Floorboard Trickery

Having built a few cars, I know now what I like, and what I don't like..

one thing I like is a relatively flat floor, I despise a tall transmission tunnel.

and I HATE openings that allow HOT AIR into the passenger compartment.

this one piece front toe board and integrated transmission cover (still needs to be bolted and seam sealed in) should solve both those problems.

YES.. it will be "bolted" and seam sealed, so that in a pinch, it can come out to enable service to the transmission

around back.. another trick, something that I have incorporated into several cars I have built..



This panel (which will be under the rear seat) will allow me to access (from the top side) the drive shaft, rear air springs and (through another panel not shown) have access to the rear differential.

As a result, servicing these components can be completed from "the top side" and I may never need to crawl under the car again!

Each of these panels will be sealed so as to eliminate the infiltration of hot air into the car..

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you.. and me.

Progress is a good gift.

4PM - 4AM.. 12/30/2008:

Finish inner fenders, weld to car, bolt running boards and rear fenders on, and prep for fitting the "patch panels to the front of the rear fender's.

INSIDE OUT..

I had a crazy idea that I could shape my rear inner fenders. (owning a english wheel and a power hammer gives you those silly thoughts)

of course, I would only build inner fenders because the stockers I had found were so expensive.. that I just couldn't justify the cost. Even if they were "worth it"

Given that I have a few extra 40 ford parts.. I went to the stash today to see what I could come up with.

heres were it started

a few years ago.. I bought these stock inner "coupe" rear wheel houses

this one came back from the sandblaster in pretty poor condition. ..

my wife helped me mark it, and then we used the plasma cutter to trim it.
had this inner fender been in better shape.. I might have used a pair of these (rather than have progressed to attempt #2


given that this inner fender looked like it may have worked..
I got this crazy idea that perhaps one of the spare rear stock 40 coupe fenders I had might work even better..


a few minutes of figuring, trimming, and viola..




the driver side worked well.. but I quickly realized that the passenger side could be done with less trimming..



dont let the fenders fool you.. both were ROUGH.. at the front and rear edges (toward the bottom) as such.. both were really only good enough for this particular application..

currently they are "clamped in place" next I'll work on bolting them into my subfloor, and screwing them into the wood. Following this process I will hopefully be able to assemble the rear fenders onto the car with the running boards and finish the repairs to the outers..

soon we might just have a complete floor!

FLOORED

Started to work on the front floor installation..

Should have photos tomorrow.. looks good, thanks to "Precision Coach Works" and David Bradley floor pans.

Amazing what a minimal amount of sheet metal can do.

A big thanks to Bryan and Doug.

today my good friends Brian and Doug came by to help with the assembly.. all went relatively smoothly, and thanks to my neighbor DUKE I had some good supervision as well.

too busy to shoot photos during the process..

we started at 9am with this







and here it is at about noon in "supermockup"



the floor is still not complete.. BUT, in a previous life I worked for a chassis shop where we built pro streeters and race cars.. I spent a good deal of my time there cutting floors out to prepare for this type of "back half", so this process is similar.. next step will be to fill in the floor's etc..



Of course, my other supervisor, kept tabs on us through the process as well.

GIVING THANKS

Thanksgiving 2008,

I have a great deal to be thankful for.
a very understanding wife, and two great little girls..
a JOB (given the current economic situation)
and, I am thankful..

for simple things...



like ebay..

my friend jack sold this for 487.00



thanks to some dimensions he gave me, and his photo.. I started to make my own!




thanks jack! thanks ebay

IMPRESSIVE

A few quick photos of a part I made a few days ago..

this is the steel panel that mounts to the inside of the front doors, this panel covers and helps hold the window regulator in place..

I had found 1, but it was 200! plus shipping.. which was somewhat more than I was willing to pay for it..

I guess this one will work..

the process is akin to metal stamping.

I simply made the "dies" from plywood, maple and particle board.. and used MULTIPLE large C clamps to attach and squish the two halves of the dies to together.








Still working to trim and finalize this part of the project..

SUCCESS.. Hinges on these

After searching high and low for hinges for the recycled 40 ford woodie I finally decided to succumb to temptation and Modify the stock 1940 ford closed car hinges I have..

Fortunately, I only needed to modify the front door hinges.. as the rear door uses a piano hinge (the stock replacements have also eluded me.)

so a few hours of calculation, cutting.. welding

we're hinged..



ironically. I think that the fit of the front door is better than most stock woodies.. Additionally the action of the door (the opening / closing) is smoother than my convertible..

With one side complete I can remove the hinges and replicate the parts to the other side..

moving on!

SHIFTING into HIGH Gear!

My father has worked in manufacturing his entire life.. Ironically the majority of his employers manufactured products made from stainless steel. So his transition to his own "fabrication" shop has been by no mistake.

Given my fathers predisposition to stainless steel, and the stainless steel steering column I purchased for the Recycled 40 Ford woodie, I felt it only appropriate to make a shifter from the same material.

Having pilfered a piece of 3/4 stainless from Dads shop I set the tapering fixture on my lathe.. and went at it.

