Messages

Thanks for the direction, guys. I have several options to try.

The web site is a bit confusing; the rod used for cast iron is not the one used for aluminum.

Enjenjo, anyone -- Do you have any experience with this product . . .

http://www.aluminumrepair.com/hts528.asp

. . . or any trusted information?

It sounds almost too easy and too good.

TIA

Mike Bishop

SPRING TUNE-UP

Coil springs are essentially unknown in Vern Tardel's Prune Orchard where I spend the bulk of my old-car time and where leaf springs rule. As a consequence, there's a lot of leaf-spring massaging carried out there to fine-tune spring packs, and to make them presentable in the process.

With a large cache of original Ford springs to work from, plus a steady supply of aftermarket pieces harvested from old street rods in for a makeover, we're never short of good "makings."

For good progressive spring action, leaves must move smoothly on top of one another, and that's just not going to happen with most old spring packs I see that are damaged because of a lack of periodic lubrication. The most common damage feature is the groove worn into the top of a leaf by the end of the leaf above it. Under hard jounce (compression) the groove restricts the movement of the leaf on top and can make spring action harsh.

First step, then, is to dress the top of worn springs to remove the notch and create a uniformly smooth sliding surface. I do this on a large belt sander fitted with a quality butt-joint 80-grit belt. I'm partial to Norton belts but there are other good ones available.

Next, I radius the ends of the springs, both to make them pretty and to make them a bit more "progressive" in their resistance. The bottom of the ends are than progressively chamfered so no sharp edge on the end of the leaf comes in contact with the leaf below it.

Finally, just for grins, I chamfer the top of the ends of the leaf 45 degrees for appearance sake. You can get really anal here and do a neat blend of the chamfer, just so long as the customer is willing to pay for your time – or it's your own spring.

This is a typical spring pack from some old hot rod. The main leaf was missing, and the task was to tune up these leaves to be used with a new main with reversed eyes. The lower two leaves are nearly equal in length and would act much like a single thick leaf. You can see where leaves have dug into one another and where they've been trimmed and "dressed" rather haphazardly. Tuning up a spring pack like this used to take a couple of hours. (Just click on the tags to see the images.)




I made a couple of simple fixtures that reduced the work to one-half and as little as one-quarter the time with uniform and repeatable results. The first fixture is a scribe template that permits me to really bear down with scribe and lay an easily seen mark on the hard spring. This fixture has two radiuses, one for the front leaf and another for the wider rear leaf. This is the underside . . .



. . . and this is the top with a leaf in position to be scribed. Each end of a leaf must be scribed top and bottom because the leaf has to be turned over half way through radiussing; this template ensures that the scribes are on the same location both top and bottom.




This fixture bolts to the table of a large belt sander and performs three functions. It sits close to the belt (about 1/32 inch) so the belt doesn't "suck" in a leaf that is having its top dressed to remove wear notches. A 90-degree material rest on the right permits quick uniform radiussing of the ends of the leaves. And the two opposing 45-degree rests permit quick uniform chamfering of the top of the leaf.




Wear notching can be seen on the top of this partially dressed leaf. It will be completely eliminated.




The scribed ends of the leaves are first radiused. This task takes less than a minute for both ends.




The tops are then chamfered, first on one half of the radius . . .






. . . and then the other.






Finally, the lower edge of each spring leaf is given a blended radius so it will slide easily on the leaf below it. No fixture is used for this step; it's largely a matter of feel and appearance.

That hashed up spring pack seen at the start of this thread was massaged into this nice-looking and serviceable collection of leaves with well under an hour of work using the two fixtures.






Like it or not, leaf springs require lubrication, or some synthetic slipperiness such as Teflon-like buttons or sheets, to operate satisfactorily. High-load greases work very well, although they get messy looking on open-wheel cars. It was common practice on leaf-spring dirt cars in the past to wrap well-lubricated springs with tape. This is not only practical, but it's also a neat old-timey touch. And it's a lot more durable and neater today with products like 2-inch-wide 3M moisture-barrier tape than it was in the past when frictions tape was about all there was.

Mike

Think of that new body as the ultimate patch-panel kit.  Is the original block usable, Frank? New aluminum 427 blocks are available, with a blank number panel. Original or not, it would be a sweet ride.

