Tractors and BoatTail Speedsters

These cars can create a conversation of a thousand words. Check out the creative lines, single seat, Early track width designs that come from each car pictured.

It intreagues me tremendously because it screams everything 'Traditional'.

To keep them in the lines of "Tradition", these cars could be built on the 'cheap' utilizing the old farm tractor grills and hoods and the narrowing of beater rust bucket roadster and/or coupe bodies with boattail streamlining.

In a nutshell, I would stuff under the hood an early V8-60 flathead or Model A/B banger using original speed parts. Dual Stromberg 97's/94's, and a Model A or Early Ford 3-speed toploaders (Model A to 1939 Toploaders). Of course, dont forget an Early Ford Banjo Rear end and Early Ford juice brakes front/rear.

What do you think?

The "Patrick" Coupe

Vintage Metal is on Week 2 of this build. As the Chassis is mocked together, some changes will happen like lower the rear of the car 3-4 inches. A small step will be incorporated into the frame to bring the trunk/rear of body down to a respectable level and the rear tires in perspective of the rear well curvature.



The doors bottoms and interior structure have been repaired. New lower patch panels have been cut, metal worked and installed. With a little more hammer and dolly work, a minimal skim coat will be needed to straighten them out. You cant get any better than this. :)



The front rear quarters are next on the list.

Vintage Metal takes pride in all work being done. Replacement of all necessary areas with new metal is a must.

Stay tuned for more future updates.

Bias Ply Versus Radial Tires

What is the difference between the two?

The main difference lies in the tire's construction. The basic carcass of all tires is made up of layers of rubber permeated fabric. These layers are referred to as plies, and the most common fabric used today is polyester. The method or the “direction” these plies are applied, with relations to each other and to the center line of the tread, differentiates between a “bias” and a “radial” tire. The plies on a bias tire run approximately 45 degrees to the center line of the tread, alternating in direction with each layer; thus, they crisscross or run in 90 degree angles to each other. This design or style of construction was common on all tires provided as original equipment, on U.S. built cars, until the early 1970’s. The plies on a radial tire run 90 degrees to the center line of the tire and basically overlap instead of crisscrossing. This new design, actually developed during the Second World War , allows the side walls of the tire to be more “flexible” which provides less rolling resistance, providing better gas mileage, and longer tread life. This “flex” also promotes better adherence to the road, thus better handling on both wet and dry surfaces. The radial tire found early acceptance in Europe, and finally became standard equipment on most U.S. passenger cars by 1974.

Physical comparison of the older style “bias ply” tire and the modern style “radial ply” tire also reflects a change in “aspect ratio”, seen in the relationship of the height and width of the tire cavity. The cavity of the earliest tires was basically round, 100 aspect ratio (inflate an inner tube outside of the tire and its’ cavity is basically round; the height and the width of the cavity are the same). Through the years, most bias ply tires had an 82 aspect ratio; the height of the cavity was 82% of the width, wider than the earliest tires but still some what tall and skinny. Profiles changed in the mid 1960’s to 78 and even70 aspect ratios providing lower profile tires with more tread face on the road and shorter side walls, a little “firmer” ride but more “responsive” handling. When the Radial tires came on the scene they were built with the lower aspect ratios, therefore we generally acquaint bias ply tires as tall and skinny, while the radial tires are considered short and wide.

As the aspect ratios decreased (tires became shorter and wider), tire engineers determined that “belts” could be layered under the tread to provide better tread face integrity. These belts were originally constructed of rubber permeated fiberglass mesh; we referred to them as “fiberglass belts”, then later steel mesh; which we refer to today as “steel belts”. Bias ply tires were “belted” during the 1960’s, particularly on the lower aspect ratio “performance tires”, but for the most part, in our minds, we only correlate belted tires, more specifically “steel belted” tire with modern radials.

So what does all this mean to you as an antique or collector car owner?

It actually means a lot. The bias ply tire offers originality, a concept that is foundational to our hobby whether you have a completely original car or a customized street rod. The bias ply tire has, and continues to provide utility service and esthetic appeal for folks who desire a period look and originality. They are as safe and reliable, even more so today with modern materials, as they ever were, and let’s face it; we drove on bias ply tires for over 70 years on much worse roads they we have today.

Is the radial tire better?

Of course it is. It’s the “new improved” tire. In fact, it’s a better tire today than it was when it was first introduced as Original Equipment in 1973. Its design is better for road and hwy use. It is safer; it provides higher gas mileage, longer tread life, and better handling. How much safer, how much higher, how much longer, and how much better? It depends on the specific vehicle, how much it is driven and most importantly, how it is driven. Should you install radial tires instead of the original bias ply? This question ultimately has to be answered by the owner of the vehicle. It comes down to form over function; is it worth what you gain by installing radial tires compared to what you give up by not installing original style tires.

