Story and Pictures By: Jeff Yeagle

SIT ON IT.. FOR FREE


	THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2009


	My friend Luther is building a 54 Chevrolet truck.. His truck came with a S 10 seat.. which was about 2 feet to narrow.. for a 54 Chevy truck. so he called me over to help get it out of the way.. (like 2 years ago!) turns out. ITS PERFECT for the "recycled 40 Ford Woodie"


	RECYCLED! This holiday season, my eldest daughter has been telling all of our holiday visitors "all it needs is a floor and a seat!" Today she got that. My biggest fans


	Tailgate Latch Plates.


	Wednesday, January 7, 2009




	INVENTOR In the interim I managed to secure some steel from my local steel yard and used the "pattern" to create my "blanks" I drilled 1/8 inch holes for the corners of each "knockout" and used my plasma cutter to create the openings


	Ford used a simple latch for the rear gate. I had previously posted about using "inventor" to create drawings and flat patterns of parts here:



	Some fancy work with a chipping hammer (it was closest). And a "bend" in my brake.. Resulted in these.. I'll file these to perfection in the weeks ahead (thus far these took 45 minutes labor)


	HOLD IT RIGHT THERE


	Friday, January 16, 2009


	THESE ARE NOT RIGHT! The "correct" upper gate holders are available from a reproduction outfit. (And I think they are 165.00). These holders, are very similar.. And were 5.00 at a boat show I attended a few years ago.."Recycled"


	Mark.. is the Man.


	SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2009

A few weeks ago my friend Mark T called and said he found an "old hot rodder" with "a lot of old hotrod parts". This "old hot rodder" was in the process of moving and was looking to unload some stuff. My interest was peaked when I heard that a pair of 39 Ford doors and a 39 deluxe hood were in the mix, So Mark went ahead and set up everything up for both of us to visit this past week. Although I was more than an hour from home, It turned out that I knew the "old hot rodder" in question as he had previously had a business 5 miles from my house! Unfortunately, the 39 doors turned out to be 49 doors, BUT the 39 deluxe hood turned out to be a 40 DELUXE HOOD, Which coincidentally was exactly what I had been searching for since August. The "old hot rodder" didn't exactly give the hood away, But given that I needed a good hood I think I did A-OK.. THANKS MARK


	Its a “on again, off again” relationship


	Friday, October 12, 2007


	Life has been BUSY these last 4 weeks, which is good, because putting these fenders on and off the car AGAIN (in the cold) will not be fun. given that each rear fender is (was) 3 pieces (stitched together) I am fairly happy with the results.


	A few more weeks till I can refocus on this project..


	Already liking the air ride..


	logo?


		Sunday, February 15, 2009


	You just cant make this stuff up!


		Saturday, February 28, 2009

Last week Pennsylvanians celebrated the "February thaw out" at the annual flea market (of the same name) held in Leesport, PA. I never expect to find much.. as the thaw out is held on one of the coldest days of the year, and as a rule.. its a small affair. However I did manage to convince my buddy Kevin to sell me a carburetor he no longer needed, and my pals JON and "chopo" delivered some wheels that have made a rather lengthy journey. In addition, a group of "us" (as opposed to "THEM" guys that didn't show) decided to enjoy breakfast (and scrapple!) at a local diner following the swap.. so it was destined to be a good day.. I picked up some random stuff.. But of most note this;


	Which the seller insisted was for a model a windshield.. As it turns out.. It fits a upper tailgate on a ford woodie.. BEST $2.00 I spent all day!


	Small projects.. Take the most time.


	Friday, March 6, 2009


	Its amazing, how a little simple project, takes the most time.. Assemble, fabricate, tack weld, disassemble, finish weld, reassemble... Test… What a day.. In the end.. It works!


	Helpers..


	Saturday, March 14, 2009

		Raising a family while attempting to complete projects like this can be a challenge. Today my youngest woke from her nap just early enough to help me with the wiring job. While my eldest practiced her hammering technique.. More photos of wires later..


	Dashboard Sneak Peak!


