OUR 1938 FORD STANDARD COUPE
Part 6: On the road and specs
Finally. It is done; if a street rod is ever done. Sarah and I, with a lot of help from Terry Rosen of Prairie Rod and Custom, worked every evening and all day each Saturday and Sunday for 5 weeks to get the coupe on the road. Our goal was to leave central North Dakota on a June Thursday morning for MSRA's Back to the 50's held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Glass was installed and the front end aligned on Monday and Tuesday. Final prep was done on Wednesday morning and I drove it from the shop to get the air conditioner charged in the afternoon. At 6:00 p m. the coupe had 52 miles on it. By 10:00 p.m. it had 102 miles showing on the odometer. We got it done with no time to spare and with no shake-down cruise. We were going to St. Paul. I checked under the hood at 10:30 p.m. and noticed leaking brake fluid. I was not a happy camper. I rechecked all the lines and fittings and, after an hour or so, discovered that the aftermarket holddown for the chrome master cylinder cover prevented the cover from sealing properly and fluid was just leaking out from the top. The original wire holddown was used and that solved the problem. Other than one of the worst rainstorms we have been in and an improperly wired wiper motor, the trip was problem-free. The car rode like a Cadillac and we were neither tired nor sore after long days on the road and the many short nights getting ready for the trip.We took our time completing the interior. Sarah and I have enjoyed every minute we have spent together cruising throughout North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. If you see us, give us a wave. We will always wave back. Keep cruisin'.
What's in it (or how you wear the numbers off your credit card)
New 350 Chevrolet 4 bolt main aluminum dash insert with VDO gauges
Chevrolet 350 TH automatic Ron Francis wiring
transmission Juliano's third brake light
Carter AFB 625 cfm 4 barrel carb 1988 Pontiac Grand Am bucket seats
with electric choke 1968 Pontiac tilt steering column
Holley Contender intake manifold Lecarra steering wheel with horn kit
Chevrolet rams horn exhaust manifolds Lokar emergency brake handle and
original radiator recored with GM cables
transmission cooler Sony am/fm/cassette
1978 Mustang II front suspension Jensen speakers
with 11" 5 bolt rotors and disc halogen headlight conversion kit
brakes Michael Thomas trunk lid support Granada power brake booster, Bitchin' firewall and front floor
proportioning valve, and gas and Datsun pick-up hood latch
brake pedal assemblies Datsun pick-up console
Chassis Engineering x-members, rear Chevrolet cable releases for hood
spring kit, and transmission mount and trunk latches
dual exhaust with turbo mufflers bear claw trunk latch
1977 Thunderbird driveshaft Bronco mini spare tire
Granada 9" rear with drum brakes electric gear shift indicator
Tanks gas tank with Wescott rear fenders
stainless steel gas line 1938-1939 tail lights
Smoothie chrome reverse wheels with lighted chrome license plate frame
BFG Radial T/A's fuzzy dice
195/60/15 front good assortment of Jan & Dean,
235/70/15 rear Beach Boys, and 1954 through
1939 Ford dash 1963 music
Vintage Air air/heat/defrost both of us enjoying the road, the time
points with heavy duty cap together, and each other
EMS tailpan
I know; you thought I forgot. I promised to show you the completed brake booster set-up. Here it is. Cutting into the $$ firewall was worth it. Not only did it ensure a proper brake pedal-steering alignment, but it also kept the master cylinder relatively close to the firewall.
