Back on it

rvrrun said:

Top, pinched, definitely. No question.

I laid everything out in Photoshop and looked at it for months before deciding.

Click to expand...

I've been just sitting in it holding gauges up to get an idea. I just can't decide what looks stranger..... the outermost gauges pinched and less visible or the angle. I guess there's a third option of having the outer gauges horizontal but below the center gauge centerline. I have 3 days to decide.....

slowride said:

I've been just sitting in it holding gauges up to get an idea. I just can't decide what looks stranger..... the outermost gauges pinched and less visible or the angle. I guess there's a third option of having the outer gauges horizontal but below the center gauge centerline. I have 3 days to decide.....

Click to expand...

If you snap pics of the gauges and dash, I can photoshop them for you.

slowride said:

Here's where I need everyone's feedback. I'll be drilling the gauge holes in the dash, but am undecided on how to lay it out. The two in the center are in-dash 3-3/8" speedo and tach. The 2"ers on the left are spaced so they are centered over the steering column and visible through the steering wheel so I don't want to change that.
The top view is with the gauges all on the same horizontal centerline. Having them on the same plane looks "normal", but the raised panels on the dash aren't symmetrical. That means the outermost gauges will look pinched against the dash rail.
The bottom view is with the gauges centered in the raised panels, but that means they are at a slight angle.So which way looks the least odd?

Click to expand...

Centered in panel Mike.

rvrrun said:

If you snap pics of the gauges and dash, I can photoshop them for you.

Click to expand...

Thanks, but I hold them up so I get a chance to sit in it and have a few beers. I've photoshopped this so many times it actually helps less than a straight graphic layout. I also added a third option to the graphic.

Centered in panel.:thumbup:

One of the cool thing about old cars (other than finding loose change) is discovering what happened to it in the past. Some things are obvious, some you find as you peel away the layers.
The left rear corner of the roof was caved in and I knew I'd have to remove the wood to get it back into shape. The header was rotted, so with new wood on the way, it's the perfect time to do a little hammer and dolly work.
Got the wood out of the header and left side and started to massage it. With the wood out, it was obvious the corner took a decent enough hit to bend the rear bracket. With the wood out it also made it obvious the driver's door sticking had to do with the hit and the wood shifting. Nice wake up call that I will need to watch the position of the side wood to the header when tacking in the roof sheet metal. Bracket's straight and the corner's close. I will need to shrink it at some point in the future, but if I do it now it'll kill the finish. If that happens, I'm at risk of painting complete.
Good thing I'm not in a big hurry.....

Thanks for all the responses and PM's. Finally came down to a simple thing..... I like the way the panels were pinstriped before and want to do it again. Pretty much had to do them this way to be symmetrical when it's striped.

slowride said:

Thanks for all the responses and PM's. Finally came down to a simple thing..... I like the way the panels were pinstriped before and want to do it again. Pretty much had to do them this way to be symmetrical when it's striped.

Click to expand...

I like the look Mike.

Thank you and Shelly for stopping by the house and visiting me and Lucy.
Erika was disappointed that she had to miss the trip.
Hope to see you both soon.
HD

Got wood! Started fitting up the new top wood and so far it's only needed minimal trimming. Amazing how the driver's belt line lines up and the door closes properly. Once I get everything fitted, it'll be cleared before the new top goes on.

Finally a day above 65 degrees! Got the epoxy primer/sealer down.... time to block it and see what I have to skim.

Here's the downside to waiting on parts. The original plan for the wood was after fitting to use a clear urethane on the pieces. Got some Varathane, coated 2 pieces and hated the look. That's when things went sideways (again). I stripped one piece but left the Varathane on the header (won't be seen). Starting thinking about what look I wanted for the wood and dug in the cabinet and found some old Watsco Danish wood stain. The wood has really cool grain, so stained the wood and like the furniture-ish/aged look, but want more protection, so dug around a little more and found some Spar varnish. The inside sheetmetal will be painted with Por15, so the contrast of black background and finished wood should look cool. The top brackets will go out for metallic black powdercoat this week, so I have a few days to kill waiting for that and the glass from Bob's.
I try not to think about this all being covered up when I put the headliner in...

