BTW, I have a perfectly good, brand new Fel-Pro head gasket for the left bank on a '49-'53 flathead. Any problem using that on the '48 engine? Water hole sizes are the only differences I can see. I used '42-'48 big bore gaskets on my '52 block with '42-'48 center outlet Offy heads after blocking the later water pump bypass holes. '49-'53 left gasket should work on the '48 engine, wouldn't it?
Nope! I built the '51 Coupe in 1974 in Nampa/Caldwell Idaho. Went on a double date in it in 1979. Then traded it off a few months later. We got married that Dec. 22nd. I became great friends with the fella that bought it and had it for 17 years. He offered to sell it back to me but we had just moved back to Madras Aug. 1995 and put in a new double wide so had no money and no job so the car went away. Stumbled across it 32 years after I had sold it and bought it back. It had been through 6 owners. It's never never going away again!
I got the pics back today so here we go. I will try to label them. This is the completed chassis he built before he ever had a body. 1958 as a Sophomore in High School. Then he went looking for a '29 Tudor body. He got this one from a farmer that had it for sale but wanted to use the running gear to build a pump. He sold the body, fenders, title, etc to Gordon for $1 ! Here he has the body and Deuce grille on the chassis. This is the photo shoot pic that went in the 1960 High School Annual. Veria (misspelled Vera) was his girlfriend at the time. Notice the plywood in the rear panel! Remember earlier I mentioned it was cut out back there and had a trunk attached when he got it. Notice it also doesn't have a roof yet. One of the few times I will give the Chevy boys something to look at. How about that '57 Chevy convertible in the shop in 1959? Notice the tools on the right wall too. Still has stock height head lights at this point. It is also still in primer. The next two speak for themselves. 1959-1960. Now it has the white top and lowered headlights.
Now it is summer 1963. Gordon and his wife Carolyn. June 1964. The running boards are white now. First obvious proof of the interior being finished. Light Blue and Dark Blue. These color shots show the wheels being red. Here it is after 1972 when Ben Rodriguez owned it. BLC 904-A headlights have been chromed. Grille shell was off having the water neck hole closed and shell was peaked. The shiny chrome canister is a Frantz by-pass toilet paper oil filter that is still on the car. Gordon put that on and believes in them. He has one on his 280Z to this day. He brought me some new paper rolls (non water soluble so condensation doesn't break them down, unlike modern toilet paper.) Also brought me some new hose and fittings to replace the old hardened ones.
I am needing 1 more 1940-48 Ford 16" wheel. Then I will have a full set to put the wide whites and new Moon disc wheel covers on. If anyone in this neck of the woods has 1 or 2 at a decent price I would be interested in getting them. Thanks, Dave
I also want to thank Robin Gerke for copying and cleaning up the above pics from Gordon. Thank you my friend! Dave
I got the valves done on the cylinder that had the burnt exhaust valve. Cleaned everything up and reinstalled the head yesterday evening after fighting a losing battle with the snow on my 1943 2N Ford tractor. It snowed all day yesterday and most of the night. Anyway, I hope to get the intake back on today and get it fired up again. Supposed to be -5 degrees Friday night. We don't usually get much of that. Been making up for the good years I guess! Next issue to address, the starter seems to have stuck when I was bumping it over last night. Guess I will have to loosen it up or take it loose to fix that. I also bought new crab distributor cap, rotor, and clips to replace the stock setup. Never liked the wires through the tubes.
Doesn't get much cooler than this. Love the car and the history tops it off. Congrats on a sweet ride!
