powder coating on it is so so. I'm glad that it seems to line up okay in the car, though.
Here it is in the car. Looks like it will line up well. I need to buy some nuts, bolts, and washers to get it finished up. That's all I got done today but I feel pretty good about it. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't take the extra few hours to swap it out for the difference in lowering if they had the engine out anyway. After that's bolted in its on to reassembling the front axle and wishbone. Then off to get motor mounts, the wishbone split, and a lot of work to the center brace to clear a 4L60E. Hopefully it will happen before April. I need more than a biannual work day on the car.
Today wasn't all about the 46 though, we did get cut our own Christmas tree. Not quite sure why we took the convertible (ha ha).
@ Rick and Jan --- the more I see the LeBaron Bonney interiors the more they grow on me. I think I am leaning more towards that than a Tijuana tuck n roll job. I need to figure out tube shocks on the front of this one pretty soon.
All in all, not a bad day. Got to cruise around in the Corvair with the kids listening to Frank Sinatra Christmas on Pandora, cut down a fine looking tree, did a little work on the old hot rod, and cleaned up the garage as well. A life well lived (today anyway).
Check out my nut sack. There's bolts and washers in there, too. Got all the hardware I'll need to bolt in crossmember. Took the old one with me to size up the hardware. Inch and a half long 5/16 bolts and I bought grade 8 stainless and grade 5. Seemed to fit the old holes okay.
I'm not thrilled with the way the 5/16 are fitting the holes. Little too much slop. I'm gonna trade them for some 3/8 tomorrow. And I think I'm gonna go a bit shorter, too. Yes, I realize that's not the correct order for the bolt washer washer lock washers nut combo. I just did that to see the fatness of the stack. I wished the guage the thickness of the hardware.
Great post. Makes me relive some of the experiences I had with my 1948 Ford Tudor. I have had my Ford since 1969. I too am from Central California, a few miles south of Fresno.
New hardware and a few drill bits to make sure it all fits. Hopefully I can find an hour or two this week to start getting it together. Last night was a flop.... cleaned up the frame some more and made mental notes. I am getting anxious to see it back on the ground.
AB6DO -- I am in Merced. That's about 45 minutes north of Fresno. Tell me some more about that 48. I dig the way it sits.
Just went through your thread....That ol Ford is in really nice shape. I like the 46-48 coupes and sedans...Especially when you get them really low. Keep up the good work!
Got an hour or so this afternoon to play around. Cleaned out all the holes on the frame and knocked the burrs off them with a 3/8 bit and got to work. Laid everything out and started matching up bolts, washers, and nuts.
Most of the holes seemed to match up pretty well. I sunk the easy ones in first. Then I used a long pry bar and wiggled it around to get a few more of the stubborn ones in. Even after all that, a few stubborn holes didn't want to match up. I hit them real quick with the drill again to cheat the holes a bit and it seems to be fitting well.
It's a bit tight in the corners but once I tightened down the bottom one, the top one had room to spin.
All in. I will go back, one by one and add locktite for the final final. Lots of patient, blind work. Good thing I have long fingers. One step closer to getting it back on the ground. I'm excited to see what a difference the cross member will make. I see lots of straight axle cars that have a drop axle, longer shackles, and some spring work. I haven't seen many with the crossmember, too. I'm glad I took the extra time while the motor was out.
I had purchased a gallon of Chassis paint and intended to do all my brackets for the leaf kit and axle but the stuff came back coated. I think I am going to try out brush paint my frame with it now. Any one have luck with this stuff? Any suggestions? Tips or tricks? I was told it will lay out flat. Also told once it's on, it's on.
Cant wait to see it on the ground. I'm not familiar with Chassis Saver Paint but you might want to try brushing to get into the hard areas and then use a small foam roller to even it out. That technique works great with rustoleum.
I've used Chassis saver on two vehicles. Good Stuff, last a long time. Just don't get it on your skin, it don't come off. Once you crack the can open, you need to put some saran wrap or something on the paint in the can when you store it to keep it fluid. Air will turn what you have left into a solid lump. I know what I paid for a quart, so a gallon must be pretty pricey.
Lock nuts would make me feel better on that crossmember. Looks good though. Amazing how well it fits.
Today was a simple goal..... make bone meet axle. Had about 4 hours to goof off with the old cars and I was gonna use every minute of it. Hell, in my mind I was gonna drive it out of the garage in three and a half hours. Axle meet wishbone, wishbone this is axle.
So far, so good. I had parts, a general idea how they go together, some tools. Just slide part A into slot B, right? After test fitting the axle it wouldn't slide past the original spring perch bolts. Easy enough, just slide those dudes out. I hammered and hammered and hammered. And hammered. One way, then back the other. Then forward and backward. And then with the air hammer. And chisel. Rog was pretty smart and tired of hammering. He figured a way to stack some sockets and an extension in a C clamp and push that dude out. That was met with marginal success. Back to the hammer. Brute strength and ignorance shall overcome.
After soaking up the better part of the afternoon working on just those bolts, including a trip to Harbor Freight for hack saw blades, they eventually broke free. That fibery (asbestos) cloth was wrapped between the bolt and the sleeve. You can see the abuse those sleeves took as well trying to get them out.
We got working and I forgot to take pics. After taking a little meat off both sides of the axle bosses it slide home in the bone. The new perches went in as well as the new shackles and grommits. Next thing I knew, the spring was in place and we were out of time for the day. Goal met. Hopefully tomorrow night I can get a few hours to at least get it to a point we can put tires and wheels back on. I have the dropped steering arms, front Lincoln style brakes, and a plethora of other parts. A plethora?
Yes, jefe. A plethora of pinatas. This is where I keep my secrets. Like the old joke, my worst fear is that when I die my wife sells my car parts for what I told her I paid for them. I'll keep plugging away. I'm still trying to figure out the whole mounting for the trans and split bones. I have a few ideas rattling around.
Alright, alright, a llll riiiight. Back in the garage for an hour or two tonight. The goal was to reintroduce the wishbone to the car and maybe slap some wheels on. First things first, dropped the spindles onto the axle with the old pins for now. I will address all the reaming and fitting when I put the new pins in with all the painted pretty parts. The steering arms were hitting the axle so I chopped the bastard off with the cutoff wheel. I'll go back later and make them look pretty but tonight's focus was rubber on the ground. I had to cut from both sides and still beat it with the BFH to get it to break loose. A good lesson in buying serious tools to do serious work. The little 4 inch grinder/cutoff wheel was working pretty hard.
Test fitted the dropped steering arms. They are pretty tight but will do the job. I'll have to probably have my front axle recoated after all the fitting and grinding and smashing with a hammer. I wasn't planning on it coming back coated as I said earlier so I hadn't taken any of the casting slagg off. It's hitting on the axle side against the ridge down the spine from being cast. I'll clean that up a little bit and make sure it turns freely without rubbing.
The Jalopy Journal
