Projects The Hardscrabble Hop-Up; A 1940's Style 'T' RPU build

Not much to report...got a spare frame and a great grage tour from my pal @wino01. Will be making an engine stand this weekend (hopefully), then a test-fire/run in as soon as the weather gets a little better and my engine builder/babbitt guy (Ross Lilleker - College Station, TX) is free to lend his expertise. (May I state here that Ross has been nothing short of fantastic; answering phone calls/emails promptly and bearing with my anal-retentiveness...heaven help the poor soul!)

In the meantime - and for the details freaks, all 2 of you that are following along - I found some 1944 Texas "revalidation" tabs to go on my '42 base plates. Due to wartime shortages, Texas (among others) used these tabs over the '42 plates in 1943 and 1944...today they are exquisitely rare. And for the uber-geek, those are mid 1940's "PalNut" (don't laugh) fasteners.

 

The details are what makes it perfect. And you sir, are nailing the details!

 

Gary, the Pennsylvania plates on my roadster are '42 with the '43 corner tags.

 

he said anal-retentiveness and detail freaks in the same post...freudian slip?

 

Love the attention to detail!!! Stay true to the build.

 

Very cool! I've got a couple salesman's sample boxes of NOS Palnuts as well. Those are the little details that really make a build.

 

Another reason I love the Hamb these very cool obscure details!

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Had an impatient friend send me this...pretty much sums up where I've been the last few months with this build;

And he's right...while I haven't gotten much done, the motor does fire (sorry, no video) and I'll be picking it up in the next couple weeks. Am trying to finish my engine run-in stand, so I'll get video up as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I've been so inspired by @woodiemike's "Lakes Pictures P.R.C." thread that I've decided to move my build 'timeline' up a couple years to the immediate postwar years (say 1946-7).

Found a 33-6 Ed Stewart "Dago" axle (one of the most common dropped axles of the period) to bring the front end down a bit - approx 2 1/4" over a stock 33-6 axle - and a couple NOS sets of MoPar 39-50 shocks for the front and 37-38 shocks for the rear;

Here's a shot of the Dago axle & mechanical brake setup (I'm using '39 Ford shackle plates I got from my pal @RainierHooker as spacers to align the 32-4 brake actuators);


A (circa 1946-7) shot of the Wilmer McNatt roadster front suspension and my mockup...need to remove the shock mount on the spring perches for brake clearance and heat & bend the steering arm for clearance, but it's virtually identical!


And here's the shocks...39-50 MoPar front shocks that I'll be using on the front end;


And the 37-38 MoPar (front) shocks I'll be using on the rear end; (love the "airplane type" script on the boxes!)

 

Hope to be posting more updates soon...the Lone Star Round Up and pep talks from @Elrod and @Ford Mike have me motivated to push hard this spring & summer. Please bear with me

 

Keep it up man! Your attention to deal is key, and I love seeing this one done 'right' as opposed to being done fast.

 

Great update and great period detailing.

 

Wilmer McNatt roadster sure is a nice period correct car. Memories may change but pictures tell the truth from back in the day. Great details on your car.

 

looks like "something to report" to me. love the details.

 

Enjoying the build immensely. I like "airplane type" too!

Tell me, with NOS parts like shock absorbers that have rubber and other soft materials in them, how do the seals etc. hold up after so much time then put to use? OK or hard and brittle? Just curious.

 

That's a great question! My experience is that rubber products from that period were made with superior materials (probably a higher percentage of natural rubber) and will stay like-new for decades if kept in a cool, dark place. If the bushings that came with the shocks are any indication, the seals should be in great shape - those bushings are still very soft, pliable, and show zero signs of cracking or oxidation. That said, I'm expecting a normal service life out of them, but won't know for sure how they're going to hold up until I do some 'field testing'.

 

Slow but steady, my friend. Remember my motto, "no hot rod will be finished before its time", or something like that!

 

Gary,
You are the king of the period bits and pieces!!! Love all of your new finds!! The build may not be moving along as fast as you'd like (they never do) but you are going to end up with one, awesome ride...it's well worth the wait! Sorry for the delay on the oil gauge...I just have to get it out of the Dust Bowl and mail it!! I've been swamped with projects of the two wheeled persuasion for a few months......

 

Lookin' Good Gary. Just a suggestion on those mechanical shackle plates that are spacers off the top of your 32-34 perches for your brake actuators.

You may want to gusset the side of those against the perch so that they bolts can't wiggle loose, the plates roll inward and pull the actuators out of the kingpin cup. That would be a mess going down the road to suddenly have no brakes.

Here is a picture and you can see the little triangular gusset I did on the side.

 

Good stuff, I think I'm going to tack weld the plate to the perch in addition to the bolt & lock washer.

 

Good to see and hear that you are back on the car and that the shackle plates worked out so well. And don't worry about your lack of progress over the last few months, it makes me feel better about my stalled projects...

 

I've been on the hunt for some short Mopar shocks for quite awhile. So cool to see you using them. Lets start bolting some of this stuff together now, righty tighty Gary! Haha!

 

This coming from the guy who tore his roadster apart and completely rebuilt it in 6 months...I hate you Hahaha. Thanks for the encouragement, brother. Can't wait to get our cars together!

 

Haha it's all smoke and mirrors. They all go together one piece at a time. I wish I was closer to lend a hand!


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So much cool vintage hot rod tech. in this thread, the way it was done and parts choices, thanks for letting us come along for the ride.

The shock boxes are cool works of art in their own right, this thread is loaded with COOL vintage goodness

 

Thanks fellas!

For the 2 other detail nerds out there, I finally figured out the best way to mount the shocks with the help of vintage photos and parts from @FLAT-TOP BOB (Owens Salvage in Wellington, TX) and the folks at Moore's Auto Salvage up in Rapid City, SD.

Bob supplied me with a nice set of 39-50 Plymouth/Dodge upper shock mounts that will be trimmed (about 1/4" past the big part of the body) and welded to the axle at the perch boss. These mounts are perfect, as they space the shock out just far enough to allow the shock body & dust cover to clear the grease fittings on the shackles.



The crew at Moore's found me a nice set of 37-8 Plymouth front upper shock mounts that I'll trim & bolt/weld to the frame as shown throughout @woodiemike's thread (pics attached below). These upper mounts are an inch and a half or so shorter than the later F1 units and appear to have been the "go-to" pieces in the mid-late 40's

.

 

I did not know about those Plymouth shock brackets, thanks!

 

No sweat! I started noticing brackets that looked a lot like the F1 units in Don Montgomery's books, but dated 1946 & 47...a little too early to be F1's. Then Mike posted his pictures on the "Lakes P.R.C." thread and there were more from the same period. About a month ago, I came across a 1937 Plymouth promotional video and saw the mounts...they can be seen at the 5:57 mark and again in more detail at about 8:18;

 

Those are the same shock mounts as what I have on my roadster. The later Mopar mounts don't have the thin lower bolt boss, they are thicker around the bottom mount boss. I will get a photo later.

 

Gary;
First off let me say, as many, many others have, that this is one great build thread! And as many, many others have said....your attention to detail is crazy!!! But that being said, your efforts will be very rewarding, and far reaching in the historical aspect of your build. From the looks of it, you will be hard pressed to find a more period correct car when you finish. I am very honored that you are using the pictures from my thread to help with your build. That is one of the main objectives I had hoped my thread would accomplish, and I thank you for that. Not only that, but I am sure you would have made my Dad proud!! Can't wait to see the finish product.
Mike

 

Highest compliment I could ever receive. I'm humbled. Can't wait to get going writing that 'feature' on your album (should have some time next week to devote myself more fully to it!)