29 Ford roadster/chevy powered

[mdlahotrod]

29 Ford/chevy powered

Thanks Old iron.
I thought of that by maybe running 2 Z angles from the original mount to the new mount in front of the cross bar but that's gonna leave an awful big gap between the radiator and the engine. Any ideas of what to do with that? Won't that also look kinda awkward?? I'll take whatever advice I can get buddy and I WILL go that route before cuttin the frame. Maybe between you and me and the rest of the great people on this site, (like Dozer did with his air scoop and the pony keg) we can come up with somethin really creative that looks cool.
Thanks Old iron.

 

[05snopro440]

I would put the frame back straight and run a dropped axle. You can do a bunch of work to make up for someone's mistake, or you can redo it as it should have been done and save yourself potential future headaches.

 

[DozerII]

Thant really sucks, it's hard to tell from the pictures, but how far forward do you have to go with the rad to clear the cross member? I'm kinda with snopro on this, if it's more than a couple inches I think its going to look out of proportion. Plus it looks like you have to go down about 4"s which will not allow a lot of air through that part of the rad.[S

P.S. that bolt on my TBH350 is missing as well

 

[wendle]

Mock it up with the grille shell sitting where it will need to be and see if it looks any good.
It might look quite good if it rakes back as well? As long as you don't plan on running any other front sheetmetal anyways...

Lower radiator hose will probably end up running under the axle which is a little unusual :O

 

[sgtpontiac]

Agreed....moving it forward and down...

Before I even read your post, the radiator issue was apparent.
Simplest fix is to move the radiator forward and down to where it looks good. Then run the lower hose under the radiator support.

Looks like there is room...or is that a camera angle thing?

 

[Bamamav]

A 33-34 grill shell might look better leaned at the top than the A one. The A is flat, the 33-34 is more pointed, and as long as it's not leaned too far, look great that way. But if you are planning on running a full hood or top, it would have to be custom made to fit the shell and cowl.

 

[jfg455]

Or put a bigger radiator in the trunk and cut down the empty grille shell where it is...

The right way to fix it is to take out the Z in the frame and run a dropped axle. The axle will only run you about $250 and the frame can be fixed pretty easily. You will be happier with the look of it when you are done. [P

 

[endicott_jb]

I'd say re-zee the frame. Put it back closer to the body so that it almost looks like there is no z in it. You could do it by cutting the frame about 4" ahead of the body, and welding a piece of tubing on the top, then fish playing it. If you wanna keep the frame horns, to me they look sorta funky on your ride but to each their own, cut them off and graph them onto the new frame piece. You don't need to be a certified welder for this, you just need to know that your welds will hold. Also, if it were my car, I'd move the axle back below the engine a little probably about 2". I think it'd look more proportionate. The only downfall to this is you'd have to redo your motor mounts.

 

[bob w]

You've got to do something to get the top of the radiator even with or slightly below the height of the leading edge of the cowl. You can buy a 3" shorter radiator to fit a Model A. Moving it just forward of the front crossmember is an option. A radiator shop can put a 90 degree uptrun on the bottom outlet. Are you sure the radiator is good? It looks like an original.

 

[Old Iron]

After studying the pics a little more, the only real fix is to cut the Z off, weld it back and replace the axle with a 4" dropped one. (As previously stated)
Just a one day fix
The anchor point on the frame for the split wishbones will have to be lowered to correct their angle too.
No need to be a settler now. (as the direct TV ad says)
You will never like it and be batting down question as to why it was done that way [P [P [P

 

[mdlahotrod]

29 Ford/chevy powered

Whew boy. Lots a different ideas here and a lot to think about. Movin the rad forward and droppin it down may not be a bad idea. It would only have to go forward 2 1/2" but drop down the distance of the Z angle. That may hinder the cooling properties. Cuttin the frame may be the best route but that sure is a lotta backin up. If I had a good plasma cutter and a more stout welder (I have a Lincoln 140 and not sure I can weld that thick of a material such as the frame) and a whole lot more experience weldin, I'd probably go that route. I only have a china freight 3" disc cutting tool. I'll have to mock it up with the rad bein moved forward. That'd be the cheapest and quickest fix, but I have a tendency to agree with Snopro and Dozer. Cuttin the frame and havin it put back stock may prevent any further complications down the road. I also Like Bamamav's idea usin a 33 or 34 grille. I really like the way they look but not so easy to come by especially on a really limited budget. Some good food for thought here. Thanks you guys. You all have been a great help and given me a lotta avenues to look at. I'll let yall know what I came up with in the end.
Oh....and I did notice my dogbones are barely and I mean barely clearing the steering draglink. If I hit any kind of a bump, I'm afraid it'll bend the draglink. Is it possible to turn the dogbones upside down? They're curved on the top where it looks like it may give me a little more clearance.

 

[endicott_jb]

The issue with flipping the radius rods is you're going to upset the caster. What I'd do to see if a bump will in fact cause it to bind in anyway is take a jack and jack up one side, turn the steering wheel, then repeat on the other side. As for your welder, I've welded up to 3/16" steel with my Lincoln 140. It will do 1/4" but you're going at close to max duty cycle and you have to run flux cored so it'll take a bit longer. If you're really worried about steel thickness, use some calipers and mic out the thickness of the tubing that the p.o. used. Take a look at my 31 Chevy build thread. That was all done with a Lincoln 140, .035 solid wire, and 25/75 argon/co2.

 

[DozerII]

So long as there is clearance between the dogbone and steering rod through the entire stop to stop travel bumps should no affect it as they travel up and down together. Have someone turn the steering wheel both ways through out it's travel and while you watch your clearance.

On the rad see if you can set it up for a couple pictures to see how it looks.

 

[Bamamav]

Hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like it's gonna rub. I have seen people put a notch in the bone to clear the tie rod.

Looking at the pic, I'm gonna have to say that it would be best to just go ahead and cut the Z out and go back with a straight frame, maybe a dropped cross member and dropped axle. It's not going to look right if you don't. Better to take a little longer to get the funds and do it once, than have to go back and do it over again later.....I know you really don't want to hear that, but really, it's the best way.

 

[MercuryMac]

Here's what you need now; ------- another opinion. ----- If you're thinking of getting a dropped axle,anyhow, you could get away with putting the front cross member under your existing frame rails and that would drop your rad four inches without any structural welding. The front of your car would still be at the same level.