Recent content by Kevin in NJ

What is not usually understood by people doing brakes is the fit you need to have. If the drums and the shoes are not properly matched you will have less then 100% contact and less then 100% braking. To do this properly it takes special tooling. Keep in mind this is just as important doing...

So that dovetail is the alignment point, or part of that alignment of the doors. The potmetal sliders must be in proper shape and they must slide with moderate force of one finger. I have seen some pretty poor condition original sliders on restored cars. If the wrong reproduction parts are used...

Small holes are easily and quickly filled by getting a TIG rod of the same metal as your mig. Put the tig rod in the hole and start the MIG arc on it. Feed them together. OPPPS.. I forgot.. Put a piece of copper on the other side of the hole first. Then do the welding. It needs to be copper...

Some basic science here..... So Model A brakes properly rebuilt do a wonderful job stopping it from 65-70 MPH. The limiting factor is the tire contact patch on the pavement. The best you can do force wise is keep the braking force just below where the wheel locks up. Once it locks up the...

I suggest you become involved with the cabriolet club for better answers to the other questions you will likely have. What kind of wiper is correct for your car? If it is potmetal then it cant be rechromed sucessfully. If potmetal is bad anywhere they dont like to even attempt to chrome plate...

Some comments on what has been said. If the axle has been heated it will lose it maleablity, that is it bends MUCH easier. The videos are a nice start, but fail to properly check the axle. You need 4 bars and a straight edge. All the axles I have looked at were bent rear ware at the perch...

It was a tool I made to straighten the beads out of desperation. As far as I know I am the inventor of it. I used scrap metal I had laying around. I showed to a guy that makes all sorts of great tools and he made some out of water jet cut parts. My design can be used in many odd ways on the...

Running board brackets are pretty simple. They will have the bolt hole in line side to side. The top of the running boards will be parallel with the top of the frame. The fore aft dimensions between the holes need to match the holes of the running board brackets. Simple constrants that allow...

You are not measuring properly. You need to do the string along the length of the frame. Really, You want to take the little bit of time to do it right. It really is not hard to make your frame straight. Especially with a pheaton body you want the best platform for the body. You will be...

I have to chuckle a bit. So he is currently driving with no shocks. If he is able to run over 25 MPH then his car is in serious need of spring work. Which is very common. The Model A with proper working springs is a nightmare to drive much above 20 MPH without shocks. As in you feel like...

Yes it is a grade of babbitt that could be used for the Model A engine. It is not the Ford blend, but will work. http://nfmetals.com/babbitt-metal/ https://www.fordgarage.com/pages/babbittgrades.htm That being said, pouring babbitt properly is a complicated process based on known science. It...

In a nutshell... A reamer will make bumps as it cuts. You can see this with any machined surface with all those very slight lines or arcs. You know this because of chatter or the motion as you hand turn the tool. A hone is sanding the surface smooth and 'flat'. In the end, the reamer will...

The pigment quality is something I learned about as I learned about the paints. In a nutshell chemistry improved considerably and they are now able to produce more 'pure' colors. Plus I would also imagine they are able to produce the actual paint more 'clear'. So trying to get the 'correct'...

I learned about this from Marco. I observed this on my car. I used Concept single stage paint. I am not the best painter so I had to color sand. The areas where I laid down great paint the depth and shine were out of this world. Paint that is able to form a liquid surface will be virtually...

It should be noted that buffing a good paint job actually slightly dulls down the shine. This makes it look a bit more like a factory paint job as the lacquer was never as shiny you can easily get with modern paints.