	Sunday, March 15, 2009

Its been said that noting can improve a 40 Ford dashboard.. While that may be true, In the name of recycling I am hopeful that this solution might be good enough, the dash is a "recycled" fiberglass dash, from another rodders abandoned project.. I had previously considered a simple 3 gauge arrangement, But I have since decided that was a poor idea.. More recently I obtained another vintage dashboard and am working on its installation.. In some ways this will resemble a 40 standard dashboard.. ONLY better.


	New.. IS UGLY


	Saturday, March 21, 2009

Trying to keep all the parts "recycled" has been a challenge.. One place where I knew I would have difficulty was the turn signal switch.. Old Switches are available, But are often in need of serious repair.. So, my friends at Hudson Rod and Custom hooked me up with one of these switches task 1 HIDE the wires.. I was (at first) going to attempt to mount the switch so that it would be hidden from view, But space under the dash is at a premium.. (And I don't have the gauges installed yet!) Additionally, The photo above is representative of how crummy these things look with the wires "exposed" (something I wanted to hide) here are some tricks.. To the install


	I started with a trip to a local hardware store for a pair of supply lines for my bathroom sink. These are chromed, and were on sale for about 3.00 After disassembling that turn signal switch I realized that I would need to make some minor modifications.. Here I am holding the "chassis" of the switch.


	Here you can see the difference between a stock and a modified supply tube.. And here is the chassis and the tube reassembled..


	A few minutes later.. I had the entire wiring harness of the switch run through the tube, and the switch reassembled.. I'll connect up the harness to the switch wires this week.. And lights will flash! Additionally, you'll notice that I have a "unique" mount for my switches.. All in the name of a compact design


		WINDOW WINDERS

			Monday, April 6, 2009

What could possibly be so interesting about window winders??? Well This is what the stock 1940 ford (ONLY) woodie wagon window winder looks like (is winder a real word?) See that fancy steel plate.. That plate holds the regulator to the door.. And serves as a method to trim off the inside of the door.. These two pieces are relatively valuable.. Due to their rarity.. Each wagon needs 2. And these are only for 1940 Ford.. That was a problem.. The above were offered to me for 200.00, I passed..


	And I decided to search eBay were I found that WINDOW regulator's that looked VERY, VERY SIMILAR.. So.. 50.00 later.. I had a pair.. That were.. NOS! Here’s my install!


	The latch "remotes" were salvaged from a pair of 37 Ford doors I had bought.. RECYCLED!


	spring break??


	Friday, April 10, 2009

I got two good days in the garage this week.. Its always amazing how much can be done in such a little amount of time.. WHEN you have all the pieces in one place.. (and when you have thought about what needs to be done for several days) fortunately everything worked out well and had I not needed to eat, the woodie might be running now.. The punch list was 50 items long, some of the more noteworthy items..

Finished the wiring (minus hooking up the horn, headlights and taillights)
Finished the "proflo" wiring
Finished plumbing the radiator, trans cooler, and completed the install of the rubber fuel hoses to the intake.
Finished the air suspension (minus installing the PUMP for the final time)
Finished the dashboard (minus the cluster wiring, which I cant finish until the cluster lens returns from the engraver)

Here it is in super mockup. (with the need "old" hood i scored recently )


	Earth DAY


	Wednesday, April 22, 2009


	Happy Belated Earth day.. From the Recycled 40 Ford Woodie Project.


	Persevere!

		Saturday, April 25, 2009

I must have been beaming last October as my pal Doug and I wandered the Hershey Swap meet. I had just scored a 40 Woodie rear bumper, which was riding, atop my swap meet wagon flanked by a pair of 39 ford bumpers (which I had bought moments before finding the correct bumper). Doug was on the lookout for anything JEEP, and at one "corner" we happened upon a pair of new Englanders.. (Mr. C.) Mr. C's first comment was something like: "hey kid, what are you doing? CORNERING THE MARKET ON FORD BUMPERS??" however his tone was friendly and I quickly informed my new acquaintances that the rear bumper was for my 1940 ford Woodie, and the 39's were for a future project. To my surprise Mr. C indicated the he once had a 40 Woodie, that he had disassembled many years prior.




