1936 Ford V8 Service/Restoration Thread

[Ketronj281989]

Cosmetics out of the way for now, I wanted to move into servicing the car. Starting at the front, the engine bay appears to have several items of interest that have been replaced.

I understand these old flatheads are prone to overheating. Someone added an makeshift overflow tank long ago. I remember asking the seller about this item, he thought is was original to the car.

Upon the seller pulling the car from storage several year ago, his mechanic installed:

Post war Ford fuel pump
Post war Ford carburetor
Replaced the original copper plated steel fuel lines with rubber
Replaced spark plugs and plug wires

The fan belt was very old. As pointed out, the generator and cut out relay both have seen black paint some time prior.

The heads were replaced with cast iron a long time ago. I have heard many issues with aluminum heads. I am happy with the cast iron replacements for now.

Generator cutout wire appears replaced.

Post 1937 distributor was installed by previous owner's mechanic when the car was pulled from storage several years ago.

 

[Ketronj281989]

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[Ketronj281989]

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Nice to see the remnants of the factory accessory Ford Hot Air Heater!


Jon

 

[BOJP]

Thank you

 

[Ketronj281989]

A major task I thought relatively important to tackle while at the front end of the car was the electrical lighting system. Nothing light related worked on the car, headlights-parking lights-instrument lights-dome light-taillights.

Video below was made prior to the discovery this car was originally a standard that was later made into a deluxe via a collector 30+ years ago. A decision has been made to take this car back to it's origin, a standard. Key evidence and facts point to the car's origin that it was indeed a standard car ordered/purchased by first owner in 1936.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG7IE80VIQA&t=329s

Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

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It is obvious someone has been into the electrical before I purchased the car. Several portions of the main harness appear to be part of the original though.

Jon

 

[al's28/33]

Welcome to the Barn there are lots of advisors here. I have received tons of help myself. If you intend to keep the car for the long haul then try to focus on one issue at a time to keep it safe and road-worthy. Electrical wiring and reliable brakes are top-o-the-list!!!!
Both of my classics were hacked up by previous owners but it has taken lots of searching to confirm 99.99999999 % of each vehicle are now "period correct" You'll find that searching for parts (no matter how small) becomes an obsession in itself.
Best of Luck.... keep posting pics of your progress.
Alan

 

[VeryTangled]

Hi Everyone! Jon, I rewired my '35 Fordor Touring in 2018 and it was a real simple job. Got all my bits from Michael Driskell. You'll get rubber coated wire with cloth covering and correct bullet tips with diagrams. He can recommend the necessaries like frame clips too. I highly recommend doing it yourself. (I had my car on a lift, which helped a lot.)

Your car is a Touring Sedan, which is the name for trunk backed cars that Ford used. ALL Touring Sedans were outfitted with DeLuxe livery. Some of the many characteristics are chrome windshield surround, dual tail-lights. Also your model came with the running board trim as it still shows.

 

[36crazy]

Love your car and will be following along as another mid thirties guy with a 1936 ford 2 door hump back sedan myself. Mine is also my first pre war ford and am trying to learn as I go along. Also care to sell the grill guard?

 

[Ketronj281989]

Welcome to the Barn there are lots of advisors here. I have received tons of help myself. If you intend to keep the car for the long haul then try to focus on one issue at a time to keep it safe and road-worthy. Electrical wiring and reliable brakes are top-o-the-list!!!!
Both of my classics were hacked up by previous owners but it has taken lots of searching to confirm 99.99999999 % of each vehicle are now "period correct" You'll find that searching for parts (no matter how small) becomes an obsession in itself.
Best of Luck.... keep posting pics of your progress.
Alan

Thanks Alan for your advice!

Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

Hi Everyone! Jon, I rewired my '35 Fordor Touring in 2018 and it was a real simple job. Got all my bits from Michael Driskell. You'll get rubber coated wire with cloth covering and correct bullet tips with diagrams. He can recommend the necessaries like frame clips too. I highly recommend doing it yourself. (I had my car on a lift, which helped a lot.)

Your car is a Touring Sedan, which is the name for trunk backed cars that Ford used. ALL Touring Sedans were outfitted with DeLuxe livery. Some of the many characteristics are chrome windshield surround, dual tail-lights. Also your model came with the running board trim as it still shows.