Ok, got the intake and carb back on. Put the fuel pump riser and pump pushrod in. Bought a couple fuel pumps and '42-'48 stock type coils off EPAY. Had to mix and match fuel pump parts but I finally got a fresh working pump on it tonight. New crab distributor cap, rotor and clips are installed and plug wires hooked up. What with cold weather, snow, Christmas get togethers, shopping, etc, the cars have set there waiting for me to return. I may get a chance to fire it up tomorrow probably after lunch. Maybe time for a few pics. I have said before I am not going to do a total restore or rebuild. I just want to preserve this car. However, like I said earlier, the engine was such a filthy mess after sitting all these years and some parts of it were not painted at all, that I felt I had to clean and scrape and pressure wash the engine and compartment and repaint the engine and exposed frame areas. Engine went back Ford Red. Satin Black on exposed frame parts and coil mount, generator, etc. That's about it for "making shiny". Part of me thinks keep it "as is" but that would really mean not running. The other part of me says make it like he was still driving it, in which case it would be fresher than it is/was. That's more where I'm leaning. One of my friends (Dennis) likes the crusty look on his cars. He will even run up and grab a dust rag out of your hand after you wipe dust off the windshield. He runs it back to his car, shakes it on the car and proclaims it as protective coating! Ya gotta love him! He says that I can't help myself and I gotta make things shiny. Yeah, I kinda do that but I just want things presentable, not showy. I like cars that are used and driven regularly. I do not own or want a "show car". If it isn't driven, it is not a car. It may be art, but that's another subject. I like looking at them but prefer driving. So, will I rub on this and make it a little shinier? Yes, I am sure I will. It is not getting painted, though the bare metal spots Gordon metal finished will get finished, primed and most likely spotted in. The top will have to be done as it is just plywood now. That will be white, as it was when he built it, along with the running boards. yes, chrome will get polished, seats will have the seams resewn, broken and missing glass will be replaced. New skinny Coker wide white 6.50x16 and 5.50x16 radials on '40 Ford wheels with Moon discs. I still need 1 more 16x4 or maybe 16x4 1/2 '40 type wheel if anyone has one at a fair price. 'til later, Dave p.s. Thanks for all the great comments!
Well, it runs again! Fired right up, fuel pump works great. Ignition too. Carb is running a little lean, runs best if I shroud the carb with my hand to enrich it a little. After seeing how bad the old fuel pump was, all white and corroded, I can't believe the carb could even work. It must not be as bad. I will have to tear it down and freshen it up. Didn't take any pictures yet. Soon. Hey, guess what? I have been searching for 16" '40 Ford type wheels with not much luck. Had a fellow from Canada call me last night with one. He can bring it to Monroe WA real soon but that is still over 300 miles from me. One way. While I was out back today looking for an oil pan I noticed a couple old bare wheels. Turned out to be two 16x4.5 Ford wheels! Now that I think about it I put those there several years ago when I was digging out 15" wheels to use on my '40. So, I spent a little while breaking down tires so I can get the rims powder coated. I now have two 16x4.5 and three 16x4's. Perfect! Next chore is to mount them on the front hub and make sure they are not bent, then take them to get coated. It was like a Christmas present that didn't even cost me anything! Merry Christmas everyone! Have a good one! Dave
Thanks, and I loved seeing your Ford pickup at Bonneville. My Dad had one of those, his was a '62 with a 292. He ended up needing the engine for his circle track car so he wound up putting a 343 AMC 4 barrel engine and torqueflite tranny in the pickup. Had 2.76 gears. Man that thing would run!
Enjoying reading about your progress. Digging out here in La Pine as well. My Ford 600 keeps throwing a chain and it's all ice under the snow. Merry Christmas.
