39 Ford Project

[567chevys]

Hello Brian


your work looks great


Sid

[Custer55]

Super work Brian!

(from an admirer of your dedication and skill!)..

Thanks Gary

Very nice.

Thanks Big block

I find it interesting that this site only attracts the guys doing higher end builds.

Thanks Mark, flattered you consider this a higher end build.

Hello Brian


your work looks great


Sid

Thanks Sid

[BamaNomad]

I find it interesting that this site only attracts the guys doing higher end builds.

Mark, I think your comment needs elaboration as to why you made that statement?

[busterwivell]

Mark is incorrect, I'm here.

[markm]

Mark, I think your comment needs elaboration as to why you made that statement?

Directed toward a couple hacks on the other site, who cried to moderators when you pointed out errors in their ways.

[WagonCrazy]

Today, 10:03 AM
markm
Registered Member

This message is hidden because markm is on your ignore list.
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Its simple guys, put the ding dongs on your ignore list and IGNORE them.

[Custer55]

Progress Update

Finished up on the drivers side x-member mod and moved on to the drivers side. Pretty much the same on the drivers side with the exception of being a bit shorter as the transmission is not quite as wide on the drivers side. Also the new frame section should still allow mounting the brake pedal and master cylinder under the floor as original if I decide to go that route.



Passenger side all welded in and the front portion of the old x-member cut away. Just behind where I trimmed the rear portion of the x-member the original frame had a cross member. The plan is to add one back in once I finalize the engine and transmission mounts.



Drivers side frame section all welded up and ready to get welded back in.



Bolted back into the frame ready to weld in place.



All welded up and the old x-member section removed.



Another view from inside the car. You can kind of see where the original cross member was riveted to the x-member in this shot. The original rivet holes are just behind where I cut the x-member off and is most likely where I will tie in a new cross member.



With my mock up block and transmission back in place and pretty close to the right position looks like everything should have enough clearance. I have the frame level side to side and about 2 degrees down in front to simulate eventual ride height front to rear. The engine and trans are at 2.5 degrees down where they sit right now. The front of the engine can't go much lower as it is about 1/2" above the steering rack where it sits. Should be ok like this but I will raise the tail shaft of the trans a bit if I have room in the tunnel.



View from above shows plenty of clearance to the transmission pan. I made it about 3" wider than the trans pan so it will clear and be enough room to work around it also (hopefully). It's a little tight in the tail shaft area so a bit more trimming will be needed in that area.



Here I put the firewall back in place with a few screws and it looks like there should be enough clearance there as well. The trans dipstick tube will be replaced eventually as it is for a 95 Firebird which is what the transmission came out of. Plenty of room for a different shape and length tube though.



With the new trans tunnel just set in place it looks like it will have good clearance also. Before finalizing engine and trans position I want to set a distributor in place to check that clearance to the firewall and bolt the heads back on the engine to check that as well as the oil pressure sending unit. I will most likely bolt the front fenders and grill in place to make sure there is room for a radiator and fan also. Right now the back of the block is right at the firewall recess so I think it is close to where it needs to be but if have room to set it back a bit more that would be a good thing.
Brian

[bigblock]

Nice work.

[markm]

Reminds me of some of the work we did on my Dads 1946 Chevy PU. Looking very nice.

[Custer55]

Nice work.

Reminds me of some of the work we did on my Dads 1946 Chevy PU. Looking very nice.

Thanks guys!!

[Custer55]

Progress Update

Next up was to check all my clearances and finalize the engine and transmission positions.



I added a piece of t-bar from an old garage door opener to the balancer that would set across the frame so I could set the engine height and get it centered more easily. Hard to see in the picture but I have a bracket with a threaded adjuster that sits on the crossmember to get the engine level side to side also. I got the transmission set in place at the rear with a piece of square tubing and some shims sitting on the original x-member.



With the heads and intake bolted in place I pulled and HEI distributor from another engine to check for clearance to the firewall. I had to move the engine forward about an inch to have just a bit more than 1/4" clearance. It will be tight but it should work fine without doing anymore modifications on the firewall.



Another view shows how tight it is but everything else will have plenty of clearance.



