Recent content by 39wagon

One other quick note: you probably will have to reroute your exhaust pipe(s) because the upper shock bracket usually is directly in the path of the exhaust pipe's frame cut-out.

I too had a couple of holes in th water jacket of my '39 flathead, passenger side just below the rear exhaust port. After talking to the Balzona reps, I ended up using 1511 because of the close proximity of the exhaust and need for a higher temp material. I pulled the engine so I could get good...

Thanks for all the good ideas. I think I'll do a bit more research on the heat/water properties of JB Weld as well as contact the Belzona people for the same information and then form a plan of attack. The close proximity to the exhaust manifold is my main concern. Anyway, I'll let you know what...

I have a good running '39 flathead that has developed a rust-through hole in the water jacket just below the exhaust manifold's lower bolt on the rear-most outlet. I've read on the Model T site about using the original JB Weld for this kind of problem and also about using a High Temp Belzona...

For wheel cylinders I've always had good luck using either Berryman's B12 chemtool or WD-40 followed by a good cleaning with chemtool. However, if it is too badly pitted, you probably should replace it or possibly have it sleeved at some place like White Post Restorations. This is not a...

Yes, it is the cross member that needs trimming and it's only the chamfered edge (turned out lip) that needs attention. However, I found that the shock body rubbed just a bit on the cross member itself so I would suggest that you enlarge the area just a little. In that I had no shocks at all...

Just a note: if you use the shock kit from Drake, you will have to do some minor frame-flange trimming in order to get clearance for the shock body. Also you'll probably have to re-route the exhaust to exit either in front of the rear wheel or have a custom piece bent up because where the stock...

I used the Speedway adapter for my '39 wheels. Worked well. Used 5/8 NF bolts with tapered lug nuts to center the wheel on the adapter and the center hole was used to center everything on the wheel balancer. Note: I had to be careful with widened rims; the clip that fastens the weight onto the...

OK. I am not sure if I have the correct dipstick on my '39. So that I know how much oil to add when it shows low, what is the distance between the felt dust seal to the "full" mark on an original dipstick? Thanks.

X3 on doing it yourself. Hardest part is getting it out of the frame and onto the workbench. I too had never tackled a transmission but did it in a day (39 toploader) after I got Van Pelt's book and parts. His products are great as is his information. He also answer's his phone and is quite helpful.

I've been using a device called a Color-Tune to adjust my carbs for years. It was popular in the 70's or 80's and really helpful when tuning SU's on British engines. It is used in place of the regular spark plug and the top has a glass/pyrex area where you can see the color of the actual...

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet or not but you might go over to the Jalopy Journal, search for a thread "A 40 Ford for Uncle Mike" and scroll down to message #442. He had the same problem and came up with a couple of different (and easy) solutions.

I went with a Holley 4160 for my '39 also. Had to go with a 4" riser to clear the linkage and mounted the carb backwards. While it ran right out of the box, it was a bit rich. I'm still dinking around with the mains (dropped 4 jet sizes) and secondary springs. If I had any sense, I'd just leave...

You might try making a hammer form out of medium density fiberboard, getting some 19ga. sheet metal (maybe from an old fender) and hammering it out your self. There are several different you-tube video's on how to do this or Ron Covell has a video on how to do this (and a lot more) where he...

You might also check the numbers on your shift tower. They are near the bottom (rear) portion on the raised piece in the middle. There should be two numbers followed by a hyphen and then 4 more. If I read Van Pelt's book correctly, if the first two numbers before the hyphen are "40", the trans...