Brake time, gas sludge & history clues

Over the past week, I assembled the master cylinder to the adapter and mounted the entire assembly under the floor. The I checked for pedal fit and determined the length of the rod that pushes on the master cylinder piston.  Took the push rod parts to More Power on Monday and had Dick weld it up.  The rest of the brake parts are on order with Chassis Engineering and should be here tomorrow.  Here's a view of how the master cylinder and brake pedal/lever looks under the floor.

    Looks like I'm going to have to repaint some of the hidden areas of the firewall and the underside of the frame again.  The lighting isn't too conducive to painting in my garage.  Think I'm going to abandon the spray gun and resort to rattle cans.   I also got the steering column and the column attachment brackets all primered and ready for paint.  Hopefully, the new steering wheel will be shipped on Feb 5th as scheduled.
     Today I dropped the gas tank out of the car and emptied the remaining gasoline into a pan to see how dirty it was.  Last year I noticed quite a bit of rust in the fuel system.  Clear bowls on the fuel filter on the tank and on the fuel pump make it possible to see any contaminants in the fuel.  I was amazed when I dropped the tank and heard what sounded like gravel sloshing around inside!  I poured the salvaged gas from the pan through some cheese cloth and into a bucket.  Then I filtered it again as It was poured into a gas can.  The residue left behind in the pan was disgusting!

This stuff was very powdery and stuck together when the gas was removed.  I'm debating now whether to get the tank cleaned at the Radiator Hospital or just order a new one. Guess I'll call them tomorrow and get a price. 
     Learning the history of a car can be fun.  I posted last year how I had discovered a phone number written on the bottom of the radio and called the number to see if anyone there knew of the '41.  The fella I talked to had owned the car in the late 80's and had bought it from a local dealer who specialized in classic cars.  He had kept it for a couple years before selling it to the older gent that passed away in early 2010 and his heirs sold it to my friend Dennis.  Welllll, today I uncovered a possible clue to previous ownership and a likely explanation for the great condition of the '41.  Someone had covered the area behind the rear seat with a filler panel that was installed in the trunk.  I don't know what this panel was originally made of but the replacement was made of a large piece of cardboard cut to fit and painted flat black.  Since it was up in the back of the trunk, I hadn't bothered to do anything with it until today.  I removed everything from the trunk to cut the fuel sender wire and allow access to the trunk floor so it can be cleaned and painted.  While I was in the trunk, I figured I might as well remove that piece of cardboard so a different type of fill panel can be fabricated.  Lo and behold, the other side of the panel was the remains of a lettered, corrugated container and affixed to it was a shipping label and Post Office date sticker.  The shipper was:  Al Knoch Interiors in El Paso, Tx and the package was sent to: AA Classics in Nixa, Mo.  Al Knoch is still in business and looks to have moved to Houston -  http://www.alknochinteriors.com/.  AA Classics had a phone number show up in a google search but that number was no longer in service.  I decided to do a little more digging so I called the Nixa Chamber of Commerce.  Missy at the C of C didn't know of AA Classics but did admit to be a "car gal" and she had previously worked at the Auto Auction in Branson, Mo.  She said Branson is only about a 1/2 hour drive from Nixa and that the Branson Auction is a huge one specializing in classic cars.  She gave me the phone number for the Branson Auction and a referral to talk to "Jim" to find out if he knew of AA Classics in Nixa.   Jim was out when I called but I left a number and hopefully, he'll return my call.
     Now for some conjecturing on my part.  The date on the label next to the shipping label was 10-05-88.  I'm guessing AA Classics restored this car in 1988 and used a piece of a shipping box to make that trunk panel.  They possibly sold the car thru an auction house, maybe down the road in Branson, and a buyer from Michigan (the dealer from Hudsonville) bought the car and transported it back to Michigan.  That would be perfect timing for the guy who's phone number was on the radio to have purchased the car.  And, since the car was obviously in Missouri,  I'm betting it was from a southern state that didn't use salt on the roads in the winter.  That would explain the pristine undercarriage of the car.  If Jim calls, I'll see if I can confirm any of my ideas.  Kinda fun to think it through.

