the little hot rod saga

[Paul]

this is the entire saga of my little hot rod build,
it has been condensed to only include the actual build posts
and takes place over two separate time periods
the first was a little over two years ago and lasted a little more than three weeks,
and the second thrash was about eight months ago and lasted a little more than two weeks.

so without further ado... :)

here's a quick and dirty hack job for ya

take one bed, the crustier the better,

[Paul]

mark quickly, use a straight edge if you have to,

[Paul]

use the fastest method of metal separation available,

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grind the edges so they kinda match up,

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start tacking,

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continue tacking and beating on it to work it into alignment,

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trim the totaly worthless swiss cheese away,

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finish welding, grinding and beating on it,

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check the fit,

[Paul]

I drug the frame out and got it up at a good working height and started laying out the cuts,

I am pinching the frame just behind the firewall and pie-cutting and straightening it at the stock pinch just behind that.

I am also stepping the frame 3" just forward of the rear of the body.

here we go,

[Paul]

made my cuts for the pinch and pulled the frame together with a couple bar clamps.

when I got it where I wanted it I braced it with some square tube stock.

[Paul]

then I made a couple pie cuts and using a clamp and heavy tube as a staight edge I pulled the stock pinch out of the frame and tacked it.

[Paul]

next I made a pattern to transfer to the frame for the cuts at the step, I am Z ing it by making two pie cuts on each side, this will give me a 3" step but will shorten the frame by about 4-3/16"

something to consider..

[Paul]

ok back at it, I made the forward cuts first,

[Paul]

rolled it over, bent it to close the cut, tacked it and made the second set of cuts, rolled it over again, bent it to close again and tacked it too.

[Paul]

today I lowered the rear spring mount, narrowed the rear cross member, streched the frame and channeled the body.

none of this work is complete, I want to make sure everything fits before making it solid.

first I made another pattern, this time of the rear cross member to figure out where to make my cuts to not only reduce the height of the spring mount but also to narrow the frame.

the cross member will be 2-3/4" lower and 5-1/2" narrower, this will make it possible for the frame rails behind the body run parralel to each other.

[Paul]

then I transfered the layout to the cross member

[Paul]

I cut the section free, removing the two pieces and ground the edges clean

[Paul]

I am making two pie cuts right at the point where the frame tapers,

this will allow the frame to be pulled together at the rear

[Paul]

I pulled the ends together squared them up and ran some more bracing.

[Paul]

then I removed a few strategic rivets, squared the cross member sections to the rails and tacked them in place

[Paul]

then with clamps and straight edges I pulled the pieces together and tacked the removed section back in place

[Paul]

as I said in yesterdays installment the way I stepped the frame although clean did reduce the overall length by about 4-1/4".

I want the car to look longer and lower not just smaller so I am adding a 9" section which minus the lost length from yesterday means the frame will be 4-3/4" longer than original.

I am adding this piece at the firewall where I had made the pinch yesterday.

[Paul]

here is the frame sitting on the suspension, I am planning on puting the spring behind the axle so the front gets moved forward, I think all this translates to about 113" wheel base

[Paul]

again

[Paul]

here's the body and bed sitting on the frame

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and another

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and here is the body with a 4" channel

[Paul]

and one last picture to show that there is room to sit without having my knees in my chest or looking like I'm sitting on top of it.

[Paul]

part four, day four of my Modified

I wasn't gunna werk on the thing today but I couldn't help myself http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

here's how I split my '36 Ford front wishbone.

I rolled the frontend outside

[Paul]

and using a Sawsall I removed the center pivot ball by cutting right behind the weld

[Paul]

then I used a punch and pliers to dig out the remains of the inner sleave, ground the ends square, cleaned the insides with a rotary file mounted in a drill motor and ground a chamfer around the outsides

[Paul]

next I rolled the axle over and wire brushed the nuts and thread and pulled the cotter pins from the pins, using a 15/16" socket, breaker bar and cheater I loosened the nuts a turn or two and knocked the wishbone and axle with a hammer to shock some of the rust, no heat was used and I did not wail on anything. after working the bones back and forth for a minute or two I was able to open them up.

[Paul]

I am using a pair of bungs made by a local guy, they seem nicely made and were not too expensive. If I had a lathe I would have made my own. they take the large Ford tie rod ends. anyway I drove them in using a heavy brass drift I made out of a chunk of marine propeler shaft.