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for your response! I will be re-wiring the car with a period correct cloth loom harness just as the original was. I am looking forward to doing so.

All touring sedans circa 1935 were outfitted with only deluxe livery. Starting 1936, offering of the touring sedan could be ordered as a standard or deluxe. The running board trim on my car is incorrect and a shorter reproduction type part. Deep study and investigation into my car shows it was originally received in 1936 as a standard and later made into a deluxe via prior owner. Judging from several reproduction parts manufactured in the 1980's found on the car, this car was likely retrofitted as an imitation deluxe right around the same time period.

Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

Love your car and will be following along as another mid thirties guy with a 1936 ford 2 door hump back sedan myself. Mine is also my first pre war ford and am trying to learn as I go along. Also care to sell the grill guard?

Great to hear! Any help I can provide please feel free to contact me via "private message" here on the forum. I am afraid the grille guard has already been sold prior to seeing your posting here.

Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

Troubleshooting started; I quickly discovered the fuse on the firewall was blown. The 1936-year electrical lighting system utilized a single fuse. This fuse tied all lights to the battery. A blown fuse indicated a short had developed somewhere in the lighting circuit. The incorporated factory fuse circuit was an important one for safety of the car. I have decided a stock set up will be installed on the car. A brand-new period correct harness will be needed, more on this item later.

Further troubleshooting indicated my short issued could be related to the lighting switch that sat inside a protective metal case below the steering column. It was discovered wires inside the protective case were frayed and several were bare wire touching each other. Not good. The switch contact points were also very dirty with heave grease which leaked from further up at the steering gear box.

I tested each head light bulb as well as parking bulb. The passenger side headlamp bulb was an ultra old Tungsol 2330. Could it be the original? Likely not, although it is period correct! All front end bulbs tested great on my 6 volt power supply! Both headlamp assemblies were disassembled for cleaning and tracing of wiring to the light switch. The original ignition resistor still in place but disconnected, a post 1936 resistor was added to this circuit. The foreign resistor is likely a 1937 component as the distributor is from the same 1937 year or later pre-war. Both resistor and distributor are incorrect for this car and will be replaced with authentic 1936 factory components. The head lamp buckets and reflectors are original to this car will be utilized. The original headlamp bucket glass still intact and 1936 originals!!

YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OkGiSxH44g

 

[Ketronj281989]

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[Ketronj281989]

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Notice the 1937 resistor on the left side of picture. It currently by-passes the original 1936 shown in original mounting place next to fuse on firewall. This will of course need to be changed back to a stock set up soon!

Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

For those interested in a further dissection/explanation of the lighting switch and troubleshooting; video update below:

YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCUJrngin8I

Near end of video we talk about troubleshooting the rear taillights.


Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

Further dissection: I was most interested in finding the serial number on the transmission housing. More so interested if the number matched what was on the frame. Guess what, they do!!! Serial number: *18-2892373* Pretty rare to find a matching frame/transmission these days. I want to say the engine is original to this car as well. It has all of the 1936 features. I am 99% certain the engine is original to this car just as the frame and transmission are. We have proof on the frame and trans!! The engine was likely rebuild and re-painted sometime post WWII as new findings indicate, more on that later!

Removing the floor was a job. Several findings indicate the rubber floor mat not original to the car. IT IS a very old replacement though. Thanks to my friend Michael whom pointed out the floor pans were replaced long ago. Sheet metal appears to be welded over the original pan or replaced all together. The driver side floor has rust corrosion that will likely need attention down the road. Metal battery cover appears to be the factory original. Both foot pedals appear to be from a later Ford, circa 1938. Toe boards may be the original, grommets are rotten. I find the foam sound damping an interesting take on top of the trans. This will have to be replaced or corrected to what the factory had originally. Transmission may have had a service performed years ago, or the engine pulled and painted. Both do not match in color. Universal joint cover and speedo cable look to be in good condition. Gasket will need replaced, leaking bad! Pulled the inspection plate on the trans to inspect the clutch assembly.

YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCISbnxCkzk

Jon

 

[Ketronj281989]

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Jon