1932 Ford Model B project

[Guest Dean_H.]

A friend (Fred) owns this two door sedan. He acquired it in 1960 from the original owner who actually was a 'little old lady'. She had gotten into an accident with it in 1956 and stopped driving at that time. The drivers door and left front fender are damaged as a result of the accident. In 1960 Fred heard she wanted to sell the car. Long story short she ended up giving the car to him for free.

For the first few years it was stored in Fred's fathers garage where the engine was rebuilt and they also had the frame steam cleaned. After college and the US Navy, Fred bought his own house and moved the car there. Progress has been slow on the car with other priorities - getting married, career, raising a family etc. The old Ford has been a project since 1960!

Anyway, he wants to get it going and asked for my help. I'm currently building a house and don't have a lot of extra time. Since his garage is not very roomy, I let him use my shop. I help when I can but he is doing most of the work. He doesn't computer, but said he didn't mind if I started a thread on it. I'm not sure how this is going to work out, we've been friends for many years. If all goes well, you will see a car get restored. So far he hasn't offended my wife or I and he brought dog treats for the dog.

The fenders were already removed, we used the jitney to lift off the body. This car would have been a good one for the preservation thing. It's in super nice condition.

He recently had the wheels powder coated and installed new tires. The paint on the frame is original and still mostly intact. The steam cleaning left some areas unprotected and there is light surface rust present.

There's the frame all stripped down

.

[JFranklin]

Since he got it for free he should not spare any expense in doing a proper restoration, he is already thousands ahead.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Well, I don't know about thousands of dollars. The lady was asking $75,00. Fred was in college at the time and his father went to secure the deal. When the lady heard it was going to be Fred's car, she insisted he have it for free. I guess Fred had made a good impression on her. She also knew his family, so that helped too.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Fred took off to Reno this week, he likes to go up there with some of his old friends to gamble and see the sights. I hate to see a project just sit, so, I tried to get a few things done on his car myself. I got the frame back from the sand blaster guy yesterday. He sure did a nice job, there wasn't one spec of rust, grease or paint left anywhere on it.

Because the axles have moving parts that I'm not totally disassembling, I decided to not have them sand blasted. Using a wire brush on a angle grinder took off the paint pretty easy. I also did some hand sanding and power washed it.

[Guest Brand O]

I wish I had a friend like you....I'm usually the guy doin the favors too...lol..Hope to see more pics soon...

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Dean, so good to see you on here again. Can you find some way to document your house?? Perhaps it will take the shape of a car! Or, you can use it to store antique car parts? [sorry Missus Dean]. If you do as good a job on it as the HUPP, it should be something else.

Ben

[Guest Silverghost]

Hope you get some primer on that frame quickly before it starts to surface rust~

Great Friend & Great Project !

[W_Higgins]

That looks like a great project. So nice to see a Model B that isn't going to be hacked to pieces. I also think it's top notch that the first major purchase wasn't to put on a set of whitewall tires!

[Guest Dean_H.]

Thanks for the comments, no offense taken on the advice. I painted the frame the same day it was blasted, just haven't taken any pictures of it since then. Fred seemed to want the frame painted in a semi gloss paint. He figured the factory paint was also semi gloss. He never really told me definitively what to do, so I just painted it semi gloss, hopefully he is OK with it.

This Ford is quite a bit different than anything I have worked on before. My Hupp chassis was very similar to a modern set-up. This thing looks a little strange with the V bracing and spring configuration. If any of you Ford guys see us making a glaring mistake, I'd appreciate your input. Fred is a retired school teacher and I'm a construction worker. Mechanically, there is plenty of room for this project to go awry.

Here is a pic of the front axle, I'll post some pictures of the parts painted later, after I snap a few.

[keiser31]

Dean...do you know what prompted your friend to do a restoration on the '32 as opposed to putting it back together and preserving it as you mentioned earlier? Do you think you might be able to scrounge up a photo of the car in it's earlier days or before being taken apart?

Edited October 29, 2010 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[old car fan]

I as well,thank Dean for not letting this car get cut up and rodded.Great work,nice car

[Guest Brand O]

Your V-brace is often called a wish bone.....How did you like the enclosed drive line Ford had back then?...you already showed us how clever you are and I am quite certain this B model will give you little grief...

[Guest Dean_H.]

