Momentous restoration step - engine back in frame.

[SeaSlugs]

Been a long time coming and couldn't have done it without you guys. Special thanks to Rainmaker Ron for letting me borrow his legit engine hoist while hes at Hershy!

Got the engine and trans assembly in the frame tonight. Went rather easy I thought. Had tools ready to go, parts all ready laid out and accounted for, triple checked orientation of clamshell and inner bowl pieces since 28/29 have those 2 holes that are slightly offset.

Learned there is such a thing as entirely too much grease - creates like a playdoh factory effect when you try to mate the U joint to dual high...

other than that it went pretty smooth! everything just kinda glided into place thanks to the tip of greasing the motor mounts.

Had enough light left to even put some brake rods and dual high pedal parts onto the frame.





preparation - notice entirely too much grease in ujoint housing?



up and away! no wooden A frame and come along this time 2 straps did the lifting, 3rd was a backup/safety. test lifted several times making adjustments to get it tilted back a few degrees. worked like a charm.


bolted down, hoist removed


the test comes back true, crank fit right in perfectly.


with some other brake rods and dual high pedal installed.

overall shot

Shes come along way:




thanks again!

now to install the steering stuff!

[RonC]

Ford specifies in the services bulletins for the AA trucks to pre pack the joint with 8 ounces of grease.

[RandyinUtah]

It looks like your well on your way keep up the great work. I take a special person to take on a big truck project like this.

[Dennis Pereira]

Coming along nice work .

[burner31]

What is that pedal next to the shifter in pics #8 and #10?
Forgive me, I'm still on my 1st Model A.

[Brentwood Bob]

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Big Iron. Bob

[Big hammer]

Hi - low pedal AAs have a real low gear rear end

[SeaSlugs]

yea rocker pedal is for the dual high transmission, rearend luckily i have a high speed worm (5.14:1)

[Cool Hand Lurker]

And there were some that said it would never happen….. HAH !
Nice work.

I kinda miss your “A” frame gantry….. NOT!
Borrowing the lift was a good move and Ron is a good guy. You live to play another day!

FYI, Harbor Freight has some lifting slings that work really well for strapping around an engine or any other thing that needs lifting. They are cheap and will find a lot of uses in the shop. Check this out: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=sling

[PeteVS]

Every thing's so pretty when you're putting it all back together! Had that with my Ch*** and I can't wait to get it again with a Ford.

[TinCup]

What a great feeling when you hit those milestones with a restoration.

[Jwilli]

If that engine runs as good as it looks, you are going to be one happy dude.

[SeaSlugs]

i had her running on the wood stand in dec 2009. No funky noises and fired right up on a carb that most would throw away (rather pitted, but anything can be rebuilt and function perfectly)

this time its going to smoke like crazy, been putting oil down the cyl and cranking it a few times every other month or so since then.

[Tom Wesenberg]

A little smoke will help keep the mice out of the muffler.

[Bob Bidonde]

Looking good!

[2manycars]

Trucks that had the dual hi had the high speed rear end, as that was the reason for the dual hi. It is an underdrive, to reduce the ratio to similar to the low speed rear, for off road and slow going.
If you are going for judging, or really like correctness, the shift lever of the 3 speed transmission is butler finish nickle, and the hand brake lever is butler nickle on the bottom, and polished nickle where your hand goes. Not trying to find fault, perhaps you like black, and that is fine. The 4 speed shift lever was black from the factory.
The truck looks great, and congratulations on your progress.

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by 2manycars

Trucks that had the dual hi had the high speed rear end, as that was the reason for the dual hi. It is an underdrive, to reduce the ratio to similar to the low speed rear, for off road and slow going.
If you are going for judging, or really like correctness, the shift lever of the 3 speed transmission is butler finish nickle, and the hand brake lever is butler nickle on the bottom, and polished nickle where your hand goes. Not trying to find fault, perhaps you like black, and that is fine. The 4 speed shift lever was black from the factory.
The truck looks great, and congratulations on your progress.

yea i am aware what should be nickle and what isnt, these were the original handbrake and shifter that was in the truck and got rather pitted (which means no good for replate) the 3 speed shifter ball on the end was just barely worn so i figured hey might as well use it up while looking for a correct finished one as I've heard the repo ones are marginal/poor quality. easy enough to swap both out even years from now when the truck is "done"

So for now black it is! 98% of the general public wont ever know what its supposed to be im trying for correctness but definitely not fine point (kudos to those of you who do - i dont have enough patience) so its going to be about as bone stock as it can be. Exceptions being adding a passenger side brake light/taillight and some kind of mirror on pass side.

once I get all the extra goodies on I'm going to clean everything really well. Bit dusty from sitting.

and before anyone asks yes it is an aluminum 2 blade fan. i really like the quality of them!

[mshmodela]

Great job and thank you for the photos... I wondered what that gear box after the transmission was... also interesting to see that with the talk of frame VIN stamping it might be the frame stamps may no longer be visible (depending upon the condition of the frame.. Well done Sir...

[Doug in Maryland]

Great job and great photos - keep up the good work!! You're well on your way to getting another AA back on the road!

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by mshmodela

Great job and thank you for the photos... I wondered what that gear box after the transmission was... also interesting to see that with the talk of frame VIN stamping it might be the frame stamps may no longer be visible (depending upon the condition of the frame.. Well done Sir...

yea the numbers are gone but I do have the correct numbers off a 1967 title that must have been when my great grandfather passed away and my grandfather took possession of it. There are ways to "bring the numbers to the surface" so to speak

The gearbox has a 1:1 ratio, neutral or PTO position, and a 2:1 ratio position. Not shown in the pictures is a 6" dipstick and tube that pokes up thru the under seat pan. Not one of henrys better ideas of checking and filling the oil level from inside the truck with the seat removed...