37 Ford build--IE: old Header issues thread /37 Ford/5.0/GT40P heads

[Irelands child]

Here are a few photos - this forum wont allow but 2-3 per post. This should give you an idea. Never know how much dust is on stuff until you take photos. Looks like I need some shorter flange bolts as well.

[randyr]

Here are a few photos - this forum wont allow but 2-3 per post. This should give you an idea. Never know how much dust is on stuff until you take photos. Looks like I need some shorter flange bolts as well.

Hey Dave, here's another question for you.....I assume that aluminum cylinder bolted to the passenger side of your frame is a transmission cooler....I haven't seen one like this before......is it more than adequate to keep the trans cool? I can run mine thru the radiator but it would be nice not to have those lines running up there to the front.....please let me know more details about this product and it's effectiveness.....thanks.

[Irelands child]

Hey Dave, here's another question for you.....I assume that aluminum cylinder bolted to the passenger side of your frame is a transmission cooler....I haven't seen one like this before......is it more than adequate to keep the trans cool? I can run mine thru the radiator but it would be nice not to have those lines running up there to the front.....please let me know more details about this product and it's effectiveness.....thanks.

Randy,
I did take a look at the attachment in the other post of the '37 Flatback - really nice car. I had forgotten how relly small the engine bay is on the '37's - and I even have owned two of them in the dim and distant past.

The 5" firewall really allows you to dress out the engine and have it so it can really be accessible.

That is a transmission cooler on the RH side of the frame. As I have yet to run this car, not sure how well it will do though it is a 2 pass, 24 inch long unit. There is a lot more cooling surface then a radiator mounted unit and it is in a lot cooler environment, so should do well on this car. I ran a smaller unit on a previous car and never had any trans overheating problems.

Here is a thread that shows mine better as well as the manufacturer:
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sho...mission+cooler.

The TCI chassis is nice but if yours is still reasonably good, then really not necessary if you are on a fairly tight budget.

Chassis Engineering has a replacement set of 'X' cross members - you will be $$ and time ahead instead of trying to repair ancient and crystallized steel:

http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/page60.html
Then go to p61 for boxing plates

You might want to get their catalog as well.

The weather here is finally turning a bit and the snow is starting to disappear so maybe I can get my car painted and starting to be put back together next month. And yes the Xmas wreath is long down.

[randyr]

Thanks for the links, Dave. I was looking at that X-member kit online the other day. It's funny how what started out as replacing the radiator and the front seal in my transmission has mushroomed into a complete engine & trans rebuild, new headers & exhaust, front disc brake upgrades and a rear disc kit too, new firewall & front floorboards, Boyd Coddington rims (got a great deal on some used ones 17x8), and the list keeps growing...LOL! That doesn't include the fact that I also need/want a complete color change and new interior!!
Now, the reality is my budget is definitely limited and so is my workspace. I live a mile from the beach in Santa Monica, which is great but my place only has a one car garage to work in. Everything I do has to go back in the garage at the end of the day. Removing the body to do frame mods seems pretty impossible at the moment. A variety of less-than-perfect decisions have been made on this frame over the years and it almost seems like throwing good money after bad to try to fix it. I'm sure it can be tweaked a be a decent driver frame, which is what I'm going to have to do until I can do otherwise. I'm guessing the x-member couldn't be easily replace with the body on and the floor removed. I wouldn't want to cut out the rear seat riser, etc.

Anyway, as I babble on....LOL...if I could figure out a way to "justify" it, it would be cool to buy the rolling chassis already plumbed for brakes, gas line, etc. with engine & trans mounts in place and powder coated...I could do the body swap in a day and be well on my way to having a perfect rod....ah, but who in the hell is going to pay for all that??!!! LOL! Given my situation, though, considering time, labor costs, convenience, etc it probably wouldn't turn out to be that much different in the grander scheme of things.....I might be able to get a few bucks outa my old frame to help offset the cost, too.

But alas, I'll probably just have my welder friend come over and do some strengthening repairs on my x-member, install the new firewall, put it back together and drive it a while until "my ship comes in...""

Sorry for the length post.....glad your snow is starting to melt. It was a lovely 80 degrees here yesterday.....but I won't rub it in......

LOL!
Randy

[Irelands child]

Nothing like being caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place as far as space. Luckily, that is not my problem. Not only do I have a 24x30 two car garage, I also have a 3rd stall in my basement (if not mistaken CA houses seldom have a basement) where I do most of my non-paint work. Painting is done in the 2 car area. Not sure that is worth the snow/weather problems we have, but....

