Lower Grille Shell Modifications

The grille shell is a fiberglass 32 and because I am using a suicide front end, I am only using the upper 2/3rds of the grille shell.  The aluminum radiator I chose actually turned out to be about 3/4ths of an inch wider which means that the center of the shell needs to be cut and re-glassed so that it will fit the radiator and look good.

  In order to use aluminum grille bars, I needed to build some sort of lower mount that would enable the bars to mount and align as well as clear the front spring mount and still look decent.  To do this , I made a pattern with a welding rod or you could use a coat  hanger, to go from side to side and up and around ( over) the spring mount.  Then I transferred the pattern to a piece of 1/8th x 2 inch flat bar and bent it to fit the welding rod pattern.  Since I am making this out of fiberglass, I wrapped the flat bar with wax paper and then taped it to a piece of plywood that was covered with wax paper.  I then laid up short strips of fiberglass mat - 4 layers total, let set and then trimmed the excess and smoothed it up.

 I don’t have a picture to show the next step, but if you look at the picture, notice that there is a flange on the front and then it meets up with the angle piece just made.  This piece was made by using the plywood covered with wax paper and laying pieces of mat in the shape of the mount - 4 layers.  When cured, I trimmed it to fit the pattern and then used some fiberglass bondo to glue the two together and then used two more layers of mat to bond them into one part.  the final shape - from the side - looks like the letter Z.

  
 This picture shows the Z shape with the piece in place with fiberglass bondo holding it.  Later on, before I mount the grille bars , I will use some short pieces of mat to make a more substantial bond between the grille and the lower piece just constructed. When it is fully bonded, it will be both rigid, strong, and look good and will hold the bottom of the grille bars in place very nicely.

Mounting Electric fan

Now it is time to get the electric fan mounted to the radiator.  I always start by using a piece of 1/8th by 1 inch wide flat bar and then mount it to the grill shell mounting tabs on the radiator.  The holes are drilled and tapped 1/4 -20 in the flat bar and 1/4 inch holes drilled in the aluminum mounting tabs.  The expansion tank ( overflow ) is then mounted using 1/4 -20 holes drilled and tapped in the flat bar.

  Depending on which radiator manufacturer I use and which fan is selected, will determine how the brackets will be made to mount the fan to the 1/8th inch flat bar on the sides.  This one worked out quite well and only required  a hole on one end - drilled and tapped 1/4 -20 and an angle cut on the other.  I weld both on the top and inside the bracket so that the outside can be radiused and still have lots of strength from the inside.  This is done with all four mounting brackets and with the supplied hold down that comes with the fan, bolted together with a 1/4 - 20 bolt.  Final assembly will use blue lock tight  and an SAE 1/4 flat washer.

This is another shot showing the right side mount.  

  Here is a standup shot with the flat bar and expansion tank - overflow tank, in position.  These are pretty straight forward and come together very nicely.  I usually finish the mounting bracket with urethane primer , glazing putty, and final color to make them look more professional.  You could also use  spray can gloss black and it would also look ok.  It’s all about personal choice.  The two drilled and tapped holes showing, in the flat bar, are for mounting the grill shell to the radiator.

Steering Arm Alignment

Oops! I measured wrong - the radiator was to close to the water pump and the electric fan would not fit . Soooo , I lengthened the frame 4 inches to allow this to happen. I can’t believe I made this mistake after all of the frames I have built. But , it does happen. When it does, just figure out what needs to be done and fix it. But I had to also lengthen the radius rods 4 inches or move the mounting bracket for the rear of the front radius rod. I didn’t like the looks of the new position, so I welded the piece I cut out , back into the front radius rod or wishbone. 

 Here you can see that with the 4 inch extension, the electric fan has plenty of room to sit and give the necessary clearance needed.

With all that back tracking, it is now time to adjust the steering arms using the Ackerman principle for correct steering. I drilled a # 7 hole in the center of the differential ( rear end - measured from the backing plate flange. The hole will not be in the center of the housing because the Ford rear end is off - centered). Then I tapped the hole for a 1/4 -20 thread and screwed a short bolt into the hole with a nut to lock it in place and keep the bolt from moving around. Next I took some pink string ( used in concrete work or any color will do) and made a loop in the end and placed it over the bold and then ran it up to the front placing it right through the kingpin center on top. Extending the string out , the string should go through the steering arm hole where the tie rod end will rest. The idea here is that the steering arm needs to be heated and bent out to make this happen. 
When the steering arms are in back of the axle, the arm can usually be heated and bent to where it will be in perfect alignment. When it is in front of the axle, the arms can only be bent outward until the tie rod end just clears the backing plate or rotor. It won’t always be perfect, but as close as you can get it will work just fine.

If the Ackerman principle is not used , when you turn the car to the left or right, the outside tire on the turn will turn sharp and the inside tire will turn wide thus making it harder to steer , create tire wear , and sometimes the tires will even hop. Not cool! This little adjustment needs to be done if the wheel base is longer or shorter than the original that the axle and steering arms were made for.

 In order to hold, heat and bend the steering arms, I built a fixture shown in the picture. I used some 3 x 5 x 1/4 inch angle iron about 5 -6 inches long with a 2 x 1/4 x 4-5 inch piece of flat bar welded to the 3 inch side so that I could clamp it in the vise. Next I cut out the center to match the larger step in the spindle and drilled the 4 1/2 inch holes for mounting. The 1 x 1/8 inch strap that is tacked to the 3 inch lip is use as a reference when measuring how far the arm is bent. This takes care of the in and out measurement. The up and down is handled from the table to the bottom of 
the spindle.

 This just shows a back view of the fixture mounted in the vise.

This view shows the spindle mounted in the fixture that is mounted in the vise. 

With everything mounted, I needed to have some way of moving the arm when it is heated. In the past I have used large crescent wrenches or pipe wrenches, but these are crude at best. I decided to use a 1 x1 inch by about 2 foot long piece of solid bar stock for the leverage that is needed. To attach the bar to the steering arm, I drilled and tapped a 1/2 - 13 inch tread so I could use a 1/2 inch coarse bolt. The tab on the front of the bar is used to keep the bar from moving once the bend is in progress. This is just a 1 - 1 1/2 x 1/4 inch piece of flat bar welded to the top of the solid bar. The side that this is placed on , determines the force I can use to bend the arm in or out. The opposite end of the bar has a 1/2 inch hole drilled in it and is used to bolt to the arm to move it up or down when only that direction is needed for clearance. I only bend in one direction at a time , measure , heat and then bend in the other direction. Always let the arm cool naturally and never quench it in water - this could cause cracks in the metal and failure when in use. You will know when the arm is hot enough to bend when you can move it fairly easy with just your arm and a little body weight. Don’t use a hammer to help it along, this could tear the metal being heated and cause stress cracks and part failure.

 Here is the arm bent with a tie rod end it place with just enough clearance between the backing plate and the rod end. 

 Here both arms have been bent and the entire tie rod installed and the ackerman checked with the pretty pink string. Close is good because the arms are in the front of the axle.