Thank you for the info , it is verry helpful ! on more question what kind of radiator are you using ? thanks again ! It looks like much fun , have fun driving it !!!
I am running the stock unpressurized Model A radiator. Had the local radiator shop close off the large center stock inlet and put a pair at the top and an extra one and a drain cock on the bottom. So far the flathead seems happy. I've run it a good hour at a time in the garage this past summer while I was tuning the carbs, and the water in the radiator never went over 220. I am running antifreeze and 180 degree thermostats.
Glad to help! Here are links to the posts I did on the Buick drum and Model A steering box conversions: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122603&highlight=gashog+buick+tech http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199148&highlight=steering+box+gemmer
Turns out I had a couple problems with the rear brakes. First thing I noticed was that something had caused the left rear drum and backing plate to overheat. Apparently I didn't machine quite enough off of the inner lip of the drum for the Model A banjo. Everything looked good when I bolted it on loosely, but there wasn't enough clearance between the drum and the backing plate once I torqued the hubs. Also, the flutes on the inside face of the drum were rubbing the wheel cylinder and parking brake actuator, a few dents in the thin outer lip of the drum were dragging on the backing plate, and the outer edge of the brake shoes were rubbing on the inside of the drum. Interestingly, when I pulled the right side for comparison, there was a flat machined on the top of the flutes for more clearance! No problems at all on the right side. A couple of hours with the die grinder pretty much took care of things. Second test drive, the clutch isn’t releasing. After some wailing and grinding of the teeth that turned out to be a pretty simple fix too. The link from the pedal to the clutch arm was too long and I was driving the fingers of the pressure plate against the backside of the clutch when the pedal was depressed. You can actually see where they were rubbing in the picture! I shortened the link and everything was good to go. Third test drive the brakes go out again. Turns out I had a bad rebuilt master cylinder. I’m heading to the muffler shop tomorrow to run the Smithy’s and the lake pipes
Gashhog, Good looking ride. When you relocated your steering box what mods did you do to the column mount where it attaches to the tank? Are you using the stock tank? I would think that the relocated box would put alot of stress on the tank and leaks my be in your future if the mount was not relocated in reference to the new box location.
Thanks to all for the compliments! jrblack30: I am running the stock tank but supported the column with one of the late 31 column drop brackets (like in picture below). You can get them from all the Model A restoration parts guys and it made a dandy place to mount my tach/speedo cluster!
Did you cut the old mount off and weld up the rivit holes? or just cut it off so that it can't be seen? I have some clearance issues with mine currently. I am dropping in a new motor mid summer and I am looking for solutions for the clearence issues I am having. Looks like I may be trying some of the mods you did as far as steering.
Hey gashog I love your car congrats. I was wandering what your gauges are out of, I'm a little infatuated.
jrblack30: I clipped the stock column bracket short and left the stub riveted to the bottom of the tank. It didn't leak so I figured I'd best leave well enough alone. You can't even see it behind the new bracket and gages. Evil Wicked Mean & Nasty: Don't step on the Grass, Sam I thougt I was the only one who listened to Steppenwolf anymore! The gages are MG GT and the steering wheel is a TR2 banjo. I found an NOS chrongraphic tach face on ebay and put a piece of tape over the odometer in the speedo. A matching Smith's dual mechanical water/oil gage is going where the old Model speedo was. Here's a couple shots;
LOL, Yeah, nobody ever gets that. People just think I got it off a T-shirt. Neat work with the gages. I dig your whole car and "all will pay that disagree with me!" LOL
Well, I made it down and back from the muffler shop today without a hitch. Took all day; we spent an hour just figuring out how to run the pipes. I had intended to run the duals and tie the lakepipes into them. After we looked at it for awhile, it ended up being cleaner to run the side pipes and tie the Smithies and out the back exhaust into them. I never had any work done by a professional custom muffler shop- what a difference. The Smithies have a nice low growl at idle but really wake up when you get the rpms up. It sounds even better with the sidepipes uncorked Two thumbs up and a shameless plug for Mitch's Muffler & Brake, Norfolk, VA. I got to talking with the mechanic and he has an Ed Roth chopper he picked up in the late 70's!