[Paul]

threaded the ends in and there you have it.

[Paul]

one last pic, here's the front in place with a plywood pattern of the mount, frame at aproximate ride height and rake, about three inches http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif of suspension travel and king pins at about six degrees.

[Paul]

ok I lied, this is the last picture!

[Paul]

day five of my modified

as you may recall Wednesday I pinched the rear frame rails and sectioned the stock Model A cross member. this narrowed the cross member the 6" I was looking for but although it looked clean it did not reduce the height enough to use the '36 spring.

I could have a new spring made or redo the rear cross member.

I chose to make a whole new cross member, one that I hoped would look like it belonged there.

here is how I did it.

first the situation at hand, you can almost see I have blocked the frame up off the rear axle with a couple short 2x4s to aproximate minimum suspension height. you can also see the spring is not in the cross member and the hump of the cross member is unnessesarily intruding up into the bed area.

[Paul]

I removed the remaining rivits holding the stock cross member, ground Wednesdays two tack welds and removed the cross member

[Paul]

I took a piece of 2-1/2"x2-1/2"x3/16" tube and ripped it lengthwise removing two corners

[Paul]

then after straightening the pieces I tacked the two ripped pieces back on creating a hat channel shape similar to the original cross member

[Paul]

next I trimmed the flanges and ends to mimic the original, kinda

[Paul]

I cut a square hole to accept the center spring bolt and with a couple vise grips I clamped the cross member in place.

[Paul]

and here it is with the bed mocked up,

I think this will werk, 'eh? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Paul

[Paul]

well you know how it is, you quit for the day and ya just can't stay away http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

so I turned the plywood bone connecter brackets into steel

I used 1/2" plate.

if I go real slow I can use my little plasma cutter.

cut and grind;

[Paul]

drill and ream with a tapered reamer,

wish I had a drill press http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Paul]

bolt and clamp,

[Paul]

stand back and check the look..

[Paul]

hey it's Monday!

and here's part six of my modified;

today I hung the front end, and here's how..

I borrowed an idea I saw here on the HAMB and altered it just a little,

I made some brackets that weld to the wish bone tubes just behind the forward weld at the front yoke. this will increase the wheelbase by a few inches when I use the stock front cross member.

I should be able to maintain three or four inches of suspension travel and still keep the front horns, I prefer that look over the bobbed look.

ok.

I made another plywood tempate for a pattern of the brackets, transfered the layout to some more 1/2" plate and cut and ground both brackets

[Paul]

checking the fit,

[Paul]

used a cutoff wheel and sawsall to remove the stock front perches

[Paul]

used the chop saw to cut the bushed end free of the arm,

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and ground them clean

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then I fit and tacked the bushing sleaves to the brackets

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removed the brackets and sleaves and welded them up

[Paul]

,put it all back together and rough aligned and tacked the brackets to the tubes

[Paul]

and there it is!

[Paul]

one more close up

[Paul]

one more with bracket welded both sides and painted with X-O Rust Satin Black in a spray bomb let dry to touch and rubbed with a bare hand to take some of the shine out. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Paul]

one more just cuz..

[Paul]

part seven day seven into the modified.

I swapped out the closed drive center section on the '36 rearend, and now in it's place is an open drive center from a '46 truck.

today was actually spent mostly running around trying to find a gear set on the shelf somewhere.

in the end I put the rearend together still needing a new ring and pinion..

it had to be done to fit the engine/transmission combo.

sorry not too many pictures this time, just a couple before and after shots..

Paul

[Paul]

2

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3

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4

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Day eight of the modified series,

today I pulled the 259 and 3 speed OD out of the Stude and got it hanging in it's new home.

gotta get more steel for mounts and stuff,,

not much of a tech report here, more like an update.

here's the motor warmin' up for the last time in the Lark..

[Paul]

and the heart of the little beast hangin like a chunk of meat..

[Paul]

and the hunk a motor in it's new home..

[Paul]

which left a vacant space..

think a big block Chev would fit in there?

[Paul]

and low and behold! miracle of miracles!

the rear U joint on the Stude shaft is an exact fit for the Ford yoke!!