Here's a link to the ZL1 registry . . . http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/76000/an/0/page/0

those french flatheads seem to pop every where

Really? Who else is selling them?

Mike

hey mike, i am running the same set up as you pictured,
my problem is the pump ears stick out to far, i need to keep every thing in side the frame rails \,
im looking for that saddle mount, or what ever its called

What frame (and width) are you running? Also, what's the application-- street, drags, lakes?

I had assumed you were talking about an early Ford chassis -- apparently not.

Mike

The simplest and probably the least-expensive solution is to use waterpumps from a Ford truck (1947-1953) or a Canadian Mercury truck (1948-1954).  

You could fabricate a saddle mount, like the type often referred to as a "Hurst" mount that was a popular solution for parking SBCs in early Ford chassis. The Ford's water-return spigots from the radiator will probably get in the way, however, plus there are only two unused holes on the front of the Ford block to bolt a saddle mount to.

Not only do the truck pumps have the mounting "feet" you need, the pulleys are also positioned correctly to provide belt clearance for your side-mount distributor and line up with the 8BA crankshaft pulley.

The pumps are available from Speedway and from SF Flatheads for the same dollars; coincidentally, I'm photographing the waterpumps for SF Flatheads' web site tomorrow, and they will appear within a few days. Excuse the shameless plug, but I've been working with these folks who have salvaged the French flathead hardware stash from its recent marketing mess, making it affordable and accessible.

Mike

A small reunion within a reunion . . .

Pals from the 2000 Hot Rods and Haute Cruisine Tour -- River1, Aisle7, and OFOF at the CHRR last year.

You are sorely missed and fondly remembered, Don. RIP.

Mike

I was given two Doug Nash OD units for a THM-400. I would like to install this on the trans in my '88 GMC 1-T dually. Any info, including parts sources and rebuilder contacts will be greatly appreciated.

Mike
Santa Rosa

Hi all,

I don't know why but for some strange reason Custom Classic Truck (NOT Classic Trucks) magazine is not put out on magazine racks in my area. It hasn't been for a few months.

Recently, I contacted Primedia (the publishers) and ordered about 5 back issues but unfortunately, they were sold out of August 2006 (Vol. 13, no. 8 ) so now I'm looking everywhere for it.

Does anyone on this message board have a spare August 2006 issue of Custom Classic Trucks magazine???

I'm willing to buy or trade for another magazine. I have older R&C's.

Thank you all for any help you could give me.

Raymond Gallant

Look no further, Raymond. I have an Aug '06 copy of CCT I'm willing to sell.  The price is $85.37 plus $14.62 for a total of $99.99. With the special RRT discount it works out to  . . . PM me your snail-mail address and it's yours -- no charge.

BTW, are you missing other issues? Someone gave me a gift sub a couple of years ago and I've saved them in case someone has a need rather than pitch them out.

Mike Bishop
Santa Rosa

Vern Tardel has a Crosley motor sitting in the shop. It's been there for at least 14 years I know of. There do not seem to be any plans for it, so if you are interested I'll tell him of your plight and see if he would sell it. Vern is very sympathetic to enthusiasts with a true need, so I'd expect it would be at very fair price.

Mike

[I am looking for the peel & stick type of sound material. I have not looked around lately for this stuff .years ago I used to get some cheap/heavy stuff from the body shop suppliers. I guess I need to lok there first?I do not really want to spray on stuff. I do not want to remove the seats , etc.]

I am looking for the peel & stick type of sound material.   I have not looked around lately for this stuff .

years ago I used to get some cheap/heavy  stuff from the body shop suppliers.  I guess I need to lok there first?

I do not really want to spray on stuff.  I do not want to remove the seats , etc.

Oops. Here's the link for the review.

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

Thanks for the link! The fellow did a thorough research and evalution job. I've just passed this along to a couple of pals who have projects underway.

Mike

This is good stuff, Sum, even for guys like myself struggling to push a large brick of an old Ford truck up into the teens with an equally old flathead motor. I used math magic and computer modelling to build a very successful  afforadable drag car years ago and have every confidence that we can do the same with the racetruck.

Mike

Wondering if I'm going to lose a few years myself . . .

No chance. Still as old as I was when I woke up this morning.

Mike

Thanks for the excellent report, Sum.  See you next August!

Mike