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Projects 1920 T Roadster Build Thread

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by -Brent-, Apr 11, 2010.

  1. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    I know I said I was going on a day trip but she's drying her hair and doing her make-up, etc.... :D I figured I'd sneak in a few areas that need addressing.

    Below the steering arm hits the front of the bone. Now I know why they flip and reweld them. This will be dealt with when the steering box finds a location. Right now that's as far right as it turns. :eek:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    This is an area that'll be a simple fix. These A pedal arms are going to be cut away in favor of something straighter. Then there'll be no clearance issues with the motor mounts, firewall, and I can set them to fit my feet too.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2010
  2. Mark H
    Joined: May 18, 2009
    Posts: 1,461

    Mark H
    Member
    from Scotland

    Looking good,Brent!
    Will you be adding any support to the area around the top of the new motor mount?Looks like a lot of weight for the top of an un-boxed frame rail.
    Keep up the great work,
    Mark.
     
  3. Stovebolt
    Joined: May 2, 2001
    Posts: 3,531

    Stovebolt
    Member

    Brent

    I love the radius rod setup. really neat.

    May I offer you an alternative to the way the engine has been mounted?

    Why not turn the "B" mount upside down, and run the strap from rail to rail, with the "B" mount sitting on TOP of the strap. In the present setup you are relying solely on the bolts to hold that 4-pot-of-power in place. These mounts originally had donuts under them, and they sat in top of the "B" cross-member.

    Just my 2c worth about an otherwise bitchin car. ;)
     
  4. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member


    Thanks fellas. I hear both of you on this mount set up. There's not as much weight as you'd think these mounts. The bulk of weight is handled by the two rear mounts. I was surprised when I noticed the very little weight on the blocks in the front.

    Mark, these rails are pretty stout and the mount holes are positioned closer to the inside of the rail near the bend (keeping what you've mentioned in mind). TT rails are quite possibly the thickest Ford rails of the era. Stock, the T and TT mounted the engines on the top of the rails. They're just too narrow to do otherwise.

    My concern lies more with what Stovebolt mention, having the engine side mount below the tie-in piece. I picked up some grade 8 hardware today for all the mounting points. The distance the tie-ins span is about 6 inches each. Each one is very sturdy. More sturdy than the 32 B car motor mounts. If it's not right when the car's running, I'll change it. For now, we'll see. :)
     
  5. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    [​IMG]

    I could deal with this ride height but I've decided to reverse the eyes back on both sets of main leafs to bring the car up an inch. It'll help out the rear leaf which I've been having issues with and it's been a big experiment. I understand now why Phil Remington ran his the way he did.

    [​IMG]

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    Mocking the body:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

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    This is where I wanted the turtle deck in relation to the rear wheels. I was curious how my measurements would work out in planning since I only had diagrams, pictures, guestimations and measurements from HAMBers. However, I did my homework and it paid off.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Tomorrow the exhaust will get fabbed, as well as the torque tube, body mounts, and the headlight mounts (gotta cut off what's existing). Depending on how we're rolling maybe we'll get to the windshield and some miscellaneous odds and ends.

    The steering box will get set up once the body is where it's supposed to be. I'm sure there'll be some head-scratching about that tomorrow too. Narrow rails and the A axle certainly makes and odd pair where steering is concerned.
     
  6. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    Really liking what your doing a real '30s Gow!
     
  7. Royalshifter
    Joined: May 29, 2005
    Posts: 15,579

    Royalshifter
    Moderator
    from California

    Looking great -Brent-
     
  8. Mark H
    Joined: May 18, 2009
    Posts: 1,461

    Mark H
    Member
    from Scotland

    That's cool.It's hard to get the full picture from....erm....a picture,if you know what I mean.:D
    The car sits real nice in your latest pics.
    Cheers,
    Mark.
     
  9. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Not too much to report today. We got a couple hours in. I spent the better part of the morning chasing nuts and bolts and other parts for the car. Here are some pics from today...

    Here's one of the mounts. A few taps with the hammer straightened it out.

    [​IMG]

    All the mounts were welded on... but like Ionia and Bass have done in the past, they'll get some rivets for aesthetics.

    [​IMG]

    After straightening it out, I put a level on it so you can see how we flushed them with the top of the rail.

    [​IMG]

    From above you can see all four mounts. They're all at the same height rather than how Henry's boys knocked them in.

    [​IMG]

    As well, I put some hardware on the front mounts. It's tightened up and very solid.

    [​IMG]

    Here, for the first time in a VERY long time, the body is now bolted to a frame.

    [​IMG]

    Still needs more cleaning up... the holes for the headlight stands were there all along. I put some in place but the lights hit the ball for the shock on the spring perch. So I didn't mount them up.

    [​IMG]

    That's about it, for now, other than a couple little odds and ends.
     