	A few more weeks passed and no communication came, I could have done without all the parts shown, but knew at a minimum they were good trading fodder. Life got busy, and it wasn't until February 13th that Mr. T. and I would speak again.. At that point he indicated that he would "have to determine a price" fearing the worst I almost gave up... However, late in March (on a Friday) I called again and Mr. T. "threw a number at me" following our conversation I indicated that I need a day or two to decide, (because I was going to look at another car) and as I was about to hang up Mr. T mentioned that another "part" had shown up..



	As Paul Harvey would have said.. "The rest of the story" this deal took so long.. Because.. As it turns out, Mr. C and Mr. T couldn't determine how to "split" the proceeds of this sale. The parts technically belonged to one man, but were stored at his friend’s home for many, many years. Neither friend felt great about the money.. In the end... neither man's name was on the check.. Every time I turn the handles on my rear gate, I'll think of the good that came from a simple conversation at Hershey..


	When I inquired about the availability of these "saved parts" (without even knowing exactly what he might have) the situation became more muddled, when we explained that the parts were at his friends (Mr. T's) "garage in a box, in the corner ... for the last 10 years!" I didn't call right away, as I was too focused on obtaining the cowl from ROD, but when I did contact Mr. T. he promised to send a digital photo to me.. A few weeks passed, and I received this digital photo.



	What part I asked..? "The steel panel that houses the latches in the upper portion of the lower tailgate." As I contemplated the purchase over the weekend I gave little thought to the lower gate upper panel. In fact, it wasn't until I spoke to Mr. T again on Monday that I realized "perhaps the rear gate handles are still be attached to that lower rear gate panel.." To my amazement they were.. As well as a host of other goodies..


	Whoa


	Monday, May 18, 2009


	Thanks to my lovely wife.. We can stop! Brakes are bled! We have brakes..


	I’m Cranky....

		Tuesday, May 19, 2009

.Today was my birthday.. Unfortunately, work kept me tied up later than usual. And it wasn't until later this evening that I turned the key and heard the motor turn over.. I settled for cranking noises and elected to not attempt to fire the engine at 10 PM.. Given that the car is currently lacking mufflers, tailpipes, and the related accessories I think this was a good decision.. Perhaps more fluids, and a fresh battery tomorrow?


	IT’S ALIVE!!!!

		Friday, May 29, 2009


	.No video YET.. But the recycled40fordwoodie JUST roared to life.. Mufflers tonight.


	Movement!

		Saturday, June 13, 2009


	.Finally had a chance this morning to shoot some video of the Woodie moving under is own power, for some reason I don’t think the brakes are fully bled.. So I'll re-bleed and go for a real first test drive soon.


	Dashboard TECH


	Wednesday, July 1, 2009


	This is the final result:


	At first I wasn't quite certain what I would do with it.. But when I received it I quickly realized that I needed to somehow work it into the recycled 40 Ford Woodie. Because I had a fiberglass 40 dash, the choice to modify it was easy.. As the glass dash was otherwise junk to me anyhow.. Luckily the radius of the new panel and the fiberglass repro dash were pretty close.. Here is an early photo of the cluster installed in the dash.



		Obviously a solution to the broken glass needed to be developed. On afternoon I shared my dilemma with one of my friends, and he suggested that if the part weren't "bent" that it could be laser engraved.. I knew how to unbend it. So instantaneously a light went on! The next morning I asked my friend who teaches black and white photography to make a print for me.. This is the result.

This was created by "taping" the photo paper to the inside of the original glass lens and then exposing the paper as if the original lens was the "negative" after I had the black and white photo I scanned that image into Photoshop where I did some quick touch up and minor "modifications" to the design.. A few days later I emailed the document (saved as a bitmap) to my friends Lorraine and Brian at Crown Trophy in Conshohocken, PA who took my bitmap and laser engraved it. A few days later, I picked up the finished parts.. Because this wasn't a rush job, and because I had a million other projects going on I am only now finishing the assembly, however I must mention that Lorraine’s work is Stellar.. I forgot to take a photo of the plexi before I bent it, but I was able to create the appropriate radius with a heat gun and some patience here is the finished PLEXIGLAS lens with the correct radius


	The Plexiglas now fits into the original bezel that is glassed into the dash and the remainder of the cluster bolts into the rear. This is the result..