Ordered the headliner material, so it's guaranteed the woodwork will be hidden. Regardless, I found a very cool vinyl pattern that should add a little interest to what would otherwise be a boring headliner. I can't sew, so gonna have a friend do it for me. Another thing being farmed out....

Powdercoater got the top brackets back fast! Fitting everything (again) 'cuz 4 more holes need to be drilled but it has to be in it's final position to align. The quarter window wood is being replaced but it's nice using the original to make sure everything's happy. Decided not to paint the inside with Por15 since I'll be heat shrinking the roof at some point and don't need a fire or noxious fumes. Used it on the nailing surface that'll be hidden by the top and welt and it should work great.

It's been a slow, frustrating couple weeks. I'm down to little stuff.... trying new stuff that sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. Also finishing fabbing the X pipe so I can start fitting the rest of the exh pipe.
Wood is done and glass is staring at me wanting to be installed. Got the windshield frame apart and cleaned the rust in the channel. Don't want to install the glass into a bare channel, so a little Por15 is perfect for this. Keeping the original patina, so the Por15 only goes in the channel. This stuff is perfect for rust susceptible areas, but looks too good for this car in exposed areas.
Looking to paint the firewall in 2 weeks so the body is ready to go back on after the exhaust is fitted.

Had to get SOMETHING constructive done. First time I've set a Model A windshield glass and look, no cracks! Have fitted up the quarter and back glasses as well. The w/shield is clear with the rest a smoke tint.

Wood's mostly done, w/shield in, just waiting on painting the firewall. Gotta get the X-pipe welded so I can fab the exhaust. Gotta love a pop out windshield.......

I know, I know, it all needs to come out again, but it's kinda cool sitting in an almost car after all these years.

Last pic of glass I promise. All the glass is fitted now, fuzzies installed and p/w's checked out. It'll all come out again before the body goes back on to save a bunch of weight, but at least I know the look I wanted is there. Wanted a kind of low key sinister kind if vibe..... nothing obvious.
Gas pedal's mounted now too. Going to try to get the firewall finished this weekend so the body can go back on the frame.

Alright, moving on from glass. Brandon did a great job of tig'ing the X pipe so now it's time to start cutting and fitting the exhaust pipe. Here's how the Kook's mufflers and dumps lay out (the easy part). Muffler shop made up the stainless sockets off the collectors so all I have to do is fill the gap.

Now for the audience participation part of tonite's program. In doing the layout before I start tacking, an option occurred to me. Now I'm a symmetry kind of guy..... I like when things follow other planes. So, in laying this out it's always been the plan for the mufflers to be parallel to the ladder bars. The position of the X pipe forward or back determines where the dumps wind up at the rear axle and the position of the X pipe is largely determined by the clearance to the driveshaft. I want a certain reveal to the dumps so it looks just so from the rear. It occurred to me that if I put a little bend in the pipe going into the muffler I can change where the dumps wind up exiting. Problem is, having the mufflers off-plane with anything else may just drive the anal retentive part of me crazy.
Now's the time for me to change if I'm going to, so looking for a little feedback.......

Made more progress on the exhaust. Header pipes are done and the mufflers are positioned. Just need to connect A to B.

****WARNING - POTENTIALLY STREET-RODDY CONTENT BELOW****
I'm at the point on the exhaust fab where I have to nail down the hangers to locate the pipe before tacking it all together. I just can't bring myself to use exhaust clamps and other common hangers but don't have a lot of real estate to work with. I was staring at it the other night and noticed the front legs of the X pipe go right in front of ladder pivots. If only there was something that I could use to clamp on to the 1-3/4" pivot bar and be an upper hanger mount. Enter an Empi buggy roll bar mounting bracket at $13 each. Maybe a little street-roddy, but the perfect answer..... just used some 1/2" stainless tube for a spacer in the insulator and a 3/8" bolt provides the upper mount. 1/2" SS hanger rods will be bent and welded to the pipes to suspend it.
I guess it wouldn't be so billet looking if I painted them flat black......

