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I am alot like you Jim except I can tolerate the machines and the "finicky" bits just fine, I have never had the patience for people!
I also shared that pain with the door handles and the install. I "think" a 33 door is a bit more open that a 32, if so - it isn't by much. The end result was satisfactory - but the memory hinders me from finishing the door windows. I was given a pair of motorized regulators and will need to make the mounts etc etc.. I want to do the work, but the memories.. oh those memories!! LOL :LOL::eek::LOL::eek::D**)
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With the door handle ordeal behind me (I hope:rolleyes:), I have moved on to the body. I have already sanded off most of the parting lines. It's something I could do a little at a time between other projects, but now it's time to get serious. The parting lines on the cowl are right on the belt line reliefs, so sanding off the lines flattened the contour of the reliefs . A little body filler and a spreader notched to match the belt line reliefs puts things back in order. The pic is after preliminary sanding of the filler. There are a couple of small divots in the filler that I will address next time, but I got a very late start today and didn't have time to proceed any farther.;)
The last pic is the dash with the gauges and bezel installed.:3dSMILE:
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Nicely done, and the handles look good!
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That Dash has such a cool look to it, reminds me of the old hot rods from early 60's! Sorta like when the used lace for painting effects. Love the metalic Red!
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That's bloody gorgeous!
I admired it in the previous shot; but when the gauges are in...spectacular!
Top marks that man.
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I’ve never heard of smoked paint. Do you literally just hold a torch near or under the wet paint? I’m guessing maybe pure acetylene, with no oxygen?
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Thank you all for the compliments.:)
Yes, Steve, that's basically how it's done, but not while it's wet. Apply your base color and let it dry completely. Turn on the acetylene to a very low flame with no oxygen. It creates a copious amount of soot smoke. Then wave the flame over the area where you want the smoke effect. Keep the flame moving; you don't want to burn the paint. The soot will be deposited on the surface. When you have enough, stop. If you don't like what you have, just wipe off the soot and do it over! When you have the smoke amount and pattern to suit your taste, very gently blow away any soot lumps and apply the clear or candy coat.:cool:
Back in 1970-'71 I had an old Zundapp 250 motorcycle. I painted the tank and fenders Marina Blue metallic and smoked them all over before applying the clearcoat. It's a simple process and easy to do, but makes a dramatic effect. That old Zundapp attracted attention wherever I went with it.:rolleyes:
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"At least now I understand why so many of the Deuce 3-windows I see have electric poppers and no handles." No handles just screams fiberglass body. Looks OK on a roadster but coupes and sedans need the outside handles to look right. After reading your post I would hesitate to buy a 32-34 body without the handles installed.
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Nothing really photo-worthy right now. I'm just putting some bits and pieces on the engine so I can test fire it. If any of you all have experience with Big Block Chevys, I need to know where to put the oil pressure sender. I've assembled a trainload of small blocks over the years, but this is my first big block. This engine originally had the sender near the front, down low on the left side. I was told there is another place near the oil filter where I can relocate it, but I see three different possible places with plugs screwed in them. Which one is correct or is there another place I'm missing?
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The main oil supply route is down the left side near the pan rail-those plugs you see are where its drilled toward the center of the main web between cam bearing and main bearing-
The location fot the pressure sender/line is by the filter area
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Thanks, Jerry. I also found a picture that identifies the rearmost hole as the one where the clutch linkage ball goes.
The plug directly above the oil filter (1/4 in pipe) broke loose fairly easy. The smaller one just forward of it (1/8 in pipe?) is froze in the block and I can't get to it to drill it out unless I pull the engine out of the frame, so I'll use the larger hole above the filter.