	Although it can’t be seen from this photo the white faced gauges are new units mounted behind the cluster bezel, they are clearly visible from the front.. The speedometer head came from a jeep commando instrument cluster I had around.. And I used a race car harness disconnect to allow the dash to be removed easily..I should be able to do a final install soon!


	DRIVEN.


	Friday, July 10, 2009


	Syracuse is but 6 days away! So tonight before departing in the other 40, we took a quick spin around the block.. Glass is ALL In!




		First “event”

			Saturday, July 25, 2009

Although I had hoped to take the Woodie to several shows by now.. Tonight we drove to our first official "event" "Chesterbrook" is a small local cruise night that occurs once a month. Normally our schedule prohibits us from making the event more than once a year, but I have always enjoyed the venue. Sporting one freshly primed front fender. A fresh chip and new tune on the Proflo, and feeling more confident we ventured a few miles further.


	Meeting up with our friends Bryan and Sarah at the show, ensured that we would have someone to help out in the event of any mishaps. Luckily, the car didn't skip a beat.. Its finally idling at a comfortable rpm, and everything seems to be working well. At the show I had a chance to chat with George Trosley who was driving his 39 sedan.. Life is good..


	Haulin’


	Saturday, August 1, 2009


	The Recycled 40 Ford Woodie passed its first test on Friday. A 90 mile run to a show in Macungie PA provided good exercise. Tokyo rode shotgun and starred at the Proflo controller in awe as we tried different speeds/ loads / different acceleration methods. After enjoying the show, and buying all the good parts in the swap meet we headed home.


	Just down the road.. RAIN.. All was well, until we noticed the car "missing" under load, turns out one of the plug wires moved and got singed against the exhaust manifold.. The wires were used, so a new set went on today..


	New tooth..


	Monday, August 3, 2009


	Swapped out grilles this morning. Of course this is a spare I had around.. It’s an old re-pop that I ran on my 40 convertible sedan for a while.. Now if I could just find a hood center stainless trim strip!


	Fuel injection is my friend.


	Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I like technology, old, new, borrowed, Recycled? Last winter I purchased an older Edelbrock Proflo, However I am just now learning about its performance.. I was a bit skeptical, having bought used performance parts before, this was akin to playing roulette.. But anytime someone has a used Proflow for 250.00 you better buy it.. OR I will. Although it looks like it’s paying off.. , My biggest fears have been realized.. I had to call Edelbrock TECH support..... TWICE.. And both times.. The conversations were under 5 minutes.. My first call was to find out that I had the wrong CHIP in the unit..

(Apparently the Proflo's previous owner wasn’t running a Lunati 3/4 race cam) during my second call.. I found out that I was missing the mark on my fuel delivery MAP adjustments. But now that’s cured.. And all is well.. As a result.. The car tears off the line, pulls hard through the gears and cruises at 70MPH at about 1900 rpm.. It’s working so well.. That I am a bit scarred of hurting the rear axle..


	Strange MOCK UP

		August 2009


	No words necessary... The little Scotty is looking sorta.. BIG NO hitch on the Woodie


	Morgantown Cruise..


	Sunday, August 9, 2009


	Having spent some time with Edelbrock TECH support, now understand how the Fuel Injection adjustment works. SO.. I took a little ride; to a small cruise nite, in Morgantown, PA. No other 40 fords there, so I settled for this parking spot.


