Another Build Thread - My '32

[J. Robinson]

I'm back, finally. I have been sidetracked a bit while I was building a new Electrathon car. For those who don't know, Electrathon America is an organization that promotes building and racing electric cars. I first got involved with it in 2002 when I was teaching Engineering Technology at the local high school. I retired in 2010, but I have stayed active in Electrathon. I sold my car back in September and just finished building a new one last week. I debuted it Saturday (2-16-19) at USF and won my class. I have attached a pic below.

OK, in between some of the construction steps on that new Electrathon car I was able to study on some of the parts and components for the Deuce. When I fit the brake pedal on the bracket under the body, it appeared to me that it was just wrong. That thing was going to come through the floor way too high inside and interfere with locating the bottom of the steering column. I finally found a picture of what I needed online with dimensions. The pedal I had was 4 inches too long/tall! My good friend, Mike, had another pedal left from a previous build that he gave me. It looks like the picture I found and, sure enough, the dimensions are correct (see comparison pic below). Problem solved.

I also started fooling with the dash a little. I bought my gauges a while back and found a really cool looking bezel for them. After determining which way I like the looks of the bezel, I used a measuring tape to center it, marked the holes, and started cutting them out with hole saws.

I will finalize the steering column location soon and complete the shaft connection. Then I will be able to take the car all apart and start finalizing the welding, painting and assembly.

[rumrumm]

Nice looking gauge bezel!

[Bob Parmenter]

I'm fighting the urge to comment on your elastic tilt column mechanism...….

[J. Robinson]

Isn't it called a "column drop"? Just a little tug and it drops right in my lap! I can even pull it sideways and steer from the other seat. Hotrodding is all about innovation, right? You guys are all just sorry you didn't think of it first...

[johnboy]

Isn't it called a "column drop"? Just a little tug and it drops right in my lap! I can even pull it sideways and steer from the other seat. Hotrodding is all about innovation, right? You guys are all just sorry you didn't think of it first...

That certainly brought a smile to the dial!
Very clever sir, very clever indeed.
I could've pushed the 'like' button twice for that.

[figure8]

Yes that bezel is nice!

[J. Robinson]

Okay, I'm back. I got delayed for a short time waiting on some parts. Uncle Bob didn't like my elastic column drop, so I had to spring for something more solid. I also got some double-D shaft and another u-joint. I actually bought an extra u-joint because I thought I would need it, but it turned out just fine with only two.

I couldn't get a camera angle that would show it, but the shaft does actually clear the header without touching; there is about 1/8 inch clearance. Inside I stretched a strip of orange masking tape across the lower dashboard brackets to approximate where the bottom of the dash will be. I used a 7 inch column drop. I was able to mount it by simply cutting a rectangle from some 10-gauge steel, drilling the necessary holes, and welding it to the square-tube reinforcement in the body. The weld isn't pretty because I ran out of Argon/CO2 gas and had to switch to flux-core wire. That's OK, though, it won't show when the dash is in place.

A couple more small things and I'll finally be ready to blow this thing apart and do all the final finish welding...

[J. Robinson]

OK, I'm back.., finally! After my last post I got sidetracked building another Electrathon race car for a school. I finally priced one of my E-cars so that I got paid for my time (I've practically given my labor away on these cars in the past) and they agreed to pay it. I couldn't turn it down - I wanted the money to help finish this Deuce. Then, at the last race of the season, I broke the front suspension in my E-car and it required major surgery to repair it before I put away for the summer. And then I took time to put air conditioning in my shop. So.., finally I can get back on the Deuce.

One thing I don't particularly like on many of the fenderless '32s I see is the gas tank hanging on the back end with no protection but a spindly little spreader bar. To me that looks like suicide by fire waiting to happen. "To each his own" they say, but there's no reason to tempt fate that much, especially with the instance of distracted drivers now days. Having said that, my gas tank (fuel cell) is going in the trunk. If someone hits me in the rear end hard enough to get to the fuel cell, I will already be dead of a broken neck and internal injuries.

