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

[randyr]

Hey Fellas, I finally got to spend a few hours with my '37 this weekend! I hauled my rear end out to the garage and pulled my rear end out from under the car (those are two different rear ends...). I sanded it down and prepped it for painting so I can re-install if for good. Once I get that finished and get the car back on the ground, I'm going to raise the body high enough to get a good seal & coating on all the new floors, etc and replace all the rubber mounts with new ones. I'm also on the lookout for some more acceptable gears for the rear end. I don't think the current 2.75's will be all that impressive with a 5 speed trans . Will snap a few pics next time I'm out there so you guys will believe me.....

Hope you had a great 4th!!!
Later,
Randy

[bluestang67]

It's now insured and registered and had its' first (legal) 10 mile ride today. Now I have a 'punch list' of things to do tho none are very much, but that list of honey do's in my wife's hand will take priority for a while

(I do have to move the rear end forward about an inch - screwed up when I reassembled then forgot - a long senior moment)

Dave sweet outside pic in the light . Did you see the headlights squint down from the sun light .

[IC2]

Dave sweet outside pic in the light . Did you see the headlights squint down from the sun light .

Bobby - the lights are right now so far out of alignment that any squint is possible - one of my p/l items if it ever cools off enough to actually do some work on it(tho I did just return from a quick cool off ride)

Randy - were you able to clear the cobwebs off the '37 easily? Need progress pictures!!!

[bluestang67]

Randy as above +2 we need some pics .

I spray the garage for spiders and bugs periodically , but there are egg sacks under the stang .

[randyr]

Ok, here are a few pics of what I've been working on in between other things.
As I said earlier, I removed the rear end, stripped it and sprayed it with Eastwood's Extreme Chassis Black Primer. I'll top coat with their paint as soon as it arrives.

There's also a shot of the new lower springs I installed and the new upper shock mounts. I also notched the frame a while back to make sure I had enough clearance. When I refabbed the inner wheel houses, I cut the new pieces to skirt down over the frame in case you could see through the rims when the car is completed.

I also have a question about the rear roof seam. What are the pros & cons to welding the seam and finishing it off smooth or just let it remain visible. Any thoughts?

[randyr]

So, while waiting for the paint to arrive for my rearend parts, I decided to strip the paint off the driver's door and see how I need to address the problems there.

Back in the day when my dad & I built this thing we didn't know too much about body work so here's what we did. To repair the rusty door bottom, we cut the bottom off another door and lap welded it onto the bottom of this door. My dad wasn't a very good sheet metal welder at the time so there was a lot of warpage and it also created a very thick door edge at the lower rear of the door. I smoothed it out pretty well with body filler which looked pretty good except the rear door edge was over 1/4" thick at the bottom. I always hated that but didn't know what to do about it.

I could get a new door bottom repair panel and redo it all unless you guys have any ideas for a simpler solution. Thoughts??

[IC2]

I thought I felt the world stop!!

OK - it sounds like opinion time(this ALWAYS gets me in trouble)

Why Eastwood when your local paint supply has some good epoxy for the rear and other chassis parts? I happen to like SPI, but DuPont/Nason make good epoxy and it can be tinted or you can use the flatted DuPont black over it. My thing with Eastwood is that it isn't local, it's a premium price, particularly when you need to add shipping and many of their tools and products are also available at Harbor Freight for a lot less, and are exactly the same.

I would probably leave that seam between the roof and main body unless there was major rust pitting or a rust out. It may have some sort of webbing and will need to be removed before you can weld and finish fill. (I just looked at a bunch of my pictures of '37s - and of course most all had that seam filled )

The door bottoms - I think that I would redo them with proper patch panels. Most '37s doors hang open at the bottom corner anyhow and the added thickness just exaggerates it. I looked at probably over a dozen at York a couple years ago after someone mentioned it to me in conversation and with one or two exceptions, they all had that gap. Here's a photo of the EMS inner and outer panels: http://www.emsautomotive.com/Pn107.html.

Whatever you do, I'm sure it will look great!!

[randyr]

I thought I felt the world stop!!

OK - it sounds like opinion time(this ALWAYS gets me in trouble) Well, of course I wanted opinions or I wouldn't have asked! I can handle it

Why Eastwood when your local paint supply has some good epoxy for the rear and other chassis parts? I happen to like SPI, but DuPont/Nason make good epoxy and it can be tinted or you can use the flatted DuPont black over it. My thing with Eastwood is that it isn't local, it's a premium price, particularly when you need to add shipping and many of their tools and products are also available at Harbor Freight for a lot less, and are exactly the same.
I agree with you on all this, however, I already had a couple of cans of Eastwood primer left from before I knew you guys so I thought I'd use them on the rearend. The paint store that is most local to me doesn't seem to know very much or be very helpful. They recommended POR15 and I share your feelings & opinions about that stuff. I need to find a competent "local" paint supply! I also agree with you about the Eastwood vs Harbor Freight tools. I have a quart of SPI epoxy primer but just didn't think about using it on the rear end....

