Thread: 1929 Essex Highboy

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OK Perley, its time for me to confess, I slipped into your garage when you wasnt looking and I stole your headlight/shock mount idea.

Will post you a couple of pic's when I get them finished.

The motor looks really good, like the color combo. You going to run the stock carb also?

Really liking that split manifold too. I was thinking something on the same line till I found a large crack in mine so I made my own headers.

Good job.

[QUOTE=Crazyrat;367617]OK Perley, its time for me to confess, I slipped into your garage when you wasnt looking and I stole your headlight/shock mount idea.

HaaaaaHaaaaa. OK but this idea will be third hand to you then! On account of I stole them from my Friend J.R. heeeheeee. Yeah, guess we're both pirates! Love it.

Yep, stock carb. Can't afford a different manifold, nor the carbs if I did, so gonna go with it. Besides, gas is jumping up again, near three bucks a gallon. Be lucky if I can run the one barrel.

(quote,Yep, stock carb. Can't afford a different manifold, nor the carbs if I did, so gonna go with it. Besides, gas is jumping up again, near three bucks a gallon. Be lucky if I can run the one barrel. )

Hear that, I cant even pay attention I'm so broke
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Hello again! Today I got the calipers on the front wheels. The calipers had sat in the boxes since I bought them, maybe two months ago, and were getting rusty already, so I put the wire brush on an angle grinder and got nearly all of that off. Then I sprayed them with rattle can Caliper Paint, black, gave them two coats. It dried rather quickly. The I put the pads back in them and mounted them on the brackets. The hoses I had were for a different vehicle, a pickup truck K10, when my calipers were for a '76 car. The reason I did this is to get the length to reach from the calipers to the frame for a termination plate to transition to hard line. The car hoses were too short to do this. My Friend at the parts store took the time and trouble to look through the computer listings to find the truck hoses. These had a square end on them where my calipers had a machined pocket for a round head. So I took the angle grinder with a cut-off disc and trimmed a little off each of the corners, then they sat right into the machined area. Then I put the wheels back on and sitting back on the ground. Also put the last clamp on the exhaust. DONE. The hoses I bought last night did not fit on the radiator and engine, so got to make another run for a different combo. Man, I'm getting excited now to hear her run! A little reward for two years worth of work, huh?

Well folks, finally got radiator hoses on! Spent an hour one night at the parts store, as I said before, and went again on Friday morning for another hour. I found one that would work for the top but had to modify one for the bottom. The top one was way long for the application, but the angles and turns were right on part of it, so out comes the hacksaw! I grunted a little to get one end stretched on over the engine connection, BUT I WON. haahaaa. The bottom one had part of the offsets needed, but then the top turned the wrong way, so --------- again, the hacksaw And a coupling with two more clamps, and voila--perfect fit. Then I dumped in a gallon of water followed by a gallon of antifreeze. Right about then I discovered a drip. Drip Drip Drip. UGH, looks like my water pump is leaking, I think the seal. At first I thought it was the case gasket, but not so sure now! Looks like I will have to pull off the rad, fan, pulley and pump. Darn it. Well, I think I am going to fire it up anyways, maybe tomorrow. I couldn't find my Grandson Steve today, so didn't do it. Besides, I had to go add some wind ropes to my garage roof. Wind is really howling up here today and looks like all night, and those tarps won't take a lot of stress on the grommets in the edges before they pull right out and rip the edges. So I ran some more lines criss crossed on over the tarp. That should hold it at least for a few more days. If I ever get to work again I'll buy another full cover which will be nailed all along the perimeter with strips of wood. Anyways, here are a couple of pictures! Perley

This is a bit premature, BUT, I have a steering column that came from an '88 Ford Ranger Pickup that I may use. Can anyone/someone help me with wiring connections to that modular plug? I think I saved the interior wiring from that vehicle with the plug on it, I think! But I don't have a wiring diagram or anything to go by. Maybe someone might have a schematic or something?? PLEASE?? Perley

OK Perley, I'm jealous, Your getting too close to cranking that thing and I am no where close.........j/k.

The more I read on your thread the more you remind me of me. I too am using a 88 Ford Ranger column in mine when I get around to mounting it. I too have all the wiring harnesses from the Ranger. Brakelight switches, wiper motor and so forth.