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I haven't updated in a while, so here we go.;) After connecting the temporary oil pressure and temp gauges I crawled underneath to put the bolts in the flex plate and torque converter. As luck would have it, the holes didn't line up!:eek: Every GM flex plate I've ever encountered had two different bolt patterns, but not this one. It had two sets of holes, but they were all the same! I was faced with two options - either (1)pull the engine and trans out of the chassis so I could separate them and get another flex plate, or (2)try to drill the correct holes without removing the unit. I opted for #2. I removed the oil filter and was able to use my angle drill to create a new set of holes. It took me about an hour to do it. Removing the engine and trans, disassembling, chasing the correct part, reassembling, and putting it all back would have taken all day.:rolleyes:
Because of the above mentioned delay and some family obligations, I finally put "fire in the hole" on Saturday, May 2nd. The engine fired up right away on the first try, but as soon as the fuel in the float bowl ran out it quit. I was filling the float bowl by putting gas through the vents with a squirt bottle. It would start fairly easy, but would not keep running. I pulled the fuel line off at the carb and spun the engine over - fuel pump wasn't pumping.:mad: That brand new pretty chrome fuel pump doesn't work! Unfortunately, I've had it too long to send it back... By then it was late in the day, so I quit until Monday, May 4th. I found the fuel pump that I bought years ago (2006) to carry as a spare when the wife and I drove the Model-A to Indiana. I wasn't sure if small block and big block Chevys use the same pump, but they look alike (except this one isn't chromed). I bolted it on, made the necessary tweaks to the fuel line, and started it up again - problem solved. It runs OK and doesn't smoke, so I guess I've got a good one.:D
The carb needs tuning and I need to put a timing light on it, but that will wait until I put a fan on it, so I can run it longer. I did let it get up to 190 degrees before I shut it off. It was holding 45 pounds of oil pressure at idle after warming up (60 when cold). It also sounds really healthy through those short fat mufflers...
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Since firing the engine I moved on to installing the shifter. I bought an American Shifter on Amazon. The center plate in the kit had to be modified slightly (shortened) because of how the transmission fits into the X-member. Otherwise it all went together fairly easily.:cool:
Next on the list of "to do" is finish plumbing the brakes. I began by removing the front wheels, masking the brake surfaces, and painting the centers and edges of the front brake discs with high heat silver. After cleaning them with lacquer thinner, I painted the front calipers with Krylon appliance epoxy black. I let this stuff dry overnight.:rolleyes:
When I got back to it, I installed the pads, put the calipers on the spindles, and replaced the front wheels. Finally, I could start running the lines. I took my time here; I messed with this part of the project for two days. Finally, today, May18th, I have finished the front lines, brackets, and clips. There are two lines going to the front. In the last picture you can see the bottom line turning under the frame rail to the brake hose bracket.:HMMM:
Next on the list - assembling the rear brakes and plumbing them.;)
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Nice work, looks really good, you've made some progress. It sure is good to hear a new engine run for the first time.
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I agree. Always a great day when the motor fires off for the first time. Congrats on the progress.
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I had some trepidation about this engine and am glad it seems OK. Here's the story: This engine came out of a 1985 Chevy wrecker at the shop where I used to work. It was not the original engine; it had been rebuilt by a commercial engine company (I can't remember the name, but it's similar to Jasper Engines). At some point it burned a valve and started "chuffing". The shop owners pulled this engine out and replaced it with a junkyard engine. They pulled the top end apart and sent the heads out to have the valves done. The valves and seats were ground, two burnt valves replaced, and springs shimmed. I was under the impression that the rings and bearings were replaced, too, but that is not the case; it was strictly a "top end job".:rolleyes: Before the engine could be put back in the wrecker, the hydraulics had a problem and the shop owner decided to just get a newer wrecker - a Ford diesel. This engine sat in the back room of the shop for a couple of years and was finally bought by a friend of mine. Then it sat in his garage for a good while. All together it sat for nearly ten years!:eek: That's why I was concerned about its condition.:confused:
I started to tackle the rear brakes today. I jacked up the rear end and removed the right rear wheel and drum. I bolted in the new wheel cylinder and spent a couple of hours running the right rear brake line over to the junction on the flex hose. With that finally done and in place I thought I might assemble the brake shoes and all their attending pieces.;) I opened the small parts package and discovered there are no link pins (the little forked pins that connect the wheel cylinders to the shoes). I went to the local parts store - no luck. I came back home and searched Ebay and Amazon - no luck there either. Nobody lists link pins for a 1957 Ford.:HMMM: If you've been following this thread you know I had the same problem trying to find brake drums a while back. if I hadn't already spent a bundle on parts and invested a bunch of time, I would convert this rear end to disc brakes!:mad: Anyway, I bought some nondescript AC Delco link pins on Amazon and hope I can make them work. I'll let you all know...:rolleyes:
