Incommunicado

I'm unlikely to post anything for the next month. January 17th is the date; just three weeks away!

Only thing happening until then is cleaning out my house and preparing to move, including (groan!) all the stuff in the garage. Might get tires for Twice Lucky to make 'er a roller for the move, and that's probably about it.

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Maintenance Post

Hey all! Just checking in to let you know I'm not trapped under the car in the garage. Au contraire, I've been playing the role of general contractor on the new house my fiance and I bought. Looking forward to the brick detached two-car garage! But, in the meantime, I get to check up on painters and electricians, plumbers and roofers...it's a good problem to have, though. We're blessed to be able to get this house and and have work done to it, so I'm not complaining. I should be able to get back out in the garage soon; I've got good friends who've offered to help.

So, here are a few photos of where the hot rod is now. Just added the distributor and wire conduits recently. Need to order spark plugs (or round up some NOS ones from my uncle; I'm sure he has them) and wires, and the tires, to make 'er a roller.




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New Old Spring and Other Parts

No witty title this time. Just an update on the spring situation, and a showcase of some additional parts for the hot rod.

So my friend turned out to have not only a better '26-'27 Model T rear spring main leaf, but nearly the whole spring (less the top leaf), so I bought it outright rather than trading him my seen-better-days reversed eye (and broken and welded in the middle) heated and bent main leaf.

This one has something I hadn't seen on mine, perhaps because the eyes were reversed: grease cups for the shackle bolts.


I will have to disassemble the whole thing and wire brush at least the main leaf, if not the whole thing, and mix and match the remaining leaves from my current spring to assemble a decent spring pack so the spring won't rest on the axle tubes like it is currently. Then I'll have to find and install another set of shackle bolts the right length to fit in the 2" wide spring.

Next, I neglected to photograph the '20-'25 oval Model T gas tank my friend sealed (with POR-15) and painted (Rustoleum semi-gloss enamel) for me. This was another timesaver job just to get it done, and I appreciate his having done it, because he was very patient to perform the various steps of etching, sealing, drying, etc. Here are the results. You can just barely see the inside, showing the baffle, in the second photo.



Finally, I decided to paint the spark plug wire tubes before mounting them, as they were only primered. Here they are wearing their John Deere Blitz Black paint jobs. The terrible flat lighting doesn't begin to show what a silky satiny black this paint is. I think it's a hard enamel, too (implement paint), so it should be tough enough for most applications on the hot rod. I think I might just use more of this in other places on the car as I really like the look of the finish, popularity or over-exposure of semi-gloss black hot rods aside.



That's it for now. I should be working on and replacing the spring this weekend, as I've got some "garage therapy" time planned; it's been a while since I've been out there. Until then,

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Sunken Spring

Been a while since I've posted, although I've done a few things since the last post.

Main thing was mounting the rear spring and hanging the rear end.

FIrst I took apart the Model T spring (think it's '26-'27) using C-clamps so as not to get hurt.


Then assembled the main leaf onto the top of the rear axle using the Model A spring hangers I previously installed. (Had to install the backing plates and grease baffles, too, otherwise I wouldn't be able to install the brakes once the spring was mounted.) After the main leaf was mounted, I stacked, compressed with C-clamps, and bolted together the remaining leaves. This was easier than stretching the main leaf, but that only took a C-clamp between the spring eye and the spring mount (no pic).



You can see here the spring eye is clearing and the shackle's at a good angle. Looking good so far!


Next, I disassembled and greased the spring, and reassembled it (messy!).



Then, tada! I mounted the rear spring in the rear crossmember. No pics of the install, but I was grateful for my friend to come over and help me install it without getting hurt. After I got it bolted in and sitting on jack stands, I removed the jack stands from under the rear axle, so it was hanging from the spring. I then lifted, twisted, and finagled with the rear axle to be able to snug up the mounting (U-)bolts, to take out any slack.



The spring retainers (just visible in the pictures above) are 1935 (right) and 1941 (left); go figure; they looked the same when I mucked around with them some time ago and modified them to hold the Model T spring (which is narrower than Model A) in the rear crossmember. Oh, well, I can only tell them apart by their part numbers. You do know your early Ford part numbers, right?

So, after tightening up the bolts snugly, I decided to set the axle on jack stands and remove for the first time in over a year the jack stands holding up the frame, so the body and frame would be setting on the rear spring, mounted on the rear axle, sitting on jack stands.

Tada! This was exciting, and then disconcerting, as the body and frame sank down and settled the spring so low that the eyes rested on or just above the axle tubes. You can see how much lower the body is in the photo below when you compare it to an earlier photo. This was unexpected, to say the least. I knew the Model T spring would be more supple, and give a softer rider, but I hadn't expected it would rest on the rear axle.




