After painting under the bonnet/hood I took a look at the underside.
I must admit I’ve been putting this task off because it’s not the most pleasant.
I’ve added a few old pictures from a few years back to show the difference!
Looks a bit better now, but will need a few more coats as it’s sucking up the paint.
After the breakdown on the way to Wheels Day 2017 and some diagnosis the Pertronix module was the culprit (well the symptom anyway :))
This is the second module failure, so it’s back to points which as least can be fixed on the road. I’ve gone for the “modern points” setup by Nu-Rex, “modern” is pretty amusing as the new plate contains the 1957 onward Ford V8 points as opposed to the original 1929 setup.
Before I began I set the timing to TDC via the timing pin as per usual on the Model A I then started to remove the Pertronix system
During removal I found that the lower distributor plate had been deleted, a bit annoying as I’d ordered the upper plate from O’Neills. Luckily John Cochran had a used item I could use (thanks John :))
I’d also ordered the recommended longer pigtail for the lower plate, this is recommended to alleviate the stress on the original which is a little short and often fails due to fatigue. So after desoldering and drilling the old pigtail was removed. Then it was a matter of a little cleaning and soldering to get the new item fitted. As my car has no pop out ignition switch I further modified the plate to securely fix the hot cable to the plate by drilling the dimple which was designed to contact the original pop out switch.
Once all the modifications were completed I installed the plate into the distributor.
Lower plate installed
The pigtail was connected to the points contact ensuring that the connector was not able to accidentally ground to the distributor housing.
Also checked that the timing advance lever was in the fully retarded setting at this point
Next the upper plate was installed taking care to wrap the pigtail around the cam spring whilst making sure not to pinch the cable.
The upper plate will only install one way into the tabs and groove and should turn freely.
Nu-Rex Modern Points Upper Plate Installed
See the next episode for rewiring, points adjustment, timing and hopefully an engine start.
Popped over to see John for a chat and to check on the progress of his roadster build, as you can see it’s progressing well, nice B engine to go in
Despite the cold weather Karen and I prepped the A for this Fridays Wheels Day Show in Aldershot, new hub caps, painting bumper trims etc.
Here’s hoping for good weather!
There are still quite a few items to take care of on my Model A. Managed to take care of one of these today. The Pertronix electronic ignition hadn’t been very well fitted which resulted in the module that arrived with the car failing. One of the issues was that the conduit for the distributor wiring was missing. I managed to source one and fitted it today after putting it off for ages. It makes things look a neater and more authentic.
The lovely sound of an idling Model A Ford four banger 🙂
Took a couple of days off work and with a huge amount of help from my friend Simon of Simon’s Autos and despite the shocking efforts of Parcelforce and HM Customs (parts held for over 3 weeks despite taking 2 days to get to the UK from Bert’s Model A Center in Colorado) we achieved quite a bit :
Lunch 🙂
Lunch with Simon and the Model A Ford
Parcel Woes
Front Tube Shock Absorber Conversion
Fitted the bracket kit from Bert’s and the Gabriel shocks sourced from US Automotive here in the UK. Pretty much a bolt on apart from drilling the front axle in two places. I have a new rear spring and tube shock absorber brackets for the rear to do in the summer.
Rear Brake Grease Boxes
Those of you that read the blog will know that the car had hydraulic brakes when I purchased it, the conversion was quite badly done in parts so it was upgraded to 1948 parts. I was short of a couple of grease boxes for the rears which I got from the States via eBay for a reasonable price. These were nicely fitted by Simon
Engine Oil Leak
After I changed the sump gasket in the process of cleaning out the years of sludge, I ended up with quite a bad oil leak near the timing gear inspection cover using a combination of gaskets and black RTV. Fingers crossed as it’s OK so far.
Clutch Pedal Modification
Due to my height, (6’4″), and the fact that I have a dropped foot it’s difficult to drive a standard Model Coupe. We came up with a few modifications to help me drive, these are working out quite well so far, still have a bit more to do as the clutch is dragging when hot despite slowing the idle as much as possible making the selection of 1st gear difficult. But it’s a great improvement. I think we’ll still need to design a new thinner seat back to give me a few more inches of room. The modification is done with wood so far to see how it goes. Makes life a easier for me!
Air Filter
John Cochran kindly pointed out that my “A” has a “B” carburettor, so I treated it to a K&N filter which I think looks OK, car’s not original anyway so 🙂
Transmission & Rear End Oil Change
Thanks to Simon’s space heater and heavy duty pump we managed to get the Morris Lubricants SAE 250 Golden Film gear oil into the gearbox and axle, no mean feat as this is some seriously thick stuff, I can only imagine how thick the 600W spec oil from back in the day actually is!!
It’s been a while but rear view mirror and the header trim are now back in place.
Finally got around to install the NOS vacuum wiper motor I bought a while back.
Ordered vacuum pipe as what I have is not really fit for purpose.
The operating handle was a little fiddly to fit but worked out well in the end.
Last day of this weeks work on the A, finished off the brakes, set the tracking and a short road trip for the gang!
Thanks again to Simon and his Dad !