Hmm... I've heard the Ford term 'wishbone' ..now I know what it is. It looks like a fairly simple design. I don't expect this car to be as challenging as the Hupp. John, I'm not sure why he wants to restore it, I guess he prefers the minty new look. It's in remarkably nice shape and would have certainly been possible to drive as is. Of course there is the door and fender damage, and a few tears in the upholstery. I'll ask him to bring some earlier pictures, if he doesn't mind me posting them here. I'm enjoying helping with this car, it's a nice change of pace, building that house has been depressing.

Check out this picture of the chassis painted. What a beauty! I'm starting to think this car could come out better than my Hupp ...Doh!

[Guest bofusmosby]

Dean

You are indeed a true friend. Great job! I wanted to be sure and make a post on this thread, so I will be notified when additional work and posts are made. I am in the process of restoring my old house, and I know how that can wear on the mind....and body. This is a good way to break up the stress, and not get burned out with the house. Keep the photos coming!

[Guest Brand O]

That frame looks great Dean...I am still figuring out this site and how to post and add pics and what not...Pretty computer illiterate on this end....I am Tryin to upload a pic of my Hupp Project..Hope it worked

[Guest Brand O]

Hey....what do ya know...it did...pulled plugs on the old girl and soaked cylinders with WD-40 for a couple hours and The engine spins over....Yippee.....at least it might be worth rebuilding some day soon...Needs lots of parts.....Long story with this Hupp!!!

[TexRiv_63]

Dean,

Great to see you back and lending your talents to your friend's car. We are looking forward to the rest of the story.

[jim5618]

Keep the photo's coming, it looks like the exact car I am getting ready to do. I am not doing the full restoration. I will be very interested to see the interior done. Thanks.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Here are a couple old pictures. There doesn't seem to be any pics when it was first acquired. This one was taken sometime in the 1970s. Fred's dad had waxed the exterior and not removed the dry wax, that is why it looks kind of white-ish.

This is a more recent pic and the way I first saw the car in Fred's garage. Unfortunately my scanner quit working, so I took a picture of the pictures with my camera. The quality isn't great.

Work on the car is slow with my busy schedule, but we did pull the head off the engine and removed the oil pan. I wanted to check it out for myself, even though it had been rebuilt. The valves were a little out of adjustment, but otherwise it looked pretty good. Cylinders are bored .030, and the pistons looked new. Should run real nice.

Check out this pic of the engine with pan off. It's almost funny to see such a skinny camshaft, only slightly thicker than a number 2 pencil. :-) And also a bit of a surprise to see the slinger cups on the rods. No forced oil circulation at all on this motor. I guess it works, but I expected it to be a little more advanced.

[W_Higgins]

You should get a look at a Model A engine. The Model B is no more advanced, but it is much more beefy. Don't let the dippers turn you off. After 20,000 miles on my Model A with only dippers the rods still looked like new.

That's an earlier B engine you have there, as there are no counterweights on the crank. Adding counterweights is a worthwhile upgrade when you get the engine rebuilt and not an outrageous amount of money.

[keiser31]

Thanks for posting those early shots.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Thanks for info Higgins, my Ford knowledge is limited. OK, here are the latest pictures. The U-joint was worn out, Fred found a good one and we cut some new gaskets for the torque tube end.

That is a fine looking Hupp back there, must be a lucky guy who owns that beauty. ....oh yeah, ahem.. putting in the motor.

The brake shoes were sent out for new pads, otherwise it's going together pretty well. We're coping the paint scheme of a Model B motor in a book, hopefully it's correct.

[Scotts_DG8]

Dean,

You may not know this but you were without question one of the key individuals on this site that inspired me to dive into my van project (which has yet again been waylaid by other projects/issues) along with I’m sure other’s restoration projects here on the AACA. I think it’s your story telling, the tasks/issues that you tackle along your solutions where you often demonstrate your varied skills that pretty much have us all glued to your posts. You have to know that a lot of us, if not all of us, that follow your posts really just enjoy watching you work and probably a good percentage of us I’m sure would like the chance to be there in person.

And yes we, I believe, all know you’re not 100% involved in this restoration with all your other activities (nice job on the Hup engine and getting it back on the road) but it is still good to have you back in the saddle again so to speak, lead the way.

By the way, it’s too bad that there was not another forum on this site for general projects where you, and I’m sure others here, could post their other creative projects/activities such as the house that your building. I’m sure it would be just as fun and riveting as watching some DIY program on HGTV or a How It’s Made on TLC and we all could continue to follow along and learn. Scott…

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Well said, Scott, well said!!

Ben

[Guest bofusmosby]

I agree with Ben, well said Scott!

