1946 Ford Fordor project

Folks,
John invited me to help on the 46 with bleeding the brakes. So I drove the 32 truck down to his place and we began. No fluid at right rear wheel cylinder! None at left rear wheel cylinder. None at right front. About ready to give up, we got fluid at the front left! Yikes!
Started taking portions on the lines off going to the rear and found the short flex hose was plugged! While open we blew air through the lines and did get some yucky old fluid and particles out. John had new flex hose for that mid car component. Re assembled we now had fluid to the rears. On the right front John removed the steel line from the flex hose to the wheel cylinder, and yes that flex hose was plugged also. When replaced, we were able to bleed all the cylinders, and get some amount of brake pedal. Thought we should try to adjust the master cylinder rod. Well I went too far and disengaged the rod. John had to remove the master cylinder again and will address the brake bleeding again in the future. We will win!
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
We made progress! Probably a dumb question but to get less pedal travel do you adjust the rod that goes into the clevis on the brake pedal assembly in or out?
 
FortyNiner said:
The Carpenter tank is good quality and fit. There are a couple of specific items to know:
1. The fuel pick up location and threads are stock.
2. The fuel sender opening size and mounting hole pattern are not stock. The OE sender has a larger diameter than the DC unit.
3. The aftermarket sender unit IS NOT compatible with the original gauge - regardless of the seller's claims.
4. I chose to enlarge the sender opening to accommodate the OE sender after discovering the reality of the aftermarket units.
5. The mounting collar for the new tank can be made to work with the OE sender.
6. The DC gasket for the sender is useless.
Click to expand...


We used a "Tanks" fuel tank with an after market sender from Yogi's street rods with stock gauge and worked fine. Car as changed to 12V and used a 12-6V electronic reducer from Ron Francis.
 
Folks,
John has moved and stopped the 46! So the fuel system and brakes are functioning! He has been working on some of the dash plastic replacement. including a new clock, radio, and antenna. I will try to get some pictures.
Regards,
Chris
 
Folks,
Spent some quality time with John today and his 46. Bleeding the brakes was completed, and fluid toped off. Fuel system may need additional attention?
Then we moved to the 48 and got it started after some moves.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
Removed the sending unit from the gas tank. Yuk. Today is our 42nd wedding anniversary. Looks like Cathy will be getting a new fuel tank for our anniversary.
 
John,
Congratulations! What a nice gift!:) I will include this clip of you and the 46 running on the blend of very old gas and some fresh fuel. (the short video below) is not too exciting but you have done a lot to bring this car back to being almost ready for the highway!
https://youtu.be/C0Fq-CzEZY0

Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
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The 46 is getting a new gas tank. Waiting on a ferrule and fitting. The old one looked good from the outside but was full of rust and crud. Little trip thru the weeds on the 48 business coupe and a no start condition. Ended up needing a starter (Chinese one crapped out), replaced with a NAPA rebuilt. Replaced spark plugs and wires on the 59AB. Running but acting like it was starving for fuel under load. Tried running from a can and no difference. Switched carburetors and fuel line to pump. No improvement. Reloaded the parts cannon and changed the coil as my wife suggested. Runs great now. I hate when she's right about a car!
 
“Cathy will be getting a new fuel tank for our anniversary.”.......if you got away with this ......with out at least a good scolding.....I want to shake your hand !!.....LOL.....Mark
 
Mark, the only thing she said was "Do I dare ask how much that is going to cost?". Cathy wants her own antique car but with an automatic transmission. We are going to look at a 1955 Ford Club sedan tomorrow. Whenever she wants something for the house I don't argue. I appear not to be in a position to,ha! I wonder what's appropriate for a 50th anniversary? Something like a rebuilt flathead engine?
 
That gas tank may be the most expensive one I ever bought. We went to look at the 1955 Ford yesterday. Cathy really liked it and we made a deal. Very solid honest car and way above average underneath for this part of the country. Has a continental kit on it of which I'm not a big fan of. She said "I like it, don't touch it". Won't bring it home for a bit but will try to get pictures when we do.
 
Place an ad in the wanted section of The Swap Meet section. I 've had some really good results doing that on the 42 coupe project. Be aware that there are two styles of drums/hubs. To my knowledge they do interchange though.
 
You will love that car. Easiest shifting car on the planet. Do not need power steering and brakes. I use mine every day 12 mo. a year thats good for it sam
 
foglights.jpg46 floorboard.jpg
The 46 Fordor has been hanging out in my brothers garage next to his almost finished 1957 Chevrolet Nomad. When I bought the car in 1991 it had one road lamp (fog lamp) and the other bracket was missing. Found NOS brackets in the Ford box on Ebay and the starting bid was $10. I thought these will go for stupid money but nobody bid against me. Work bench looks like there was a drone strike as I was sorting NOS parts left over from the dealership. I've been running the car this summer and each time it seems smoother. Need to rebush the clutch and brake pedals and figure out why I don't have more brake pedal.New wiring is also on the horizon...
 
At a standstill on the 46 at the moment as I cannot get decent brake pedal to no brake pedal at all. All new shoes, lines, hoses, and master cylinder. Bled 3-4 times and have adjusted brakes several times. On the second master cylinder. Also shortened master cylinder pushrod and that gave the pedal some resistance. If you spin a wheel and press the brake pedal it does stop but again brake pedal does not get hard. I'm really at a loss and any suggestions would be welcomed!
 
I struggled with a soft brake pedal on my '46 for longer than I care to discuss. After much bleeding (speed bleeder valves were a big help), they were just OK. The car was roadworthy for the past year or so but required some pedal pumping to get good engagement. Earlier this year I took a fresh look and found that the pivot post that anchor the shoes on the bottom were binding a bit. With some wire brush action and grease, the pedal and function were improved.

It may also be possible that the repop shoes are different from OE at the wheel cylinder mating surface. There was some discussion of that on an earlier thread. Had my problem persisted, relining OE shoes were next on my 'how about' action list.

FWIW, the brake design on this vintage is so-so at best. My '49 F1, in comparison, has a very firm pedal and excellent stopping habits. Still just a fond wish for the '46.

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FortyNiner, that gives me something to check. When I bleed the wheel cylinders the flow seems weaker than I would like. I'll look into the speed bleeders. Do you think there is any possibility of two bad master cylinders in a row?
 
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