  10. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Got a couple requests for other (better) pics of how it's sitting since it is now mounted... but this is all I've got at the moment :(.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Gumboot
    Joined: Dec 26, 2009
    Posts: 16

    Gumboot
    Member

    Looks good Dooooooooooood
     
  12. Looking Good Brent, keep up the good work
     
  13. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Thanks, fellas. It means a lot to hear that.
     
  14. benchseat4speed
    Joined: Feb 11, 2008
    Posts: 470

    benchseat4speed
    Member
    from Golden, CO

    You are haulin ass on this project! Looks great man I dig your choice of parts:cool:
     
  15. I hear what you're saying about how thick and sturdy the TT rails are - the rear crossmember on my car is 12mm thick in places and the rails are mostly around 10mm thick. Useful for mounting minor brackets and pipe clips etc - I can just drill and tap the frame directly.

    I boxed mine because I'm running a 347 Pontiac but it probably would have been OK to leave it open.
     
  16. Mark H
    Joined: May 18, 2009
    Posts: 1,461

    Mark H
    Member
    from Scotland

    Just went back for another look at the frame pics.I didn't realise how thick they are!
     
  17. UnsettledParadox
    Joined: Apr 25, 2007
    Posts: 1,107

    UnsettledParadox
    Member

    looking sharp, keep it up!
     
  18. hotrodjeep
    Joined: Feb 3, 2009
    Posts: 867

    hotrodjeep
    Member
    from Tama, Iowa

    Busy Busy.

    Jeff
     
  19. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Closer and closer.

    I stopped over Wendell's yesterday and saw he buttoned up a few key things. Chassis-wise it's pretty much set, minus the steering debacle. There'll be more on that in a moment.

    Steering wheel profile:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Most likely I will NOT be running an A box unless I can find a few RHD parts to get my pitman arm to face up. I'm thinking a side steer box out of a mid to late 30's Ford may do the trick as it's been done in the past. The A box is much less cumbersome, though.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]

    I've got a side steer box I'm going to use for comparison... I had not expected to run the pitman facing up but it'll avoid a lot more issues by doing it this way. Cramming so much into tight proximities has been a learning lesson. I give credit to the belly-tank guys... who've got more issues and less space.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010
  20. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    The rear section of the kick-up, boxed. I'm going to make it match the lower section by matching the angles of the plates. I'll pop a hole or two into the plate as well.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The firewall now mounted securely to the frame.

    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010
  21. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Here are the rear radius rods mounted. They needed minor shortening, however, now they bolt into the stock Model A location. After cleaning and painting they'll look stock (minus some welds).

    P6190394.JPG

    P6190413.JPG

    Wendell put a few stitch welds on the top seam where there were none stock. Would it be a good idea to weld the whole seam?

    P6190416.JPG

    We fit all the Model A stuff into the T frame.

    P6190393.JPG

    The spring is for mock only. I'm going back to the drawing board on it once the car is more complete.

    P6190407.JPG

    P6190405.JPG

    Here's another issue we ran into with the e-brake. Not sure the remedy yet.

    Click on the photos for the larger image...
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010
  22. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    The torque tube ended up being shortened about 9 inches. The shaft will get sent to Hot Rod Works in Idaho to be shortened.

    [​IMG]

    Pieces were cut from the front and rear of the tube, due to the taper.

    That's about it for the moment...
     

    Attached Files:

  23. Mark H
    Joined: May 18, 2009
    Posts: 1,461

    Mark H
    Member
    from Scotland

    Nice progress Brent.Might be worth asking if anyone can help source your RHD steering parts on the 'Limeys of the HAMB' social group.Don't know if the Aussies have one but worth asking there too if they do.
     
  24. Looking good mate
    What sort of RHD stuff are you looking for?

    Looking at your T makes me think I REALLY shoulda kept mine!!!!!:(
     
  25. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Thanks, I'll look up that group and see what we can do.

    I read somewhere that the box could be converted by swapping internals from a RHD box. That would allow me to run my LHD box with the pitman pointing up.

    I'm thinking Mac's may have the parts... but have heard conflicting things on quality of the reproduced steering internals.

    If anyone knows specifically if it's possible it'd be very helpful to hear it.
     
  26. Are you able to run the RHD pitman arm on your LHD box to achieve what you want to do? If so I will get one for you?
     
  27. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    It's not the pitman I need... I need the screw gear and perhaps some of the other innerds. I'm not sure yet... I'm still looking for that article I had read.

    Thanks ForEverFour... your car was a big help and inspiration on my build.
     
  28. VanHorton
    Joined: Apr 7, 2007
    Posts: 585

    VanHorton
    Member

    I LOVE it! i have so much other shit i need to be doing now, but i really had to read through this whole thread! this is hot rodding in its purrest form right here, taking what you have or can get for cheap, same stuff they used back in the day, and making it work. GREAT car, inspires me to cut up the frame for my t project haha im following this now...
     
  29. gsport
    Joined: Jul 16, 2009
    Posts: 677

    gsport
    Member

    you are definately a motovator.... think i'm gonna go out to the shop today and tinker on my 50'..
     

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