Bias Ply to Radial Conversion Chart

Coker Bias/Radial Conversion

Ref: Coker Tire

Adjusting your Early Brakes

Here are a few great drawings to reference too.

Information by "RumbleSeat"
Referenced Website: http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/brakeadj.html


Adjusting '39-'42 Brakes:

I used to hate these brakes because of the adjustable double anchor when I was a mechanic in the mid fifties. Then a fellow mechanic showed me a Ford Service bulletin. Ever since then, I have preferred these to the '46-'48 units since I can get a better adjustment.

These are Lockheed brakes which use eccentric washers in conjunction with non-eccentric anchor pins to position the shoes. The top of the shoe is controlled by an eccentric cam (usually 11/16") located near the top of the shoe. The anchor pins, located at the bottom of the backing plate, control the shoe position by turning the eccentric washers at the bottom of the shoe. These anchor pins have locating on the elongated 1/4" adjuster. The locating marks may be a dot or an arrow, I'm assuming everything is in good condition and not rusty or frozen.

Step 1: Loosen the anchor pin large lock nuts (usually 3/4") on both shoes of one wheel just barley enough to permit turning the 1/4" anchor pin adjusters. Now, turn both of the 1/4" adjusters so the locator marks face directly towards each other. This next point is important .... All further adjustments are made by turning the anchor pins (1/4") and eccentric (11/16") downwards.

Step 2: Back off the upper eccentric cam adjusters on both shoes until the wheel rotates freely.

Step 3: Now turn one of the upper eccentric (11/16") until the wheel cannot be turned.

Step 4: Now turn it's 1/4" anchor pin adjuster downward until the wheel just turns freely. This lowers the shoe and moves the toe of the shoe away from the drum and results in fuller shoe contact.

Step 5: Now go back to Step 3 and do it and step 4 again to the same shoe. Repeat as necessary until turning the 1/4" anchor pin adjuster will no longer free up the wheel. Back off both anchor pin adjuster and upper eccentric just enough so the wheel has a slight drag. Tighten the anchor pin lock nut (3/4") without letting the anchor pin adjuster move. Now do the other shoe the same way.

If you've worn the shoes badly at the top, it'll take some time to wear the heel enough so you get full brake shoe contact.
When adjusting brakes, always turn the wheel in the same direction the wheel would turn when the car travels forward.


PS: The 1/4" anchor adjustment bolts require an offset open end wrench about 8 1/2" in length to get enough leverage to turn, I think it's a special Ford tool and hard to find.

Additional Information regarding the Adjustment of Early Brakes.

Adjusting the upper hex bolts to set shoe clearance is the easy part. The confusing part is the lower anchors on 39-42's. The Service Bulletin sends you through a procedure to follow, but does not explain why or what needs to be achieved.

The purpose of the lower anchors, which are eccentrics, is to properly position/center the linings in the drums, so that full lining contact can occur. OF FIRST IMPORTANCE is to have the new linings arc ground to fit the arc of the drums, which may be different on each drum, depending on the oversize of the drum. If this is not done, you are rolling the dice on whether the lining is too large of an arc (and will only contact the drum at the ends) or too small (and will only contact the drum at the center of the lining)- in either case, full contact cannot occur regardless of the anchor adjustment. Note also that the lower anchor adjustment is only required when installing new linings.

Once the anchor studs are set and the lock nuts are tightened, the shoes will not move out of center with the drums, and thereafter only the upper adjustment need be performed to compensate for lining wear.

In a nutshell, assemble the anchors with the dots facing each other as a starting point. Make sure that the drum turns freely, then adjust the uppers until they don't, then back them off until they do.

Have a helper apply about 30lbs of pressure to the brake pedal while (with the lock nut loosened) turning the flat on the anchor stud in each direction to cause the lining to impact the drum in both directions, then set the anchor in about the middle of that travel, hold the stud while tightening the lock nut. This essentially centers the lining up/down in the drum, allowing it to make full contact
when the brakes are applied. This operation is done to each anchor/shoe/lining separately. When all have been done, again adjust the upper (clearance) hex heads until the shoes are just barely off of the drums.

Road test and readjust as necessary to make it stop good and straight.

It is also important to have at least 1/16" of free travel of the Mcyl pushrod before it starts moving the Mcyl piston; otherwise, the brakes will not fully release, will get hot and will lock up.

