Happy New Year!

Had some snow here today..


perfect excuse for a quick ride in the woodie..

Winter Time Recycling

Many of the parts on the Recycled 40 ford woodie are remnants of other folks 40 fords.

today.. several packages containing my latest find came in the big brown truck.

I never ever thought I could have A/C in any of my cars, as I could never justify the cost..

ironically, now I can..

The former owner of this particular unit decided it was no longer of use to him, and offered it up for a very reasonable amount..

It was removed from a 40 ford with a SBC engine (and a short water pump.)

SO....

it has the correct compressor mounting bracket,
precut hoses,
firewall bulkhead,
and even the correct bracket to hide the temperature control panel in the glovebox..



luckily, the rest of the world isn't thinking about being hot in December!

the benefits..

I'll recycle another part,

save some money

and have all the benefits of this new acquisition for next years events..


RECYCLED!

In the Shop PHOTO OP...

This evening I felt somewhat "Artistic"

Looking Ahead to the Holidays

We've enjoyed unseasonably warm weather here these last few weeks. Today we attempted to take some shots for our holiday card.. and it was actually HOT.

History.. without leaving home

A few weeks ago I shoot these photos around town..
the iron bridge was built by a local foundry.. in the early 1900's

this is the foundry building. currently under renovation.



gotta love history..

more to come

POCONO raceway

I drove up to pocono raceway yesterday for the "goodguys great american nationals"

Although I had previously worked with an ARCA team at pocono, getting some "track time"
was the highlight of the day.



lots of 40 fords at the show

a few of my favorites

Responsible Parenting.

A photo of our girls during our trip to Cumberland, MD.


the engine isn't that loud, really, the wind however, is..

more good luck?

Just home from work today.. I decided to jump online and see what parts have popped up..

The seller listed this as a 1936 1937 Graham trunk door handle 36 37 rat rod woodie

Alas.. its a Woodie rear gate handle.. and its ONLY correct for a 40 ford woodie..

given that I have a pair.. this one will serve as an "upgrade" for one of mine. somewhere around here I have a nos lock for it as well!



it wasnt a "deal of a lifetime" but these are rare as hens teeth..

rain magnet.

the odometer rolled past 1,000 miles this weekend.. a 490 mile trip to a car show in western Maryland helped the cause though..

the car worked flawlessly. not one hiccup. (actually I did blow 2 fuses blasting the Iriver through my new "system" ) an issue I should soon resolve.

once again..

Drove home in the Rain..



highlights..

the woodie with Andy's Coupe..

First 500 ....Doing what I said I would

The odometer rolled past 500 miles today, not bad considering the recycled 40 ford woodie has been on the road just 6 weeks. (two of which I wasn't able to use the car at all.. )

BUT..

more importantly, as I said I would, I have been driving the car everywhere I can. Today I drove to the "Wheels of Time Rod and Custom Jamboree."

IN THE RAIN..

and came home none worse for the wear..

Technically it is a "Station" Wagon

Took the family for a Sunday drive recently. and stopped at a recycled Train Station..

The "Pretzel DEPOT" which is housed in the former Royersford, PA train station, (history) is hosting their first benefit car show on September 13, 2009.



Although I've yet to enjoy their fare, I've never met a Philly soft pretzel I didn't like,


the station dates from 1932, therefore, its likely that this isnt the first 1940 Ford station wagon that paused here to collect or disperse passengers.

Tow vehicle?

Today, I brought my other 40 project home..

with the woodie





high resolution:


HI RES, photo.

difficult to see in this photo is my "towbar"

luckily its only 3 blocks from home to the storage.

Solutions

UGGG..

this was the cause of my continual (intermittent) fuel delivery issues..

I had purchased this fuel tank (and electric fuel pump) at swap meet in 2008, it was used and I never figured out why someone would sell it..

now I might know.. Perhaps the previous owner had issues as well.

apparently the fuel hose was just loose enough to not supply sufficient pressure to the engine.. THUS intermittent and inconsistent fuel delivery. additionally, I realized that this is just regular old fuel hose.. NOT the submersible type necessary for this application

chased my tail too long on this one..



while I was at it I added a new sock filter, re tightened the clamps. and reinstalled the pump,.

