The T Restoration
Well, now that we have the 'big purchase' home, it's time to start making a car! Here's a photo of the frame in April of 1998 (notice the Y2K compliant four-digit year!) I've managed to replace the front crossmember, sandblast and paint the frame. I also straightened and leveled the running board brackets. With the help of my friend Lloyd Hansen, and info from the MTFCA BBS, we made new authentic brace rods too. The springs have been blasted, painted, greased, and new bronze bushings inserted. Leather spring pads made following plans for this production period are in place also.
Here you can see the Hassler "shock absorber" coils being installed in the front axle. The coils must be compressed nearly flat to fit them. This process is easier with an engine in the frame to provide some weight and compress the Ford spring a bit! I had to do it the hard way! The Hasslers came with the car, but needed some rebuilding. Thankfully Lloyd has the welding talent and the milling machine to do it. I did turn the bronze sleeves myself, though! BTW, that front axle is a NOS one from the Portola Ford Dealer's barn--an odd discovery last year, one end was pitted from sitting in the dirt, though. I have to admit that 'odd' finds have helped much in getting this car back in one authentic piece. (Insert X files or Twilight Zone theme music here!)
Here's a close-up of the homemade tool. We did find it is very important to properly weld the bottom 'T' bar to the threaded rod. Found a crack in the weld when we finished the installation. Another bullet dodged! (These springs can cause major damage to car and owner if they're suddenly released.) The top bar is two pieces of square tube welded together, the bottom piece of tube fits inside the coil to keep it centered, the top piece is narrow enough to fit in the slot in the Hassler arm, so you can lift it out when you're done! The pipe extension makes it easier to handle the assembly. Milk crate is an unauthorized accessory item (useful for keeping stuff off really dirty floors)!
Here I am assembling the rear axle. These housings are the correct ones and were found in a friend's father's storage shed. They must have been early 'take offs' as they had no worn areas and when blasted, the factory tooling marks from the assembly fixtures were still evident (more strange coincidence stuff!). I just blasted & painted them, no sanding! The Correct driveshaft housing came from a swap meet from a guy who had no idea what it was! The cast spool hides a
Fun Projects modern bearing set-up. The holding fixture is borrowed from Lloyd and was a great help in assembling and reassembling the unit while setting up the side thrust washers and gear mesh. The 'junk' all around is disassembled shelving and stuff being boxed up as I move out of this building. I was under deadline to get the chassis together!!! Might explain why I put the driveshaft on upside-down the first time...Maybe!More restoration stuff on the next page!
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Updated on 1-26-99