Having Fun With it?
 

Is anyone else having this much fun? I just got this old ‘30 AA in August and have barely gotten started. Not a lot more than a semi rolling chassis, but I aim to build a truck around it.
I really am enjoying working on it. I honestly feel a little guilty sometimes having this much fun by myself.
Found and rebuilt a steering gear.
Rebuilt original starter.
Engine has 75 psi on all four!
Getting ready to pull pan and check bearings.
Got 2 new tires for front.
Getting ready to rebuild front axle.
A little overwhelmed at times when I see how much needs done: but having a blast.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

75lbs - maybe a high compression head, that is great compression results.


Re-torque the head, especially if the engine has sat unused for an extended period of time.


Welcome to the Hobby.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

Never a dull moment. There's always something that requires fixing. There's an endless supply of things to troubleshoot and repair. It's funny cuz my job is fixing really complicated stuff, so working on the car is quite relaxing.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

I will check torque on head. I want to have a look bottom side before I try starting.
I am in same boat as you Dan. I work on more complicated stuff during the day too. I worked briefly a long time ago as a fleet mechanic for a local bakery. Old 1 ton GMCs, not much different than the AA.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

David: You have a rare light bar on your truck. Early 30 version with built in license plate mounts. These didn't hold up well, so Ford went back to the tubular style later in 1930. Also, take great care when inflating those front tires for the first time. Be absolutely certain the lock rings are seated all the way into the rim groove. Then chain the new tire through the rim openings to insure if the lock ring does let go while inflating, it won't kill you, or take your arm off holding the air chuck on the tire valve. I only go to 20# of air initially until everything looks OK. Don't mean to sound like the Christmas Grinch, but I saw those bare rims in your photo.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

Per the "Guidelines", page 18-2, that headlamp bar is for May through September 1930.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

And it looks like you have a Deluxe truck Radiator shell. I see no peak at the center, just flat.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

I also have a blast working on my AA....and they are fun to drive too!!

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

You think this is fun. Just wait until you start driving it. Oh, the smiles you will cause. Have fun. Hope there is a club near you.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

Enjoy the challenges of rebuilding your Model A. Sometimes I wonder why we enjoy the headaches we create for ourselves trying to solve problems and make things work or fit.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

Welcome tot he club and enjoy. They are a blast to work on and drive. And I envy you having a AA.


Mike

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

X2 on the safety while inflating split rims. I built a remote fill hose giving me about six feet of separation from the wheel while filling the tubes, and about eight wraps of cable around/through the rim.
I also make sure no one else is around the wheel while I am filling it.

Looks like a cool truck to build, but as said previously driving them is the real fun!
Good luck on your build.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

Thanks for the cautions. I have watched the tire shop safety training videos on split rims. Had a shop offer to give me a cage but have no room to store it. I wrapped wheels with cable and used remote chuck and gauge. New front tires are on front.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

If starting the truck for first time after sitting a long time, a few tips.


With plugs out, put some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders, let sit overnight, make sure to cover plug holes to prevent anything from dropping in, then hand crank it over a few times over a couple of days. Clean/gap plugs, install plugs.


When adding fresh motor oil, 1st remove distributor, pour 1 quart oil through the distributor hole and then fill to full on the dipstick. This will prime the valve galley so the motor bearings do not have to wait for the oil pump to fill the oil galley to lube the motor lower end bearings.


Lube the distributor oil cup, fill the cup till it will not take more. Filling to full insures oil migrates up into the upper dist. shaft bushing.


Backflush radiator and motor thoroughly. If you have sediment/rust etc, hopefully this will avoid it getting into and plugging up your radiator.


Lube the generator, some have one oil point, some gens have 2 points. Only 1-2 drops oil per oil point is needed.


Grease the water pump - only a partial pump of grease is needed on the motor side of the water pump. More than that and you can possibly get grease in the coolant, which when bad enough will clog your radiator.


Clean up battery connections, including where battery strap attaches to the frame, clean tighten all ignition circuit connects, clean/gap points. Clean/tighten starter post/wiring connections and connections on starter switch mounted onto of the top of the starter.


Once started, take it easy, make sure your brakes work before getting on the road.


Check that the ammeter is working.


Once running awhile, turn off. Check that ammeter shows 0. Check oil condition to see if there is water/dirt/rust in it. Drain and refill all other fluids (steering, differential, trans) - you can do this before starting the 1st time, up to you. Check coolant condition for rust debris/etc.


Somewhere along all this do a full grease job on all grease zerks.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

Thanks Closed Cab. I hadn’t heard the tip about pouring the oil in the distributor hole before. Makes sense. I have a lot of work to do. Water pump was stuck. I got it free but it is real stiff. Plan on pulling radiator and water pump off in morning and start on them. Was thinking of pulling pans to check bearings and clean everything up.
Front axle is bent, but I have a nice one. RR spring main leaf broken but I have a spare.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

I am having an absolute blast working on my '29 speedster. Building the aluminum body is way more fun that fighting the rust devil. And I can build the body to fit me.

https://i.ibb.co/qjWXckm/IMG-20191125-192227.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/WpSsvTV/IMG-20191125-192112.jpg

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

If the drain oil looks bad, or if some sludge drains any, and if you stick your pinky finger through the drain hole and feel sludge in the bottom of the pan, definitely drop the pan and clean out the bottom end and the oil pump filter screen.


If you have not worked on an A before, be aware that the oil pan holds up the oil pump via a spring on the bottom of the oil pump. The oil pump will fall out when you drop the pan unless you hold it up via a threaded hole in the side of the block.


There is a hole in the side of the block that you take out a threaded NPT (pipe) plug, and insert a special NPT bolt/tool, do not use a standard or Metric bolt, it will strip the hole threads and possible wreck the block.


If sludge is found, also remove the valve access cover; clean out the valve galley sludge, hand crank the motor and see if valves are operating properly since they can freeze/sometimes stick. Also make sure the small holes in the bottom/back of the valve galley are clean/not blocked. These passages gravity feed oil to the lower end Babbit/Insert bearings.


Actually since the main part of cooling on an A is thermo siphon with water pump mainly as an aid for low speeds (or is it high speeds, can never keep this straight), for getting it up and running you can start/run it some without a working water pump and generator. You'll probably have to charge the battery up after you are done with the gen disconnected.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

People ask me when I'm going to finish my car, my response is always..."hopefully never".
Like you...it's just to much fun, and look at all the colorful words I'm using and making up as I go.

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

If you don't have the special bolt/tool to hold the pump up, use a cable tie.

Once you've got 3 or 4 pan bolts started and the pump is supported, snip the cable tie and remove

https://i.postimg.cc/zXWcFJHK/P1200187.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/qBDfnD8r/P1200186.jpg

Re: Having Fun With it?
 

The bonus in using this system is that you need not disturb the factory fitted plug . The pictures are just to show how the cable tie holds the pump up when the engine is in the car . In practise the pump drops a little when the cable tie holds it but only around 1/16" so the pump remains keyed to the oil pump drive .If you have rotated the engine with the pump out get a mirror to check the alignment of the drive . It is an easy one man job hold the pump up with one hand and have the cable tie through on bolt hole already and the rest as the pics . I have seen many engines with a nasty bolt sticking out of the block if they fall out you know what happens next !!!

John in sunny Suffolk County England .