Thread: Everybody that is currently building a car...

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Taking the cab off will make life much much more pleasant to work on everything else,I tried to wait to the last minute to take it off and after it was off realized I should have done it in the first place!!

Thank you! I will post a picture or two when and if I can figure out how to do so. I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

lt1s10, Here is a link to a site with turn signals for Model A restorers. This particular one is for LEDs with no mention of DOT approval but there is also a bulb version available from Brattons in Md. which is about half the price and would not require LED circuitry. Also this requires no cutting or drilling of my new paint job. I did not really want this type of turn signal but they do hide the wire underneath the bumper bracket pretty well. Look at the height of that '30 Model A, now I know why I got a dropped axle! Maybe this is the way out; I want to check with Brattons since they are nearby in MD. they should be familiar with whether these lights will pass inspection in VA and whether they are DOT approved. I looked at several lights in Auto Zone today and there are quite a few LED lights available without DOT on them and they looked to be from a Eurpoean mfgr. Some of them were for turn signals but they were very large. There was a neat set of LED "beehive" amber lights but no hint as to DOT approved design and they were listed as only for running lights. Well maybe I will just get the bumper lights with a bulb if I can find out if they will pass inspection in VA. Click on the picture with the license plate and check out how well the wire is hidden.

http://www.logolites.com/led/turn/signals/index.htm

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

this is the email i got back from LOGOLITES Don.

Mike,
Our LED lights have not been certified as DOT approved. The cars ours
are designed for did not have the lights we are selling and there was no
DOT requirement for the year vehicles our lights are used on. They are
not intended to replace lights on cars that had DOT approved lights in
the position ours are used.
Regards,
Ian

Sounds like if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Take the cab off, I didn't go all the way down to the frame and I had more headaches because of it. A person can do alot better detailing and working on a frame sitting up right instead of on your back.

lt1s10, thanks for checking, I also asked them the same question and got the same answer. Technically I have original 1929 title but I don't want to push that too far with a 'glass body on a repro frame (for safety since the orginal was rusted dangerously!) The restorers probably have no problem with that situation. I also asked one of the Tech guys at Speedway about the Mr. Roadster amber lights and he said they are not DOT approved either but in most cases folks get away with the lights as long as they are bright. One expensive way out is to put cowl lights on and rig them for front signals and try to find a way to use the tail lights with the Camaro column. I'll figure out something.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

this is what the ST. police just told me on the ph.

1- 2 ways to register the car- title or motor
2- if you titled it by the motor and the motor had smog on it from the factory then you would have to have all smog on the motor plus DOT approved lights.
3- if you tittled it using the old title then you could use the none DOT lights, but the motor would have to have the smog hooked up. he was reading the book while we talked so i'm still not sure. he said at first if it had a V8 then all lights had to be DOT approved, and then he changed that. it comes down to is if he don't know I surely don't know.

DennyW and lt1s10,

I already have the registration and plates as a 1929 Ford 2 door convertible (when they changed the title from N.Y to Va they did not know what a "roadster" is) so I will go ahead and make my own turn signals. I found I can buy the stainless steel plates sold by the company sited above and I found 4 inch long x 1 inch wide LED amber running lights that work off of 12v and will fit into the slot between the bumpers; they should be brighter than a bulb and the stock bumpers turn out at an angle anyway so that should give some side view. Actually the lites cited above run on 23v and require their power unit so with the lights I will assemble I think I will get LED brightness at 12v and solve the problem. According to what Mike found out I probably will have to use the Edelbrock Performer 2101 EGR manifold since my engine is a '76 Corvette engine. As far as I know it only needs a PVC valve and the EGR valve to bring it up to 1976 smog requirements and no exhaust cats were used in '76. I was going to sell the Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold that is on there now anyway because it does not match my small street cam which is basically the same as the 327 300 HP cam ground by Crane. The shop that had a better crane than I do put the trans on the motor and mounted the motor when they made up the drive shaft to the 8" rear. I had an Edelbrock 2101 EGR manifold and they were to install that too but they said the Performer RPM would be better and swapped in my 2101 EGR manifold for a Performer RPM but it is non-EGR. Now I have to put on a 2101 EGR manifold anyway because I live only about 1/2 mile form a Va State Police HQ just off of I-95 and there are patrol cars all over the place all the time in my area as they come and go to the HQ. Well anyway today I got the tab for the "PARK" lever cut off and welded in a fixed position on my '83 Camaro column and now they can paint it the same color as the body. I also got the 1"D-3/4"D steering flex joint for the bottom of the column of the column from SPEEDWAY and I had to use a small body grinder to dress the end of the Camaro column to get the fitting on, but it fits snug and has two set screws which go into holes in the Camaro column. I also bought the 3/4"spline-3/4"D fitting for the Flaming River Vega box at the front. I reviewed the old thread by Brian on his RPU where he used a rams horn exhaust manifold and wonder if I will have to use a third flex joint with a eye-ring pinion as he did. I am using 1 5/8" diameter shorty headers with a 2" collector pipe so I will just have to mock up the collector and header on the left side and scope out the steering to see if I can use a single length of 3/4"D shaft. Surprisingly I talked to three places about the steering, Flaming River, Borgeson and SPEEDWAY and they all use set screws on the shaft as opposed to some static I was getting on the idea that the whole steering line had to be welded. Actually the guy at SPEEDWAY said welding the fittings would actually weaken the flex joints, so I will just put some loctite on the set screws and use the stop nuts that came with the set screws and then I won't have to worry about welding near the new paint. I realize that telling this stuff up front on an open Forum exposes my inexperience, but then several of the folks on the Forum have been very helpful in correcting my potential errors. Thanks very much for all your help! Suggestions are welcome, Thanks DennyW and lt1s10!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by DennyW