I guess that I would have my welder repair the cracks and, if possible, either put a backer piece or fully box that whole area. The frame is 70 years old and pre WW2 roads were just not as good as they are today, even in CA.

Unless you already have them, giving up the rear discs would be a consideration. A Ford 8" or 9" with rebuilt backing plates will generally be as much brake as you will ever need on a 2800# car. It will free up $6-800 (plus another $2-300 for the e-brake lever, brackets and cables) for other goodies as well as several working days of conversion.(says I that have 4 wheel discs on an "A" roadster???) You will need to find a way to run the e-brake cables and mount the lever - a PITA.

Whatever you do - make it a safe driver. I go to several big shows a year and get down on my knees to look at the undersides. It is unbelievable the lack of safe components and how many people don't consider that aspect in the overall picture.

Enough preaching - gotta get to work on a couple of fenders so I can paint in a few weeks.

[randyr]

Nothing like being caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place as far as space. Luckily, that is not my problem. Not only do I have a 24x30 two car garage, I also have a 3rd stall in my basement (if not mistaken CA houses seldom have a basement) where I do most of my non-paint work. Painting is done in the 2 car area. Not sure that is worth the snow/weather problems we have, but....

I guess that I would have my welder repair the cracks and, if possible, either put a backer piece or fully box that whole area. The frame is 70 years old and pre WW2 roads were just not as good as they are today, even in CA.

Unless you already have them, giving up the rear discs would be a consideration. A Ford 8" or 9" with rebuilt backing plates will generally be as much brake as you will ever need on a 2800# car. It will free up $6-800 (plus another $2-300 for the e-brake lever, brackets and cables) for other goodies as well as several working days of conversion.(says I that have 4 wheel discs on an "A" roadster???) You will need to find a way to run the e-brake cables and mount the lever - a PITA.

Whatever you do - make it a safe driver. I go to several big shows a year and get down on my knees to look at the undersides. It is unbelievable the lack of safe components and how many people don't consider that aspect in the overall picture.

Enough preaching - gotta get to work on a couple of fenders so I can paint in a few weeks.

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the sermon...LOL! Just kidding! I think it'll be pretty easy to repair the cracks and perhaps scab a piece of angle iron along the top of the x for extra strength. Boxing that area would be a pain because the exhaust has to go through there as well as the brake pedal (yes I'm converting back to under the floor). My biggest reason for concern with all this is that my new engine will have a least 100 or so more HP than the old so torque on the frame will be a bit more intense. I sincerely doubt that I'll drive it hard at all but I wanna be prepared in case I can't resist the temtation. As for the rear discs, I know the drums will stop the car just fine but the new 17" rims I got have open spokes and it's much more cool to see a rotor & caliper in there than the old drum....vanity, I know..LOL! I got the Ford Motorsport style kit from a guy on ebay used with new rotors, pads, & e-brake shoes for $250. I needed to redo the drum brakes anyway so I went for the discs. On the front, I've been running the 9" Mustang II rotors for years but upgraded to the 11" with the wheel change.
So, assuming I can beef up the frame enough to hold me for a while, my next big expense will be the firewall.
Thanks again for your input and advise.
Are you painting your own car? I would love to paint my own but don't have a space to do it right now. I've painted 3 of my previous cars including this one.
Gotta get to work.
Later,
Randy

[Irelands child]

Hey Dave,


Are you painting your own car? I would love to paint my own but don't have a space to do it right now. I've painted 3 of my previous cars including this one.
Gotta get to work.
Later,
Randy

Randy
I'm painting my own car using a custom mixed bronze DuPont Chroma Base over Southern Polyurethane(SPI) epoxy and high fill 2K primers as needed (most of the car). I'll then be using the SPI Universal clear coat as my top coat. When I started getting 12 to 15,000 dollar estimates to do the paint on a roadster no less, I bit the bullet, bought the paint and a couple of new HVLP guns - a Devillbiss FL3 with all the tips and an Iwata LPH400 and a supplied air system. I'll sell the air system and the Iwata gun after the painting is done and hope that the Devillbiss will cover anything later. I have done many cars in the past but had not used the new generation of paints so have been on a vertical learning curve with this project. Now if the weather will ever cooperate, I'll get it painted, together and running this summer. These are some of the primed pieces: