November 2006
| This may be the final month of the build. I have the engineer coming over for the final inspection next week. I have also lined up the next phase, and that is, the "Blue Slip" inspection. Yes, in NSW we have a few obstacles to contend with to get our cars on the road. I also have lined up the exhaust shop to finish off the exhaust and a weigh bridge to weigh it ( for road tax purposes ). I have my number plates waiting for collection. After it's registered, then it's off to the trimmers. I am hoping to have it all completed before Christmas. That would be just on 7 years in the build...where has the time gone!..after that...let the kroozing begin!!!! |
| I fitted my new swan neck mirrors and they look great. They add a bit of class to the car. Next pic also shows my glove box that I fabricated a while back is now fitted. I now have a place for my CDs. |
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| Here is a pic of the exhaust now
completed. The guys at the exhaust shop had a bit of manoeuvring to get them
where they are now. I didn't leave him much room with the fuel tank
occupying most of the space where the exhaust usually lives. They actually
come out through the rear springs. They aren't in any harm as there is not a
lot of movement in that area. I made sure they were level and in the same
spot. I also had him fit those nice exhaust tips. The sound is now a healthy
burble. It's surprising how quiet the car is even without floor covering.
While the car was up on the hoist, I took the opportunity to give the rod a
close scrutiny underneath. There is still no leaks or even signs of weepage.
It drives and stops rather well. Temperature stayed at a respectable level
as well. You will notice all the rear lights and blinkers are wired in. They are new tail/brake light units that I got from Bob Drake. Nice quality items with glass lenses. They were not specifically advertised as 37 Ford, but I took a gamble and ordered them. The blinkers are what came the car, so I put them back on until I find something better. I have resorted to looking for things to do until I tackle the hood irons again. I'm not happy with the look of them. With the engineer coming over in a few days, I have just been concentrating on items that need to be completed for him. My check list is just about ticked off. The rod is settling down a bit and seems to be getting a bit lower. The more it does, the better it looks IMHO. |
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| I raised the rear view mirror up a few
inches from original since the windscreen is 2" lower. I need to see
over the convertible top when its folded back. That will mean I will need to
modify the hood hold down bracket slightly to clear the mirror. All
temporary trim panels are in and some foam rubber tube across the rear to
appease the engineer. All this will be taken out when it goes to be finally
trimmed. OK, now it's time to have another look at the hood irons and bows. I had new bows made a while back and now have fitted them onto the irons. I used "T" nuts and 1/4" screws on the front bow to secure it to the brackets. The arc was not quite right, so I forced the bow onto the retaining pins and locked them in place with the hold down bolts. Since it is made of ply wood, I just kept dampening it with water. Hopefully, that will be enough to coach the bow into the right shape. I will leave it for a few days to make sure it takes the new shape. The rear bow is just held in with wood screws and appears to be the right shape.. |
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| I placed a flexible strip of wood over the top to gain some idea of what the hood will look like when its covered. It is not the perfect way to judge as the wood tends to keep going in an arc, which is not the way cloth will behave. I will try again with something more indicative of how the top will look like. I did try this ages ago with an old sheet but I was not sure if I liked the shape. I'm still not certain how it will look. More ponderin time I think...but I won't have a lot, because the trimmer wants the car in 2 weeks. |
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| For all that have been wondering how I got on
with the rego...well have a look! PEP37R is a reality. I can now legally
drive it on the street! I had trouble getting the outer grill trim clips. It looks like no one made reproduction items for 37 Fords. Strange, but true. I mentioned my plight on the OzRodders forum and a rodder down in Victoria called Fred sold me a set of originals cheap. Fred has a real nice 37 Roadster as well. In fact, I had other rodder take pictures of it a few years back so I could get an idea on how things went together. It was an inspiration for me at that time to keep going. A big thanks to Fred. The clips that held the inner trim are just wire sprung clips. They aren't to affective so I made my own up out of plastic clips with plastic screws. I modified them to fit into the trim and I used self tapper screws and screwed the trim in place from behind. There is no way it will fall off and there is very little gaps. This took longer than I anticipated, but it all looks good now. This is a little bit of the character of the 37s that I keep mentioning. The grill is an important focal point and breaking up the black with stainless trim accentuates this character IMHO.
I took the 37 for another ( now legal:-) krooze on the weekend. Marg and me in the front, and my youngest son and his girlfriend in the rear. We ventured further than I expected, but it seemed to be running smooth, so I kept going. No dramas at all. Only a bit more paint burning off the mufflers that had Marg worried, but I knew what it was, so I didn't bother looking under it:-). I have prepped the hood irons for paint and will paint them through the week and fit them back on, ready to drive to the trimmers on Friday. Then, it will be empty garage for about a month. I don't know how I will feel not seeing it there when I walk in. Seven years, which is about 4,500 hours of my time in my garage, it will feel strange I think. |
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| Well, here is a sad sight, yep she broke
down on our way to the trimmers. I have been waiting on a teething problem
and I got two at once. I was driving along OK with Marg following in the PT
Cruiser. About 30 Kms into the trip, I noticed the brakes becoming fairly
responsive and the pedal coming up. I didn't worry about it, and in fact,
thought it was good. I soon felt the car labouring slightly, I
then smelt the brakes burning. I pulled over to inspect, but I knew what had
happened anyway. It looks like the brakes must have bled a bit more air out
as they got hotter and my free play vanished. All it needed was to adjust
the push rod a turn or two to give back the free play, but all I had was a
shifting spanner. I was trying to adjust it back when I heard a hissing
noise. I looked at the top radiator hose and there was a solid jet of water
coming out from a split. I said to Marg it was now better to get it on the
back of a tilt tray to get it there. So here is a pic of a dejected Marg
while the 37 is winched onto the tray. If that is the extent of my problems,
then I am happy. Next pic is the 37 waiting outside the trimmers. I will make a trip out there next Saturday to fix the brakes and hose and to see what progress the trimmer is making. He has promised it will be finished before Christmas...( I hope that is THIS Christmas and not 2007 ;-) He will take progressive pics so I can show everyone how it's progressing. |
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| Well that's it for November. I'm sitting twiddling my thumbs. My usual train trips to and from work everyday seem longer cause I'm not thinking of what I have to do to the 37, or how I'm going to tackle some aspect of the build. All that I can do in the mean time is assemble the wind wings and make up some way to anchor them to the pillar when I get the 37 back. I could have done that before it went to the trimmers, but I wanted them to work in with the side curtains so both don't obstruct each other. |