Thread: Sunday Red: A 1932 Roadster Build Log Started in 2022

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When you get the block back from the machine shop make sure you really scrub that baby down with hot soapy water. I like Dawn dish washing liquid and water straight from the bottom of the water heater. Put the block on the engine stand and dry with compressed air really well. As a final preparation step, wipe everything down with prep solvent on a lint-free rag (I like cotton t-shirts).

Make sure you have a 55 degree or warmer day and paint the inside of the engine. Use Glyptal. Its $50 a quart from Eastwood – buy the brush on and a quart will do the job real nice (I use the disposable “China” bristle brushes from Harbor Freight). Also paint the exterior at this time too. Let everything dry real well – at least 48 hours.

I’ve used brush on and spray for the exterior color and to be honest, they both come out real nice. The rough surface of the cast iron negates any advantage that spraying has in terms of laying down smooth and a brush is easier to control – especially in the tight places. Make sure you mask all mating surfaces with easy release painters tape (I use the yellow stuff from 3M but the blue is fine).

Originally Posted by glennsexton

When you get the block back from the machine shop make sure you really scrub that baby down with hot soapy water. I like Dawn dish washing liquid and water straight from the bottom of the water heater. Put the block on the engine stand and dry with compressed air really well. As a final preparation step, wipe everything down with prep solvent on a lint-free rag (I like cotton t-shirts).

Make sure you have a 55 degree or warmer day and paint the inside of the engine. Use Glyptal. Its $50 a quart from Eastwood – buy the brush on and a quart will do the job real nice (I use the disposable “China” bristle brushes from Harbor Freight). Also paint the exterior at this time too. Let everything dry real well – at least 48 hours.

I’ve used brush on and spray for the exterior color and to be honest, they both come out real nice. The rough surface of the cast iron negates any advantage that spraying has in terms of laying down smooth and a brush is easier to control – especially in the tight places. Make sure you mask all mating surfaces with easy release painters tape (I use the yellow stuff from 3M but the blue is fine).

Thanks for that. I think I've settled on paintbrush over can. The can stuff I did this last weekend came out great but just too much overspray and I don't want to risk that on engine surfaces. So I'll just take my time with it and use a brush instead. I get the block back either Thursday or Friday so I'll just use the weekend to paint it.

Oh Father forgive me.. but I can see it now....

Slow weekend with the car project. I just did some shopping at Home Depot to get ready for the engine block paint. Someone here made a mention to the UTG channel and I'm going to follow that method for painting. I bought all the supplies this morning and now just waiting for everything to get back from the machine shop.

Decided to go into my garage and do a little clean-up, just keep my hands busy. I started thinking about headers for my build. I know I'm going to need something that really hugs the engine block and stays within the 32 chassis. I think I can get away with reusing the ones that are already on the engine. I'll have to find a cap to cover whatever sensor that is on the passenger side (airflow/oxygen?) but that shouldn't be too hard to overcome.

To be sure they are going to need some work because they are pretty rusty but I think they hug the engine pretty well now, hard to imagine another set that can do a better job than this. What do you all think?

I'll give this another try.

Originally Posted by JimBeam

Slow weekend with the car project. I just did some shopping at Home Depot to get ready for the engine block paint. Someone here made a mention to the UTG channel and I'm going to follow that method for painting. I bought all the supplies this morning and now just waiting for everything to get back from the machine shop.

You would be wise to follow Glenn Sexton's advice on prepping the block and painting internal surfaces before blindly following Uncle Tony's Garage or some other YouTube video.

Originally Posted by JimBeam

Decided to go into my garage and do a little clean-up, just keep my hands busy. I started thinking about headers for my build. I know I'm going to need something that really hugs the engine block and stays within the 32 chassis. I think I can get away with reusing the ones that are already on the engine. I'll have to find a cap to cover whatever sensor that is on the passenger side (airflow/oxygen?) but that shouldn't be too hard to overcome.

To be sure they are going to need some work because they are pretty rusty but I think they hug the engine pretty well now, hard to imagine another set that can do a better job than this. What do you all think?

You've not said if you plan to run a hood or not, but your header choice for a cruiser is more flash than performance either way. I would be looking at aftermarket headers over using the ugly mass production OEM parts, and would go with ceramic coated if you can. If you want inside the frame there are block huggers/tight fit headers that are drop down or rear exit, and if you're wanting more flash/no hood there lakes style with drop outs to tuck under for mufflers. Speedway has a bunch to look at with easy navigation for sorting - https://www.speedwaymotors.com/shop/...-225-13-11-524 Many of them are available from Summit, too, but Speedway is a great source for hot rods and are great to work with. I would want to have my engine & tranny sitting in the chassis before deciding on headers and exhaust routing inside the frame rails but that's just me.

The question on the hood is a good one. I have done some basic research with my DMV and it looks like my state does require a hood and cowl on all cars (at least during registration inspection . . . ). So, yes I will be needing one and I am trying to account for that in all of my choices.

I'd agree with Mr. Spears, Block Huggers are quick and easy, send them out to a company like Jet Hot and have'em coated internally and externally, not cheap but works well.
But, the special port could be removed and weld a cover over it.. I can't say if the pipe flanges will clear the frame. So once the motor is bolted in you could find that out.

Trying to enjoy as much of my holiday as possible and staying away from work. I had another paint sample arrive last week so I decided to hang that up in my shop next to all the other contenders. I think I like this shade of red best so far - it's not a pure red but it is not as ruby as the other ones and doesn't show much signs of an orange undertone (which is way too common in red shades).



