Still a few little jobs to complete but I'm moving forward (slowly!)......the seat is back in and I'm happy that I can begin driving it now. I am not pleased with the color I choose for the upholstry. I was shooting for a darker color and sort of a "faded" look. I bought a commercial grade Naugahyde and the color swatch online looked darker. It has a redish hue to it. : Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. I do like the French seams over the traditional style welting. I need to keep in mind my goal is a reliable daily driver.
I ordered a floor mat from DC and a window anti-rattle kit from Classic Parts Group in OK. It is advertised as USA made and correct. Will see, I will post a few photos as I install the kit.

I have made a couple of short drives to adjust the brakes and work out the front drum problem I posted about. It is a Hoot to drive. Steers and rides nicely. Once I get it roadworthy I need to get back to prep and painting my 31 Model A that I took a year off from to work on my 50 F1.

 

Looks like progress. Somebody that knows what they are doing could probably dye that seat fabric to your liking.

 

The window kit arrived from Classic Parts Group. The parts were made by Dales Manufacturing (USA) (photo)::. welcome to dalesmfg.com .:: and were packed well. I began installing the top/side channel. I screwed this channel in with 1/2"-4 counter sunk screws as was the original. The division bar Channel fit well too, I painted these and will rivet the new Channel in tomorrow. The seal inbetween the channel and wind wing glass is to be riveted onto the bar. Not sure how well this will work. I may use 3M weather strip adhesive to augment the fasteners. The felt anti rattle strips seem to be formed correctly and have OEM style clips to install them. So far so good. As I post updates and update pictures I will store them in my album.
Update #1
I installed the division bar and test fitted the vent seal. (photo) I will glue in the vent seal. The vent needs to be adjusted in a bit on the top to close the seal. The anti rattle strips are formed well but the clips were another story. I will call tomorrow to get the mfg. ideas on how to crimp them on. It seems as though the clips are not wide enough and they distort when crimping over the wider strip.
Update #2
Still working on the felt strips. The clips aren't a perfect fit and take patients to get right. Dales sent me another set of clips free of charge but did not have any pearls of wisdom for installation. The block I made helps. Overall I'm happy with the kit, the components fit well.

 

I installed the Dennis Carpenter floor mat. I have 3/8" closed cell foam on the floor under the floor mat as sound deadener. The DC mat fit well and is a GOOD quality rubber. I removed the steering wheel so it installed without cutting. I was able to stretch the mat over the pedal arms without cutting the mat, I was impressed.
The OEM style shift boot was huge and oddly shaped. ( maybe formed for the 3 & 4 spd). I opted to use a smaller Model A boot.
I will make or may even use Model A sill plates to anchor the floor mat at the door opening to keep my big feet from rolling the mat up when I enter the cab.

I would give this product 5/5 stars.

 

I found this on eBay. I can assemble my horn button now. I realized that I did not have a horn in my box of parts. On with the hunt!

 

Update #2
I contacted Dales and they said that the clips are hammered onto the felt anti rattle strips. I made a block for the clip to set into which helps hold it flat. To smash the clip onto a larger diameter strip causes distortion. Also the clips are poor quality and will crack on the bend. I'm still looking for a solution.

 

I found an old NOS Napa / Balkamp 3 gauge cluster on eBay. I'm considering using these to get a more period look and use the stock radio block off and speaker grill......still intend to incorporate the original gauges.

 

Mounted my grill trim today. I straightened as much as I could and went with a 400g brushed finish to hide the imperfections. They match the patina well.
I need to find the screws for the "d" before I loose it! To many bags of small parts, they might even be hiding in my blast cabinet.
The grey above the FORD letters is lead from an old repair.
Merry Christmas you all!

 

Thanks for posting all this. Glad to see some feed back on the parts quality. I saw that anti rattle kit and was wondering about the quality. Would you buy it again or do you recommend another brand?

Does it include the seal on the front of the division bar?

Lookin good by the way!

 

You are doing an awesome job. But you know that.
I love your attention to the details and your ability
to find the OEM and other classic parts. Again builds
like this really make me wish I wasn't still crippled and
had a shop. I love to take my time on a build and do
this kind of work. So many builders get in a hurry and
rush it. Thinking they will come back and do it right
later. That generally don't happen and the build gets
sold off at some point. You know what I am trying to say
I think.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

 

Several post back I mentioned I was using an original fuel pump housing with the internals removed to route my fuel through. I hope to keep the original look of the 8RT while using an electric fuel pump. The diagram was replaced with an aluminum plate and sealed with permatex motoseal.

Well this didn't work out so well. The fuel has penetrated the seal and I ended up with junk in my WCFB carb causing the fuel to free flow. I got home schooled on the dissassembly and reassembly of this carb. I have bypassed the dummy pump for now. I think I will order a replacement diagram and use it as a gasket.

 

That's fantastic. Please do a write up on the fuel pump rebuild. I have searched for a modern diaphram replacement for the 226 fuel pump and can't find one. That is the one piece on my engine not original from China and it bugs me.

JB

 

great thread. great build too. I really like that rubber floor mat.

 

Burned a bearing this weekend. I think the root cause may have stemed from not pulling the crank oil passage plugs to throughly clean them after the crank was polished.
Looks like I get to rebuild the engine again.
Hind sight is 20/20.......
Update
With some advice from over on Ford Barn the problem that caused the loss of oil was the direction of oil flow into the filter body. I swapped the oil lines causing oil to flow backwards thru the oil filter.
Update
The crank cannot be ground to save it will be hunting for a replacement.

 

BUMMER! Sorry to see this after following your progress.