We're were back on the road..

Problems

yesterday I took a little trip to see my friends Clark and JR at baddonkee hot rods to inquire about some parts for the recycled40ford woodie.

The boys had attended an auction in Indiana where they scored parts of a 46 ford woodie. Luckily, I was able to get a lower rear gate hinge (which I'll restore for my car and a few other bits from the same car)

unfortunately the trip there was not without incident..

near Abbotstown, PA the car suddenly started running rough, I quikly found a nice safe spot to stop and realized that the mallory distributor cap and come ajar..

The cap was trashed, but luckily I was able to keep running as the juice arced from the cap to the rotor.. Unfortunately, this process damaged the rotor and sent parts of plastic down inside my new distributor.

luckily I was able to "arc" my way to the boys where a new cap awaited, later I stopped to visit another friend (and pickup a rough 39 ford rear fender) where I decided to swap out the distributor modules in case it had been damaged..

At the end of the day. I managed to pull of 15MPG (even running rough) and made it home (slowly) but safely.

today I ordered a new cap and rotor hopefully this should solve any issues..

Morgantown Cruise..

Having spent some time with edelbrock TECH support, now understand how the Fuel Injection adjustment works.

SO.. I took a little ride, to a small cruise nite, in Morgantown, PA.

no other 40 fords there, so I settled for this parking spot.

Strange MOCK UP

No words necessary... The little Scotty is looking sorta.. BIG

NO hitch on the woodie

Fuel injection is my friend.

I like technology, old, new, borrowed, Recycled?

last winter I purchased an older edelbrock proflo , however I am just now learning about its performance..

I was abit skeptical, having bought used performance parts before, this was akin to playing roulette.. but anytime someone has a uesd proflow for 250.00 you better buy it.. OR I will.


although it looks like its paying off.. , my biggest fears have been realized..

I had to call Edelbrock TECH support..... TWICE..

and both times.. the conversations were under 5 minutes..

my first call was to find out that I had the wrong CHIP in the unit.. (apparently the proflo's previous owner wasnt running a lunati 3/4 race cam)

during my second call.. I found out that I was missing the mark on my fuel delivery MAP adjustments. but now thats cured.. and all is well..

as a result.. the car tears off the line, pulls hard through the gears and cruises at 70MPH at about 1900 rpm..

its working so well.. that I am abit scarred of hurting the rear axle..

New tooth..

Swapped out grilles this morning. of course this is a spare I had around.. its an old repop that I ran on my 40 convertible sedan for awhile..


Now if I could just find a hood center stainless trim strip!

Haulin'

The Recycled 40 ford woodie passed its first test on Friday. a 90 mile run to a show in Machungie PA provided good exercise. Tokyo rode shotgun and starred at the proflo controller in awe as we tried different speeds/ loads / different acceleration methods.


After enjoying the show, and buying all the good parts in the swap meet we headed home.





just down the road.. RAIN..


all was well, until we noticed the car "missing" under load, turns out one of the plug wires moved and got singed against the exhaust manifold..

the wires were used, so a new set went on today..

First "event"

although I had hoped to take the woodie to several shows by now.. tonight we drove to our first official "event"

"Chesterbrook" is a small local cruise night that occurs once a month.

normally our schedule prohibits us from making the event more than once a year, but I have always enjoyed the venue.

Sporting one freshly primed front fender. a fresh chip and new tune on the pro-flo, and feeling more confident we ventured a few miles further.






meeting up with our friends bryan and sarah at the show, ensured that we would have someone to help out in the event of any mishaps.

luckily, the car didn't skip a beat.. Its finally idling at a comfortable rpm, and everything seems to be working well.

At the show I had a chance to chat with George Trosley who was driving his 39 sedan..





Life is good..

DRIVEN.

Syracuse is but 6 days away! so tonight before departing in the other 40, we took a quick spin around the block..

Glass is ALL In!