Paul

[Paul]

one last picture for today (yeah right) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Paul

[Paul]

part nine day nine of my modified..

man I am beat,, longest day yet in the build,, and heaviest..

today I built a K member and boxed the frame front and rear..

I used 2x4x3/16 tube for the K member and 3/16 plate for boxing.

it's all tacked nice and square to the world, this frame when done will be able to take any horse power I put in it..

here is a before picture showing the frame rails with front and rear cross members,

[Paul]

here is the K in place, checking fit

[Paul]

back on the horses for some boxing up front,

[Paul]

boxing front and rear,

[Paul]

from the front,

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checking fit, again, I had it mocked up and apart four times,

[Paul]

another shot of the rear box,

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and one more..

[Paul]

day ten of the modified,

today I took it easy after yesterday's ball buster..

I spent a couple hours fabbin' up some motor mounts,

I am using '61 Pontiac transmission mounts, they are a close match to the Stude mounts, they look like hockey pucks with a bolt top and bottom.

first I got the car at ride height and engine located, bolted the biscuits in place and with a little measuring I made up some towers and top plates

here's the proto-type and second one ready to cut,

[Paul]

checking fit,

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tacked,

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again,

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and here she sits

[Paul]

CGkidd stopped by last night and gave me this awsome Studebaker grill shell to match the motor!

thanks Eric!

it's WAY cool!! you're WAY cool!!

see ya in three months! or was it four??

Paul

[Paul]

day eleven in the build series,

I wasn't going to post a modified update today but, here it is anyway http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

today I sectioned the '21? Studebaker grill shell I got from CGkidd Thursday.

it is now 2" narrower and 5" shorter,

kind of a hack job, I have a couple gaps I could have avoided if I wasn't in such a damn hurry http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

what the hells the big rush.. anyway?? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

oh well, not a big deal, just means a little more work at the end instead of at the beginning,

..enough of that,

here's the grill as given (before)

[Paul]

and here it is with all the cuts layed out;

[Paul]

this is where if I slowed down a notch and used the jigsaw instead of the plasma, fit would have been better..

are you listening?? save yourself the headache and take your time to make the fit PERFECT!!

the end result will be so much easier to get looking smooth.

I'm telling myself here, you already know this huh? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Paul]

and here it is all tacked together,

[Paul]

again

[Paul]

one last shot,

[Paul]

today is day, uh...twelve, yeah, day twelve in the modified build.

today I welded up the Studebaker grill shell I sectioned yesterday.

I used a Victor torch with a single ought tip

just like in the fifties, bro..

here's the tacked together shell

[Paul]

here we are, welding proceding nicely

[Paul]

when I sectioned it I made it 2" narrower by taking the 2" out of the center.

this left a couple high spots where the stock badge attached and at the radiator fill area.

[Paul]

I heated these high points to a dull red, set down the lit torch and knocked them down

[Paul]

and welded them up

[Paul]

in my haste yesterday I left myself a couple gaps that kinda pissed me off,

on this side it was about an eighth inch wide so I just welded it up, slowly

[Paul]

the other side was a little wider so I made a patch out of some of the left over scrap from the section

[Paul]

and welded it in

[Paul]

then ground the high weld material down inside and out, and worked the metal with hammer and dolly to get it relatively smooth

[Paul]

and hit it with the sanding disc and checked the work

[Paul]

today is day thirteen of my modified build.

I am not convinced today’s fabbing will net optimum results, geometricaly speaking that is.
I built a mount to accept the pivot ball that I removed from the front wishbones and will weld to the rear wishbones.

I cut the socket from a stock '34 K member and fabbed up the rest.

the potential problem is in that I will have to drastically shorten and pull the bones together to make the connection, and the ball ends up being about four inches in front of the front U joint.

here are some in progress pictures..

I think they speak for themselves..

[Paul]

2

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3

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4

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5

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6

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7

[Paul]

here is day 14 in my modified build series.

today I bit the bullet and hacked the bejeezus out of a real cherry '36 rear wishbone http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I shortend them, angled them in and down to attach to the new receiver socket using the pivot ball cut from the split '36 front bone.

I got the driveshaft back today too..

first I got the frame and axles square and level

front;

[Paul]

and rear

[Paul]

I cut the front pivot to better fit the new bone angle

[Paul]

then cut and fit the bones

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and installed the driveshaft

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rear cut

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and front

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side view showing some pretty drastic angles

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and one from above

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It would be nice if this hot rodding stuff was all fun and games but occasionally you run into an unfamiliar territory that becomes somewhat of a challenge.

