1942 Ford project

…once again some small updates: Now it‘s time for some disassembly to have better access to the engine, wich needs some tune up work and also the wiring needs some attention. While doing this i will convert the Ford to 12 Volts, i already have ordered an stock generator wich somebody had converted to 12 Volts. And also some little rust repairs have do be done in the front area.

I’ve worked on some other details, for example i changed the rims wich where 16 inch non Ford rims before. In between i‘ve found some 40s Ford rims and i have modified the ripple disc hubcaps to fit. I’ve cut free the mounting rings of some stock dog dish hubcaps and welded them to steel rings i‘ve made, and then i have screwed it to the back of the ripple disc (through the holes you can see in the ring, red plastic ring isn’t drilled yet in the picture). I wanted to avoid that they sit flush on the rim because removing would be difficult i assume (especially when trim rings are mounted too), so i made a spacer ring out of hard plastic. Now the hubcaps can be easily removed by hand, i hope they pass the test when i drive it some day. But i think it will hold well because of the stock mounting ring. Here are some under construction pictures:

Thanks Mitch! I‘d be curious to see that tool, i think i have to made one too, because once the trim rings are mounted there will be just a very narrow slot left around the hubcap. Maybe just a hook made from flat steel will do it.

That sounds great Mitch, have a nice vacation!

Here‘s a small update on my Ford, in between i have replaced the water pumps, hoses and motor mounts, flushed the engine and i have installed the 12 volt generator i bought on ebay some time ago (it was converted from a 6 volt) and a 12 volt regulator (and coil of course), but the battery doesn‘t get charged, i have to figure out what‘s wrong. I also have changed to negative ground.
At least the engine runs and today i have pulled out the original exhaust. I had ordered some cheap headers (ok, not really cheap with shipping to germany on top), but they fit. Also a long time ago i‘ve bought a set of nos Hollywood deep tone steel pack mufflers wich will go under the car, cant‘t wait to hear them! I have never built an exhaust before, i bet it will become an adventure, but i would say it’s doable, it doesn’t need to be perfect. Here‘s how it looks right now:

Hello Mitch, glad to hear from you! Thanks for the pictures, the hose for protection is a very good idea! Your hubcap construction looks very similar to mine:

I‘ve noticed that my hubcap is a bit off center when it‘s mounted, although i‘ve measured accurately before i‘ve screwed the ring on the hubcap. It must be because the mounting ring of the Ford hubcap i‘ve used has a slight slant to one side if looked at it from the side, so i have to find a way to find the center and remount the ring in an slight off center position to get it right. The other stock Ford snap rings i have are also slightly slanted to one side, it seems they where made that way and i think it‘s not visible when used with the dog dish hubcap, because of the small diameter.

Mitch, they have the bumps, so i have to reposition the attached ring somehow.
Clips are definiteley more practical for modified hubcaps.

Yesterday i‘ve finally mounted the taillights, next i have to mount the new bigger bulb housings i‘ve made (with more space for reflection) from the back inside the fender. Tony inspired me to do this, because original there is not much space behind the glass and not a lot of reflection area.

And my newest plan is to weld the sunken license hole shut and mount the license plate on the bumper in a 49 Chevy guard. Not that i don‘t like sunken license plates anymore, just a new plan. About like in the picture below.

The dual exhaust is nearly finished now, i‘ve spend about four days crawling under the car.  I‘ve used universal tubes in different shapes/angles (1  3/4 inch like the stock exhaust) and used the original tube as an guide to piece together the new tubes. I gave the part behind the rear axle a bit of a different shape to have a longer horizontal piece.

I had to modify the passenger side tube to give the panhard bar enough travel room, and on the drivers side i had to build an extra curve to clear the tank, that‘s the tube you see below, and then finished behind the car on the ground.

The sunken plate is nearly vanished now and the license guard is mocked up with zip ties.

And of course i will mount some chrome tips soon.

This is the piece i’ve built for the drivers side just behind the manifold (original there‘s a crossover pipe to the passenger side), it‘s a tight fit because it needs to be routed (that’s at least what i have figured out) very close under the frame as far away as possible to the wishbone and then it had to be snaked through between master brake cylinder, clutch pedal, gas line and emergency brake cable:

Now i hope everything works the way i thought it would.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 2 weeks ago by Michu.