Thread: Some progress on a Ye' Olde '31 Ford

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Real Steel! I wish I had real steel but I am committed to 'glass now. I wanted to ask about your plans for a radiator fan. Looking at where your crank pulley is through the empty radiator shell it looks essentially the same as my 350 in a Brookville frame. That puts the water pump shaft 8" or less above the bottom of the radiator (Walker 487-1 in my case) so even with a small 15" diameter fan, a shroud will not be able to cover the bottom of the radiator. The easy answer is to use an electric fan but that draws at least a surge of 70-80 amps on start up and maybe 30 amps while running. I am trying to figure out how to use just a mechanical fan, but I am wondering what your plans are for the fan in the hope that I can find a way to avoid the electric surge with a small 15" flex fan?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Real Steel! I wish I had real steel but I am committed to 'glass now. I wanted to ask about your plans for a radiator fan. Looking at where your crank pulley is through the empty radiator shell it looks essentially the same as my 350 in a Brookville frame. That puts the water pump shaft 8" or less above the bottom of the radiator (Walker 487-1 in my case) so even with a small 15" diameter fan, a shroud will not be able to cover the bottom of the radiator. The easy answer is to use an electric fan but that draws at least a surge of 70-80 amps on start up and maybe 30 amps while running. I am trying to figure out how to use just a mechanical fan, but I am wondering what your plans are for the fan in the hope that I can find a way to avoid the electric surge with a small 15" flex fan?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Well i swapped to a short water pump. I think this will set the fan back far enough to where itll clear the front crossmember. If not, ill cut it down, just for looks of a mechanical fan and install an electric fan in front between the insert and radiator.

Got some more done this past week. Kept forgetting my camera so ive got these crappy cell phone pics. Last weekend i stripped and cleaned the engine. Got rid of the chevy orange along with the 20 other layers of paint. Painted it a nice gloss black. Threw on the new water pump and pulleys. Painted the ram horns white and slapped those on to see what it would look like (sorry, no pics of that) And i got some early chrome chevy stamped valve covers that look o so good against the black. Been getting more parts this week from The Hot Rod Company and Riley Auto, thanks guys, was great dealing with you. Took the body off on thursday night. Yesterday i put the front end together with my new drop axle. Put my f100 spindles on. Then today, stripped the front fenders getting them ready for some repairs. Then it got too hot around 3ish so i went inside and stripped more paint off some of the smaller parts and painted those. Heres the crappy pictures of the progress but ill get some better ones tomorrow.

Well ive been working a little every nite on the murray and ive gotten a bit done since i last posted. Been stripping the panels pretty much every nite this week and painting a few odds and ends when i had nothing else to do. Also painted the trans and cleaned it up good. Tried to attempt to install the lockup kit but that was a no go. And i put my axle together for the final time, this time with backing plates and i clearenced for the brake cylinders since im using the earlier round spindles. Otherwise thats been all ive been up to. Heres some pictures of most of everything that ive gotten done.

Wow, coming along very well. That body looks really solid and rustfree, and I like the fact it is a fordor.

Good job.

Don

My first car was a '31 Fordor and for a family the extra room in the back could be useful. Let me give my usual comment while the roof hole is open. If you wanted an open car now is the time to plan for a slide back soft top from an early VW or a soft snap-on top or a green plastic insert. Learning from my Sand Rover dune buggy, all you need for a snap-on top is to weld a strip of steel about 1/2" wide across the top of the front edge of the hole. Then you make a top with a lot of Dzus fasteners or snaps along the edges but in the front edge you sew in a strip of aluminum or other metal. When you put the top on you insert the part of the front edge of the the top and face the strip in backwards so the front edge is wedged in to the welded strip on the roof metal. That is the way some dune buggy tops are fastened to the windshield without a top bow and the back cloth is held by a few Dzus fasteners and snaps. I really enjoy an open top or sunroof so I am always sorry to see the work put into finding a piece of sheet metal to weld into the hole. Your metal is in really good shape, I would respect the metal if you decide to chop it. If you have access to a restorers book you could look up the "A-400" model which had a sliding cloth roof and abbreviated rear quarter panel windows. One of my fantasies has been to convert a sedan to a fake A-400 because I am a fanatic about an open car in the summer. On the other hand with a closed roof you can chop it and add air conditioning for a truly cool rod. Hey a green plastic insert with air conditioning is an option also! You might also look up the 1954 Ford Sunliner model to see what a green plastic roof looks like!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder