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This is a polished aluminum steering box by Mullins. It has all new innards and looks amazing. Basically, we just installed the Pitman arm, moved the box forward and backward until the drag link was parallel with the tie rod, then moved it up until the top of the upper tab was about flush with the top of the rail. We marked the hole, and then carefully lowered the box out of the way. I was holding it in position with one hand over my head in an awkward manner for about 5 minutes while Cam was moving it around. Try doing that with a cast box!
Parts shown:
Steering box bracket: WS2072, Welder Series (after welding)
Before you set up the box, make sure to get the car sitting where it’s going to be driving down the road. If you set the steering up when the frame’s not sitting as low as it should be, the geometry won’t be as good as it could be. Notice the driver’s side motor mount is missing a gusset – we’re waiting until we know exactly where the steering box is going to be before we install the gusset, in case any trimming will be required for steering shaft clearance.
Continue reading “’32 Update: Steering Box Install (article 7, archived)” »
We’re installing stock door handles, and we’re going to try to get them as close to the stock location as possible. We took measurements off Robert Rowe’s steel ’32. The only thing we’re missing is hinges, but I think it’s ok because we have an aluminum steering box. Some parts of this car are going to be old looking, some are going to be new looking. P.S. It’s our car. We used masking tape in the approximate location of the handle. Masking tape is always a good thing to have when you’re building a street rod.
We used a caliper to scribe a line in the masking tape at the right length in from the edge of the door. Stock door handles had the mounting plate screws parallel to the front door edge.
We did the same thing on the inside, although our plans changed later. The line of tape going down is where the window channel is. It’s a good idea to keep that in mind so you don’t plan to put your latch where there will be interference later.
Hot Rod Latch
We sliced, diced, welded, and made it work. The silver thing is the door handle mounting kit from Rocky Hinge. Part #HL001. We ended up welding it right to the bearclaw latch, because we wanted the door handle as close to the stock location as possible. The other thing we wanted was a bit of delay in the handle rotation before the latch was tripped, so that the handle isn’t as touchy as the latch. The short stroke is great for power actuators, but not so great for human powered handles- you drop a booger on the handle and you’ll trip the latch. That’s why there’s the gap between the “actuation cylinder” and the arm on the latch. One more thing to keep in mind: the door jamb is not perpendicular to the ground. If you weld the door handle mounting piece perpendicular to the latch, the handle will be drooping towards the ground. Measure the angle between a body line and the angle of the front of the door, then tranfer that to the latch.
Continue reading “’32 Update: Installing the Door Handles (article 8, archived)” »
The Bear deck lid has a recessed rectangle that’s a good place to start for an access hole. I put masking tape around the inside perimeter of the hole, and will cut out the area inside the tape. This way, we can make up an aluminum cover later on to hide the hole, and it will be recessed. I’ve got the center marked on the other piece of tape.
The time consuming part of the deck lid latch is getting the slot in the correct spot. Mark the area with masking tape, measure your mounting hole centers, then figure out where the sweep of the “flag” is going to be. The distance from the flag to the outside of the deck lid is very important in our case, because we’re not using the bracket that goes on the body. We’re going to mount the handle so that the ‘flag’ will brush against the inside lip of the trunk when it’s closed. That way, there won’t be anything for the suitcases to catch on! I can’t possibly explain all the little dimensions I had to take- just remember to allow for the thickness of the fiberglass, and also the curvature of the trunk lid.
Voila… pretty trick, eh?! We’ll be using flathead allen bolts to clean it up even more.
Continue reading “’32 Update: Trunk Latch/ Handle Installation (article 9, archived)” »
Here I will make a latch for the trunk handle. The mechanism that came attached to the piece from Vintique isn’t long enough to do what we want done. In our application, because we don’t want anything really protruding into the trunk space (as in a plate for the latch to hook on), we wanted to add length to the original “mailbox flag” to make it long enough to tuck inside the lower lip of the body (or roll pan… not sure what to call it). It won’t latch into anything, but because the trunk lid swings out before it swings up, it shouldn’t need a hook and latch.
The tricky part is going to be making sure the “flag” is in the exact location we need it to be in so that the lid isn’t too loose, or too tight. This was done in the last article. So now, we’re just going to install it and hope I didn’t mess up the measurements too badly!
I started with a length of 1/8″ rod. I was originally going to make the locking “flag” out of 1/8″ plate, but I found this bar and the plate didn’t stand a chance. I cleaned it up a bit with a ScotchBrite pad.
The starting bend was made around a 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″ tube that I clamped in the vise. The other bends were done around a 3/4″ bar, with a set of pliers to bring the 1/8″ bar in tight to the 3/4″ bar.