I will take a more concentrated look at it tomorrow but I think with a few minor adjustments it will work without redoing the whole thing.

Paul

[Paul]

this is what it looked like just before the rear bone installment,

[Paul]

and here it is with the frame and engine/trans raised an inch each..

[Paul]

ok, one last picture before I get back to it,

although the angles are vastly improved as you can see, and I do think will work well,

now the whole car sits a little higher then I originaly intended..

I'll play with it some more before I weld it up, maybe give it a little more rake..

.......

later,

Paul

[Paul]

this is post number fifteen, day fifteen of my modified series,

today I cut the rear crossmember apart and dropped the center an inch and a half, effectively raising the rear of the frame the same amount.

I also added some leaves to the front spring raising it about an inch.

this was done to help correct the undesirable angles in the driveline as shown in yesterdays post.

there is still some fine tuning to do to the wishbone and the motor/transmission mounts to bring it all together, but when done all will be well and good in that department..

so here's a couple pictures to show how I did it,

I was a little low on plywood template material so I layed the rear crossmember out on the floor,

[Paul]

then transered that to the crossmember itself and threw some bracing around

[Paul]

I uncerimoniously butchered the bitch, and started welding it back together

[Paul]

finished welding it up and stuck some bolts in it

[Paul]

then I went around to the front and stabbed three leaves in the front end and bolted her down too

[Paul]

howzat?

[Paul]

today is the sixteenth day into my modified series,

I am back at work now so I only have a couple hours a day to work on it

so daily steps will be small steps.

today I welded up the rear wishbone, I had the whole thing all nice and tightly fit in order to tig weld it but was unhappy with the geometry of the drive line so I broke the tacks at the rear joints, rolled the pinion down and was left with some pretty good gaps at the bottom of the joints so I mig welded them and the front joints too. I also added gussets to both sides of all four joints to spread the weld area a little.

here's some after shots, you can deduce the process by viewing the end results.. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Rear;

[Paul]

rear again;

[Paul]

Front;

[Paul]

tagether

[Paul]

tagetha agin

[Paul]

I set it up like a short ladder bar might be set,

pinion at a negative one degree, drive shaft level and tailshaft at about three..

carbs are leaning forward a degree or two.

this will change slightly as the car becomes loaded, with the front coming down a little more then the rear.

Paul

[Paul]

here is post number seventeen it the modified build series

I slid out of work early to get back on what what really matters, HOT RODS!! hahaha!!

today I mounted the front shocks, it could have been done much later in the build but I couldn't wait http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I used the '49 F1 shock mounts from Upchuck, thank you, a pair of '51-'52 Dodge car front shocks and some pin style bolt on lower mounts that I welded to the axle.

and here is how;

the rubber bushings in the shocks take 3/4" bolts but the mounts top and bottom are 5/8"

so I used some 3/4" electrical conduit the just happens to be perfect for sleaving the mounts out to fit the shocks.

I gathered all the parts together

[Paul]

I cut the threaded end off the lower mount, I'll be welding it on

[Paul]

bolted a shock to an upper and lower mount and clamped it to the frame to check fit

[Paul]

tacked the lower mount to the axle and warmed the upper mount with a torch and bent it top and bottom to fit the frame and shock

[Paul]

after several warming/bending/fittings I got it to fit and look like it was going to fit pretty good and bent the other one to match

[Paul]

welded the lower mount up

[Paul]

let everything cool and bolted it together

[Paul]

then I bolted the upper on the other side and measuring from a couple bolt holes saw that it needed a little more warming and bending to get it the same as the first one, when it was looking good I let it cool, bolted the shock to it and used the shock to help align the lower mount, tacked it, took the shock off, welded it to the axle,

[Paul]

let everything cool off and bolted it all together

[Paul]

one more

[Paul]

here is post number eighteen in my modified build series

today I put together a transmission mount to carry the Stude T86

this is, as all of my posts in this series, very basic hot rod building stuff.

here is how I did it.

the Lark that I took this transmission from used the two bolt holes in the bottom of the bell housing to mount the trans.