	Problems


	Thursday, August 13, 2009

Yesterday I took a little trip to see my friends Clark and JR at Baddonkee Hot Rods to inquire about some parts for the recycled40 Ford Woodie.
The boys had attended an auction in Indiana where they scored parts of a 46 Ford Woodie.
Luckily, I was able to get a lower rear gate hinge (which I'll restore for my car and a few other bits from the same car) unfortunately the trip there was not without incident.. Near Abbotstown, PA the car suddenly started running rough, I quickly found a nice safe spot to stop and realized that the Mallory distributor cap had come ajar..
The cap was trashed, but luckily I was able to keep running as the juice arced from the cap to the rotor.. Unfortunately, this process damaged the rotor and sent parts of plastic down inside my new distributor.
Luckily I was able to "arc" my way to the boys where a new cap awaited, later I stopped to visit another friend (and pickup a rough 39 Ford rear fender) where I decided to swap out the distributor modules in case it had been damaged..
At the end of the day. I managed to pull of 15MPG (even running rough) and made it home (slowly) but safely.
Today I ordered a new cap and rotor hopefully this should solve any issues..


	Solutions


	Saturday, August 15, 2009

UGGG.. This was the cause of my continual (intermittent) fuel delivery issues.. I had purchased this fuel tank (and electric fuel pump) at Hershey in 2008, it was used and I never figured out why someone would sell it.. Now I might know.. Perhaps the previous owner had issues as well. Apparently the pump was just loose enough to not supply sufficient pressure to the engine.. THUS intermittent and inconsistent fuel delivery. Chased my tail too long on this one.. A new sock filter, retighten the clamps and reinstalled the pump, and we were back on the road..


	Tow vehicle?


	Sunday, August 16, 2009


	Today, I brought my other 40 project home.. With the Woodie. Difficult to see in this photo is my "tow bar" luckily its only 3 blocks from home to the storage.


	Technically it is a “Station” Wagon


	Monday, August 24, 2009

Took the family for a Sunday drive recently. And stopped at a recycled Train Station.. The "Pretzel DEPOT" which is housed in the former Royersford, PA train station, (history) is hosting their first benefit car show on September 13, 2009. Although I've yet to enjoy their fare, I've never met a Philly soft pretzel I didn't like, The station dates from 1932, therefore, its likely that this isn’t the first 1940 Ford station wagon that paused here to collect or disperse passengers.


	First 500 ... Doing what I said I would


	Friday, August 28, 2009


	The odometer rolled past 500 miles today, not bad considering the recycled 40 Ford Woodie has been on the road just 6 weeks. (Two of which I wasn't able to use the car at all..) BUT.. More importantly, as I said I would, I have been driving the car everywhere I can. Today I drove to the "Wheels of Time Rod and Custom Jamboree." IN THE RAIN.. And came home none worse for the wear..


		Rain magnet.

			Wednesday, September 9, 2009


	The odometer rolled past 1,000 miles this weekend.. A 490 mile trip to a car show in western Maryland helped the cause though.. The car worked flawlessly. Not one hiccup. (Actually I did blow 2 fuses blasting the River through my new "system”) an issue I should soon resolve. Once again.. Drove home in the Rain.. Highlights.. The Woodie with Andy's Coupe..


	More good luck?


	Friday, September 11, 2009

Just home from work today.. I decided to jump online and see what parts have popped up.. The seller listed this as a 1936 1937 Graham trunk door handle 36 37 rat rod Woodie Alas.. It’s a Woodie rear gate handle.. And it’s ONLY correct for a 40 Ford Woodie.. Given that I have a pair.. This one will serve as an "upgrade" for one of mine. Somewhere around here I have a NOS lock for it as well! It wasn’t a "deal of a lifetime" but these are rare as hen’s teeth..


	Responsible Parenting.


	Thursday, September 17, 2009


	A photo of our girls during our trip to Cumberland, MD. The engine isn't that loud, really, the wind however, is..


	POCONO raceway


	Sunday, September 27, 2009


	I drove up to Pocono raceway yesterday for the "GoodGuy’s great American nationals" Although I had previously worked with an ARCA team at Pocono, getting some "track time" was the highlight of the day. Lots of 40 Fords at the show a few of my favorites


	History.. Without leaving home


		Friday, October 2, 2009

	A few weeks ago I shot these photos around town.. The iron bridge was built by a local foundry.. In the early 1900's this is the foundry building. Currently under renovation. Gotta love history.. More to come


	We would like to thank Jeff Yeagle for documenting his build ... with pictures and captions ...and for letting us post his info under our Young Rodders Section..

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Story and Pictures By: Jeff Yeagle