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The link pins I ordered showed up Saturday, so I began assembly of the rear brakes. I was hopeful that the "generic" link pins would work... and they did! HOORAY! It's been a good while since I've assembled a drum brake (2005?!), so it fought me a little, but a quick peek at YouTube set aside any curiosities. After the first side, the second one was a snap.:)
Sunday I fabricated the license plate bracket. I made it from a piece of 1/8 x 3 flat stock. After cutting the shape and drilling it, I bent the end tabs at a slight angle so when bolted to the added rear crossmember the plate displays vertically. The tag light will bolt to the raised section in the center when I get it. (The plate in the picture is not the one for this car; it's just there for the picture.:HMMM:)
Today (Monday) a friend stopped by and helped me bleed the brakes. We discovered one small leak at the rear junction block, but it was solved by tightening the fitting. The brakes are now finished and working.:3dSMILE:
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The tag light arrived today, so I drilled and tapped the appropriate holes and mounted it to the license plate bracket. I put the bracket back in place and it still looks the same... just as intended.;) The tag light is hidden behind the spreader bar.:3dSMILE:
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OK, I took a two and a half week break to remodel a bathroom.:rolleyes: My wife has been wanting that done for a long time, so now, thanks to a lot of help from a friend, it's finished and I'm back on the Deuce.:)
Today I sanded and prepped the firewall for paint, but I couldn't proceed any further because of rain.:HMMM: With painting on hold, I moved to putting the webbing on the frame and running a tap through the body bolt-holes. The weather forecast calls for sunny days after Monday, so hopefully I'll get paint on the firewall Tuesday. When that's done and dry I can put the body back on the frame, maybe Wednesday or Thursday... FINALLY!!:D
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Looking very Nice Jim. The red frame looks fantastic!
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The weather forecast changed (better) for Monday, so I jumped on the opportunity and painted the firewall.:D Today (Tuesday) I put the body back on the frame. HOORAY! Everything went pretty well. When I tightened the body bolts down both doors dropped slightly when opened. I loosened all the bolts, did some shimming on the body mounts at the rear of the doors, tightened everything down again and got everything dialed in so the doors open and close with almost no effort.:) So far, so good...:cool::3dSMILE:
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That is looking like a car all of a sudden, coming together nicely!
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Looking really good, Jim!
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Thank you all.
I took the body off the frame last August and it seems like it's been forever.:rolleyes: Every time I have thought it was almost time to put it back on I would think of something else I needed to do first. Then I have had multiple interruptions, too.:HMMM: FINALLY maybe I can make some good progress. Today (Wednesday) I carved the hole in the floor for the brake pedal and mounted the steering column. I'm waiting on another piece before I connect the shaft, so I'll work on other things - mounting the seats, mounting and plumbing the fuel cell, begin some of the wiring - it's a long list...:whacked:
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Yes, it's looking very nice indeed! That's going to be a fun car, especially with the big block. You might need slicks on the rear!:cool:
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I neglected to take pictures of the steering column/shaft while i was working on it, so I was unable to post anything. Suffice it to say that the S.O.B. fought me every way possible.:rolleyes: Let me digress... I had the steering column installed and the connecting shaft in place before i ever pulled the body off the frame. It was close, but everything fit and worked nicely.:) Now, when I put the body back on the frame, I wanted to "finish" the hole where the column comes through the firewall, so I bought one of these nifty looking ball and socket escutcheons for it. And that's where the problems started... These things aren't intended for as steep of an angle as is presented by a '32 Ford! I had to modify it for clearance. I had the darn thing on and off the column at least 20 times. That wouldn't be so bad, but each time the column had to be pulled back through the firewall, parts ground and filed, and the column re-inserted through the firewall for another trial fit.:whacked: Installing the escutcheon should be a 2 or 3 hour job, tops, but I screwed with it for 3 days! I called it every name I could think of multiple times and threatened to do it bodily harm. Didn't matter - the stupid thing wasn't afraid of me at all - it just kept on frustrating me.:mad: I finally prevailed, though, and it turned out pretty nice.:3dSMILE:
It's not visible in the pictures, but the double-D shaft clears the header collector by less than 1/16th inch. As an old friend used to say - "A fraction of an inch is as good as a mile as long as it clears.":D I also got the brake pedal installed and its location is nearly perfect.
