37 Ford build--IE: old Header issues thread /37 Ford/5.0/GT40P heads

[34_40]

I got a chance and worked a bit on the coupe. Spent some hours and actually got the grille mounted and it fits and looks great! FINALLY!!

The mounts actually line up and makes it a pleasure to work on the car again. It only took 3 grilles! I tried to "be economical" but after fighting with the first 2 I bit the bullet and bought a drakes grille and it makes all the difference in the world!

I guess it's the old saying you get what you pay for! Cheapin' out bought me nothing but frustration and lost time! I was even going to need a custom hood with trying to use the last grille. Oh well, live and learn!

Thanks for letting me vent!

[bluestang67]

34 summer is here a little more time with the door open . Though never experiencing to many aftermarket parts I sure do read a bit on them . Funny how no one out there can get a standard for good parts . Glad you found one that will plumb up for you .


34 I lucked out and had someone here the weekend who finished all the sheet metal work on the 31 . Charged $15 a hour labor and put in 19 hours in 2 days . Made it easy for me since my metal skills are not at that level .

[randyr]

I got a chance and worked a bit on the coupe. Spent some hours and actually got the grille mounted and it fits and looks great! FINALLY!!

The mounts actually line up and makes it a pleasure to work on the car again. It only took 3 grilles! I tried to "be economical" but after fighting with the first 2 I bit the bullet and bought a drakes grille and it makes all the difference in the world!

I guess it's the old saying you get what you pay for! Cheapin' out bought me nothing but frustration and lost time! I was even going to need a custom hood with trying to use the last grille. Oh well, live and learn!

Thanks for letting me vent!

Hey Mike, congrats on the grille! You should post some pics so we can see it. I may have to bite the bullet on my grille too. I've had one of those Argentina aftermarket ones since my dad & I built the car eons ago but I've never liked how it fits. I'm going to try a little more tweaking before I give up though...LOL!

Bobby, you really scored to get your metal work done at that rate! Good for you! I hope to get started on mine again soon. I've been sidetracked with a lot of work plus I did a power steering/discbrake upgrade on my F100 so it can be my daily driver. One can never have too many projects, right??

[bluestang67]

Randy yes I did but a bad misfortune for sure . Hope he gets back to work soon at where he was .

But I did pull the covers on the 37 and showed him what I need . So I am sure if I get going quick I can get him back out for help . His skill saves K's of money and helps you get ready for filler and at minimum depth . At most it will be a 1/16 maybe a 1/8 in the deeper spots .

Now if I could get a estimate from you on doing my pedals oh wow I will be moving quick on the 37 > . I like mechanics and hate filler even though I do it . What dimension did you make the lever for your cable . Also does it go to the floor or did you install a stop .

[randyr]

Now if I could get a estimate from you on doing my pedals oh wow I will be moving quick on the 37 > . I like mechanics and hate filler even though I do it . What dimension did you make the lever for your cable . Also does it go to the floor or did you install a stop .

LOL! You won't be moving very quick if you wait on me to do your pedals! Look at the rate I'm moving on my own! LOL!

What "lever" do you mean? Are you talking about the bracket where I attach the cable to the frame? Also, I didn't install a stop for the pedal, not yet anyway. I don't know that I'll need one. I will probably have a spring on the clutch arm coming out of the bell housing. It seems like that will cause the cable to push the clutch pedal back into position but I haven't fully tested it yet. In my first test fittings, the clutch seemed to engage & release pretty good without a spring.

I know what you mean about body filler but they're making some really good stuff these days that we should have to worry about it ever cracking or falling out if prepped properly. Hopefully, your friend can get back to work soon. In the meantime, it's cool that you can help each other out.

[bluestang67]

The lever on the pedal assembly where the cable attaches . The length would determine the amount of cable it pulls out . Is it 1 inch or 2 inch long is what I mean. Also have you measured the length it needs to fully disengage the clutch yet . This is where we would need at least 2 people I think to watch the movement and measure it . Guess what I am asking is kinda like the ratio of the brake pedal . You have some great tech going here . .

The old rod assembly's used to travel about 2 or 3 inches if I remember correctly has been along time since I seen one move . Maybe a service manual would have the info .