I want to use the two bolt holes at the bottom of the transmission itself to move the bearing point further back towards the tailshaft.

the forward holes take 1/2" bolts and the rear holes take 3/8".

here you can see both sets of holes.

[Paul]

the spacing on a Chevy transmission mount is almost exactly the same as the Stude but the Chevy uses 7/16" bolts.

so I drilled and tapped the Stude transmission with both a regular and bottom tap to take the bigger bolts

[Paul]

and bolted the mount in place

[Paul]

then I layed out the bracket that will bolt to the mount and drilled it to take the lower bolts

[Paul]

I bolted it in place to check fit and layed a piece of 1-1/2"x2-1/2" tube on it that I will use to build the crossmember out of.

[Paul]

it looked ok so I cleaned the bracket up a little and bent the tab for the angle of the motor/transmission

[Paul]

and cut the tube to attach it to the frame

[Paul]

tacked it all together and checked it's fit, and took a totaly out of focus picture http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Paul]

it actually looked pretty good so I welded it all up

[Paul]

removed the wood shims the trans has been sitting on, bolted the new mount in place and tacked it good

[Paul]

this here post is another in my modified series.

I lost count, it's been so long since I posted one.. seems like about day nineteen?

anyway today I slid out of work early to work on it,

I put together the steering collumn with the three on the tree.

I used a late fifties F100 box and shaft and the collumn out of the '61 Lark.

and here's how;

first as usual I gathered up all the parts

[Paul]

I trimmed a little off the bottom of the mounting flange on the box

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clamped the box in place and figured 14" shorter would work for the shaft

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I beveled the ends and cut a 7/16" grade 8 bolt to fit inside and drilled the two shaft pieces for roset welding it in

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stuck the bolt in and welded it through the drilled hole

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clamped it and the other half in a chunk of angle iron to keep it true

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and welded it up

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then measured the collumn, it gets 9-3/4" taken out of it

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so I took it all apart and cut it too

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welded the shifter tube and collumn back together

[Paul]

reassembled the collumn

[Paul]

put the collumn on the box and shaft, put the wheel on and clamped it back in the car for checking fit

[Paul]

I used a chunk of angle iron to clamp to,

I will make a new bracket to accept both the box and wish-bone end,

but you can see it will all come together nicely

[Paul]

and another

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last picture

[Paul]

making a pattern for the radiator shop...

check the fit of the shell
take measurement of shell
cut cardboard front pattern
duplicate for back, cut sides and tape it all together to make a box
check fit

[Paul]

pattern is done,

tomorrow I will take it to the radiator shop

[Paul]

it's been about 14 months since I really had any time to work on the little car

yesterday I pulled the frame out from under her and started welding it up

the new frame table works!

not much to show right now, but here it is assembled and the frame on the table
the rest of the parts are tucked out of the way, here's also the Stude motor in pre op with the other patients

[Paul]

second day went a lot like the first
continued welding on the frame,

when I unclamped it from the table after the first day of welding one corner lifted about an eighth of an inch,
it actually had a bow in one rail where I had welded the steering box mount,

so I clamped all four corners nice and square and put some tension on the offending area.
with a little carefull application of heat I pulled it back into shape and let it cool over night.

just a few more hours of welding and it'll be time for reassembley

[Paul]

yesterday with all the major welding done on the frame I finished up the few little things and got it ready for paint

here's the cracked front cross member,
cut out,
patch tacked,
patch welded
and dressed and drilled

[Paul]

here's one of the bone tabs clamped

and welded

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corner gussets

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and outside getting cleaned up

knocking down the rust
metal prep
and paint ready!

[Paul]

got some POR15 on the underside, while it dries I'm going to try to set up my rearend per the-rodster's tech thread :)

[Paul]

yesterday seemed like a lot of nothing..

couldn't come up with shim gaskets for the banjo,
got some on order, should have them by Wednesday..

anybody in the Seattle Tacoma area have them on the shelf???

so I spent most of the day cleaning and painting parts.
why does painting take so long?
a car could be built a LOT faster if you didn't have to clean, paint and wait for it to dry...

this morning I start reassembley :)

[Paul]

'27 T Touring front half with shortened A bed

[Paul]

presto change o!

[Paul]

another day spent mostly cleaning and painting,

a little assembley and parts chasing

[Paul]

not much to show today, just some more assembley

on the motor..

spent several hours walking the Goodguys Puyallup show,

tons of cool cars, lots of good ideas.