Four of the 16" wheels are just fine, nice and straight. The nicest of the five was crooked Ended up with two 16x4.5 and two 16x4 so that will work great, wider ones on the rear. Also got a good 15x5 out of the bunch to replace a leaky wheel on the front of the '40 Tudor. Done for the day! Dave
I like where this is coming from, and where it's going! I enjoy that you are a little conflicted on what to paint, and what to fix. And the rule of thumbs; fix broken, go over safety items completely and drive it a lot! Because if you take care of safety, you drive it all day long, and fresh (cheap) paint will look old, and old paint will look better when taken care of. And remember safety includes tires, entire brake system from pedal rubber to inside drum surface, fuel hoses, clean tank, and carburetor! Because a stick float and a Spark you have fire, and that does NOTHING good to your survivor. And for every non-essential piece/place rustolium/tractor paint/cheap enamel industrial paint/rattlecan, that will make it look more like a low priority spot in the late 50s. Most guys didn't get the bottom/wheel wells/under dash/engine compartment resparayed with the body, it got basic touching up by brush to get back on the road!! That's where a real Hot Rods wants to be! You are doing good, except for the lack of pics, so Keep at it, lad!
I got my wheels back from being powder coated. Sent in four 16" and one 15". Got them all back but one of the 16's had so much rust the shot peen poked holes through the rim! 16's are red, 15 is black for the '40. BTW, I get my wheels done through Les Schwab Tire Centers. They send them to their big plant in Prineville Oregon where they go in a revolving cabinet that blasts them clean with out having to do any more than set them in there. Nice setup. They don't have a huge range of colors but I have had plenty for my liking. White, black and some lighter colors are $25.40 each and reds, orange, etc are $30.** each. They also stock Tacoma Cream especially for Model A wheels! That's what I did on my 16" wires on the '31 Coupe. Weird thing is, their color cards show it as Freuhauf Yellow! (but it isn't) So, Volvo wants some pics so here is one wheel mounted with a 6.50x16 Coker WWW radial and on the rear of the car. I have new Moon discs to go on it as well. Also pics of the other two that are ready to have the tires mounted. Hey, a sort of trivia question for you old Ford guys, (and others). The wheel with the taper towards the back of the wheel, does one mount the tire from the back side on those? It has been way too many years since I had to think about it that I have forgotten. This car gets 5.50x16's on the front. I wrestled that rear one on by hand as I can't get to my tire machine because of the snow, so I may not get the others on for a while. I have located two more 16" wheels here in town that I will get as soon as weather permits.
I tromped through the snow yesterday at the fella's place that had the 2 more wheels for sale. Pulled them off an old boat trailer after we broke it loose from the ice and snow. I now have them safely at home in the shop. They look real good and both have old tires but still holding air so chances are good they will be alright inside. I usually break down and mount and balance my own tires and wheels but this snow is making that hard. I may just take them to Les Schwab and let them take the old tires off and then send the wheels off to be powder coated. In fact, I just talked myself into, seeing it in print! That will give me 5 matching wheels. Our weather here this winter is like nothing we have had in many many years. It warmed up today and things began to melt, snow sliding off the roofs, then rain, then huge snow storm and blowing wind. If you have looked at my other post, Winter is here! you will see what I mean.
IMO put the tires over the inner rim of the wheel, and then you can get the outer tire bead sitting properly on the "square" shoulder. Then as you inflate the tire is should ride up the sloping shoulder and sit on the inner rim. At least, I think that's how it works.
1 1\8"-I will measure several old glass filters I have and see what they are.[/QUOTE] I have a Bennett gas pump setting in my office that has a fuel levelglass bulb that may just fill the bill. I think they are reproduced. Worth a check, anyway.
I have 3 of the new tires and powder coated rims mounted up and on the car. Will get 2 more 16's back from Les Schwab Friday and will mount the last one. I tried out the 16" Moon discs on an unpainted wheel and found they are nearly too deep in the "grippers" to stay on the wheel very well. I can pull them off with my fingers. The other issue is they go all the way to the outer edge of the wheel, not letting the red wheel lip show like the old 15" ones did. Kind of a waste to have the wheels done nice. All the new 16" Moon type discs I looked at are the same way. As far as maybe falling off, I guess I can do it the old way and drill for 3 small screws to go through the caps and into the rim and bead, being careful to only drill 3/16" deep so as to not go through the tire. Then use self tapping screws. Wish the red rim would show though. Anyone know of Moon covers that are not so wide? Dave
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