Dashboard TECH

this is the final result:



heres how it was done:

although this project might have been completed in a few days, other projects required my attention, and as a result this project was ongoing for about 6 months..

It all began when I bought this funky instrument cluster in March .

the seller said it was a 1937 nash dash however I am not 100% certain this is accurate.

the auction ended with a low final price because the glass jewel was busted.


at first I wasn't quite certain what I would do with it..

but when I received it I quickly realized that I needed to somehow work it into the recycled 40 ford woodie.

because I had a fiberglass 40 dash, the choice to modify it was easy.. as the glass dash was otherwise junk to me anyhow..

luckily the radius of the new panel and the fiberglass repro dash were pretty close.. here is an early photo of the cluster installed in the dash.



obviously a solution to the broken glass needed to be developed.

on afternoon I shared my dilemma with one of my friends, and he suggested that if the part weren't "bent" that it could be laser engraved..

I knew how to unbend it.. so instantaneously a light went on!

the next morning I asked my friend who teaches black and white photography to make a print for me..

this is the result.



this was created by "taping" the photo paper to the inside of the original glass lens and then exposing the paper as if the original lens was the "negative"

after I had the black and white photo I scanned the the flat image into Photoshop where I did some quick touch up and minor "modifications" to the design..

a few days later I emailed the document (saved as a bitmap) to my friends Lorraine and Brian at Crown Trophy in Conshohocken, PA
who took my bitmap and laser engraved it.

a few days later, I picked up the finished parts..

because this wasn't a rush job, and because I had a million other projects going on I am only now finishing the assembly, however I must mention that Lorraines work is Stellar..

I forgot to take a photo of the plexi before I bent it, but I was able to create the appropriate radius with a heat gun and some patience

here is the finished PLEXIGLAS lens with the correct radius



the Plexiglas now fits into the original bezel that is glassed into the dash and the remainder of the cluster bolts into the rear. this is the result..





although it cant be seen from this photo the white faced gauges are new units mounted behind the cluster bezel, they are clearly visible from the front.. the speedometer head came from a jeep commando instrument cluster I had around.. and I used a race car harness disconnect to allow the dash to be removed easily..

I should be able to do a final install soon!

Movement!

Finally had a chance this morning to shoot some video of the Woodie moving under is own power, for some reason I dont think the brakes are fully bled.. so I'll re-bleed and go for a real first test drive soon.

ITS ALIVE!!!!

No video YET..

but The recycled40fordwoodie JUST roared to life..

Mufflers tonight..

I'm Cranky....

Today was my birthday..


Unfortunately, work kept me tied up later than usual.

and it wasn't until later this evening that I turned the key and heard the motor turn over..

I settled for cranking noises and elected to not attempt to fire the engine at 10 PM..

given that the car is currently lacking mufflers, tailpipes , and the related accessory's I think this was a good decision..


perhaps more fluids, and a fresh battery tomorrow??

Whoa

Thanks to my lovely wife..

we can stop!

brakes are bled! we have brakes..

Persevere!

I must have been beaming last October as my pal Doug and I wandered the Hershey Swap meet. I had just scored a 40 woodie rear bumper which was riding atop my swap meet wagon flanked by a pair of 39 ford bumpers (which I had bought moments before finding the correct bumper) . Doug was on the lookout for anything JEEP,and at one "corner" we happened upon a pair of new englanders.. (Mr C.)

Mr c's first comment was something like: "hey kid, what are you doing? CORNERING THE MARKET ON FORD BUMPERS??" however his tone was friendly and I quickly informed my new acquaintances that the rear bumper was for my 1940 ford woodie, and the 39's were for a future project.
To my surprise Mr. C indicated the he once had a 40 woodie, that he had disassembled many years prior.

When I inquired about the availability of these "saved parts" (without even knowing exactly what he might have) the situation became more muddled, when we explained that the parts were at his friends (Mr T's) "garage in a box, in the corner.....for the last 10 years!"

I didn't call right away, as I was too focused on obtaining the cowl from ROD, but when I did contact Mr T. he promised to send a digital photo to me..