[34_40]

34 summer is here a little more time with the door open . Though never experiencing to many aftermarket parts I sure do read a bit on them . Funny how no one out there can get a standard for good parts . Glad you found one that will plumb up for you .


34 I lucked out and had someone here the weekend who finished all the sheet metal work on the 31 . Charged $15 a hour labor and put in 19 hours in 2 days . Made it easy for me since my metal skills are not at that level .

Yes, it was a nice summer day! I had doors open on both ends of the shop so I had a nice breeze blowing through!
There is supposedly a "standard" and that's what makes Drakes so expensive, they are an official Ford "Authorized Parts Producer", or some such. Everything I've bought from them has a label saying approved by Ford. I guess it costs them a good deal of money to get the Ford approval too!

At least you know that all the details are right when you buy from them.
Using the "others" grilles I thought I was going to need a custom hood because I couldn't get the spacing right. With this new grille I had plenty of adjustment and should have no problem getting a hood to fit well.

Randy, you're going to spoil yourself with that new daily driver and all it's "modern conveiniences".

Now I can't wait for next weekend, more new parts are awaiting!

[randyr]

The lever on the pedal assembly where the cable attaches . The length would determine the amount of cable it pulls out . Is it 1 inch or 2 inch long is what I mean. Also have you measured the length it needs to fully disengage the clutch yet . This is where we would need at least 2 people I think to watch the movement and measure it . Guess what I am asking is kinda like the ratio of the brake pedal . You have some great tech going here . .

The old rod assembly's used to travel about 2 or 3 inches if I remember correctly has been along time since I seen one move . Maybe a service manual would have the info .

Ok, Bobby, I'll try to answer your question via pics and extraneous verbage...LOL! This may take two posts since we're limited to 5 pics per post.
First, the pedals I bought from Pete & Jakes already had the "levers" attached as seen in pic #1. The pedal on the left(brake) has a 3.5" small shaft welded to it to extend thru the x-member and attach to the master cylinder. The "lever" attached to it is 3/4" from the center of the small shaft to the center of the hole as seen in pic #2. (I wish I knew how to write on the pics but I don't...rats!)
The pedal on the right in pic#1 (clutch) has a simple "lever" on it that is 2" from the center of the shaft to center of the hole as seen in pic #3. So, both of these pedals have the same amount of leverage (2") even though the brake pedal has the additional smaller shaft that extends through the x-member. Does that make sense so far? Both pedals also have an 11" rise from the center of the pivot shaft to the top of the pedal. An 11" rise and a 2" lever makes 5.5 to 1 ratio, right?

To use my existing mounting bracket, I had to cut a slotted hole for the brake pedal lever shaft to go through, see pic #4. This was a trial & error process for me since I don't have any hi-tech equipment for such things. In pic #5 you can see how the parts are supposed to fit together on the 7/8" shaft. The shaft is 6 1/8" long with a 2" spacer (black). There is a set screw in the bracket to hold the shaft in place.

I thought since I already had the pedal/booster assembly for an automatic trans, I could save some money by modifying it to accomodate the clutch pedal too. In retrospect, it might have been easier to get the whole assembly from Pete & Jakes, then modify it so the clutch & brake pedals would straddle the x-member instead of their design which has both the clutch & brake pedal on the inside of the x-member. I had some issues because the shaft sizes on my unit weren't the same as theirs and a bunch of crap like that. Also to further confuse you, in the P&J design, these pedals were reversed. I'm using their clutch pedal from my brake pedal and vice verse for the other. If you look at the pic of their design in some previous post, it may make sense why I did that. If not, I'll explain further.

More in the next post....

[randyr]

Here's a couple of additional pics of the assemble put together outside the car, see pic #1 & 2

Now for the clutch cable I don't have very good pics of the bracket I made but I welded the mounting piece to a flat bar then bolted it inside the x-member in case I needed to take it out or move it as some point. I clamped it in place to test it before I drilled the holes, however you can see I ended up with an extra hole or two anyway....LOL! I bought the modified shorter cable from Pete & Jakes which is a little pricey compared to aftermarket ones for Mustangs but I thought the shorter one might be less hassle in the long run. I don't have a pic of it but it loops around to the clutch arm and seems to work effortlessly. There is a lot of adjustment on both ends of the cable so there is a little forgiveness if you don't get it exactly right the first time.
Pics #3 & 4 show this part. I promised you better pics of this bracket but I still have the engine in the car and can't get a good camera angle. I'll be pulling back out before long and can snap some pics then.