Back on 4 wheels.

     Yesterday was a great day for getting work done on the 41.  Very few interruptions and all the parts fit!  I had dropped off the old wheels and tires off the front of the car along with the new wheels to Maksim's yesterday.  Rob called this morning to say they were mounted and ready.  I didn't have them balanced yet because I'm not sure the tires I used previously will fit with the front of the car lowered.  I may have to buy shorter tires for the front. 
     The rack and pinion bolted back in along with the upper and lower control arms from Chassis Engineering/Heidts.  The spindles connected them all together and I mounted the sway bar even though it will probably have to be disconnected in order to install the coil springs.  I installed the support rods in place of the springs and shocks to set up the height of the front end.  Once the springs are installed, the final adjustments can be made.  Here's a couple pics of the initial assembly.

     The bolts used on the ends of the sway bar were short by 1/2" but a quick conversation with George at CE provided an easy fix.  The 1" spacer used between the hard rubber insulators could be cut in half to provide 2 shorter spacers just the right length.  A little cutting and deburring on the bench grinder and you can see the results above.
     Next was the disk brake assembly.  The Heidt's instruction sheet was very vague on the proper positioning of the caliper adapter bracket but that short conversation with George at CE also cleared my head on how the pieces went together.  The large 11" Granada disks should make a huge difference in the stopping of the '41.

One wheel assembly was then attached to check clearance for the brake parts.  All is good!

     The spring height and subsequently the car height can be adjusted by means of the large upper spring supports.  I wasn't concerned with tire alignment at this point so the settings you see in the following picture is experimentation on my part just to become familiar with the adjustability of the system.

    
     It was nice to see all four wheels on the ground again.  The steering parts have all been painted as well as the master cylinder adapter bracket.  Next is getting the brake and fuel lines run before I reinstall the engine.  Once the engine is back in, I may be able to install the springs and shocks.  The Ididit steering column still needs some paint, the floor needs an access hole cut for the master cylinder, the interior needs to come out so the floor can be painted and insulated, the new wiring has to be installed, front sheet metal has to be remounted after clearance is cut in the inner fenders, the new gauges, speedo, radio & speakers have to be installed, the center section of the rear end has to be swapped and the gas tank has to come out for cleaning!  Still have lots to do before the old girl sees the road again. 

Back in the saddle!

The Borgeson steering parts arrived on Thurs. Friday I setup the new configuration with the three universal joints and the steering assembly works perfectly!  Still had to fabricate a mounting bracket for the heim support but that could wait until the engine is removed.  Saturday was going to be the day my buddy Dan was coming over to spend the mid day helping me remove the engine/trans pieces.  However, he called early Saturday morning to let me know he was going to the med center to have his ankle/leg looked at.  Seems he had slipped and fallen on the ice after an event on Friday evening and his ankle was swollen and painful.  I quickly developed a mental plan to be able to accomplish the intended work by myself.  Turns out, it was a good thing I did as Dan called later in the morning to tell me he had broken the small leg bone in his lower leg just above the ankle.  He's going to be unavailable for the next 4-6 weeks.  Despite the setback, I was able to accomplish quite a bit.
     The empty block and transmission came out quite easily with the aid of a couple of ropes that let me "steer" the assembly to clear the firewall and engine mounts.  Once those pieces were taken apart and stowed, I set about drilling the holes in the frame for permanent attachment of the engine mounts.  Once that was completed, found a piece of scrap rectangular tubing that I cut to form a piece of angle iron.  I drilled a 3/4" hole for mounting the heim support and two smaller holes for attaching the bracket to the frame.  I found a couple of 3/8" self tapping bolts in my bolt bin and used them to securely fasten the bracket to the frame.  That completed the steering mock up.  I then removed the steering column, rack & pinion and steering parts from the car.  All the remaining holes in the firewall were taped over on the inside and the trans cover was put in place.  The car cover was put on the car, the removed parts were covered with tarps and plastic curtains were hung from the side wall and the opening to the shop area.  I figured I might as well get the engine compartment/frame/firewall painting done since the surfaces were fairly warm from the garage having been heated all day.  I had ordered "satin" black from the NAPA paint store but once the job was completed, it looked more like gloss than satin.
     I didn't get any pictures of Saturday's work but I'll post pics as soon as I get the steering column and parts painted and installed.  The new wheels are getting the tires mounted tomorrow and I plan to start assembly of the front suspension on Tues or Wed.  I'm hoping to have the car back on the ground by the end of the coming week.   Stay tuned for pics.

