Another Build Thread - My '32

[johnboy]

That's bloody gorgeous!
I admired it in the previous shot; but when the gauges are in...spectacular!
Top marks that man.

[Driver50x]

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?

[J. Robinson]

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.

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.

[figure8]

"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.

[J. Robinson]

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?

[jerry clayton]

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

[J. Robinson]

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.

[J. Robinson]

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! 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.

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. 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.

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...

[J. Robinson]

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.

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.

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.

Next on the list - assembling the rear brakes and plumbing them.

[v8nutz]

Nice work, looks really good, you've made some progress. It sure is good to hear a new engine run for the first time.

[34_40]

I agree. Always a great day when the motor fires off for the first time. Congrats on the progress.

[J. Robinson]

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". 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! That's why I was concerned about its condition.

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. 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! Anyway, I bought some nondescript AC Delco link pins on Amazon and hope I can make them work. I'll let you all know...

[J. Robinson]

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.)

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.

[J. Robinson]

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.

[J. Robinson]

OK, I took a two and a half week break to remodel a bathroom. 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. 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!!