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Since the last posting I mounted the fuel cell. If you've read this thread from the beginning you know I made the mounts and straps for it some time ago before I took the body off the frame.:HMMM: Before I put the cell in place this time I put the Kilmat sound and heat insulation on the floor under it. I also put some rubber strips on the mounts and under the straps. The rubber straps are actually bicycle inner tubes; I have several punctured ones from my Electrathon racing.:rolleyes:
With the fuel cell in place and bolted down, the next piece is the shelf for the battery. Using the pattern from the fuel cell mounts and some scrap 1/2 inch plywood, I made a pair of supports and a 8 1/2 x 12 shelf that the battery tray or box will sit on. I discovered many years ago that ordinary body filler is actually a very good multi-purpose adhesive as long as appearance isn't an issue.;) Think about it - it's made to stick to metal and plastic (fiberglass); well, it sticks very securely to wood also! I mixed up a bit of it and stuck the supports to the shelf. In about 15 minutes it was solid, so I gave it a coat of spray-can primer to help seal it. Then I mixed another bit of body filler and stuck the shelf permanently in place next to the fuel cell.:)
The next thing on the list was mounting the grille shell to the radiator. I have a new hood coming from Rootlieb, so I'll need the shell in place to build the mounts when it arrives.:HMMM: It was just a matter of clamping it in position and drilling the appropriate holes in the tabs on the radiator. Four 1/4-20 bolts and nylock nuts hold it in place. I stuck the headlight buckets in place just to get them off the workbench and out of the way for now. Last thing today, I drilled the holes in the trunk floor for the battery cable and fuel line to pass through (no pic of that).:3dSMILE:
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Jim, how well does the Kilmat work as heat insulation? I'm nearing the point where I will be needing to do the same thing. I've never used any of these types of insulation before and trying to figure out what to get. My car was pretty hot in the footwell area and I want to get that down as much as I can.
BTW - As to using the Bondo as glue. When I built my house, the guy that installed the fake marble tub surround used Bondo to glue the corner shelves in. I wondered if it would hold up since it seemed strange to me, but it has been holding for over 15 years. Must work pretty good.
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Actually, Mike, I don't know how well it works.:confused: A friend of mine recommended the Kilmat because he has used it and likes it. Roger Spears used some stuff called EZ Cool in his '33 and says it's good. It has the foil on both sides of closed-cell foam. Maybe some other folks on here can give you better guidance than me. You are probably going to need something before I get on the road and able to say good or bad on this stuff.:rolleyes:
Body filler is good for filling countersunk screw holes in wood, too. Sink the screws, spackle the holes with body filler, sand and paint. The screws will never back out of the holes!:3dSMILE:
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this is pretty good stuff. i use lizardskin but this is good for inside doors and firewalls .