[Paul]

she's slowly coming together,

got the radiator in position and mounts tacked, I want to get the body and grill shell on and aligned before they get welded solid to the tank. the mounts will be bolted to the frame with rubber isolators to absorb shock...or thats the plan.

found a couple hoses to fit, filled it with water, fired the motor up and let it run for about twenty minutes, radiator cap off and little 12" electric fan pulling air she never boiled over.

one freeze plug needs replacing but no other leeks or drips. so far.

[Paul]

more baby steps
trimmed most of the rust at the subrails, ripped some 2x3 tabs from some 3x3 tube and tacked them temporarily to the subrail to sit the body back on the frame.
to recheck fit and alignment and come up with a plan for the floor.

also tacked a piece of rolled expanded metal in the grill shell, not sure about that..it'll do for now I guess

had to put the torch and welder down when the thermometer on the wall approched 100.. outside in the shade, in the shop is five or ten degrees hotter:eek:

[Paul]

yesterday mostly mundane tasks

I did put together the clutch linkage though,

I altered the stock stude bellcrank, mounted it and the new slave cylinder

[Paul]

yesterday I started in on the channel, subframe and hammered a patch in the skin..

[Paul]

...

[Paul]

started back in on the floor, got a piece of p'wood hacked to fit, gunna sandwich it between the body and frame,

and the phone rings, my differential gaskets finally came,
when I get there the guy admits to having a set on the shelf all the time,
just not in the computer! doh!

so I did the disassemble reassemble routine a half dozen times and got it feelin pretty good

stuck it under the car :)

[Paul]

couple more

[Paul]

As was said before, is Momma gonna let you drive it? She looks pretty comfy behind the wheel,:D

believe me I know,
(but I can out rassel her any day)

[Paul]

got back to the floor, moving towards the front

started bracing the firewall to handle the swing pedal setup,

and fabbed up a panel to close the gaping hole at my feet..

still need a few more braces and flanges to attach and close the deal...

then I can bolt the body down

[Paul]

continued closing up the floor at the foot and firewall

the body is now bolted to the frame.

today I get to go back to work so progress will have to happen after work and weekends,

still a ton of work to finish but,
it doesn't need much for it's first run around the block.

[Paul]

I need another strike plate, latch catch, thingy for my '27 T Touring
if you got an extra...:)

in the meen time I need to keep my doors closed but only have one, so I made another for temporary service.

I took a bit of round stock and whittled the hook part
and a scrap of the corner of a piece of square tube I had laying around for the flat part and made one.

first the original I used for a pattern,
the materials
and the roughed out shape

[Paul]

then gouged a ragged hole, threw some goobery weld on it and roughed out the flat stuff to shape..

[Paul]

and finally, drilled and countersunk the holes, and bolted it in place..

[Paul]

Paul: Need to know what U-joint you are running on the rear of the driveshaft? I have a '46 Ford open-drive rear and the darn thing must be over 3" at the driveshaft.Hooked up to a C-4 trans. Thanks

U joints are not a big deal, when you get your shaft made tell them what your two yokes are and they should be able to set you up.

in my case the stock rear joint on the Stude shaft was an exact fit for the open banjo, I just had them cut the shaft to fit and bought two new replacement joints.

[Paul]

I...didn't really find any mention about the clutch/brake pedal setup...

it's an old Ansen swing set made for the two three bolt Ford masters, I didn't get an ID on the exact application for the cylinders other than that they are Ford, all 1" and the clutch master has no residual valve, the slave is connected to the altered Stude clutch arm..

[Paul]

spent a couple hours on the little car last night..

bolted the bed to the frame and slapped together a basic seat frame..

[Paul]

gas tank mounted and plumbed
battery box located
tail lights installed

started fabbing a bare bones basic throttle pedal

should be making a shakedown run Friday
and HOTROD-A-RAMA Saturday..

[Paul]

tank and bat box

[Paul]

ok,

I whipped up a spoon pedal and I can't stand it any longer,

I'm gunna hotwire it and drive it.

gotta see what this little car feels like

[Paul]

this is a monumental post for me

this is to state and record the first time my little car has moved under it's own power.

