Thread: Project "Left Overs"

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Nice! I'm really feeling jealous right now!

Last night while Dan was doing more wiring on his rpu I continued putting the engine back together for my 27. It's pretty much ready to reinstall, I just need to move some stuff around in the shop to get the engine lift in there. I feel pretty good that the changes I made will clear up my oil leak and my water pump failures. The new valve covers should also make it easier to put the engine in and to set the valves down the road.

As for my rpu project, my front tires and rear slicks came in from Coker and the powder coater got my rims done Friday. So I had the tires mounted and propped them up in place to see how they look. I love the 8 inch Firestones even better than the 10 inchers I had on the 23, they just look more era correct to me somehow.

I keep going back and forth on if I want the radiator in front or hidden in the bed. Right now I am still leaning toward the rear position so I can run the Moon tank and an empty Model A shell up front, sort of like a drag car. The wheelbase is going to end up at about 115-116 inches.

Here are some pictures of the engine ready to go back in the 27, and also some mock up shots I took tonight with the tires propped up in place. (The grille shell will be chopped to match the cowl height)

Don

Cool Don do the coker slicks come in black walls to....?

Yep, they do. I considered going to blackwalls all around on this one, but I am just sort of a whitewall guy, I guess. If you go to buy them, get a H A M B Alliance membership. It dropped the price from $ 333.00 per tire to $ 296.00 per tire. Paid for my shipping.

Don

The have them at Socal speed, just a few miles from me....this could get me trouble.

The last time I was in there I spent four hours just looking, NOS parts, half built roadsters, frames, blown flatheads, old speed parts just hanging all over the place, I was like a kid in a candy store.

I've only seen that shop on Hot Rod TV, and it looks very cool. You're lucky to live that close...........but maybe your wallet isn't so lucky.

Don

Those and wheels look cool Don but how will the rear slicks perform on a wet greasy road? Yeh ha,, that was fun going side ways down the street!!!

Surprisingly Whip, the 10 inch Firestones on the 23 were pretty good in the rain. I got caught in quite a few downpours when I had it and as long as I kept my throttle foot light it stayed straight. The time it went sideways across three lanes I think it was because the right slick would grab (non posi) and push the car to the left. Even when I would moderately go through the gears manually on the 1-2 upshift it would do a little hop and the front would move to the left just a tad.

But I think the two grooves and slits all around the edge of these slicks make them better in the wet than regular slicks. I ran 11 inch M and H Racemasters on the back of my 68 Mustang, and those were a handful when the roads were even damp.

Don

Don your a brave man! Me I'm terrified of the sliding sensation of no traction! I guess it comes from laying my motorcycle down a few too many times in wet weather when I was a kid! Boy the price tag on those babies is up there. It's amazing how much you can spend just on tires and wheels! But they do look very nice.

406Rich - I had no idea that Socal speed shop was a chain, I figured they were just in southern California. I was surprised to see they have a store in Sacramento. Now I'll have to add that to my list of shops over there!

Originally Posted by stovens

406Rich - I had no idea that Socal speed shop was a chain, I figured they were just in southern California. I was surprised to see they have a store in Sacramento. Now I'll have to add that to my list of shops over there!

Have you added American pastimes, Vintage ford. and Tognotti`s ?

sorry for the off subject interuptions here Don, 406rich- I know about vintage ford, and tognottis, but not american pastimes, I'll check them out. Thanks.

No apology needed, Steve. 3/4 of my threads are OT. I think it adds to the flavor of a thread to have people jump in and talk about whatever.

You're right about the cost of these slicks, but man are they HEAVY. I had to lift the mounted tires out of the trunk of my car when I got them done and it took all I had to lift one of them.

I ran into a funny situation on the front tires. Went to a tire shop and had the new 5:60's mounted on new wheels I also got from Coker. The guy calls me out and tells me I have bent rims! So I figure I'll call Coker on Monday morning. Then I get back to the shop and see a warning posted on the box the rims came in (see picture below). Monday I called Superior wheel and he says all rims like this must be balanced on a machine that locates them on the lugs, not against a flat plate. He said they hold their wheels to .030 runout as opposed to their competition who hold it to .060. So I am satisfied they are ok and will have the car properly balanced once it is running.

Don

That's weird. I've never seen a balancer that locates the wheels by the lugs. Does that mean they have to be balanced on the car?

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

That's weird. I've never seen a balancer that locates the wheels by the lugs. Does that mean they have to be balanced on the car?

It was a new one to me too, Jim. The guy from Superior said surprisingly enough, the old balancers work better with these steel wheels, and some new balancers have an adapter that has lugs on it. Very strange, I've had steel wheels balanced before at this exact same place, with no problems. I am going to try to see if the one shop is still around in town that has one of those motorized deals that goes under the whole tire and wheel while on the car, and it balances the wheel, tire, and brake drum in one shot. I had a Toyota with a shake and the guy finally had to use that kind on it and the problem was in the rotor.

Don