First pic is my fuel cell sitting on the trunk floor. Obviously it can't sit like that; the floor isn't flat. I propped the tank in place so it sits flat and then used a piece of cardboard to make a pattern of the space under the fuel cell. Next, I cut 3 pieces of pressure treated 2 x 8 according to the pattern.

[J. Robinson]

I put the fuel cell all the way to the left because the battery will go in the space on the right. After marking the end of the tank on the floor (red arrow), I remove it and mark the center between the oak body support and the end of the tank (green arrow). The left support will be set in 4 inches so it can connect to the wood already in the body, so I mark 4 inches from the end of the tank for the right support (blue arrow). With all three supports in place I can trial fit the fuel cell. Looks good and level, so I will glue, screw, and 'glass them in place. To complete fuel cell installation, I will fabricate a pair of steel straps.

[stovens]

Nice. What are you using to separate trunk from back seat? I'm always worried about a hit from behind, since last summer, around today actually, when some distracted driver slammed into the back of my 4x4 1998 toyota tacoma, while the rest of us on the hwy were at a complete stop. I had a brief second after coming to an abrupt stop to see a guy coming at 70 mph in my rear view mirror, before I was knocked unconscious. The Old truck probably saved my life, I know if I was driving the MR2 Spyder, we wouldn't be chatting right now. The van that hit me, and caused my truck to hit two cars in front of me, somehow fled the scene on a 8 lane insane east bay hwy at 10:30 in the morning!
So trust me when I say I think about what your thinking!

[rumrumm]

I had safety in mind when I was building the tank area in the trunk of my '32. I constructed a 5/8 inch plywood surround that walled off the tank from the passenger area. Then I use fiberglass matte to glass it into the floor, top, and sides of the trunk. I also reinforced the frame behind the rear facia thinking that those two things would help protect me in a rear end crash situation. I don't know if anything would protect one in a 70 mph hit in one of these cars.

[J. Robinson]

I will put either a steel or aluminum firewall between the passenger compartment and the trunk. In my '31 I used the hood off a mid-80s Ford pickup to seal off the trunk area. The pic below shows the hood skin welded in place and partially sealed; the side extensions are not yet in place in this pic, but they were put in shortly after.

A 70 mph hit from any direction in one of these cars would probably mean "lights out"... permanently. These bodies are pretty stout, though. This past November a 'glass bodied 5-window did a double barrel-roll when the rear suspension broke as he was leaving a local cruise-in. The body got scratched and gouged pretty good and there were probably a few stress cracks, but it was still intact and the doors stayed shut.

[J. Robinson]

The wreck I mentioned above... He was getting on it a little, but not really hard. Radical big-block Ford sounded sweet. When the rear suspension broke the car veered right and ran off the road. The car rolled over twice and ended up on its right side. The driver got a broken arm from flopping around inside - no seatbelts!

Whoever built this car cut the ears off the Ford 8.8 rear end, repositioned them, and MIG welded them back on! Any dumbass who doesn't know you can't MIG weld cast iron with steel wire hasn't got any business building cars. Moral of the story - inspect what you're buying very closely and if you don't know what you're looking at, get experienced help.

[Hotrod46]

So much for all the internet chatter about MIG welding on 8.8's. I've seen threads where every kind of filler wire imaginable was recommended. Usually followed by "Never had ANY problems".

The most believable info I've found would seem to indicate that these center sections were cast from nodular iron. Better than regular cast iron, but still cast with all the associated welding issues.

Just crazy that someone would rely on cast welds of any kind to support that much load. A thick steel plate sandwiched between the case and the rear cover would have been a better solution for mounting the ears. Many aftermarket link setups are made this way for GM and Ford open back rearends. A 9" Ford would have been the simplest fix.

That kind of crap in the picture is scary. Makes you want to find something to hide behind every time someone in home built hot rod decides to "get on it" at a car show.

[53 Chevy5]

I tried it too after all the mixed reports. I melted my bracket on the pumpkin just as pretty as could be with wire. I let it cool and gave it the smack it with a hammer test and it cracked right off. That's when I went to plan B instead.