I hot-wired it and ran off the battery, couldn't wait to get wires in it.

after initial fire-up all seemed great, so I headed out the driveway and down the block, before I made it to the end of the block I noticed I was leaving a trail..
turned around and when I got home saw I had lost a freeze plug (the same one I had just replaced) :rolleyes:

put a new one in, topped off the water and headed out again.
this time I drove for several minutes, staying close to home, all seemed great, NO bump steer, tracked straight, brakes straight, brake pedal right at the top, no appearant over heating, all good!

went back to the house, took the nephew for a short romp around the block, everything was great!

came back grabbed the camera and headed out again.... barely made it to the end of the block and she cut out. I had to push her home.

dirt in the tank clogged the pre pump filter, swapped it and the after pump filter and it'll idle, and run rough at mid throttle but I must have fines in the carbs... I will go through them tomorrow and get a few wires strung..

not perfect but she ran great, she drove nice, and stopped good too.

[Paul]

this is, I think about.. what? post thirty eight? on this little car.
I worked on it hot and heavy for about three weeks about a year and a half ago, posting every day's progress here, and then as it happens, in my life anyway, life? or whatever you call it, takes precedent.
recently I finally had a chance to spend some real time on it and put my first ever in my life, two week vacation and after a few afternoons and weekends towards making this car come together,
again posting every day's progress.
I have tried to make a point of showing that not everything goes as planned, and sometimes plans change.

anyway, this is real life, hopefully we learn as we go and adjust as needed.

the car aint done yet, but as it becomes more done I will continue to post updates here on the HAMB

there was a thread recently asking "what has the HAMB done for you?"
this is what the HAMB has done for me.

[Paul]

Friday I went through the carbs, sealed the tank and put new filters in line.
she still wouldn't run..damn.
I called my buddy Ted who has owned more Studebakers then probably God, and described the symptoms, he was still leaning towards the carbs but I was sure I had them right, the other possibility was the condenser. I had a cherry distributor for the 394 on the shelf, I would just pull the condenser out of it and stick it in the Stude.
I pulled the cap off the Stude's distributor and saw the condenser wire just laying there, not connected at all! wtf? I plugged it back in and she fired up and ran beautifully! that was about midnight Friday night.

yesterday morning I wired the brake lights, drove it around the block a few times and felt it was together enough for a short road trip.

we packed up the little car, and the daily,
the wife drove the chase car,
following me the short fifteen or so miles to Tacoma

I had made my goal, I drove her into the Hotrod-A-Rama.

here's pics of the ride in, parked at the show and the ride home.

[Paul]

not much to report,

threw some tailpipes together out of the left over Lark exhaust.

small diameter pipes with the glass packs relatively close to the manifolds,

and long for (the frame) tailpipes gives a nice raspy note

[Paul]

how she looks now

[Paul]

been a few months since this thread was updated
haven't done a lot to it, been working on several other things at the same time.
now that Ryan and Evel have added sound and motion I thought it might be cool to add a little clip I took yesterday

lR3C2ocdYXo

[skunk victim]

wow. i really like that sucker! a lot! right on man.

[repoguy]

Thanks for taking the time to document this.

In the next year I plan on starting an rpu project of my own. I've been obsessed with it lately. I plan on saving this thread as a favorite and using it as a reference.

This is helpful stuff.

You da man!

[Rolf]

Great post, the video makes a nice "ending"

[50Fraud]

I think this is the best tech thread (or article) I've ever read. You've covered an incredible amount of detail in text and pictures, something no magazine could really do. It's really amazing how much stuff there is to do even in a relatively basic car; I'm impressed that you are able to do it all in what looks like a confident and direct project.

Great job; thank you for documenting it so well.

[brianangus]

Excellent post!!! I built my roadster pickup by chopping and shortening a 31 sedan, and boxing a model A frame. I built the bed from scratch. I posted my "build" on clubhotrod. You have done a very nice well documented job. Congratulations.---Brian

[rubberrodder]

terrific tech article! hope to see it at puyallup good guys show,or hotrodarama.
R.R.

[3wLarry]

...is that you Paul in the video?

[rat bastad]

Man fantastic post and thanx for taking the time and sharing. I like the choice of motor too !!

Having gone thru this recently, I know how ya feel and its a real buzz.

Kepp the updates a comin as you get the sucker a rollin !!