So...and this process of mocking up is the part of car building my fiance finds hard to understand...I have to disassemble the spring again, and reassemble it with a standard eye spring, if I can find one. Since this is a reversed eye spring (eyes are above the leaf), a standard eye spring will put the eyes below the leaf, which should keep it off the axle tubes.

Thankfully, I contacted my friend who's been helping me with fixing up parts recently, as he has a stash of Model T parts. Turns out he has a standard eye spring in storage, was heading there today, and is willing to trade. Hooray! I'm supposed to get the spring tomorrow and I hope to make the switch this weekend to see if the spring situation improves. Until then,

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Rear Spring Hangers On

Today I began installing the rear spring hangers so I can install the Model T spring, hang the rear end, and begin measuring the shorten the torque tube and driveshaft.

After wire brushing the extra-long special, square-headed backing plate bolts that came with one of the sets of aftermarket accessory rear shock mounts I have, I cleaned the mounting surfaces on the rear end using a wire brush on my 7" angle grinder.


Here's a close-up of the installation. You can also see the bare Vanadium steel exposed where my friend bobbed off the original rear spring hangers.


I also mocked up the rear spring.


Next, I have to disassemble the spring, grease it, and figure out the easiest and safest (these may be mutually exclusive) way of installing the spring. I have a few aces up my sleeve, though.

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Lucky Needs a New Pair of Shoes

Actually, she doesn't need them (can't wear them, as it turns out), and they're not new, but I couldn't resist the title.

For kicks I mocked up the Kelsey-Hayes wheels I've had hanging around the garage for a few years. I had them powdered coated a "matte" red for the roadster pick-up project, in fact so long ago the shop that did them (all five - one for a spare!) is now out of business. I can't even recall how I got all of these, but my uncle played the biggest part in me getting them. Had them straightened, bead blasted, and powder coated...and now they sit on the shelf.


So...I thought I'd see what Twice Lucky looked like with them on and the effect was what I expected: too shiny compared to the rest of the car, and too early for me for this car right now. I really like the look of the '40 solid wheels, and so that's what she'll run, but it was good to check anyway.

I mostly wanted to see if I could even run them as an option, but they will not mate up to the F1 brake drums I have up front without a significant spacer between the drum and the wheel




The Kelseys are made for the much more conical '48-and-earlier passenger drums.



I'll stick with the set of '40 wheels I have. And, for what it's worth, I have a set of 4-rib beauty rings for them, and know where I can get a set of '40 standard hubcaps for them, too.

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Two Shows in Two Weeks

Made it to two shows over the past two weekends: Billetproof and the Hot Rod Revolution. Best one: the Revolution, hands down.

That's evidenced by the photos I shot. I probably shot nearly as many shots of the first car I came upon at the Revolution as I did all of Sunday at Billetproof. Now, admittedly, Sunday was a slow day for this event's first two-day weekend, and frankly, the Revolution is my kind of car show: 1948 and earlier hot rods and customs. Nearly all in attendance were great and worthy of photos. Naturally, I just shot ones that were either 1) really cool (to me), or 2) had ideas for my hot rod projects. This was true for Billetproof, too.

Below are some highlights of the two shows (I've saved you from viewing detailed shots of shock mounts, etc.):

Billetproof 2009

Frankly, the one vehicle that, to me, merited noting was this GMC pickup into which the owner stuffed an air-start Detroit Diesel 4-53 two-stroke diesel motor. Very cool, and I think reflected what was the original intent of Billetproof: feature the best of homebuilt rods and customs and recognize homebrew craftsmanship, such as this truck demonstrates. Enjoy.




And, while I wasn't lucky enough to capture that great, "startling" sound of an air starter (guaranteed to scare the daylights out of shoppers in the grocery store parking lot, the owner acknowledged), here it is running in all its two-stroke glory:



Hot Rod Revolution 2009

Another laid-back and fun show from the team of Tardel and Cochran, in spite of the scorching temps! Great cars, great people. Imagine my surprise to be recognized by Keith upon my entrance (in my pickup, not a hot rod, alas), and after two years, no less. Class Act. That's the attitude that is reflected in this car show, which is the one I want to take Twice Lucky to next September.

Here's the first car I saw at the show: Ken Fuhrman's roadster. Yeah, the one with the chromed '32 frame and plexi hood - you've seen those photos. In fact, he's got them there in front of the car. Nice man, cool stories.


A sampling of the other great cars there:

















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