The result. A perfectly tapered stainless shifter handle, unlike any other in the world. For an additional touch of class I added a stainless knob that started its life as a drawer pull.


SHIFT!





the shifting mechanism.. was another "recycled" part.. as I had previously purchased a cable shifter from IDIDIT

with some minor modification. I now shift my auto trans.. via the column..

ReUnited

Peaches & Herb. No..

Recycled 40 Ford Woodie.. YES..



this does feel good..

Its sometimes called networking.

However, in this case.. I'd still call it luck..

In order to find stuff.. you need to "spread the word" that your looking. The advent of a multitude of online forums has helped somewhat, but when you really need a part.. your need to self advocate..

TO EVERYONE..

Despite the number of visitors to this site.. Apparently, not everyone knew that about this project..

Most did, but some of the MORE important local Rodders DID NOT.

BY chance, at Hershey this year, I mentioned to my friend "Rod" that I was working on the Recycled 40 Ford Woodie..

He asked what I needed, and as it turned out, he had it..

Most people wouldn't be so excited..

But as it turns out.. this was EXACTLY what I needed.. and was only 20 miles from home..

Its interesting, that Rod KNOWS everyone, he's connected.. and he's helping me locate other parts as well.




I am very fortunate..

Hershey Contined

Hershey was filled with a multitude of small 40 Ford victory's, a pair of headlight buckets here, some dash parts there, a much needed cowl vent mechanism, and a few parts for a 1946 Ford Woodie that I will trade off for some other 1940 Ford Woodie parts.

During the afternoon, I had the chance to meet my friend Dorsey from Little Rock. Dorsey is restoring a pair of Oldsmobile woodies, and we've helped one another from time to time. It was great to finally meet him in person.

A few aisles later, I spied a 40 Ford fuel tank, this was an after market "poly tank" and was identical to the tank that I had recently purchased from my friends at Hudson Rod and Custom.

This tank however, sported an in tank fuel pump, which was something I still needed to buy.

Needless to say, I brought home a "spare" fuel tank, and pump..

Still more to come...

SS

Hershey, One Year Later

The recycled 40 ford woodie project really got going after I purchased the Recycled wood at Hershey in 2007.

This year, I was more focused. I knew what I needed, and didn't expect to find it..

Additionally my goals this year were to meet other Woodie Wagon people, chat and learn.

The trip was also different in that my good friend Doug (a Hershey first timer) would be along, and his automotive interests were very, very different than mine.

I arranged to meet a my new friend Jack from Michigan, I had found a window regulator that Jack needed, and dropped it off to him at his spot early . During our conversation I mentioned that I was looking for a 1940 Ford salesman's book, and as luck would have it, Jack had one, and promised to send a copy of the ONE page I need to look at. (life was good) (and jack had saved me 100.00!)

A few spaces later.. I stumbled on a pair of nice 1939 Ford bumpers. These bumpers were used, but the chrome was good, and the asking price was perfect, so I bought them. I assumed one could be used on the front of the woodie, while the other might serve as a spare, or trading fodder (as I still need a pair of 40 rear bumper irons.)

Less than 10 spaces further I spy another bumper, it resembled a 40 Ford car bumper, but it was very very flat through the center. I picked it up, looked it over a bit, and asked the price.. The seller (who shall remain anonymous) has sold me parts before, and should have known what it was for.. He insisted that it was for something else.. But, I was pretty sure it was for woodie and again the price was pretty good.. so I brought it home with me.

As it turns out, Jack had wandered away from his space.. and confirmed that had I not bought it, he would have, and that it was in fact, a 1940 Ford woodie rear bumper.

Hershey was off to a great start!



so there I was, another wish fulfilled.. The remainder of the day was productive, having had the oppertunity to see Dick Spadaro, and Bob Juliano in their spaces.. (and get some more info and parts from them.)

On the way to back to the truck , i had a chance encounter with my friend Rod B.

Rod peddles parts, and hardware, and MOST people in this area know him. He asked how I made out, and when I mentioned the 40 Woodie bumper he was surprised to learn that I was building a 40 Woodie wagon. (so apparently the recycled40fordwoodie is still a secret)

When Rod asked what else I needed for the car, I was surprised to learn that he had a 40 Ford Woodie cowl.. (guess who I am going to see soon)

Shafted

I picked up the new drive shaft for the Recycled 40 Ford woodie project yesterday! Its always exciting to have the engine, trans, and rear hooked together for the first time..

I also worked on assembling the emergency brake cable system. Its been said that the little things cost alot, (and they do) but it also seems that they take a great deal of time.. In the end I think the solution worked out perfectly.

returning to my work on another project for a few days.. as of now...

Off for exhaust

Hitched up and headed out for exhaust.

.

Just like Mike

I made a late afternoon run to jersey today.. And brought home a low mileage engine that will get Recycled into the project.

exhaust on Friday!

Thanks Buddy

One man's trash is another's treasure..

I was preparing some scrap metal for recycling today, when I took note of the lamp my friend and his wife gave me.. It hadn't sold at their yard sale, so it became part of my inventory..