The above is not exactly the same procedure as provided elsewhere, but it is what I do and it seems to work well. If you keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish, it makes sense.

Bonneville Salt Flats - Save the Salt

I was browsing the internet and suprisingly I ended up at the Southern California Timing Association's (SCTA) website. Reading tid bits to put together another article for the readers to enjoy; I stumbled on this.

"Save the Salt". What is this about? I have lived in So. Cal for 20+ years; toyed with Hot Rods for the past 10 years and NEVER knew of such a delima. So I don't blab myself or my readers to sleep, read on!

Save the Salt, A Brief History

from Mike Waters

It has come to our attention that there are a number of folks out there that are not fully aware of what our Save The Salt organization is all about. To that end we have comprised the following brief history of when and why Save The Salt was formed. We hope this tells the story "In a Nutshell" Thanks to Mary West (Secretary of Save The Salt) for putting this history together and thanks to JoAnn Carlson (SCTA/BNI Office) for forwarding the note to us from a gentleman who is a new competitor at Bonneville. He said that he knew Save The Salt was important but he wondered what it was. By the way, he sent a donation along with his inquiry.

Save The Salt, a brief history:During the (1930-1940) era the Bonneville Salt Flats was able to support the weight of 10-ton twin-engine streamliners that roared down the 13.5-mile long Race Courses. The Hot Rods roared onto the salt flats in 1949 with the first Speed Week event and have run every year since. Of course a few years were missed due to weather.

By the early 1960's the pioneers of Land Speed Racing began to notice subtle changes in the surface of the raceway. There were discussions of why the surface seemed to be getting weaker and that this unique body of land was shrinking. We were able to get only as much as 7 miles of decent salt for our courses, if we were lucky. It wasn't long before fingers were pointed at the mining industry on the south side of interstate 80. Owned by Kaiser Chemical, their operations covered some 50 sq. miles of the salt flats.

Rick Vesco, our first chairman of Save The Salt, spearheaded the effort to meet with Utah State and Federal Government officials as well as the Chemical Company to resolve the problem of salt depletion. The goal was to return the salt that was accumulating in their settling ponds at the mining facility to the Raceway. These early cries for help continued until 1989 when the Save the Salt Organization was founded and struggled to achieve recognition as they began to see the heavy toll the mining industry was taking on the salt flats. In the meantime Kaiser Chemical had sold the operation to Reilly Chemical and a new 20-year lease for mining had been signed.

The once healthy 18 plus inches of salt had become so fragile that the Race Courses had to be moved farther and farther east. Running on the long International Race Course was no longer possible. Reilly Industries was forcing water through canals crisscrossing the flats into their evaporation ponds from which potash was extracted. It was estimated that the process was taking an estimated 850,000 tons of salt from the flats each year.

The Save the Salt Board has members from the Southern California Timing Assn (SCTA) / Bonneville Nationals Inc (BNI) and Utah Salt Flats Racers Assn (USFRA). This group was able to negotiate a restoration agreement in 1997. Working hand in hand with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Reilly Chemical Co. they began to work together to return salt from the ponds.

The Lay down Project was to reverse the process by pumping brine water back onto the salt flats at the rate of 1.5 million tons of salt each year for 5 years. The BLM, Reilly Chemical and the Racers embraced the plan. It was a giant step forward with Government and Industry working together. From the beginning of the pumping project racers began to notice changes in the surface. By the end of the 5-year pumping plan the racers were able to get back to running on the old International Course. Though not as long, there was a noticeable difference in the hardness and durability of the racecourses and on a few occasions we were able to get as much as an 11 mile course. Once again the Potash Plant has been sold. Intrepid Industries is now the owner and has shown an interest in our quest to have a healthy Bonneville Salt Flats and a strong racecourse surface. They showed their support by once again starting the pumping process the first of February 2005. We commend them for their efforts. The Save the Salt Board is committed to working with both the BLM and Intrepid Industries. While there is still a lot more to be done, our vigilance appears to have paid off, not just for the racing competitors but also by preserving this historical natural treasure, The Bonneville Salt Flats, for future generations to come.

Save The Salt Board:

Chairman: Larry Volk
Secretary: Mary West
Treasure: Russ Eyres

Technical Advisors:

Rick Vesco
Bonner Denton
Gordon Hoyt
Duane McKinney

Members of the Board:

BNI, Mike Waters
SCTA, Roy Creel
USFRA, Jim Burkdoll


Please send your donations to:
Save The Salt

c/o Russ Eyres
3673 Millikin St. - San Diego CA, 92122

Chevrolet's - 1934

Early Chevrolets; Lets touch on them for a minute. You don't hear or see them very often, but from time to time, one surfaces and it really catches your eye. Early Fords by far are everyones favorite amongst the other manufactures. It's my 'builders' opinion, it would mostly be due to the construction of the car; less wood, more metal (let us not forget the favorite V8 Engine too ). I'm not denying that the other makes have nice looking cars, common sense would tell me - Fords to be the favorite having less wood, more steel structure; less desireable Chevrolets and other makes, Wood Strucutres and steel panels. It's easier to make steel panels than it is to make curved wood structures.