Got the "hard" side done tonight. The driver's side doesn't really have to snake around anything so it should go quicker.

Exhaust fab is done except for making the hangers. The driver's side looks rather "simple" compared to the passenger side, but whatever works. Came out exactly as I wanted, so I'm happy. Finish welding this week and finally doing the firewall this weekend, so on goes the body......

Firewall's black now! Need to cut it with 2000 in a week or so and buff it, but it's gonna wrap up here pretty quick.

Are you sure you want to dump in front of the axle? I did with mine, and it's good and bad. No need to finish the stereo, but it gets old on long trips.

...maybe I'm just getting old

rvrrun said:

Are you sure you want to dump in front of the axle? I did with mine, and it's good and bad. No need to finish the stereo, but it gets old on long trips.

...maybe I'm just getting old

Click to expand...

I've run dumps are other cars and yes they can create issues. There's no stereo in this and with 3.89's long distance won't be happening. The tips aren't being welded on (the rear clamps are part of the hangers) so I can extend it out the back later if needed. With Kook's race mufflers, it'll probably be a bit louder than stock.

So in a new LOW in productivity, I spent the afternoon making 2 stainless brackets for the front exhaust hangers. Yup, a whopping TWO brackets. I figured since I added so much weight by using SS for the exhaust, I had to save weight somehow, so drilled lightening holes in the brackets. OK, so that's BS, but at least it looks better than plain brackets.

A little quality time on Father's Day with some 1200 and 2000 grit, polishing compound and a buffer. Firewall's done as far as I'm concerned. Could have spent a lot more time on bodywork on the firewall to make it a mirror, but I don't think I did much WORSE than Henry did originally. Shoot some epoxy on the bottom of the floor pans and the body's ready to go back on next weekend. Real soon I want to be one of those people that end up actually driving their projects!

slowride said:

A little quality time on Father's Day with some 1200 and 2000 grit, polishing compound and a buffer. Firewall's done as far as I'm concerned. Could have spent a lot more time on bodywork on the firewall to make it a mirror, but I don't think I did much WORSE than Henry did originally. Shoot some epoxy on the bottom of the floor pans and the body's ready to go back on next weekend. Real soon I want to be one of those people that end up actually driving their projects!

Click to expand...

Good for you Mike.
Happy Fathers Day.
Erika and I wish you and Shelly the best.
HD

Big day today. The body goes back on for the last time in 2 hours and 37 minutes, then it's time to wrap it up..... WIFI.... Wire It & Fire It. Hoping to light it off on the 4th but there's a lot of small stuff to do before that and it'd be stupid to rush it at this stage.

Good day and so close now I can taste it.

First time I have been able to check in to this thread in a while, the car looks great!
Still can't think of anything I'd have done different.
Those last days before you get to hit the switch for the first time are pretty exciting, something you've run through your head for years is about to happen.

Love the personalized plate, too.:thumbsup

Good for you Mike.

A tad tight but everything clears. Just need to fit the column shift rod and mill down the jam nut and the column's done.

No pics tonite, it all looks the same but making progress. Finished fabbing the fuel line for the rear frame rail to the pump and line from the tank to rear rail so other than putting on clamps the fuel system's done.
Finished the column shift linkage so it has gears now.
Made up the accelerator rod so there's a throttle too. Searching like crazy for a suitable throttle rod boot to give it a finished look, but there's time for that.
Wiring's gonna start here real quick, then finish paint on the tank/dash and final assembly. Real tempting to cut corners just to hear it, but I'm trying to be good......

Kick her over and you will really bust ass to get the remaining to-do's done after hearing it run:thumbsup

Blue said:

Kick her over and you will really bust ass to get the remaining to-do's done after hearing it run:thumbsup

Click to expand...

