Long weekends RULE!

Ah the long weekend.....time to get stuff done!  Unfortunately a giant hunk of our big crab-apple tree broke off earlier in the week so I had to start Day 1 cleaning that up with the chainsaw (arrgh!).

Luck for me (?) I had the "help" of my 2  kids....  So after getting that all cleaned up I was ready to get into the shop as the temps around these parts had dropped to near freezing in a week! Alas, when I got into the shop and tried to fire up the big heater.... I got nothing but a blast of cold air down my back - just like the times when I inadvertently say the wrong thing to Mrs E-tek..

Anyways, with a sore back in a cold shop, I still managed to get a few things accomplished on the 40 Ford Rod while waiting for a furnace repairman to come look at my REZNOR.

You'll recall the template I had started on to mount the tensioner for the AC pump side of the serp-belt system:

After transferring the shape onto some 1/8" plate, I cut a rough shape with my Makita 4 1/2" angle grinder:

Next up was drilling the required mounting holes, as well as holes to make the slot for the tensioners swing-bolt to ride in. To get the slot located correctly, I mounted the top pivot bolt, then scribed the arc with a bent dental pick. I then drilled 3/16" holes along the arc's center-line, then re-drilled every second hole with a 7/16" drill. Once all the holes where drilled, I cleaned it all up with a die grinder, then finished it by hand with half-round and round files.

 

Test fitting the slot:

Once I was satisfied, I smoothed the edges, sanded it down and sprayed some fast-etch primer on it.



Next up was the brake pedal. Earlier I had done the skinny pedal and cable set-up and when doing so I noticed the original brake pedal dangling from the floor board. Apparently there was a rod that went though the after-market booster/master cylinder set-up to locate the pedal, but it had disappeared somewhere along the line.

Interestingly, I was at my local metal recyclers Thursday (man I love that place!) and picked up various lengths and diameters of rods and bolts, along with some other interesting items. This task required a 0.800" rod to go through the pivot housing to attach the pedal on one side and the master cylinder's push rod on the other. Oneof the pieces I scrounged was an exact fit (did I mention how much I love that place?) :)

First up was to cut the rod stock to length - note the cadmium coating....

 Then, I cut another piece from the same 1/8" stock as the tensioner bracket and drilled a couple holes in it  to give me a crude starting point. The small hole is to attach it to the rod joint and I also cut a larger hole at the other end, which I then cut in half to give me an area that would "wrap around" the rod for maximum welding surface contact.



After a little shaping with the grinder....

...and it'll be attached to one end of the rod like this. The other end will have a flat-spot ground into it for the brake pedal's set screw to bottom on. The housing it inserts into has a grease nipple to keep it all moving smoothly.

As I was finishing up these pieces the furnace was coaxed back to life (by my next best friend, Jason, from Entrust Heating), giving the shop some much-needed warmth, which aslo allowed me to put some paint on these items so that tomorrow I can get right to their installation! For those interested, the heating issue was nothing more than a blocked tube leading from the pressure valve to the intake fan....still, not my area of expertise so I was almost happy to part with some cash to get the heat back on!

Don't forget to check out my website at 

www.E-tekRestorations.com !

1940 Ford Rod: dems da brakes

Got the rear brakes sorted out and ran the e-brake cables to their respective locations in order to meet up with the e-brake handle and cable up front.

 The undersides of the Rod are in excellent shape, all of the metal having been restored  some time ago.

Locating an e-brake cable clip in the floor pan -

Up front I opened up a hole for the forward e-cable, then put a pry-bar in it and bend the frame wall such that the cable would go in at an angle where it would more easily run along the rail.

Next up was installing the gas pedal and then installing the LOKAR throttle cable system
.

With the pedal mounted in a spot that allowed full travel, I then attached it to the throttle cable end -

then cut both the outer sheath and inner cable and  attached it all to the throttle body linkage up front.

An issue we need to deal with is the angle that the steering linkages are at.  As can be seen below, the column is currently mounted so that the lower-most knuckles are at too-severe an angle, which could lead to binding. There's two possible fixes for this: try to find some block-hugger style headers so that the linkages could be moved inwards reducing the connection angle or, move the lower end of the steering column further outboard thus bringing it more in-line with the steering box.

 Stay tuned to see how it turns out!

Check back weekly for lots of updates!

       Don't forget to check out the website at 

www.E-tekRestorations.com ! 

1940 Ford Custom Rod - starting line

Got started on the 1940 Ford 5.0L today!

As this new project came with a multitude of boxes filled with new, used and 'extra' parts, my first task was to go through everything and organize the parts it into interior, engine and body so I could find what I needed as I work on each area. The owner has also purchased most of the custom parts required for power doors, power windows, the A/C system and interior pieces including gauges, so my task is clear: figure out how it all goes together - and build it! ;)

There are also a lot of original parts that will need restoration - 

including window frames and the headlight bucket assemblies.

 

First up was sorting out the engine wiring harness and learning what goes where. Second was getting some of the parts mounted and out of the way:



Next came the installation of the the A/C pump on the bracket the owner had previously fabbed up. Below are the 3 original aluminum brackets the new one will replace, making it a much cleaner system.

Here's the bracket made by the owner, which re-locates the AC pump higher up and away from the inner fender, where there was little room for it. Rather than cut the inner fender, this will put the A/C pump up where there is lots of room given the tall hood on the '40 Ford.

And here's everything mocked up. The belt may need to be re-sized, but I'll wait until the tensioner is properly located and the other belt is on before getting a final measurement.

 Looking at the bottom end, I noted the pan is very close - and maybe touching - the cross member. I'll keep an eye on this as we move forward and it may come down to notching either the x-member or the pan.

 Stay tuned!

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com !

Time to clean up the driver

Did some clean-up on the daily drivers today, including a nice detail on Mrs E-tek's Mini Cooper  - 

and an ultra detail on my Caravan. I know - most people hate the Mini-Van, but these are truly the most utilitarian The decision to clean it up came after I broke the mirror in a parking garage last week:

Here it is - the entire side was broken off (ooops). I glued in the few pieces I picked up and made the rest out of body filler. After some sanding, a couple more coats of filler, more sanding and some primer, I painted it with trim-black.

All the wheels were showing their age (it's an '06), so they were painted with Duplicolor's wheel paint,
then clear-coated. Total factory-look.

                      The wipers and mud-guards were painted with Duplicolor's trim black.

While that was all drying, I did a little more work on the 240Z. After welding up the drivers side rail I decided more of the old rail should come off,

I bent up a piece on the brake and worked it into shape:

I purchased this chisel-shaping set last week at Princess Auto. It's awesome. It has many different heads that will be really useful in shaping and they just pop in and out with a spring-lock. Great handle and hand protection too. Totally could have used this set over the years!!

Here's the Caravan after unmasking and cleaning. Hope to get another few years out of it!

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com !

Newest project at E-tek: 1940 Ford Rod

The newest project to grace the  E-tek "Hot Rod" Shop" - 

A 1940 Ford "Custom Rod", owned by a very nice and capable gentleman who got all the major peices together but - as often happens - couldn't find enough time in the day to get 'er done! This is where I come in....

Like most of the projects I work on, they come in bits pieces....

                                            ......and more bits and pieces.....

The owner showing me some of the shiny bits up front - it's gonna be a beauty!

                                            Check back often - this ones gonna be a DOOZY!


                          Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com !