Projects Project Mattitude: the Beginning

Yet another one of my small updates.. But the next one will be a much bigger update.

Winter break is only about 4 weeks ahead of me and I'm getting all my schoolwork done on time which is affording me some time to work on my A. It's been mostly parts collecting but there's been some work involved as well.




I pulled some Ford truck brakes out of storage and bolted them onto the '46 Ford passenger car spindles I have and set them aside.



A couple months ago, I spotted this front axle set-up from a deuce on CraigsList for a mere $200. It had the front axle, spring, perch pins, and unsplit wishbone which I knew was WAY too good to be true. I got ahold of the guy and as it turns out, he had bought this from a friend and decided he didn't need it. He's more into the rat rodder scene so I decided I would rescue it. I snatched it up and asked questions later. Here it is the day I got it home.



For a few days, all I kept hearing was "the '33-'34 wishbones are shorter than the '32 wishbone" but no one ever told me how to measure it and what numbers to look for. That was quite an irritating hindrance. Haha. Eventually, someone piped up and told me, then after that, at least 5 more guys PMed me to tell me how to figure out if the front axle set-up is from a deuce or a '33-'34. So, I measured the wishbones and they're from a '33-'34. No deuce front end, but still a cool front end to have. For a few days, I considered flipping it and getting a little more coin back to spend on the A. Well..

I went to take it apart and I kid you not, it took me less than half a hour to get the entire front suspension apart. The perch pins slid right out. Looking back on the '46 wishbones I had planned on using and remembering how I still haven't gotten the perch pins out of that axle, I took this as a sign that my A should have a '34 front end.

After talking with Elrod at the Revolution, I came to the conclusion that if I were to run '34 wishbones and perch pins, then the front axle would have to be a '34 as well since the perch pin hole depth on the axle is different from an A axle or a later axle. So I placed an order in for a 4" dropped '34 axle from Okie Joe and sent him the original I scored to offset the cost some.

So until that axle arrives, I chose to clean up the perch pins. Unfortunately, the shock ends on the perch pins had been hacked off decades ago and they were left with some ugly stubs in their place. I forgot to get a good picture of them but you can make out the ends in the picture below.



I spent some time on the bench grinder getting most of it knocked down then spend a lot of time with a right angle grinder giving it a much better appearance.



You will notice the bushing sticking out the sides of the pins. After measuring the '34 spring and the A spring, I realized that they're both basically the same dimensions which meant I could run the front A spring on my A. The problem, however, is that the bushing that comes on the front shackles from Macs are for A perch pins and not the '34. The '34 perch pins have larger bushing holes. I pulled out a new rear A shackle bushing and stuck it against the hole and saw that it would fit in there. Then I put it onto the A shackle and compared it with the smaller bushing and found that the bigger shackle is the same diameter as the smaller bushing, just thicker and the right size for the '34 perch pins. They were just too long by a fraction of an inch. So I headed to Harbor Freight and bought a new bushing/bearing driver set and spent today's afternoon getting the new bushing in the perch pins and cutting the excess off, grinding it down flat and beveling the inside edge a little and cleaning out the metal shavings.




I pulled a Model A spring out of storage which I scored at the swap meet last spring for $20 which was in much better condition than the original I have. I took the original spring apart and set the Vern Tardel reversed eye main for the cleaner spring pack, took the regular main from the cleaner pack and put it with the A spring and set it aside.



And.. Well, the axle will be arriving here next week. I'm all ready to get it all mocked up and get working on it. Until then, I'm going to make some headway on my schoolwork.

 

Damn inspiring man, I am DUMB when it comes to mechanical work so I'm just gonna sit back and watch this come together. Thanks for the detailed reports though you make it almost seem attainable for a DA like me

 

That Weiand's going to look killer on your 283 man, frog mouths too?

 

good move going with that front end

 

looking good matt!!

 

Nice work man, lookin damn good!

 

DA? I'm a DA too. Haha. I just figure it out as I go.. If I can do this, then anyone can.

Depends on what comes up. I like frog mouth scoops but if something more unique came up, then I wouldn't be against them.

Thanks, guys!

 

I heard these are all just photos you found on google image search.
Notice how you don't see any of the parts together or on a similar back ground. You deaf guys are a crafty bunch but your not pulling the wool over this guys eyes!

I heard your whole cars made out of cardboard covered in faux patina haha.

 

And who drinks that much coffee? Seriously? I know your better at photoshop then just copy and pasting the same can over and over. dang dude.

 

You're more than welcome to come down for a "HAMB Thrash Week" and see for yourself. Don't forget about giving me that fishy tattoo you promised me!

Here's more photographical evidence.




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Oh now your trying to convince us your like 8 foot tall to take that photo?

Haha, looks good Matt just figure no one was busting on you so I would I always tell people if I haven't been busting on you at least a little we probably aren't friends. Haha

And I am keeping the possibility of a Texas trip in my head, when's your goal date now? Round up?

 

No clue.. I'd like to get it at least drivable by summer so I can tweak it and fine tune it while working on the body. But there's plenty of pressure to get it down to Austin in April too. Who knows? I just wanna drive it. Haha.

I don't really have a set deadline to get it done. I'll be taking plenty of time on the body however. I want the paint to look great so I can earn them rock chips driving it everywhere!


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Hi Tim.Hes not really 8ft tall.He just knows how to levitate himself.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Great to see the progress, Matt!


Malcolm

 

Sshhh!! No one's supposed to know my ties with Criss Angel.

Thanks!

 

Matt, Go ahead and run the Vette covers. The kid who found the wrecked Vette would have taken the valve covers too. Find a pair of WCFBs and counterfet the little U tubes that were on the Vette carbs. Most people don't even know about them. Besides all of those detractors are going to be too busy pointing out that it is not "really" a roadster to have time for the it's not "really" a Corvette engine crap. Also most Vette engines didn't get replaced with Vette engines. Who knows what was in it when the kid found it? Two little fours are a lot easier to run than four twos and are exactly in your time zone. They ran a lot more junk yard stuff than speed shop stuff.

 

Ah, well, I've already sold off the Corvette 2x4. The only reason I got that manifold was because I couldn't find the 4x2.. When the 4x2 popped up for sale on here, I sold the 2x4 to help pay for it.


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1x4, 2x4, 4x2... Just get that frame rolling!


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great to see progress!!! great score on the axle!!!

 

Got the axle bolted up and rolled it outside for a few pictures. Here you go, guys.. An outside shot. The sun was on the wrong side of the driveway so most of the picture has rays of light and looks all funky. I'll get it outside later when the sun isn't foiling my lack-luster photography skills. It sits much better up front but I'll still be taking a couple more leaves out and the T spring should raise the back a little more since there isn't a full A spring pack out back. It might even get the wheel perfectly centered in the wheel-well. We'll see.

This will be the last picture I put up of the roadster for a long while, until I make serious progress. I'm pretty happy with how this is coming along, especially being my first build. Keep an eye out for an update in December.

 

Awesome...and great mix & match tech on the front end.

Great progress, I'll tune in in December!

 

Looks like a photo form one of the little magazines from the '50s. Except back then vise grips were used for door handles instead of radiator mounts. Good job. It's looking great! Funny how big a small block can look, Perfect.

 

Looking good Matt! Gonna be a cool little hot rod.

 

Finally got caught up on this thread! Matty, you're a maniac, buddy! This RULES! I wanna' see more!!!

Lookin' great!

 

Thanks guys!

 

Looks great!

 

love it

 

Coming along! good job!

 

you sir, need to be at the roundup in april with that thing. been waiting a while to see it rolling down congress. its coming together nicely man

 

Looking really good Matt.