Hope this helps. Obviously, if you come up with a better way, let us all know! LOL!

[bluestang67]

Randy this is very descriptive and helps a lot No confusion yet Actually you presented it out great and I thank you . Don't think I could modify what you did but if a slight change will work for me you will know for sure .

Now lets hope we don't crash and loose what you have done . My printer is down and I cant save it as of now .

[IC2]

Randy this is very descriptive and helps a lot No confusion yet Actually you presented it out great and I thank you . Don't think I could modify what you did but if a slight change will work for me you will know for sure .

Now lets hope we don't crash and loose what you have done . My printer is down and I cant save it as of now .

Bobby - why not save in My Documents. When you tell the printer to do its' thing, it will USUALLY ask you if you want to save it instead. Or copy and paste to a Word or whatever document writer you have then save it to My Documents.

Randy - nice write up. Too bad mine's not a '35 - '40

[bluestang67]

Thanks for info Dave I did get it saved . Now I will have it till I crash

[IC2]

Been a long time since anyone posted here so I figured I'd whine a bit!!! And so far you folks haven't flamed me for it - yet

I picked up my seats for my car yesterday. Beautiful upholstery job, nice soft leather-like premium vinyl (remember, it's a roadster) they really look nice - they fit the mount holes just fine - but they look "wrong" in my car. They're too bulky for an 'A' and probably even a deuce roadster. Right now - with a cold adult beverage in my hand, being diluted with tears, I'm trying to decide how to proceed. I have an idea - but of course it's going to cost $$ (any way I go it will), but I'd like to hear if any of you has an idea, and maybe a better one then what I'm considering - and I'm not going to jump in a hurry that is at least not until tomorrow or the next day

[randyr]

Been a long time since anyone posted here so I figured I'd whine a bit!!! And so far you folks haven't flamed me for it - yet

I picked up my seats for my car yesterday. Beautiful upholstery job, nice soft leather-like premium vinyl (remember, it's a roadster) they really look nice - they fit the mount holes just fine - but they look "wrong" in my car. They're too bulky for an 'A' and probably even a deuce roadster. Right now - with a cold adult beverage in my hand, being diluted with tears, I'm trying to decide how to proceed. I have an idea - but of course it's going to cost $$ (any way I go it will), but I'd like to hear if any of you has an idea, and maybe a better one then what I'm considering - and I'm not going to jump in a hurry that is at least not until tomorrow or the next day

Hey Dave, where are the pics of these "bulky" seats? If you're gonna "whine", at least show us what you're whining about! Maybe you need a few second opinions.......LOL!

I haven't posted here in a while either, obviously. In fact, I haven't even been on the CHR site for about 4 days cause I kept getting virus warnings about the keithcraft ad banners. Don't know if they got that fixed or not but having had to deal with virus crap, I haven't been to anxious to risk it too much.

I'm going to work on my car tomorrow. I'm going to re-mount the rear end. I picked up a set of rear springs that will lower the rear of the car to a more respectable height but I needed the mounting brackets to fit. I drove down to SAC Hotrod Chassis and picked up what I needed including a nice rear sway bar. Unfortunately, SAC is closing the doors due to the economy so I had to act quickly. It's a drag cause they've been in business a long time. The springs I bought were from SAC too but I bought them slightly used from a guy on craigslist. The whole setup should change the height & handling of the car for the better. Will try to snap a few pics while I'm at it.

Anyway, hope you're having a good summer. You gotta drive that car even if the seats are too big!
Later,
Randy

[34_40]

Been a long time since anyone posted here so I figured I'd whine a bit!!! And so far you folks haven't flamed me for it - yet

I picked up my seats for my car yesterday. Beautiful upholstery job, nice soft leather-like premium vinyl (remember, it's a roadster) they really look nice - they fit the mount holes just fine - but they look "wrong" in my car. They're too bulky for an 'A' and probably even a deuce roadster. Right now - with a cold adult beverage in my hand, being diluted with tears, I'm trying to decide how to proceed. I have an idea -

Randy nails it! NO PICS! Feels like a Letterman moment, So How Bulky Are They??,,, Have another beverage and do they look slim?? Like any of the girls you used to date???