Rat

[qzjrd5]

Dude,

That is the best and most entertaining post I have ever spent 40 minutes lookin' at. I am in the middle of my build on my '29 Roadster and you give me hope dude.

Although your skilllzz are way beyond mine!

Great job - and I love the end video - talk about a sweet finish!!!

Mike

[Drewfus]

Great effort, this is why the HAMB is such a complete package.

As a part summary, what did you find to be the most usefull tools for the job? Obviously the biggest tool was using your imagination, but as far as in the workshop, you seemed to love your plasma, grinder, welder, hacksaw, plywood, and mobile workbench......any other great tools/items you'd highly recommend?

Well done.

Cheers,

Drewfus:)

[Olson]

Hot damn Paul. You really *are* a ruler.

That was the coolest post I've read about a car, ever. Great car. Great build. Great pics. Well picked words, and I love that the whole thread was cleaned up for just the goods. The vid is the perfect capper...and man it sounds *really* cool.

Right fuckin' on!

Olson

[Comet]

Haha, Paul that video is great! Although I followed along when these were originally posted I took the time to read through it in it's entirety to capture the build in a nice steady flow. Well worth the re-read.

[Irish Dan]

I REALLY enjoyed this entire presentation, man! Thank You, & Good Luck!

[48fordnut]

You Did Good. thanks for sharing.:D

[CTFuzz]

Piece 'o cake....................................;)

[zman]

Friggin' Tits man..... this is what it is all about.....

[tjm73]

What an awesome group of posts. I've soooo many ideas now. It's nice to see how some things get down to better understand what people are talking about. My Father and Uncle have talked about that kind of stuff for years but I never got to see it (they are into resorations right now). Thanks for taking the time to document and share your build.

[spanky]

Thanks ,great post. Love the step by step,these kinds of tech articles really help the younger guys like myself.
Please keep em comming.
Thanks,Spanky

[paintfumesmahgee]

Wow! great tech!! I just learned a ton!!! thanks to 60's Style & the HAMB!!!!!

[Harrison]

Hopefully Ryan or Grimlok will wipe the replies off this & post the step-by step build in the Tech-O-Matic. After such an effort by '60's Style, & considering it is such a well engineered little car, it's the least they could do.

Imagine how helpful this would be for someone who has never built a car. This deserves to be saved.

JH

[Lucky77]

Unbelievable, what a great post! Thanks so much for taking the time and showing us how it's done. I'm inspired now, I'm going out in the garage.

[Paul]

...plasma, grinder, welder, hacksaw, plywood, and mobile workbench......any other great tools/items you'd highly recommend?

Drewfus:)

a few good HAMBers to bounce things off of :)

thanks guys

[Chuck R]

Man you wrote the book on building a T. Great job. Sorta makes me feel lazy, I better get up from this computer and go do something.
Chuck

[Cruisin']

Thanks for taking the time to document this.

In the next year I plan on starting an rpu project of my own. I've been obsessed with it lately. I plan on saving this thread as a favorite and using it as a reference.

This is helpful stuff.

You da man!

That was inspirational and moving.
Awesome post "The BEST!"
Cheers,
C

[orcas tow]

Wow, information overload, thanks for all the documentation, I will be saving it for reference as I go along with my build, already see a few things I would like to use, great post!

[Richard D]

I know this post is two years old, but it's a great one. The video is gone!

[MikeRose]

Isn't it more like 4 and a half years old? Ya, I think it's one of the most in depth, inspiring threads on the HAMB.

[SinisterCustom]

I know this post is two years old, but it's a great one. The video is gone!


Yeah....you should see and hear it now with the blown Olds....:eek::D

[shadowmtkustomz]

Yeah....you should see and hear it now with the blown Olds....:eek::D

Pics?! Video?!

[Richard D]

Yeah....you should see and hear it now with the blown Olds....:eek::D
A blown Oldsmobile, that's so five minutes ago...:rolleyes:

[Mike Miller]

:DThanks you just solved one big problem on my project, provided you didn't patent it.

[blackout]

Sweet traditional rod. Damn, Paul sure makes it look easy. Teriffic tech posts, how to mod a Model A frame, great home build tech.

[35mastr]

I just read the whole thread.Very detailed and the pics were a plus.Have fun with it.You did a real nice job there.:D:D