Be sure to make some detailed pictures of how you mount your column, this I need to see.

Good job friend,

Larry

Still here guys and gals--------Can't keep a good man down!
Been tinkering, little here, little there, don'tchaknow? I made up two braces for the radiator and grille shell a while ago. I didn't have my camera out in garage when I did them, Daughter had them at a little league football game! I will do a post later on with explanation and after the fact photos. But for now, I took my Ranger steering column and with a hacksaw---made it shorter! haaahaaa. Well --------- it worked!
I cut the tube off above the accordian collapsible section, enough to make the column as short as I needed it above. Then pulled it off the shaft, although not as easy as it sounds------- Then I cut the tube off right at the upper end of the crinkle area, then cut the mounting plate off the end. Then I cut the shaft off at the distance I had calculated earlier. It is just a hollow tube. Then I took a scrap section of steering, a universal with a piece of double D shaft on it. From this I cut the double D long enough to go inside my universal on the essex and up into the hollow column shaft. After indexing all this so the wheel would be oriented properly when done, I marked everything, then pulled it all apart. Then I drilled and tapped a hole in the side of the hollow tube to correspond with the flat on the double D section, inserted that piece into the tube and put in a bolt in threaded hole and tightened it up/down!! Then I took the stick welder and welded the double D piece around the end of the tube shaft and double D section. Then I cut the lock bolt off on the side, drilled into it a bit for countersink then welded the hole in, making the cut off bolt a part of the shaft (so it can't ever come loose).

After doing that I ground down the welds so the bearing would go back on, then slid the crinkle cut piece back on over the shaft and welded it to the shortened tube. Then drove the bearing back into the end of the crinkle cut. All told this gave me a steering column with the crush section intact and a double D shaft projecting out of the bottom that fit into my U joint at the top of my steering box.

That is some nice work and glad you updated your build cause I have been wondering how you have been doing.

EXCELLENT oh buddy, nice work Now get back to work and dont be so long next time with an update.

looking good
Bradc

Sincere thanks Pastor Bubba and Crazyrat. Thanks for sticking with me--

So, having gotten the column done, I had to make a column drop or hanger. I know Larry has been racking his brain to come up with something and I have too. Decided to keep it simple, (like me), and cut two pieces of 1/2" pipe with the ends cut on angles to match the cowl and the column mount brackett. Then I welded in bolts in each end sticking out at what looked like square angles from the cut ends!!!!!!!!!!!! Afterwards I had to tweak these a little, but they were close. Then I drilled matching holes into the cowl. This whole thing will be covered eventually by the dash panels. Then I worried about lateral movement, so I cut a section of plate out of an old snow shovel (Yeah, I know I'll have to buy another SOOOON). I cut this to shape and welded it to the two pieces of pipe.

Next came the pedals (2 because that's the way a hot rod should be )
AND, cuz I got a standard shift!! This unit came from a Chevy S-10 that I stripped for parts some time ago, fit pretty good except that the pedals were too close to me and long ways from the floorboard/firewall. So------out comes the hacksaw again. haahaa. I cut the front end where the master cylinder mounts and reworked the ends so when put back together I had lost 3 inches. Where they are built on a downward slope this made the pedals hang closer to the floor too. I tacked these up and then remounted the whole affair. Judging them to be alright, I then mocked up some scaps to fit into/onto the pedal unit and fit into the cowl/dash. After marking things up, I then removed everything and headed for the welder again. Then back to fit it up. Some tweaking was necessary, but close! So---this all bolted up, Master Cylinder on the firewall, I then made a rod to attach to the brake pedal to operate the M/C.

Time now to think about an E brake. UGH. So, again, parts from the S-10. Looked everything all over and figured it'd go on the quarter panel if I had some metal there. NOW, my scrap pile is getting really low, BUT, I found an old seat riser out of my old blue Chevy Van, out comes the cutting gear again, and Voila! Piece of metal for ebrake mount! Cut to fit and then marked holes for bolts to mount the pedal unit. Bored holes, then found some bolts to stick through from the back. I then fitted the brake assembly on the bolts, nutted them, then welded the bolt heads to the back of the metal plate. Then removed the brake unit, fitted the metal in place on the quarter and welded it in with the wire feed unit. NICE. Then hang the column again on the new mount. WOW. How about that?