Building a car, or any project, is an overwhelming task if looked at in the whole, but it’s really just the completion of a multitude of little tasks. When the last task is done, the car is done. Like eating an elephant, it’s one bite at a time.
This past weeks tasks started with cleaning the shop, throwing away a Herby Curby full of trash and scraps, and taking care of tools. With that chore done, I set to making spreader bars for the front and rear of the chassis. The rear was simple, a straight chunk of heavy wall DOM tubing and two oval shaped brackets, but the front was a little more complicated. Getting the angles cut to give the “V” shape to clear the grill, and drop an appropriate amount was a challenge, but I’m happy with the result.
The plumbing for the car is DONE: Brake lines, fuel lines, and radiator hoses. I found preformed hoses and cut them down for both the upper and lower outlets at the local auto parts store. The transmission cooler lines had me stumped, I tried one entire afternoon to make them from rigid 5/16″ line, finally after ruining one, and ending up with some clumsy looking ones I found that the radiator fittings were 1/8″ pipe, and I still couldn’t hook them up. I went back and got some some soft copper line I could bend by hand, some rubber trans cooler lines, two brass hose bibs the right size, and got the job done in about 20 minutes. It looks good too, not like it was made by a blind monkey.
The seat riser got rebuilt, a clearance bump in the trunk (rumble seat) floor for the differential was made, and I added a couple layers of ‘glass mat and resin to the buggered up corners of the hood apron/splash shields. The hood and grill shell fit is reasonably close, (REALLY good by ’34 Ford standards!), and I’ve got the ignition wiring done enough to fire it up. My goal this week is to get the body prepped for paint and in high build primer, and the hood and little parts in color. It’s tantalizingly close to being a real car!
Cool McCool's Garage 