A few weeks passed, and I received this digital photo.

a few more weeks passed and no communication came, I could have done without all the parts shown, but knew at a minimum they were good trading fodder.


life got busy, and it wasn't until february 13th that Mr T. and I would speak again.. at that point he indicated that he would "have to determine a price"

fearing the worst I almost gave up...

however, late in March (on a friday) I called again and Mr T. "threw a number at me"

following our conversation I indicated that I need a day or two to decide, (because I was going to look at another car) and as I was about to hang up Mr T mentioned that another "part" had shown up..

what part I asked..? "The steel panel that houses the latches in the upper portion of the lower tailgate."

As I contemplated the purchase over the weekend I gave little thought to the lower gate upper panel. In fact, it wasn't until I spoke to Mr. T again on monday that I realized "perhaps the rear gate handles are still be attached to that lower rear gate panel.."

to my amazement they were..





































as well as a host of other goodies..

as paul harvey would have said..
"the rest of the story"

this deal took so long..

because..

As it turns out, Mr. C and Mr. T couldn't determine how to "split" the proceeds of this sale.

The parts technically belonged to one man, but were stored at his friends home for many many years. Neither friend felt great about the money..

in the end... neither man's name was on the check..

Every time I turn the handles on my rear gate, I'll think of the good that came from a simple conversation at Hershey..

Earth DAY

Happy Belated Earth day..

from the Recycled 40 Ford Woodie Project.

spring break??

I got two good days in the garage this week..

Its always amazing how much can be done in such a little amount of time.. WHEN you have all the pieces in one place.. (and when you have thought about what needs to be done for several days)

fortunately everything worked out well and had I not needed to eat, the woodie might be running now..

the punch list was 50 items long, some of the more noteworthy items..

finished the wiring (minus hooking up the horn, headlights and taillights)
finished the "proflo" wiring
finished plumbing the radiator, trans cooler, and completed the install of the rubber fuel hoses to the intake.
finished the air suspension (minus installing the PUMP for the final time)
finished the dashboard (minus the cluster wiring, which I cant finish until the cluster lens returns from the engraver)

Here it is in super mockup. (with the need "old" hood i scored recently )

WINDOW WINDERS

what could possibly be so interesting about window winders???

well

this is what the stock 1940 ford (ONLY) woodie wagon window winder looks like (is winder a real word?)



see that fancy steel plate..

that plate holds the regulator to the door.. and serves as a method to trim off the inside of hte door.. these two pieces are relatively valuable.. due to their rarity.. each wagon needs 2. and these are only for 1940 ford..


that was a problem.. the above were offered to me for 200.00

I passed..

and I decided to search eBay

Where I found that WINDOW regulator's that looked VERY VERY SIMILAR..



so.. 50.00 later.. I had a pair.. that were.. NOS!

heres my install!



the latch "remotes" were salvaged from a pair of 37 ford doors I had bought..

RECYCLED!

New.. IS UGLY

trying to keep all the parts "recycled" has been a challenge.. one place where I knew I would have difficulty was the turn signal switch..

Old Switches are available, but are often in need of serious repair..

So, my friends at Hudson Rod and Custom hooked me up with one of these switches

task 1 HIDE the wires..

I was (at first) going to attempt to mount the switch so that it would be hidden from view, but space under the dash is at a premium.. (and I don't have the gauges installed yet!)

additionally, the photo above is representative of how crummy these things look with the wires "exposed" (something I wanted to hide)

here are some tricks.. to the install


I started with a trip to a local hardware store for a pair of supply lines for my bathroom sink. these are chromed, and were on sale for about 3.00


after disassembling that turn signal switch I realized that i would need to make some minor modifications.. here I am holding the "chassis" of the switch.






here you can see the difference between a stock and a modified supply tube..


and here is the chassis and the tube reassembled..



a few minutes later.. I had the entire wiring harness of the switch run through the tube, and the switch reassembled.. I'll connect up the harness to the switch wires this week..

and lights will flash!


additionally, you'll notice that I have a "unique" mount for my switches.. all in the name of a compact design.