http://www.insulation4less.com/Insul...l-72-Inch.aspx
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I finished the battery cable installation Sunday afternoon and moved on to mounting the seats. I am using the power seats from a 2004 Nissan Maxima.:) I explained last year how the outside back leg on each seat was modified to sit on the flat floor. With a battery to manipulate the seats, I adjusted them as necessary, then located and drilled the holes in the floor. I didn't bolt them down yet, though.:HMMM:
Monday I made a trip to the local Home Depot to pick up a piece of 1/4 inch underlayment plywood to make the panel that separates the cab from the trunk. No big revelations there; it was just a matter of measure, cut, and fit.:rolleyes: Before I screwed it in place I put the Kilmat on the floor in that area. After I screwed the panel in place I continued the Kilmat past the seat mount holes. I will Kilmat the remainder of the floor later, but I have other work to do in the front area first. Finally, I removed the headrests and put the seats in place then put the bolts in the holes. Before I put nuts on the bottom, however, I have a couple of things to do underneath. I'll explain that later when I do it.:3dSMILE:
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Today started out OK. I determined that the brake pedal was crowding the space where I needed to put the gas pedal and I needed to move it.:HMMM: The lever part of the pedal needed to stay put, but it was made so the pedal pad bolted onto a tab about an inch to the right of the lever. I could have cut it off, repositioned it, and welded it back together, but I decided it would be easier to just make a new tab and weld it to the existing one.:rolleyes: Unfortunately, I neglected to take a picture of it! I found a heavy-duty nut with the same threads (1/2-13) as the tab and I just welded it solidly in place. The result is the pedal is an inch to the left and about 1/4 inch higher than its original location.:3dSMILE: Yes, it clears the steering column enough that I can easily step on it, even in work boots.:cool:
Next I positioned the gas pedal, marked the bolt holes, and drilled the firewall. I used stainless steel bolts, washers, and acorn nuts to bolt the gas pedal in place.:3dSMILE: (Pic below)
Now the trouble began. I thought it might be advantageous at this point to get the A/C evaporator mounted under the dash so I could figure out the location of some other things. I got the evap out of the box for the first time and discovered... it won't fit!:eek: There is no position that will work; it is just simply too big. The bad news is I bought it last year before I took the body off the frame, so the odds of sending it back are slim to none... and Slim has already left town.:( So, another learning experience - I should have trial fit this thing as soon as I got it. DUH! Well, tomorrow I will do some more in-depth measuring and some more research online. It looks like Speedway has an under-dash unit from Vintage Air that might be the answer. Time will tell.
I said I would report my progress here, warts and all. This is a big wart! Learn from my mistakes, folks.:whacked:
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I was busy elsewhere today, so I didn't get to work on the '32. The good news is "the Fed" delivered a big package from Rootlieb.:D
I was given a one-piece fiberglass hood back when I picked up the body. I don't know who made it, but it was a warped, twisted piece of $#!+ that doesn't come close to fitting the contour of the grille shell.:p I put a clamp across the front of it months ago and left it sit in the heat for weeks, but it made no difference. Last week I ordered a steel repro hood from Rootlieb.:HMMM:
After everything else was done today, I took a few minutes to see how my new hood fit. Yes, it does, beautifully. I still have to build the radiator-to-firewall struts and install the latches, so I used some 2-inch masking tape to hold it in place for now. It's nice to have a quality piece to work with.:3dSMILE:
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I think I would like a steel hood better anyway.
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Jim, very nice work! I got the same style ball socket for my 40's steering column lower mount. I'm not looking forward to installing it. I'm betting the bondo will work fine. A lot of top custom interior builders mold and glue a lot of things with bondo. I was really surprised the first few times I saw it used that way. The AC issue stinks. I have the same kind of luck. That hood looks great and the car is looking so sweet!