That's what I'm afraid Of! Really jonesing to hear this thing

A little wiring.... lots more to do.

Dash lighting circuit done. Next.....

OK, it's confession time. As it turns out I rushed painting the firewall to get the body back on the frame. I'm using Molex electrical connectors and wanted to put a panel connector in the top of the firewall recess so the engine harness would go into the passenger compartment being relatively hidden. Problem is, the connector requires I create the hole as in pic #1..... in a now painted panel. Now this is the horizontal part of the recess, but i'm still kinda pissed at myself now having to drill/cut through fresh paint.
Pretty sure I can touch up the edges and nobody else will ever see it. Plenty of sharp bits and body saw blades will be required, but it'll be kinda cool if I pull it off well.

So why all the hassle for a connector? Well, here's why though some may think it was a waste of time. It'll be even clearer when the tank is wired and in place, but this'll give a little insight to how my brain works.
After drilling, and a ton of filing the hole is ready for the connector.

Fits nice and snug

Now you can see (or hopefully not) how hidden the connector is.

The engine harness is soldered and fitted (still needs to be wrapped). After wrapping should be virtually invisible.

I haven't been posting here much lately 'cuz I've been hiding something from the wife and people here talk to her regularly. I was going to wait until the car was on the road to spring it on her, but we were floating in the Back Bay today and felt the time was right to fess up.
Those that know me know I have a thing about Halibrand Sprints...... been on numerous previous cars, even the Stevens boat trailer. They're no longer around, but a company called American Rebel makes an exact copy and has the perfect offset for the rear of the '31. The Cragar spokes will be on it for her to drive, but the Rebels give it that look I want for myself. More hot rod than street rod look..... amazing how just a wheel change changes the soul of the car.

Took the weekend off but haven't been dragging ass. I'm a little slow at wiring 'cuz I like things a certain way.
With the engine harness done, I moved to the rear harness. Soldered the taillight connectors and laid out the wiring up to the cowl. Wires going through the floor in grommets are brake light switch and fuel pump. It is wrapped with cloth tape as all will be with just the 9 pin connector left before I move on to the front chassis harness (lights, fan, horn). When that is complete up into the cowl it's time to finish wiring the tank, blow it apart for paint and reassemble to fire it.

A little diversion from electrical. The tires came today, so beat myself up mounting one by hand to check out the look. 30 minute wheel change to take it from street rod to hot rod. Fronts should be here in a week or two. Going a bit taller on the front tires to get a bit of axle clearance.

A little weird on my part but I really dig the natural patina. It looks perfect. I thought you were going to leave it that way. Just wow, you have done an amazing job and I learned a lot from this thread. Thank you. :thumbsup

Carlson-jet said:

A little weird on my part but I really dig the natural patina. It looks perfect. I thought you were going to leave it that way. Just wow, you have done an amazing job and I learned a lot from this thread. Thank you. :thumbsup

Click to expand...

Wasn't real clear about the paint. I'll be blowing apart the old gas tank that now houses the gauges and electronics. The paint will be the tank in the passenger compartment which is basically now the dashboard. Outside it's all still patina.

Front chassis harness is 90% done. Threw a fender and the headlights on to make sure the headlight and turn signal wire routing is correct. Was short a pair of 2 circuit connectors for the turn/park lamps, but now I can knock out the tank wiring while I'm waiting for the connectors. The new front wheels should be ready in a week or so, so it should be on the road soon.......

Getting real close

Now come the nights when your brain keeps thinking about it when you are wanting to sleep. That is how it goes for me anyway when I have a project that is at the stage yours is....

Flyinbowtie said:

Getting real close

Now come the nights when your brain keeps thinking about it when you are wanting to sleep. That is how it goes for me anyway when I have a project that is at the stage yours is....

Click to expand...

Had a few of those nights already. I'm at the point now where just a few circuits are left then ........ done.