Thread: Un-streetrodding a 34 tudor

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Originally Posted by rspears

Jim, just curious why you didn't fit the hood before taking it apart for paint?

Thanks for backing me up there Jerry but he is right I could have fit it before hand. Trouble is time constraints pushed things off and it got set aside too long and the body had to go off for paint.There were other factors too (I messed up and should have done it but didn't) the biggest reason is that I have a genuine 34 Ford hood and an aftermarket glass body that was made for a 3 piece hood. I"m thinking it's going to be a nightmare to fit. I can always run it hood-less till I get it fit right.

Jim,
Thanks for the reply, and I was not trying to be critical, just curious. Everything you've done supports the fact that you pushed it to paint when you felt you needed to, and you've got a plan moving forward. There's no reason you can't fit the hood later, if you choose to, it just means taping interface points, and having to be more careful when you get frustrated and throw the wrench - gotta aim away from painted surfaces, right?

The reason I asked is that on my glass '33 when I decided to run the hood top the guy who made the body told me that the "widow's peak" on the cowl sits high in the middle, and to make it easier to fit the hood he always makes a thin cut right at the bottom of the curve where the peak meets the firewall, about a foot out on each side. He told me to set a battery on the top of the peak, then go inside and bond the gap with mat & resin. A dab of filler in the crack and it's all done. Hopefully yours won't need that kind of tweaking, and the gennie hood will lay down just right!

BTW I really like the blue you chose. It's gonna look killer!

Jim, I hear you on time constraints and time lines. Everytime I set a date I want to have something done by, there's always a mad rush getting it done because this or that happens. I guess it's just part of it. Haha If you need help with moving the body in the snow, do build that sled base for it. I have a husky pp that I'll send to ya to help move it around. She needs a good real work out to calm her down some.

Okay I'm starting to scare myself. I found the pins the other day amongst all my crap then, as you know I'm cleaning, I took a bunch of boxes of old car magazines to throw out into the recycling bin and I just set them on the kitchen table. Well the top box opened up and I said to myself "I'll grab just one to read on the porcelain throne" and took the rest out to the bin. The next day I'm spending some quality time flipping through the pages and I come across a feature car. A red 33 Chevy 3 window standard coupe. It's a pretty rare car. Well I used to own one and when I bought it it was red! It wasn't MY car (that would have really freaked me out). Now if someone were to say I picked up the magazine and it had a 32 roadster yeah well they all have one of those in them! But a red 33 standard coupe? Okay I'm not done. So I'm up late can't sleep so I'm in the basement rummaging through stuff and came up with a vacuum line for the vacuum advance that is not only the correct diameter but the exact length I needed. So I put that on and I needed to run a line to the vacuum switch on the transmission. So I go back to that shelf and there is a 20'+ roll of vacuum line! Really? Where the hell did that come from? Okay one more; today I got in a double pulley for my alternator to satisfy some people on here that are concerned about over-stressing my bracket (taking your advice Jerry). I tried an aftermarket pulley and it just didn't fit. I found some old GM units but they were too much $$. So I found a Buick nailhead alternator pulley that just needs a bushing/spacer. A bushing because my shaft diameter is smaller and a spacer to get it away from the face of the alternator itself. Now here is where it gets weird. I purchased the lathe and mini mill a while back and it came with 2 toolboxes full of (someone else's) crap. I open the top drawer and there it is. A bushing with a flange on it! I say to myself "Man I'm gonna freak if it fits" sure enough a PERFECT FIT!!! Now I have other people putting stuff aside for me to find years later? How is that even possible? I still have to open the bushing up to the correct ID and cut it to length but it is 3/4 of the way there. This stuff just happens to me all the time. Sorry for the long read. I literally have 100's of stories like this.

May the force be with you O'bigJim ! Stuff like this happens to me too, just not often! I say smile and say a prayer of thanks!

Originally Posted by BIG-JIM

.....I open the top drawer and there it is. A bushing with a flange on it! I say to myself "Man I'm gonna freak if it fits" sure enough a PERFECT FIT!!! Now I have other people putting stuff aside for me to find years later? How is that even possible?

Well, yesterday WAS "Back to the Future Day", October 21, 2015..... Maybe there was more to it than we thought.

Jim, I hope your good fortune keeps on keeping on!!!

Dooo Doo Dooo Doo, Dooo Doo Dooo Doo.... you have entered an alternate dimension.. Nah.. it's just Jim's garage!

Old things just keep coming up! Kinda like my wifes meatloaf!

You guy's are cracking me up over here...

I played with wires today. I have little bundles everywhere. Trying to do things that will be hard to get to once the body is on. Yesterday I modified that alternator pulley to fit. Hopefully with 2 belts there will be less need for a lot of tension so less stress on the bolts. It probably would have been fine but now I'm sure it will be. I did the last vacuum line to the booster, the TV cable, and got myself set up to start bleeding the brakes. The tail lights, 3rd brake light, license plate light, neutral safety switch, transmission speed sensor, and the horn ground are all done and just need to be connected to the panel once that is installed. About the only things left to do under the car are bleeding the brakes, a small heat shield for the brake switch, and the main grounds to the engine and frame. I also have 2 exhaust hangers to install but they are connected to the body. I also consolidated a couple drawers in the toolbox to create an empty one which I filled with wiring stuff, (terminals connectors heat-shrink tubing wire ties and tools) so I don't have to keep going upstairs to my shop to get things. Trying to work smarter and more efficient.

For your viewing pleasure!

Great work!!!

Yep... Purty!

All the parts look so clean and new I'm really jealous!

He threw some Washington blue at it today. I bled the brakes today with the help of my wife. I removed the hydraulic brake switches and I'm going to replace them with a mechanical switch. With Rogers help I'm going to wire it into a SPDT relay (believe it or not I had 14 in stock sitting on my shelf) yes 14 of them! My buddy gave me a switch to use for mock up till I get my own in.