Here it is against all the other contenders

Headers tend to be a hotly debated subject (pun intended). Over the years I have used products from Sanderson, Hooker, Hedman, and Doug Thorley – probably some others I just don’t remember of the top of my head. Headers, for the most part, rarely improve the performance of street driven car but they look cool and “everyone is an expert” in terms of what they do. In actuality, they have one purpose – to remove spent gases in the most efficient manner possible. The folks at the factory have done all the homework and it’s tough to improve on stock exhaust manifolds in terms of performance under 3,500 RPM (where 90 percent of all driving occurs). It’s a different story on a drag strip where the engine is spinning significantly more RPMs and the headers are open and that’s why serious consideration is given to the use of open “zoomies” on rails and funny cars. I had Hooker straight shot headers on a Harley Sportster that were ceramic coated inside. They never blued, sounded cool and at about 3,000 RPM there was a noticable difference in the "seat-of-the-pants" that I just loved. Unfortunately they were quite loud and the local authority having jurisdiction reminded me of such (on more than one occasion) - causing me to install a set of baffles to tone them down.

That said, I do so like a set of good looking headers on a hot rod! Your’s will be obvious and as such, I’m with Roger - a nice set of ceramic coated from Hooker (my personal favorite) would look really good. They won’t add a noticeable difference in performance in the driving you’ll likely be doing but they add a lot in the aesthetic department. While stainless steel is durable, they will blue whereas the ceramic headers stay a nice brushed silver color for long time.

My two cents..

Originally Posted by JimBeam

The question on the hood is a good one. I have done some basic research with my DMV and it looks like my state does require a hood and cowl on all cars (at least during registration inspection . . . ). So, yes I will be needing one and I am trying to account for that in all of my choices.

I'd be very surprised with the requirement for a hood for registration. Here's a link to the SEMA Tool Box on Registration, state by state that is helpful - https://www.semasan.com/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_NV.pdf

Second, here's a link to a listing of Nevada Car Clubs - https://www.classiccarcommunity.com/car-club/state/nv/ You really, really need to hook up with people who know the hot rod scene in Nevada. Just looking at the SEMA information they have a large number of classifications, and most seem to be tied to original iron by year. I'm not sure how Nevada DMV looks at fiberglass bodied cars, but YOU need to know, and you'd be smart to talk to guys who've been through the process before instead of guessing.
Another excellent resource is the NSRA Fellows Listing - Members who have made their contact info available to help other members who might have trouble on the road. You have to join NSRA to access the list, and my membership has lapsed - https://nsra-usa.com/fellow-pages/

The cylinder heads, crank and cam are all back from the machine shop. Waiting on them to finish the block, will pick it up tomorrow. Crank came out .10 for the main and .10 for the rod. Everything else should be standard, I don't think they even touched the camshaft because it was perfectly fine. Really happy with the work they did, all the surfaces look pretty good and they ran a tap through anything I'm going to touch during the build. Now need to start ordering all the parts I'm going to need to put this whole thing back together!

Inquiring Minds Wonder:
We love pictures, and yours are great but....
1) Did the machine shop grind the valves or just reassemble the heads?
2) You say "Crank came out .10 for the main and .10 for the rod. Everything else should be standard." What is "Everything else?"
3) You say "I don't think they even touched the camshaft because it was perfectly fine." What would you expect the machine shop to DO to a camshaft, and why would you even send it to them? Sounds like you're planning to re-install the stock cam vs buying an aftermarket, so why?
Just trying to understand your process, and not trying to be critical in any way but answers to all three questions would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by rspears

Inquiring Minds Wonder:
We love pictures, and yours are great but....
1) Did the machine shop grind the valves or just reassemble the heads?
2) You say "Crank came out .10 for the main and .10 for the rod. Everything else should be standard." What is "Everything else?"
3) You say "I don't think they even touched the camshaft because it was perfectly fine." What would you expect the machine shop to DO to a camshaft, and why would you even send it to them? Sounds like you're planning to re-install the stock cam vs buying an aftermarket, so why?
Just trying to understand your process, and not trying to be critical in any way but answers to all three questions would be appreciated.

Bump to Today

Originally Posted by rspears

Inquiring Minds Wonder:
We love pictures, and yours are great but....
1) Did the machine shop grind the valves or just reassemble the heads?
2) You say "Crank came out .10 for the main and .10 for the rod. Everything else should be standard." What is "Everything else?"
3) You say "I don't think they even touched the camshaft because it was perfectly fine." What would you expect the machine shop to DO to a camshaft, and why would you even send it to them? Sounds like you're planning to re-install the stock cam vs buying an aftermarket, so why?
4) Are you doing away with the ECM/Computer and stock distributor?

Just trying to understand your process, and not trying to be critical in any way but answers to all three questions would be appreciated.

My questions remain active, but I had a thought about your camshaft. You mentioned earlier that you were getting rid of the EFI, which I'm assuming (though it's dangerous to assume) means that you're also getting rid of the ECM/Computer too, right? (Question #4, added) That stock cam grind is for a variable timing setup, with the total advance mapped against RPM while considering the A/F ratio, barometric pressure and knock sensors. I'm thinking that it may not be the best profile for a fixed curve distributor, but I'm not really sure. At a minimum I would talk to a Tech at one of the aftermarket cam companies. Perhaps one of the others who are more versed on cam selection can chime in after you confirm or clarify your intent on your engine build?