Don, on the steering shaft where the universal goes. Counter sink the shaft. No need to weld it at all. Locktite will work fine.

yes have done them like denny said and have a spade drill bit just for the spot facing

I guess this is the right thread so here is a picture of the '29 body mounted on the fender-floor with the "merlot" paint all around. It looks dark here but it is sort of a dark wine color. I found out it is Dupont "Diamante" with three coats of clear on top, but the formula can't be traced back to any particular car or model. Now I really have a LOT of finishing work to do on the body and the wife says it has to have air conditioning (in a roadster!) so I am looking over various mfgrs. and have that complication and expense to look forward to. We recently took a trip to Florida in my Sunfire which has AC as well as being a convertible and at our age I guess I will have to find a way to "keep her cool" or else! I guess If I had AC I could take the belt off after September and leave it off until the next spring? I hate to add that bog to a mild 350 but if I don't use the AC when I drive it alone it should only have the drag of the belt when the AC compressor clutch is off.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Nice Don, she's coming along very well huh? One good thing about it being a roadster is the smallpassenger compartment, it shouldn't take a very big unit to do the job. Got to keep Momma Happy, if she ain't happy no one's happy!

Lookin' Good Don. Gettin' closer all the time.

I had a couple questions about the NHRA cert. for the "Z". I had a chance to have an IHRA tech double check the chassis. I need to add a forward cross member under the front of the trans. I'm glad to know that now. It's an easy addition on a bare chassis. Gettin' anxious to get back at it.

10 thumbs up for both u guys,progress is always nice to see,kinda motovates everyone!!!! Lots of work....but it pays off!!!!!!

Well done, Z!!! That's a couple of the most sought after decals in the world of drag racing. Sure am anxious to see the Z come together.....Even if it is a chebbie.

Don, the roadster is looking great! Been awhile since I've seen one with fenders, dang near forgot what they look like. Far as the A/C thing, maybe you could just buy here one of them little Japenese fans or something????

Dave, I already tried that with one of those collars with a little fan in it that uses a wet sponge inside for "evaporative cooling", but it didn't fool her! Now I know I made a mistake tooling up for a '29 grill; if I had used a '32 grill shell I could hide a condenser inside the shell, but on the '29 it is not so easy to find a place for a condenser. I am surprised that there are several vendors making AC units for older cars. I wonder if anyone makes a long narrow condenser that I could hide under the driver's side apron? I have the trans cooler hidden under the passenger side apron, but in addition to a deeper trans pan with cooling tubes so I am not depending in the hidden trans cooler for all the cooling of the trans fluid. It may just turn out that I will have to convert to a '32 grill shell or buy a more expensive radiator.
Shawnlee's motto is oh so true. I had a high school idea of a stripped down fenderless roadster with a radio being the only accessory, but first we had to have fenders and now maybe an AC, so it looks like these women are expensive creatures. Should I mention we had to finsh adding a 16'x20' family room to the house before I had a clear OK to spend on the car? ProZ28 really is a pro welder by now, that's amazing work! DennyW, thanks for the diagram on the steering coupler. I got the coupler from Speedway and it has two set screws which are slightly offset on opposite sides and the end of my Camaro column has a hole in it where the stock flex joint had a bolt clear through the end of the column and the D-shaft. The set screws also have a lock nut on the outside. I am waiting for the paint shop to match the body color on the steering column but I should get it back soon to start installing the column.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder