New Guy Seeking Advice

[BigRix]

Well after the lack of progress I was making on the tank, I convinced the owner to let me pull it and have it boiled out.



Damn, there are a lot of bolts holding that thing in. I didn't see any reason to pull the windshield as Les Andrews book indicates. Worked for me to just tip it out all the way.





Should have it back at the end of the week.

Now to the cooling system.

Water pump has about an 1/8" of endplay. He has one on the way so I will be flushing out the engine tomorrow.

I'm worn out.

[Bob C]

What's wrong with the water pump? End play could be the head is worn
where the shaft end rubs the head. They make a collar to eliminate end play.

Bob

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by BigRix

Now to the cooling system.

Water pump has about an 1/8" of end play. He has one on the way so I will be flushing out the engine tomorrow.

I'm worn out.

Originally Posted by Bob C

What's wrong with the water pump? End play could be the head is worn
where the shaft end rubs the head. They make a collar to eliminate end play.

Bob

Like Bob says it could just need a 3.50 cent part. As a matter of fact even if you are receiving a new pump, you should get the collar for the shaft. The original method of keeping the shaft was for it to rest against a boss inside the head. Years ago they sold (and still may do so) a shaft with a longer end in the head that would be ground down to rest against the boss.

[huddy]

Is it me, or does the front to back angle of the engine look wrong? It looks either too high in the front or too low in the back. Again, could just be my bad eyesight.

[BigRix]

It has a end play collar already but I think the rear bushing is the problem.





The owner has a pump coming so I will most likely rebuild this one for a spare.

Flushed out the engine and did some scrubbing on the outside. I then installed the plugs and carb. I adjusted the points but I cant do the timing yet. The steering column is moving to much with the tank removed and it's affecting the timing.





Now as far as the engine tilt being excessive, I wouldn't know if it is or not.

Here are some pics of the mounting, let me know if you see something out of the ordinary.







I have to say, this has been the most fun I have had working on a car in many years. I got into this profession for the love of it but quickly lost that in the everyday grind of the flat rate system.

[Bob C]

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Just disconnect the rod from the upper distributor plate and retard the
distributor until the arm is stopped by the end of the slot in the distributor
cap. Then set the timing.

Bob

[huddy]

RE: Tilt. It may be the camera angle that fooled me, or it could be that the frame has sagged. Does the crank pulley line up with the opening?

My coupe does not line up - it has a older repop front engine mount and the crank pulley is too low. (Replacement with a quality new part is in the near future). Could also be frame sag in my car, too.

It certainly is a lot of fun to work on these. I don't what is more fun - tinkering or driving.

[tbirdtbird]

looks ok from here

[BigRix]

Waiting on parts so I've been working on different areas depending on what I have on hand. Next up I decided to install the air filter on the air balanced carb. It felt a little loose and this is what I found when I took the filter element off.



Not an uncommon problem from what I have read.

Here is how I fixed it.

Drilled and installed pop rivits.



Making sure I put the large diameter side out and punched out the remnants of the pin. Don't want anything getting into the engine.



I then filled in the hole with hot glue and even though it used nylock nuts, I used loctite.



The owner had a heck of a time with the vendor he ordered from. Basically took them a week to tell him that they received his order and that the water pump was back ordered.

He ordered a pump from Snyder's on Friday and from what I have read, I bet it gets here before the other stuff he ordered on Monday.

Got a week left before I hit the road again so I probably won't get it driving before that. Won't stop me from trying though.

Still having a blast!

[BigRix]

Now I am at a loss and feel that my lack of Model A knowledge is showing.

The owner brought me new headlight assemblies to install and it looks like the harness on the car has been modified. I don't know what I need to make this set up work.

Here is what I removed from the car. The bullet connectors sure made removing the radiator shell a lot easier.



Here is the bottom of the new headlight.



Do I need a lighting harness? Do I need a connector to plug into this socket? Am I fighting an uphill battle trying to buy new parts to make this work? (I read a few posts that say headlight problems abound with aftermarket parts)

[tbirdtbird]

get as many supplier catalogues as you can; Snyder's, Brattons, etc ; many of them have exploded views of detail areas that you need

[BigRix]

I've been looking at the online catalogs and can't find what I'm looking for. Thanks for the info. I'll get a printed version.

[Mitch//pa]

have you seen this its good reference

[Brother Hesekiel]

I just noticed by accident that this Tudor has the same horn and horn bracket I just posted about in another tread. How crazy is that?

[BigRix]

The horn on this car doesn't look like it's original. He got me another one to install and that is one more reason I'm replacing the lighting harness.

I think I need these two items to make it work with my new headlights.





The plug will be the three prong version but no pic was available of it.

The tank didn't survive the boil out. I had taped up the edges of the tank to protect them and it got boiled out with those intact. After I picked it up I thought I dodged a bullet till I pulled the tape off.



Off to paint it went and it won't be back till after I leave for LA.

Here it is running after I rugged up a temporary fuel supply.

Let me know if i sounds ok to y'all. Does it sound like it need a valve adjustment?

http://youtu.be/MY40_c-Yf8k

You may also notice that the top hose does not line up just right. I have the proper rubber spacer under the radiator tabs but it sure looks like It could stand to be a little higher. I'm not sure how that will effect hood alignment. The six blade plastic fan clears and pulls plenty of air. I wouldn't have used it but it's not my car. The fancy, shiny lower radiator pipe leaks at the draincock. I think I'm going to clean up the original and use it.

This will be the last I get to work on it till at least next weekend. Thanks for all the fantastic advice and keep it coming.

[tbirdtbird]

Does it sound like it need a valve adjustment?

maybe.

For the minimal effort it takes to check lash, if you are this far into a decent service I'd check them. I always manage to find one valve that is off.

Regardless of any specs you find, we always use .013 both I&E with excellent results

[OC Dave]

Originally Posted by Dale G.

Hello Big Rix,

To my recollection there is a nice Model A Club right there in Tucson and a couple of those guys post here. I would check around as they should be a wealth of information to help you find places to get things done. Also there is a Model A parts dealer in Chandler, Sam Guthrie, he is a good guy and can help you connect with the guys in Tucson. In the 60's I drove my Model A in Yuma to high school and on to college at ASU. Never once did I have an overheating problem. I guess that original radiator did good! I still have that car and restored it in the 80's for fine point judging, it now has 37,000 miles on it since judging and still going strong. Simple is dependable. Dale Gosa.

If you would like to contact the guys at the Tucson Model A club, their website is Tucson Model A Ford Club

[c. sefton]

Wow, not one comment on wheel center caps. At least til now.