Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

I purchased a early 1930 Coupe, oval speedometer. The engine has been swapped for an April 1929 motor prior to my ownership. Alas, the former owner passed away and his wife has little knowledge of her husband's car.

As I am trying to improve some of the coupe's shortcomings and repair misadventures I am ready to tackle the franken-chassis that is her clamshell. As you can see from the pics, the bottom hole does not line up. Five of the six holes match. Can anyone help me with a diagnosis and possibly a solution?

In the article "Authentically Speaking, Edward Francais and George DeAngelis discuss the holes at 2 and 10 o'clock being misaligned not 6 o'clock. See Photo. And, this article discussed the first 1,000 Model A's. Not this vehicle.

The Clamshell does not leak anymore than normal, and the car runs.

Is there a solution?
Any concerns with driving this car?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Diastole

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

The fifith picture seems to show that the " clam shells" are lined up OK but the gasket is misaligned ... this article by Steve Plucker may help http://www.plucks329s.org/studies/studies_ujoint.html You may need to undo the bolts again and ensure the gasket is correctly placed... Most (maybe all?) of the gaskets from suppliers have elongated holes in certain positions making them a universal gasket for whichever clam shells you have. Last time I did mine I marked the top of the gasket to aid fitting . [ secret dodge ... cut the new gasket cleanly so you can slip it over the UJ without dissassembling everything and use a good gasket sealant also as a belt and braces approach

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

Old Henry set you up for this problem almost 100 years ago. He did it just to confuse and confound the future Model A kingdom.

https://www.santaanitaas.org/wp-cont...ion-Hook-1.pdf

Tom Endy

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

Try moving the bottom one to the top, if the gasket is not in the proper orientation.

By the way, I think there is a little metal ring in between the front piece, and the two halves. make sure that is oriented correctly too.

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

My Canadian built 29 Special Coupe has this hook. Build dates show March of 1929.

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

There were 2 different clam shells and the bolt pattern was slightly different My understanding was the early ones 28-mid 29 had a bolt pattern that was not symmetrical and the later ones were. I found the problem changing transmissions. The back of the tranny adapter also was 2 bolt patterns to match the clam shell. It would appear you have mismatched clam shell and trans adapter

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

You have 7 of the 8 fasteners securely installed which makes the clam shell function per design intent. Rather than struggling with making the one misaligned hole accept a bolt I would use the outer hole as a locator and mark where the the mating misaligned hole is interferring. Disaasemble the halves and drill out the marked hole in a drill press. Secure the part before drilling to prevent walking.

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

The clam shell was changed in June of 1929 when the ear (lug) on top was eliminated from production. See the Service Bulletins page 350 (page 125 in the book), figure 713. The old design and the new design holes do not line up.

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

I won’t say that I can see it for certain in your pictures but when I bought my RPU I discovered the same (or a similar) problem. The top half and the bottom half are different but mine had the same one top and bottom. It takes awhile to sort that out when you are new to Model As. Also, as stated above, the lug was dropped.

Re: Holes not lined up on Universal Housing
 

Matched clam shells and rear bearing retainers are readily available. As in less than $25 for the set of three.

Ebay, Berts, other places have them. Gentleman in Lexington, MA probably has a set he will give you for postage.

If you can figure out if the transmission rear bearing retainer bolts are "equal spaced" or "uneven spaced" you can buy only the correct clamshells required and save a couple of bucks - and the hassle of a "tear down."

Joe K