Focusing on the car and not how they were built, Chevrolet's have some very distinctive lines and had a great potential for that 'Early Hot Rod' look. Early Fords had thier V8 Flatheads and Chevrolet's...V8 La Salle/Cadillac Engines, Hopped up Inline 6's, Beefed up Inline 8's. As I'm writing this, I laugh. Ford were simple and interchangeable; Motors and transmissions, Rear ends were relatively the same, the common Torque tube design.

The 1934 Chevrolet Master and Standard continued Chevrolet's year-old practice of building two distinct series of cars on different wheelbase lengths. The 1934 Chevrolet Master, in fact, now measured 112 inches, two inches longer than the 1933 model. The 1934 Chevrolet Standard model remained at 107 inches.

Both models retained six-cylinder power, but modifications to the Master's 206-cubic-inch engine boosted horsepower from 65 to 80. The Standard series repeated 1933's 181-cubic-inch 60-horsepower engine.

Chevrolet's big news this year was adoption of "Knee-Action," the sealed Dubonnet type of independent front suspension. Standard equipment on the Master series, it would not be offered on Standard models for a few more years.

Master models, while retaining the previous year's styling theme, looked heavier than their 1933 counterparts -- which they were, by some 225 pounds, about 60 pounds of which was due to the Dubonnet "knees." Three horizontal hood louvers replaced the doors used in 1932-33, and wheels were reduced in size to 17 inches. Free Wheeling was optional on Master models only.

The Standard line was expanded to five body styles. Prices were raised by $40 on Standard models and as much as $100 on the Master series. Production increased by 29 percent, with the Standard coach scoring the biggest gain.

Here is a short video on all of thier makes in 1934. Enjoy!

How Strong are Model A Rears, Part II - Snubbers

I was reading some information on line and came across this great post on Model A Rear ends and the use of a brass subber to help the ring gear from walking away from the pinion..causing rear end desintegration.

Here are a couple of photos to show where a snubber is located. I use a Kiwi Quickchange center section. This rear is using a Halibrand manual from speedway that showed a snubber in the later V8 quickchanges. Vic King " Midnite Oil " he said they had put a snubber in the rear end on their dragster to keep the ring gear from pushing away from the pinion, this being the weak spot on the "A"rear end. The one is made out of bronze and give it less than .005 clearance. When the ring gear pushes away the pinion will try to climb the ring gear and break the casting. This is where most model "A" halibrands will show traces of welding

Gene Winfield

Gene Winfield, to some, they would call the master crafter of cars.

This is one of those pictures that make you wonder about all the activity going on.

Take that Merc Winfield is working on, the perfect custom. The fade-aways down the length of the car, the perfect chop, nosed, decked, shaved door handles. Im guessing he is welding up the cowl vent to finish it off for a customer. Maybe a work in progress, a customer is back after payday to get one more thing done; until next time.

Could you imagine if a body guy today was to stand on the hood of your car to fix the cowl area... pffft. Yeah right. "uh, could you change the hood too while your at it! "

A stunning shot...painted or not...

What else do you see?

The most amazing 32 Roadster!

One of my favorite images, a Deuce towing a track roadster.

I am not one to get excited, jump up and down and point in amazement. Since seeing this car, I have always favored the 32 roadster and its body lines. This one is one of the few that I really love. If you ask me, it's the perfect image of a Traditional Hot Rod.

When staring at the picture you can only wonder what color the body is. With your imagination, lift the hood and see what's powering this beautiful beast.

As for the roadster top and side curtains....WOW!

Sit in it, and push the starter button, step on the gas and lift the clutch....to feel the road under your seat.

Amazing!

"Hot Rod Story" Part 2

Lets continue where we left off. More "Hot Rod Story".

Movies from the past!

Here is a cool movie that was posted in the Jalopy Journal that I found just awesome. It shows the hot rods of the past and how they were actually built.

The only difference is, they were much cheaper back then.

Sit back and enjoy. I know I did.

"The Hot Rod Story" Part 1

I found this cool video about Hot Rodding in its early years. Please watch and enjoy! I will continue to post more...so watch for them!