Ok, here's a pic of the painted engine compartment.

And here's a closeup view of the bracket I made for the steering system support.  The heim joint attaches to this bracket.

More waiting..........

Received the parts today from Borgeson and, unfortunately, the configuration I was planning this time doesn't work either.  Looks like I'm not going to be able to get away with a 1-2 universal joint system.  Getting around the motor mount is forcing me to use a 3 joint configuration which means I'll have to support one of the shafts with a fitting from the frame.  Also, the anti-vibration joint I planned to used right at the rack and pinion won't work either.  That joint is about 3/4" longer than a standard joint which runs the u-joint right into the motor mount.  Looks like the anti-vibration joint will have to be the one coming off the steering column.  Blair at Borgeson has been a great guy to work with and is getting the new components out right away via ups.  The first two shipments made it here in a 2 days so I'm hoping to have parts in hand on Fri. 

Gettin' antsy!

Waiting for parts is a PITA!  And not having them can stop the build process.  Right now, the motor mounts are done and painted and the steering linkage was mocked up.  As I suspected, the motor mount position is causing a conflict with the steering.  I ordered a few parts from Borgeson Universal this past Monday and got them on Thursday - pretty nice service.  Those parts got me close on the steering and helped determine what I hope will be the final configuration.  Talked with the Borgeson applications guy yesterday and the additional pieces are on the way.  Once the steering is finalized, I can remove the empty block, bell housing and trans from the car and get the painting done.  I had hoped to paint the Ididit steering column, mounting pieces and steering wheel all at the same time but the Lecarra Mark X steering wheel has been pushed out another 3 weeks to Feb 5th!  Looks like I'll have to paint the wheel separately.  Back orders can either stop the work entirely or force me to rethink the path I was intending to follow.  This past Monday I stopped by Scott's Signs and dropped off the original gauge panel and the new Dolphin panel to see if Scott can do some magic to make the new panel more closely resemble the old one.
     Here's some pics of the motor mounts with the steering mocked up using pvc pipe and various extensions as well as the preliminary steering setup using 2 couplings and some 3/4" DD shafting.

I tinkered a bit with the engine yesterday and mounted some of the accessories.  With the front sheet metal off the car, putting the engine back in with these parts attached shouldn't cause any conflicts.

 
The engine mounts that fasten to the block are painted the same color as the block while the mounts that will attach to the frame will be black, like the frame.  The visible bolts on the engine are all stainless steel.  The new PowerGen alternator that looks like an old generator is now mounted along with the water lines to/from the intake manifold.  And the distributor and spark plugs are back in.  The valve cover is only sitting in place for now as an old one will be used during the install to prevent marring of the chrome cover.  Hopefully, the steering system won't take too much longer.  Once that is completed I should be able to start making much faster progress.

Holidays are over - back to work.

Got the engine reassembled last week.  Hopefully, the modification to the rear main seal will prevent any further leaks without burning up the seal.  Still have to put some paint on the mounting plate that sits between the front of the block and the timing cover but that will happen before the engine goes back in the chassis.
     My brother had the day off from work today so he popped over this afternoon with the steel plates he had made up for the motor mounts.  We managed to fit and drill all the pieces and tack welded the driver's side to see how it was going to work.  The design looks solid and he took the mounts with him to do the finish welding and gusseting with his mig welder.  Here's some pics of the driver's side with the mount in place. 

The oil pan is presently spaced 1/4" above the crossmember with some wooden shims.  The frame rails have to be drilled yet for fastening the mounting brackets.  I've marked them but decided to wait until the mounts are finished.  Same with the steering linkage, best to wait until the mounts are in place rather than guessing at where to run the column and joints.  That's all for today.