RPU, bodywork underway.

Thanks guys for those two suggestions. One thing that also has me baffled is, every engine I have seen so far, if you turn the distributor too far advanced the engine will have a tough time starting, until you back it off a little. This one is not doing that. No matter how far I turn the distributor advanced it will still crank just as fast as in any other position. Turning the distributor does change the way the engine runs, but it has no affect on the cranking speed.

But for now it is at least starting and running fairly well, so we can concentrate on getting the bed and interior done before I move on to trying to make it run even better than it is now. Mainly, I want to get to the point where I can free up Dan so he can get back on his own project and not have to spend all his days off and evenings working on mine.

Too far advanced and it should buck against the starter. However, I'm really, really old and I learn new car stuff every day. Could have something to do with cam timing.

I'm wondering if your out one tooth on the distributor and can't get enough timing in it to make it hard to crank! I have done that before.

Yep, I am really puzzled by that cranking issue. Like I said, normally, if you advance a distributor too far it will go R R R and struggle to turn over, but this one cranks at full speed no matter how far you turn the distributor. The other odd thing is if I set my TDC at 8 degrees advanced on the pointer on the crank damper, and check to make sure I really am at TDC with the valves where they should be, as soon as I start it and put a timing light on it, the timing mark is nowhere near the 8 degrees, and is about 180 out.

But, otherwise, it starts and runs pretty good. One or two revolutions and it fires right up, idles well, and all of that. So, for now I am going to ignore all of those issues and concentrate on finishing up the body.

Tonight I put a small line on the gas tank vent to replace the 3/8 hose I had on there, so hopefully it will not dump gas when I accelerate. I also cut a quarter of an inch off of the steering column so that the gap between the column and the steering wheel cover is now what it should be. Finally, I painted the door hinges black and after they dry I can start installing the doors for the final time.

Dan is off Friday and Saturday and we should get a lot done on the bed those days. If I don't hear from my upholstery guy by Friday I am going to give him a call to get his butt moving a little faster.

As far as the timing goes. If you advance it a lot do you ever get to the point that it will ping or have spark knock?

Just thinking out loud, Don... you might have the wrong timing tab for the damper.

The image below shows the three possibilities, in degrees from the crank key. As you can see, it's possible to be as much as 30° off the mark.





.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys, and thanks Dr C for the picture. I think that is my problem, I found a second timing tab that came with my engine on my parts shelf, and for some reason I used this one. When I get some other stuff done, this is one thing I am going to address.

Tonight Dan was working late but Don was going to the shop to do some things and he helped me with a few things one person can not do. First of all, we bled the brakes for hopefully the last time, and then I was able to install the dashboard.

Last night I painted the door hinges and they were dry tonight, so, with his help, we got both doors installed. They have never been on the car since they and the car were painted, so it was cool to see them on there. Now I can install all of the door hardware and door handles and latches.

I called my upholstery guy and he says the seat back is done but he is still working on the two seat pads. He says they will be done Monday and I hope he keeps his word.............I'm getting tired of sitting on rolled up towels !

Friday and Saturday Dan is off and we are going to hit on the bed really hard to try to get it done. Here are some pictures from tonight.

Looks Great Don.[cl [cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

Thanks Torchie. I have to admit that I am starting to like this one a lot.

"I am starting to like this one alot"? You aren't the only one!

Looking super duper[cl
***[P***

Thanks, guys. Today before Dan got to the shop I worked on installing the door hardware, like the strikers, latches, and the Suicide Door safety latches. We had it all lined up before we painted things, so it went together pretty well and the doors now close and latch really well. I also adjusted the brakes at each wheel, and now the pedal feels very solid.

When Dan got there we started working on getting the framework for the bed done. There were a few brackets to weld on, and also we added some supports to the corners to keep them from flexing. Now it is as rigid as can be.

Tomorrow our project is making the hinged framework for the louvered tonneau cover, and that should go pretty well as the framework is really square now so all we have to do is make an angle iron framework for the cover and install the hinges so I can lift it up for refueling and maintenance.

Here are a few pictures from tonight.

I've got a question.
I have a 31 Ford roadster that I want to start on one of these days. The body seems to be too wide and needs to be pulled inward where the doors and body meet.
What do you do to pull this in towards the middle of the car and keep it there so the door transitions better?

Old Iron said:

I've got a question.
I have a 31 Ford roadster that I want to start on one of these days. The body seems to be too wide and needs to be pulled inward where the doors and body meet.
What do you do to pull this in towards the middle of the car and keep it there so the door transitions better?

Click to expand...

Hmmm, not sure what is up with that OI. Can you post some pictures of the areas that are not lining up ? Did the car have some damage or something else that caused it to get out of shape ?

It should look like this if it is right.

I will get some pics so you can see.

Good. I am having a hard time envisioning what might be out of line there. One good thing, these bodies are pretty simple so they are not too hard to put back in shape.

Is the floor cut out of yours ? That might be one reason it is changing shapes.

Now, I have to say that the back of the doors never really fits great against the body there. The lip just kind of covers over the edge and there can be some gaps there.

Ok, OI, those are pretty good pictures, and from what I can see it looks like the inner structure ( most of it wood) has gone away, leaving only sheet metal that has no strength to retain it's shape.

What I would do is get the body off the frame, set it on the floor, and start taking measurements and determining what it would take to get it back to what it should look like. Then, you can build a temporary inner structure to pull it all back into shape and then see what you will need to fabricate to make it strong and retain it's original dimensions.

These early Ford bodies were just a skin, shaped by (usually) a wooden framework screwed to it. Roadster bodies are especially prone to losing their shape as the inner structure rots or rust out, as there is no roof to hold all the pieces together.

So, yes, I would get the body removed while keeping it as intact as possible, then tack weld some tubing inside and across it to start pulling it into shape. Then you can build your inner structure to permanently keep that shape, and things like the floor being welded in will really help that a lot.

A lot of cross bracing, a lot of C clamps, turnbuckles and cables, and vice grips, and you will begin to see it pull back into shape. Start at the cowl, as that part is generally able to keep it's original shape, and work rearward, one panel at a time.

Thanks for the pointers.
I've never done a roadster so this will help.