The Model A passed Virginia State Inspection so I figured it was time to bite the bullet and take her out for her first road trip. All systems were go for high speed driving after the 2 mile test drive on the interstate back from the gas station. I made a quick pitstop at the house and everything checked out OK, so I retorqued the rear hubs, grabbed the cell phone, and hopped back on the interstate to visit a friend in Smithfield VA. The 100 mile round trip was a good mix of interstate, city and country road, but she made it there and back without a hitch. And yes, all you locals, the grating on the James River Bridge was pretty spooky at 65 mph with those skinny @$$ tires It took a little getting used to the car's poor visbility, double clutching first & the noncancelling turn signals. A guy stopped me at a red light to tell me that the right rear rim was wobbling. It turned out to be a bent rim and I swapped it with the spare when I got to my buddy's for the trip home. The old flathead pulls nicely at 65 mph with the 750x16 rear tires and Model A 378 banjo (tranny is 2.8:1 1st/ 1.6:1 2nd with the 28-24-18-18 cluster gear). I didn't do anything to the motor except lap the valves when I put in the new cam/lifters/timing gear & oil pump, and I don't see doing anything to it anytime in the near future with the way she's running. It was in the low 70's, and the engine never got over 160 degrees with the 180 degree thermostats. Hot oil pressure was a little over 20psi at 2000 rpm.
Thanks Al. The hardest part about wiring is figuring out how to split it up into branches and pulling it through that darn loom. I'd be happy to send you the skematic I made up if you need any help
Gashog, I have to agree yr AV8 looks great. I'm doing a 30 Roadster pretty much the same way. It would be great to get yr wiring schematic.
Yeah man! Feels great doesn't it. I just ventured out on the town with mine this afternoon. Had so much fun I went back out at night. Congrats on your bitchin coupe!
Great to see another AV8 out there. Nice details too. I've been thinking about your rear brake cylinders. I'm pretty sure you have them backwards. Normally with the pivots at the bottom, the front shoe is the leading shoe and has the bigger diameter part of the cylinder operating against it. you have the backplates upside down, with the pivots at the top. Now the rear shoe is the leading shoe. You need to swap the cylinders side to side again so the bigger diameter part operates against the rear shoe. That said, it isn't hyper-critical, especially on the rears, and you might not be able to tell the difference. Mart.
Good question, Mart, can somebody chime in on this? I always thought that when you flip the backing plates from side to side,you need to keep the cylinders on their original sides. The rear shoe becomes the new front shoe (actually they're both physically the same on most current relined shoes), and as it is now the forward or primary shoe (the front shoe that tends to get pulled into contact with the drum in the forward direction), it should now be energized by the big 1 1/8"bore of the wheel cylinder. The smaller 1” bore operates the front shoe which is now the secondary rear shoe.
Thanks for the compliments! I know it's a pretty straightforward AV8, but I hope seeing another one get on the road will give you guys doing similar cars the encouragemenmt you need to get yours done.
Well I'll chime in again. In the stock setup the big end of the cylinder acts against the front shoe, which is the primary or leading shoe. That is, the rotation of the wheel in forward motion sort of acts with the shoe and loads it against the pivot. (sort of like self energising, but weaker). The cylinder takes advantage of this and because of the bigger diameter loads the primary shoe more than the other. In other words the primary shoe, with the rotation of the wheel, in conjunction with the bigger end of the wheel cylinder does, in fact do most of the braking. You have effectively rotated the backplates 180 degrees, putting the pivots at the top. The primary shoe, that is the one that now acts with the rotation of the wheel, and loads the pivots is now the rearmost shoe. That shoe should have the bigger diameter end of the cylinder acting on it. Therefore the bigger end of the cylinder should now be at the back. Then the performance of the brakes should be as Henry intended. Mart. PS Well done for fitting the cylinders with the brake bleeders at the top. Putting the cylinders upside down is a common mistake. I also liked the little shields to protect the brake pipes added to the drum retainers. Good thoughtful design there. M.
Thanks for the explanation, Mart. With the way the shoes mount on the pivots, I can see why when the backing plates are flipped side to side, the cylinders should also be flipped side to side (installed with the bleeders at the top). That's what I get for listening to other people and not taking the time to figure it out myself! I thought the brackets were a good a idea as a stone guard and also used brake line armor to protect the line below the axle.
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