I would probably leave that seam between the roof and main body unless there was major rust pitting or a rust out. It may have some sort of webbing and will need to be removed before you can weld and finish fill. (I just looked at a bunch of my pictures of '37s - and of course most all had that seam filled )
There doesn't appear to be major rust or pitting in this seam but over the years the paint seems to flake out of the seam. Maybe that was a prep issue. It looks like it has lead in it instead of seam sealer. I've seen them both with & without the seams at car shows. I like it both ways but I don't want the paint to flake out again. I guess if I leave it, it will be a good defining line for a nice landau vinyl top if I decide to pimp my ride...

The door bottoms - I think that I would redo them with proper patch panels. Most '37s doors hang open at the bottom corner anyhow and the added thickness just exaggerates it. I looked at probably over a dozen at York a couple years ago after someone mentioned it to me in conversation and with one or two exceptions, they all had that gap. Here's a photo of the EMS inner and outer panels: http://www.emsautomotive.com/Pn107.html.
Yes, looks like you're right again....I've priced these panels and looked at various tutorials on how to install them. That's what I need to do to make it right. My dad & I both learned a lot building this car when I was a kid but that doesn't mean we always did it the "best" way.

Whatever you do, I'm sure it will look great!!

Thanks for that vote of confidence I'm trying!

[IC2]

Randy
This sure is fun spending someone else's time and money

We just want to bring you back on the right track after you wander off to play with that truck of yours for a while

[randyr]

Randy
This sure is fun spending someone else's time and money

We just want to bring you back on the right track after you wander off to play with that truck of yours for a while

The truck is now a dependable driver (that loves gas!!) so, other than general maintenance and emergency repair, it's not getting any more priority attention for a while. I'll probably still go to a truck show now & then though....

I'm stoked to be back on the '37. Soooo much to do.

Do you think it's ok that I still haven't started the engine after the rebuild? It's been 2 years! Yikes! Should I put enough things together to get it started before too long to break it in or just let it wait until it's time?

[IC2]

The truck is now a dependable driver (that loves gas!!) so, other than general maintenance and emergency repair, it's not getting any more priority attention for a while. I'll probably still go to a truck show now & then though....

I'm stoked to be back on the '37. Soooo much to do.

Do you think it's ok that I still haven't started the engine after the rebuild? It's been 2 years! Yikes! Should I put enough things together to get it started before too long to break it in or just let it wait until it's time?

Gas guzzling trucks - if you need to discuss that, let me describe my V10, 8000# F350 4x4 Super Crew Cab........nah, too many tears (mine) Then there are the 10 spark plugs at $12 each plus the 10 plug boots at $5 each just waiting installation.

The engine - about all I would do is to maybe bar it over - assuming that it has oil in it now. Might want to run a priming shaft down the distributor hole first, just to make sure that nothing is starved/dry. Look at Roger Spears post about doing just that to his 347.

[randyr]

The engine - about all I would do is to maybe bar it over - assuming that it has oil in it now. Might want to run a priming shaft down the distributor hole first, just to make sure that nothing is starved/dry. Look at Roger Spears post about doing just that to his 347.

It does have oil and I do "bar" it over occasionally. I haven't used the priming shaft for a while though. Perhaps, I'll do that next time.

[34_40]

Thanks for that vote of confidence I'm trying!

10-4 on the opinions, you DO know what they say right? Sure you do!

I can't offer any opinion about Eastwood except for the premium price. But, usually what they sell works good! My 2 cents there!

The rear seam? I'd say leave it if it's in good shape! Don't "fix" what ain't broke!

The lower door, I don't know why you would go through the work of making the inner rear wheel well cover then ask about the lower door?!?!? DUH????
Self explanatory - I think!

I tried to work on mine both Saturday and Sunday, I did about an hour or so each day and just melted into the floor! Thermometer said 91 or 92 but it felt like 1000 or so! I hope the temps come back to normal soon, the summers almost over!

[randyr]

So here's a little more progress on my rear disc brake conversion. I bought the bracket conversion kit from Ultrastang.com to adapt SN-95 Mustang Cobra rear discs to the small-bearing 9" Ford rearend. I found some good used rotors & calipers on Craigslist, cleaned them up & painted them with caliper paint. I'm waiting for the new seal kit to arrive so I can put them back together.

In the meantime, I temporarily mounted the brackets & calipers and brake hoses so I can fabricate the hard lines to them. I still have to weld a nut to the housing on each side so I can bolt the hose brackets on. I'll also trim the hose bracket down once I figure out exactly how I'm going to mount it.

I've also mounted the rear sway bar on the housing. It's much easier to mount on the bench than under the car....

Still more details to work out but that's where I am today.

[34_40]

Like everything you do Randy, it looks awesome! I hadn't considered a rear sway bar but I see you have one and I've seen one on Dave's as well. I'm going to keep that in the back of my mind as I don't know how mine will react with only the front one. Keep up the good work!