I too look forward to your progression.

[keiser31]

Yes. Scott said what most of us feel about Dean H's posts. My wife wanted him to adopt me (maybe to learn his skills...maybe to rid herself of me), but he won't go for it.

[Guest Brand O]

That engine sure looks good all cleaned up and painted in those nice lookin rails...Can't wait to see more pics and progress....Thanks for the pics and info so far Dean...

[Guest Dean_H.]

You guys are very kind. We're waiting on the brake shoes, and some other parts, but accomplished a few small things. The carburetor was gummed up from old gas, it took a little effort to clean up and then install. Also got the manifold and distributor cleaned up and installed. Fred had the water pump redone with a modern seal and bearings. A gasket and a couple of bolts and it was on.

[30 Hupp]

Lookin' good!!!

[Guest Madison]

Hi Fred (or Dean)

I am new at this forum thing so I am hoping this post works.

It looks like you are doing a great job on this restoration. I am impressed. I am restoring two Model Bs, one is almost finished and one is still a "Project". At this point I have one suggestion for you. I think you said you have applied semigloss paint to the frame. This is probably fine for most of it but keep in mind that the section of the frame rails over the running boards will become part of the exterior surface of the car when it is finished just as the fenders and body are. I suggest you now mask off all of the chassis except the side rails between the bolt holes for the fenders and apply what ever exterior body paint you plan to use.

Jim alias "Madison" in San Jose

[Guest Dean_H.]

Thanks for checking in Jim, your post worked perfectly. Welcome to the forum. Two Model Bs will certainly keep you busy, what are the body styles? We're aware of the frame being used as an exterior surface.

[Guest Madison]

They are a Station Wagon (restored) and a 5 Window (Project)

Jim

[keiser31]

Dean...I just thought I would throw this in for you.....

Edited December 3, 2010 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Guest Dean_H.]

That's a good one John, you are quite the artist. Most of us curse like sailors as we work on our projects 'of love'. It's a strange thing indeed.

I'm in a crummy mood this morning, so there is a chance of a few bad words slipping into this post. Maybe keeping it brief'll help. Here's a pic of what it looks like now.

We bolted the tank into the frame. I'm not certain if this is the correct installation. I'd appreciate any feedback on these next few photos.

This one is somewhat frustrating for me. The generator doesn't seem to have a place for the second arm to keep the belt tight. Could Ford have just tightened the lower bolt and no other brackets???

OK, almost done, and the vocabulary has been clean so far. What do you guys think about the gas line? It seems like the bolts in the frame that hold the running board would also hold the clips for the gas line. If the car was mine, I'd just make it work. But I need to be as original as possible so Fred can't come back and say, ole so and so says you installed the wrong washer on that bolt. Whew.. made it, the moderators can rest now.

[MCHinson]

I don't know about the Model B, but the Model A only attached with the one bolt. There were not other brackets on the Model A generator. It is only a guess, but I would think that the Model B would be the same.

[Guest bofusmosby]

On my Pontiac, there is a little "sngle-iron" piece that goes on the back of the generator where it fastens to the block.

Good work!

[keiser31]

Dean....here is the Model A engine front view. Seems to me it would be the same as the B. You may have the wrong generator. The drawing shows a generator with an ear and a bracket that attaches it to the timing cover. There HAS to be a bracket with an adjustment. It cannot be just hanging out there. I cannot imagine the lower bolt holding back all of that belt tension.

Edited December 4, 2010 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[keiser31]

This is a '31 'A' engine and I see a bracket.

[MCHinson]

I should have been more precise in my earlier post. There was no tensioning brace on the later Model A Fords.

There were multiple Generators used on the Model A Ford. The diagram you show is the early "Power House" Generator, used in 1928 and early 1929. The first 2 styles of the "Power House" Generator used a tensioning arm. The 3rd one did not. The later longer Generator did not use a tensioning arm. The photograph has a lot of other non-correct stuff in it too.

There are tensioning arms available from the Model A Suppliers but they were not originally used on the later Model A's. Those tensioning arms simply presses against the Generator body, they do not bolt to it. Here is an example of that item:

http://www.brattons.com/product.asp?P_ID=1428&strPageHistory=search&strKeywords=15500&numPageStartPosition=1&strSearchCriteria=any&PT_ID=all

I suspect that the Model B is like the later Model A, but it is only an educated guess.

Edited December 4, 2010 by MCHinson (see edit history)

[keiser31]

I stand corrected.