Next I bolted the fenders and grille back on to check how much room I would have for a radiator and fans and figure out how big of a radiator would fit. The 39 standard is narrower in the front and the stock radiator is 16" wide vs 19" wide on a 39 deluxe.



Even with a long water pump and fan looks like there should be plenty of room for a radiator. (flex fan is for mock-up only, I won't be using it) I do have a short water pump available which I found later so that will be an extra 1" plus clearance.



With the hood sides set in place it almost looks like a car again.



I ended up making a cardboard mock-up of a 39 deluxe - 40 ford radiator because speedway had a Griffin radiator for them as a garage sale item at $215. vs the regular price of over $900. With my short water pump in place It looked like I could maybe make it work with a mechanical fan or electric fans in front of the radiator. Very tight to the hood sides though. I was going to call them to get some exact measurements of the radiator but when I checked back on their website they had already sold it. So much for that plan. They do have some universal fit radiators that will work for around $300. so not the end of the world but of course those will need custom mounts etc. so a lot more work than one that would pretty much bolt in.



Another view with the cardboard mock-up. Really tight at the hood sides so probably better to get a radiator closer to the original size anyway.
So with the engine position finalized time to work on the motor mounts and transmission crossmember. I ended up ordering a trans pad and motor mount cushions from Speedway Motors for that project.
Brian

[markm]

I wish that my 72 K/5 Blazer had the firewall clearance you have. Good news I have got away with very little clearance for almost 40 years.

[Belair-o]

Hey Brian,
Really nice to see the shape forming up in the pics! What big advances you are making, as so many subassemblies you have built start to coalesce. Thanks for sharing your process and build!
Regards, Doug

[Custer55]

I wish that my 72 K/5 Blazer had the firewall clearance you have. Good news I have got away with very little clearance for almost 40 years.

Hey Brian,
Really nice to see the shape forming up in the pics! What big advances you are making, as so many subassemblies you have built start to coalesce. Thanks for sharing your process and build!
Regards, Doug

Thanks Mark and Doug.
I will be posting some updates shortly.

[Custer55]

Progress Update

With all the mock up done to confirm engine and transmission position time to make up some motor mounts and a trans crossmember. I ordered a transmission pad and motor mount cushions from Speedway Motors and built the rest myself.



For the plates that bolt to the block I had some old mounts from my mock up block that I ended up cutting up to use the flat part that mounts to the block only.



I made the rest of the mount out of some 2 1/2", 3/16" wall square tubing that I had on hand. After laying out the position on the plate where they would weld together I cut slots in the plate to make a good strong weld joint.



With the 2 pieces tacked together I have my digital angle finder to make sure it ends up at a 45 degree angle to the plate that will mount to the block. I know it says 44.5 but when I put the angle finder on my table it was .5 in the opposite direction so in total it is at 45 degrees. I have the bolts in the plate because the factory piece was not a completely flat piece as it was a stamped out mount.



View on the backside of mount. Once I run a couple of weld beads on this side the mount will be very strong.



While the mount was just tacked up I did check to make sure it would fit well. Looks good from this angle.



With an old exhaust manifold from a 77 Chevy pickup bolted in place there is plenty of clearance to the mount. These manifolds are the style that go down under the spark plugs so any type I end up using should be fine. And it looks like there should be enough clearance for the steering shaft and universals. The motor mount cushion and frame mount will end up closer to steering shaft but it should be fine.



So with all that confirmed I built the 2nd mount and got them both welded up.



Next was building the mounts for the frame. These I made out of 3/16" flat plate with the bend at the ends to act as a gusset plate to the frame rails.



This is the motor mount cushion I will be using. It also has a rubber bushing that sits under the frame mount and a shoulder bolt that holds it to the mount on the block which sits on the top of the cushion.



Here the frame mount is fitted up to the frame. Since the rubber cushion will be about 1" high when it is bolted in a compressed by the shoulder bolt I made a spacer out of 1" square tube to hold the frame mount in the correct position for welding to the frame. At this point I just have 1/4" holes in everything that will just act as pilot holes to eventually drill them out to the proper size which will be 7/16" for the block mounts and 1 1/16" for the frame mounts.