What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[41ford1]

Originally Posted by Vic Piano

As far as I know, Don's '47 was built in New England; one of the guys in the "Breakfast Club" got it on a trade and did some body modifications before Don picked it up. It may be hard to tell by the photo angle but the front fenders look like they have been widened and the wheel wells have been reshaped to mimic the rear fender wheel openings. I think the truck sits on a Nova (or some kind of Chevy) front clip and is powered by an sbc with automatic and a Ford 9" rear. I drove the truck up to the Breakfast Club and it is a nice driver. I’m sure Don will have a lot of fun with it.

SBC in my view is actually OK. The SBC IMO is the second most significant V8 in mass production. Don's truck just looks right. Since it's a good driver I hope he enjoys it. Does he want to bring it to New England in August?

[Vic Piano]

Don's is the first SBC converted old Ford I've driven and I have to say is was an enjoyable experience however, nothing (in my opinion) can improve on the experience of motoring in a Flathead Ford V8 with all it's unique attributes, sounds, smell, feel, etc. I would not rule out installing an OHV V8 in an old Ford but I'd prefer something other then a SBC, say a 292, 312 289, Buick Nail Head, Early Caddy OHV, early Olds V8, etc. I'd also stick with the stock suspension but that's just me. As for the tour, I’m not sure if he is ready for an extended road trip just yet. If he drives the truck over this Saturday I’ll try to get some more detailed photos of it to post.

[Vic Piano]

Ok, here's a non Ford question. A friend of mine has a '36 Buick with a straight 8. The car is all stock except for an electric (6 volt) fuel pump that was on the car when he got it a number of years ago. The electric fuel pump died and he got a replacement however, the replacement pump puts out between 4.5 and 5.5 lbs of pressure. The old pump has no markings on it to denote the pressure range and there is no fuel pressure regulator installed on the car. Do any of you know what the factory fuel pump (mechanical) fuel pressure is for this car? Thanks. Vic

[Henry/Kokomo]

Vic - Don't know specifics on the Buick but. . . if we knew what type, brand and model carb, might be able to research it or, perhaps, Ken or Charlie or Uncle Max would know off hand. Just a thought.

[Vic Piano]

Hi Henry, Those are good suggestions; I think the guys narrowed it down based on the fact that the '36 Buick is a Series 40. The consensus is 2.5 to 3.5 lbs of pressure. My friend is going to pick up a fuel pressure regulator today and we'll see how things go... We hope...

[Vic Piano]

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Thanks guys, for all the help with my friends '36 Buick. As for the Flatheads in my garage, nothing got done this weekend...

[Vic Piano]

Ok, now I've got a compliant about a supplier, not a car parts supplier but Lowe's. I ordered three Wayne Dalton garage doors from Lowe's back on May 11, 2012. I was told that the doors would be delivered in four weeks... At the end of the fifth week, the installer (a third party) brought the door out to install them however, upon opening the first box; we discovered that Wayne Dalton sent the wrong doors... I called Lowe's and they told me that they would place another order... A total of twelve weeks have passed… The installer called me today to let me know that Wayne Dalton sent the wrong doors yet again... If that's not bad enough, three days after the first wrong doors were delivered (and Lowe's allegedly reordered) I got a call from the Lowe's installation department asking me if I was satisfied with the garage door installation... Here it is three months later and I'm still without garage doors but with plenty of "lip service" from Lowe's and still no solution… Caveat Emptor.

[B-O-B]

Vic call Rick Hendricks or Jimmy Johnson. Tell them if they don't help you are going to Fords. heh heh he

[Vic Piano]

B-O-B, I can only hope that Lowe's gets more positive response from their NASCAR sponsorships... It's really too bad because everything else (related to the construction of the house) I've done with Lowe's has been an excellent experience. I hope this issue gets resolved quickly and the garage doors I ordered will be delivered and installed without any more screw ups...

[B-O-B]

vic check your mail as I found it best noot to post my answer here sniff sniff..

[Vic Piano]

B-O-B, you are correct, the trials and tribulations of house construction far exceed any thing I've ever done relating to antique cars & trucks...

[OldDad]

Vic, my Motors manual show the '36 Series 40 Buick uses an EE-1 Stromberg, and the fuel pump pressure at 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. Like our Fords.

I have good luck with the Holley low-pressure regulators. They are rebuildable if you ever have a problem.

Still using my Bendix 6V electric pump from the early '60's -- I can't believe it's still working after sitting from 1966-1985, run for six months, and now from 2010 to the present. Wouldn't leave town with it without a spare, however!

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by OldDad

Vic, my Motors manual show the '36 Series 40 Buick uses an EE-1 Stromberg, and the fuel pump pressure at 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. Like our Fords.

I have good luck with the Holley low-pressure regulators. They are rebuildable if you ever have a problem.

Still using my Bendix 6V electric pump from the early '60's -- I can't believe it's still working after sitting from 1966-1985, run for six months, and now from 2010 to the present. Wouldn't leave town with it without a spare, however!

Thanks for the info, that's what I told my friend, he was going to pick up a fuel pressure regulator and set it a 3lbs. to see how that works. I haven't talked with him in a few days so I don't know if he has tried it yet.

[Vic Piano]

Well, we've made some progress (on the house, not cars) however; the house progress is directly related to my being able to play with cars & trucks.

Hopefully I'll be able to put three cars in the garage on the house by this Thursday and the (we've been told ) correct garage doors are scheduled to be delivered and installed by the 20th of August...

I never thought building a house would be this tough; it makes the most difficult task on a Flathead look like a walk in the park...

[1931 flamingo]

20th of august ! ! Slow boat from Cxxxa?? Hope you're getting a store credit of a couple hundred dollars......at the minimum
Paul in CT

[Vic Piano]

Paul, the garage door fiasco with Lowe's/Wayne Dalton has become a real pain in the butt. We ordered the doors (3) on May 11th, after five weeks they delivered the wrong doors... another five weeks and the second set of doors delivered were also wrong... Wayne Dalton (door manufacturer) acknowledges their screw up while Lowe's says it’s not their responsibility... According to both, we will be getting an additional cash discount once the doors are installed... At this point I have little faith in Wayne Dalton and no faith in Lowe's... We'll see... The good thing is, we haven’t paid anything for them yet.

[Vic Piano]

Boy, the guy running the tractor really knew what he was doing, the garage "pad" looks super... Tomorrow cars go back into the garage...

[B-O-B]

vic any ground clear/grass killer or base coat under that gravel?

[41ford1]

I was thinking the same. Grass is persistant. What is that base material? It looks like crushed granite like I would see up here in NH. Whats the plan for paving, asphalt or paving blocks?

Oh ya, the Fords want back inside.

[Vic Piano]

Everything in Florida is built on sand... The crushed concrete is the base. At the garage it is 12 inches thick. I don't think we'll have a weed problem. Eventually we will have the area between the garage on the house and the other garage paved with a combination of brick and slate. For now, I'm just happy that I'll be able to put vehicles in and out of the garage without having to build ramps...