Continue reading “’32 Update: Trunk Lock (article 10, archived)(video added)” »
It was a great summer to drive! It’s turning out to be a very fun car to get in, turn the key, and go. I’ve enjoyed taking my girls (albeit one at a time) for rides, too.
Over the winter, we’re hoping to make some minor tweaks. I’ll document them, but for now, here are some things we’d like to do:
- Lower the front about 1/2″
- Make non-adjustable four link bars for the front (once everything’s set up right, it doesn’t need to be changed)
- Brainstorm a ride height monitoring system
- Some sort of rubber bump stop on the rear axle
- Try and tighten that one collector bolt that I wasn’t able to tighten all the way at the beginning of the summer
- Install some sort of dovetails in the doors
- Paint the hinges black
- Swap front shocks for Bilsteins
I can’t remember what the mileage was at the beginning of the year, but when I parked it yesterday, the odometer was at 13 885. That doesn’t include the first Louisville trip, when the speedometer wasn’t quite hooked up yet. From here to Louisville and back is about 1100 miles, not including any driving around at the show. Let’s call the current mileage 15 000. While certainly not coming close to what many of you put on in a summer, it was 15 000 miles of fun for us over two summers!
Mock the seat into position
Here, I’ve got the bottom of the custom Tack upholstered WiseGuys seat removed to show the blocks I put under the seat frame. This is how the seat is positioned to give the most support under the thighs, while still allowing my dad to be able to get out of the car without commissioning a bystander to pull him out. Now that the seat is in the correct position (front-to-back & side-to-side), we can move on to exactly how to attach the seat to the floor.
Choosing the mounting location
I believe the hole in the plate going from front to back is for the slider on the WiseGuys seat, which we won’t be using. We want the seat as close to the floor as possible, mainly for head room. I will be using the lower shaded circle for the mounting brackets.
Continue reading “’32 Update: Seat Risers (article 11, archived)” »
Marking the column location
We wanted the column to come out at the same line as the center of the steering wheel, which is also where we put the wiper. That way, everything will be in line. The only people that will probably notice it are those who are watching this buildup, but it’ll still be ambiguously appealing.
Here is the ididit column we’re using. It’s a 28″ steel tilt unit, with a Lecarra Mark 9 steering wheel on there for now. I’ve wrapped giant Saran wrap around it so that the oil from my hands doesn’t make it rust.
This is a tricky part. The firewall on the Bear body is about 2-1/2″ thick. In order to put the column through that behemoth firewall, the holes on either side need to be staggered vertically, and also they’re not round holes, they’re ellipses. We decided to use a 1-7/8″ hole saw to cut through, and then clean the rest out by hand. This should result in a very clean looking firewall – there won’t be the typical billet floor mount. Just a hole exactly the size as the column. If I’m good.
Column position is a crucial part of the comfort level of the car. If your column is in the wrong spot, it won’t tilt properly into position, and it won’t be in the optimal spot when you’re driving down the road. We established the position by sitting in the car, holding the column up at the bottom, and then marking the top of the output shaft on the tape. The left to right position was determined by dropping a plumb line from the wiper hole center, which is also the center of the steering wheel. It’s a bit tricky to get all this stuff lined up, so take your time. It will be worth it when you’re comfortable. Oh, and make sure you have THE SEAT THAT YOU’RE USING installed. NOT a milk crate, or a toilet, or whatever else you think might work.
Continue reading “’32 Update: Installing the Steering Column (article 12, archived)” »
Paul gets comfortable with the column in its lowered position. After all, it is his car. We used a coat hanger to rig it into place. As long as you can secure it temporarily while you measure, you’ll be fine.
Next, it’s important to make sure you can actually get out of the car without knee pads. Looks like this will be just fine!
Continue reading “’32 Update: Column Drop (article 13, archived)” »
I used a stainless clutch pedal pad bracket for the 3/8″ hole to hold my fuel line to the back of the head. (pics #1 & 2)
If you’re comfortable enough with your welding skills, go ahead and weld it to the line! (pic 3)
“Yeah, I have a 31″ die for 3/8″ hard line” In fact, everyone does – use the grooves on your tire to hold the line, then gently persuade it around the circumference. The rubber will give a little bit so the tube won’t buckle unless you really haul on it. (pics 4 +)
I used these little front panhard tabs (Welder Series part #21942S) to hold the front section of my rear flex lines. I drilled them out to one little size smaller than 7/16″, which is a press-fit for the -3 end of the hose. This way I don’t have to use those clips and a bulkhead fitting. I’ve got a -3 joiner between the hard line and the flex line.
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