What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[Vic Piano]

[Vic Piano]

The weather here in Central Florida has not been Convertible friendly of late so; I haven't really had a chance to experience the joy of driving the '39 CS with a rebuilt steering box. I'm hoping that next week will bring back the sunshine... The steering box was a relatively easy rebuild, the toughest part was getting all the old grease, oil, etc. out of the housing... The actual rebuild took only a few minutes, and adjusting, to remove any binding, was easy. The hardest part, up to that point, was reinstalling the unit and bolting it to the frame. I did run into a problem with the horn/headlight rod. The new worm gear and shaft had a slightly smaller ID and the rod would not remain stationary when turning the steering wheel. I removed the rod, checked it for true, and did a little massaging and filed off the 'crimp' marks. This made the rod travel freely down the shaft until about eight inches from the hub (horn & light switch control). I removed the rod once again and used some heavy grit sandpaper, followed by some fine steel wool. After that, I cleaned everything with some brake cleaner. This time the rod went in with no problems. I hooked up the headlight switch and took the car for a test drive. Everything worked as it should. Now, I want to be able to put some miles on her and enjoy not having to anticipate turning a half a block before I need to...

[VeryTangled]

Hi Everyone, Vic, I don't know what it is with those horn rods, but it seems like as soon as you take one out it gets grumpy.

Like it was gravity or something.

No matter how careful I was with it the couple of times I've had it out, I always had to do a dance like yours to get it back in! Didn't think of the BrakeKleen trick. That's handy stuff for squeaky-clean surfaces.

Isn't it nice to have a drop-top? I can hardly imagine going through a rear-window with that thing.

[Vic Piano]

Jeff, I'm just happy that the '39 CS is the only car/truck I have with the horn/headlight rod set up. Edsel had the right idea with the Zephyr, use an in dash headlight switch...

[adileo]

Hi Vic - hope all is well. I read your post and was wondering.....I been looking for a good cleaning product for my 39 banjo steering wheel. You think brake cleaner can be used on a paper towel?

[Vic Piano]

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If you are talking about the painted hub and wheel, I would not use brake cleaner. I'd try something like Simple Green or Purple Power, to get the built up grime off. I would try brake cleaner, on a Q-tip, to get between the spokes from the hub to the wheel.

[Vic Piano]

The weather has taken a turn back to normal, sunshine in the am with rain showers in the late afternoon so, I'm planning on cruising down to Sarasota Saturday morning, in the '39 CS, to help Joe install a new generator and voltage regulator in the '48 Merc. Hopefully the new units will expel the electrical demons that have plagued the car. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a nice topless cruise.

[Vic Piano]

Are any of you planning on going to the Race of Gentleman in Wildwood, NJ, the first weekend in October? Mike and I are going to be driving up to attend the event, and we'd like to meet some FordBarner's and some of the northern members of the Cigar City Flatheads. The trip is just over 1000 miles each way, and we are contemplating driving one of our Flatheads up from Tampa, my '39 Ford Convertible Sedan or Mike's '41 Ford Business Coupe... We are also considering driving a more modern vehicle like one of our F-150 Pickups... We'll see... Let us know if you are planning on being there.

[Vic Piano]

I left my house at 8:00am today and headed south to Sarasota, in the '39 Convertible Sedan, to go play with Joe and his '48 Mercury Convertible. The weather was perfect for topless cruisin' and I made the trip in just over an hour, the little '39 Ford was cookin' along between 65 and 70mph. The steering box we rebuilt made the drive even more pleasurable. When I got to Joe's, the Merc was ready for a topless cruise. Joe and I took a nice ride down to St. Armands Circle and had an early lunch at the Columbia restaurant. We both had the 1905 salad, and washed it down with (made right at the table) white sangria. After lunch we cruised back to Joe's and I fired up the '39 and headed back to Tampa. It was another great day spent with friends and Flatheads. And, I got home just before the afternoon rains started.

[Tinker]

Looks like you went by way of the sunshine skyway?

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Looks like you went by way of the sunshine skyway?

Yup! When the sun is shining, the Skyway is the only way to travel... Plus, I love to hear the '39's Brockman's rap when I let off the gas going down hill...

[Tinker]

I would think it'd be a interesting ride! Only "mountain" around here.

[Bruce in southern OH]

Nice, where is bridge located???

[Tinker]

Bruce it links st Petersburg to Sarasota, Florida. It's the only way to go south if your in st pete and the pinellas coast beaches. The bridge replaced a previous bridge that was crashed into by a tanker. Parts of the old bridge are used for fishing piers still. At one point it was the largest suspension bridge in the world. But not anymore.

[Vic Piano]

It is a fun ride in a Flathead powered Convertible. I've driven over it in most of my Flatheads.

[Vic Piano]

Attention all Cigar City Flatheads. We have been invited to the 4th annual Heritage Picnic and Car Rally on Sept 12th, at the home and restoration shop of Brando Pistoreous, from 11Am-2PM. Bring the wife, the girlfriend, or both... If you attend, they request that you bring a 'covered dish'. I'll be there, driving the first Flathead in my garage that fires up... Hope to see a bunch of you there.

[Vic Piano]

[Vic Piano]

[HELENT]

vic tell us more on the race

[Ol' Ron]

This thread reminds me of my present project. I started it in 2010 and was hoping to finish it sometime this year, but gave up on that idea, maybe next year.