I got a bit ahead of myself in tearing it down, and failed to take photos of the torch style lamp before disassembly, however this photo gives the general idea.





everyone had one of these in college.. These torch style lamps were also known as "fire starters" that created just a little less light than heat.. What could I possibly use this for?

Well the stainless "transition" between the "shade" and the "post" intrigued me, the shape was just about right, and the diameter seemed correct.. and it was stainless, (or appeared to be)

So I tore the old lamp down, and harvested this

Which, with a little trimming.. should be useful for this:





This the becomes the "bell" between my stainless column and steering wheel.. and will solve a few problems along the way..


In other news, A recent trip to Dad's shop yielded a nice piece of 3/4 diameter stainless round stock, so hopefully soon I can rid myself of the billet shifter parts I made previously..

AH stainless.

Support Recycling!

Buy a shirt.

HERE:

Factory Lightweight?

Although my uncle once owned an awesome Boss 429 Mustang, as a rule I don't seek out muscle cars. However, The "factory lightweights" produced by ford, and others have always intrigued me.

But alas, the choice to make aluminum Bumper "irons" for my Recycled wagon project is strictly financial. Stock 40 steel bumper irons are bringing good money on "the bay" , and this aluminum was part of a machine that my neighbor had in the garage.

For those concerned with safety, never fear, these aluminum copies will not save my front sheet metal any more than the stock steel ones!

BLAST OFF

I took the family for a ride to Lancaster county last Saturday, where I dropped the cowl with my Amish sandblaster, along with the hood, running boards and some other Junk..

My eldest daughter got a ride on a Pony (on the Amish farm) , and I bought my wife A homemade pie on the ride home, needless to say I went from ZERO to HERO that day!

We are all hoping to be able to pick the parts up in about 2 weeks, so that we can recreate the event as a family..

I am working as quickly as I can to get the chassis closer to completion in that time as well.

Steering this thing..

Speedway Motors Sells this dandy stainless steel column. Its marketed as a "Mr Roadster" column.

Coupled with a bit of manufacturing finesse, and a cable shifted "kit" for a steering column I made this work.

The column has a quick release hub, but lacks a turn signal assembly.. I had considered a "clamp on" style turn signal switch, but they are ugly..

Then I found this laying about..

Motivation, or the lack thereof.

I just haven't been motivated to go out to the garage lately..

Its been cold, and work has kept me so busy that when I get home it really has been difficult to get out there and trash..


Worse yet.. I knew what was waiting..

WELDING.. lots and lots of welding..

Welding is actually something I really enjoy, but this situation required lots and lots of patience, and time..

Not quite complete just yet, but the biggest hurdle is done..

Now the task of taking it all down so my sandblaster can have his way with the cowl..





here you see the worlds roughest 40 ford woodie rear fender.. before and "almost after"

Doing A - ok

A few weeks ago i spent a saturday at an auction hall in Hatfield, PA.. The sale that day featured several woodies, most notably a 38 -39 Ford whose restoration would require the replacement of every stitch of wood (thanks in large part to the work of powder post beetles)

Searching through piles of parts that day, I realized that beneath a pile of model a windshields lay a rear upper tailgate for a 41? - 48 ford woodie (the gate is larger than my 40 gate (taller) but has ford safety glass and a very similar upper hinge..)

I bid it to 100.00 and my pals Tokyo (Bryan) and Maz (Kevin) looked at me sorta silly...



i was worried i had spent too much..

until ebay item 150215576675

1940 Ford Station Wagon Woodie Upper Tailgate Hinge

popped up.. and was subsequently bid to 700!

just for the darn hinge!

I am still doing OK..

Still fenderless..

Having had such luck so far.. I decided I would start emailing every seller that posted parts for FORD Woodie wagons on ebay.

And ask about rear fenders.

I actually found one person who claimed to have 3 sets of fenders
(none for sale) and another seller who simply replied with the following


"yes I have a pair for sale"


but provided no other information.

Several emails went unanswered, and given that he did not indicate his contact information I thought I was stuck..

(even consulting the NWC directory was of little use.)

BUT.... Then in a moment of wisdom I decided to Google his email address..

and alas.. i was pointed right back to a messageboard known as the HAMB..

Apparently the owner of the Woodie fenders had (back in 2004) placed an advertisement for Ford Rear Axle Parts on Hemmings.com,

A member of the HAMB had copied and pasted a number of advertisements into one of the threads.

along with the email address.. Was what turned out to be this gentleman's cell phone number..

As one might imagine, I was somewhat concerned about calling, but ultimately felt I had little to loose. Three rings was all it took.

Wanting to not seem overzealous, I asked questions about other parts first, and then questioned about the rear fenders I needed, the seller (possibly fishing for my ability to spend) asked where I got the car..


*note to self, sometimes be less honest.."

When I mentioned that the wood had come from Hershey this year, his response was..

S***, your the guy that got there before me!

(I was waiting in the sellers space at Hershey to buy the wood when they arrived) thanks again Bryan!

Luckily, after about a month and a half of emails, the exchange of some photos, and A large number of hard earned dollars, the fenders showed up in a big ugly box!


















unwrapping the box I noticed that the fenders had been shipped to my seller.. from some one here in PA..

(guess who I am calling NEXT!)