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I started mounting the battery tray last Friday, but didn't get it finished.:HMMM: Then I had family obligations over the weekend, so I didn't have any "shop time" then, either.:rolleyes: Anyway, I already made the shelf for it to sit on (see previous posts), I just had to mount the tray in a manner that would hold the battery in case of some catastrophe. I began by cutting a short piece of 2-inch angle iron, drilling a hole and welding a nut under it. Next, I drilled a hole in each end of the battery tray and bolted the angle iron bracket to one end. I used a 3/4-inch spade bit to drill a hole in the wooden shelf to make clearance for the nut and bolt in the battery tray. I put the tray in place and welded the angle iron bracket to the steel structure in the body. At the other end I simply drilled a hole through the floor and bolted the tray down with a large fender washer underneath.:) All I had left was the tie-down, so I finished that today. The one that came with the "universal stainless steel battery tray" was made to fit an unknown battery of enormous size. I poked around in my scraps and found a piece of chrome plated 3/4 inch square tubing, cut it to length and drilled a couple of holes and the last piece is done.:D
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Next on my long list of "to do" is mounting the hood. I live in Florida where it rains frequently and abundantly.:HMMM: Running with no hood is just asking to be stranded with a wet ignition system and a louvered hood isn't much better.:rolleyes: I could have gotten a one-piece hood top, plain or louvered, but I opted for a stock two-piece hood top. Why? I have a stock hood top on my Model-A coupe and I simply like the convenience. If I want to service the air filter, fuel filter or distributor I can just open the appropriate side of the hood and do it. I don't have to deal with Dzus fasteners or bolts and I don't have to hunt for a safe place to put the detached hood while I'm working on the car.;) Yes, I'm aware there are some really nice latch-and-hinge mechanisms available for a one-piece hood, but those things cost more than the hood itself! Remember, I'm an old retired school teacher on a budget here...:o
On my Model-A I made struts that attach the grille shell to the firewall on each side. The hood latches down to them with toolbox latches. The center hinge strip is bolted to the firewall and grille shell, so even if both sides of the hood come unlatched it won't blow off. I am copying that design here.:cool:
The struts are made from 1/2-inch square tubing. With the grille shell held at the correct location (with the help of some 2-inch masking tape) I measure and cut the struts to length. Then I used some 1/8 x 1 flat steel to make the end brackets. The front bolts to the grille shell where it also bolts to the radiator. The back bolts to the firewall with 1/4-20 Nut-serts I installed in the appropriate locations. I didn't put any dimensions here because it's a bunch of "cut-and-try engineering".:HMMM: I did use my measuring tape to make both sides the same. After bolting the struts in place, I laid the hood on temporarily to make sure the struts are hidden.:3dSMILE:
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When I went into the shop today I noticed a couple of telltale orange handprints on my new hood... RUST!:eek: OK, I know what nice new metal does in this climate, so it was no surprise. The areas where I had handled the new hood with my bare hands had attracted a bit of moisture and it was letting me know. A wad of paper towel and my trusty jug of Ospho took care of the situation.;) Most of the rust wiped right off; the stuff that didn't turned dark immediately. The clean steel turned dull which means the problem was averted. It won't rust now - I love that stuff.:D
My next step of hood installation is the brackets that hold the center bar of the hood in place. On my Model-A the hood has a rod in the center. I was able to make brackets for it using some flat stock and a couple of scraps of brake line tubing. This '32 is a completely different arrangement.:HMMM: The center strip is a stainless steel channel with curled edges. The hood halves have a rolled bead on the edge that interlocks with the curled edges of the center strip. To anchor it to the car I needed flat brackets with a T shape attached to the top (the pictures make sense of what I said).:rolleyes:
I began with a scrap of 1/8 x 3/4 flat stock. It was still a bit wide, so I ground down one edge until it fit in the channel easily (about 5/8 inch finished width). The front piece fits in about 3/4 inch, the rear fits in about 1 inch. Next I needed some kind of spacer to hold the top tab up off the bracket; I dug around and found a piece of 3/16 keyway stock. I cut the pieces and welded the ends of the tab and key stock to the bracket material. The problem was I couldn't weld down in the slots and I knew that the little tack-weld on each end wasn't going to hold for long, hmmmm, what to do? I needed it to stick together with almost no buildup.:confused: AHA!! I braze it! I haven't brazed anything in a few years and almost forgot how.., but I finally remembered; ya have to heat the base metal until it's almost orange hot for the brass to stick. When that was all done I removed any buildup of brass from the pieces with a bevvy of grinders and files.:rolleyes: I drilled the appropriate holes and cut the brackets to length. Finally, I bent the brackets to fit the crown of the grille shell and firewall lips and gave them a coat of spray-can primer to keep the rust away.:3dSMILE: