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

I've been puttin' off doing a build thread because work on this thing has been at a snail's pace...hopefully you fellas will give me the grace of patience - this one's going to take a while

Started out a few years ago wanting to build a T - fell in love with their simplicity. Initial goal was a boat tail fabric bodied speedster on a warmed over T chassis. Plans changed when I came across a decent T touring body and a complete 28 A chassis.







Scrounged up a few Winfield bits & pieces (6:1 head & SR-B carb);

 

been waiting for this one.

 

Cool!

 

Looked for a set of rear doors and seatback for a few months - ended up finding a pretty solid little late 26-27 T pickup bed instead. Touring to pickup conversions were pretty popular during the depression (due to tax/registration and ration implications), so I figured I could still have a nice little hopped up 40's style T (even if it wasn't a full-on touring or 'real' roadster).

Goal was something like this borrowed & photoshopped image;



Somewhere around February, I came across an ebay auction for a 26-27 Roadster body. The photos showed some rudimentary patches across the bun panels, but it looked decent overall. I contacted the seller and inquired about the reserve - it was in the same ballpark that I had paid for my touring body (well below average), and the additional photos showed what appeared to be an older amateur restoration...if nothing else, the doors, dash, and seat springs would be worth the asking price - and I could use those on the touring body already in my possession. I waited patiently for the auction to end and bid a few dollars over the reserve. Luckily, I won for exactly the reserve amount! The seller was willing to bring the body down from Minnesota to Chickasha in March in exchange for a couple nice wood T wheels and a couple that needed to be respoked.

 

looks like a great start

 

I've always loved 26-27 T's, look forward to reading your updates sounds like a great build. This Touring is one I'd love to clone. Bob

 

Finally got the body home and placed on my 'custom' work table and some crappy cut down stanchions mounted up.









To my surprise, the body was damn-near perfect (or as much so as one could reasonably expect). A 30-40 year old lacquer paint job - checked and peeling in places revealed clean sheet metal underneath and a ding here & there filled with body putty. Seat pan was primitively replaced with boards and the lower bun panels and seat back will need replacing. The doors and cowl are amazing - just a tiny spot or two of 1/8" bondo, no rust.

Subframe has some strange stuff going on...looks like the toe board braces were removed at some point in time and the cross member under the seat has been trimmed (possibly for shifter clearance). Rear portion of the subframe has been cut down, but my seller furnished another Wouldn't surprise me at all if this body was a hot rod prior to the skin-deep restoration.

 

Found a competent engine builder in Ross Lilleker and sent the motor off to be given the full treatment; Brierley 'Winfield' SU-1R cam, Dan MacEachern bronze cam gear, .060" overbore, 36# flywheel, '36 V8 clutch/pressure plate, and Burlington forged crank (my one modern concession). I'll be keeping the stock A oiling system, babbitt bearings, and transmission.

With the motor away, I had some time to work on some of the other bits & pieces. Upon close inspection, my head had a small crack along the 'backbone' (just behind the Winfield script) and between two coolant passages. Tim Hadley & the crew at Midwest Cylinder Head in Iowa got it blasted, welded up, and surfaced (milled .025"). Here it is painted & ready to go;



Winfield heads use 18mm plugs; Champion 7's (modern equivalent D-16) were recommended for most driving with the 6:1 yellow head. Per advice from Jim Brierley & Bill Neilsen I went with plugs one heat range cooler (for sustained hi-RPM running) - Champion D-14. But as my goal is a 'period perfect' 40's build, I scrounged around and came up with a couple sets of Champion 6 Com plugs (40's equivalent of the D-14);



These plugs date from 1942-1947 (earlier plugs were 2-piece, later plugs had different ribbing on the insulator) - right within my target 'build date' of 1945/1946.

For spark, I'll be using a stock A Bosch slant pole coil and a B distributor with a mid-40's Wells Ignition 'high speed' cap (dontcha' love the decal on the cap?);

 

Also got the carburetor apart, cleaned, & new gaskets. I had to do some filing on the mating surfaces between the float chamber and throat - they bend/warp easily. Linkages were soaked in white vinegar to remove the surface rust - then scrubbed with baking soda/water paste and oiled. I found that drugstore brand knock-off simple green worked best at cleaning the years of accumulated crud off the carb body without compromising the bronze plating.



Carb, distributor, and head mocked up on my spare motor;





more to come soon!

 

Very cool.
It's got a box,
i'm in!

 

Pure banger porn. I'm subscribing for more.

 

Now is as good a time as ever to begin thinking about how I'm going to feed the beast...the low cowl height of the T plus a downdraft carb pretty much rules out the stock T tank/gravity feed option and the use of an A motor rules out a mechanical fuel pump. Electric? Yeah, it would work, but way back when I was planning the speedster build that never materialized, I picked up a pair of '22 Cadillac hand pressure pumps (one for trade bait and the other to use) and a 1916 (ish) Dodge Bros. tank pressure gauge - the perfect 'period' solution!





Thumbing through the Don Montgomery books and the excellent AHRF archives, the early Caddy pump appears to have been one of the go-to's before the aftermarket pressure pumps were available;



Plan is to pressurize the fuel tank with the hand pump...the gauge will be plumbed into the pressure line to keep track of tank PSI. As I understand it, Winfield carbs prefer 1.75-2psi. Not 100% sure of what I'm going to do for a fuel tank - I'd like to find a nice late 20's Chevy square tank to go under the bed behind the rear body cross member.

In order to keep pressure in the tank, an airtight cap is needed. This cap came off a 30's midget racer...it's cast brass with a threaded steel T-handle, a steel disc, and a leather disc. The leather disc is placed over the filler neck, followed by the steel disc - cap is screwed on, then the T handle is tightened to place pressure on the steel disc and leather disc, thereby sealing the fuel tank. Pretty sweet setup!



Looks like Dick Megugorac & Ernie McAfee used similar caps on their modifieds;

 

And then?

 

Found an old AutoLite switch panel - no idea what it came out of, originally had an ammeter on one side and a clum switch on the other. I drilled out the rivets holding the switch and reamed the opening to fit the pressure pump. The Dodge pressure gauge fit nicely along with an old dash light I had laying around.



Had to do some cutting/grinding/filing on the dash to get my new cluster to fit...I think it was well worth the effort. Also added an ignition switch (the one pictured has since been replaced by a more period piece), nickel-knobbed choke cable, and St Christopher pin (covering up stock carb adjustment hole).





Still need to drill for my headlight switch (just to the lower left of the cluster), but I'm liking the minimalist feel of the dash - still need to figure out instrumentation for coolant temp and charging system. I'm considering going with a motometer but also have a NOS 30's Rex-A-Co temp gauge. For the charging system, I have a Roller Smith "battery" gauge out of the same year range Dodge that would be a nice match/fit (between the cluster & St. Christopher pin), but I'm not sure. Might need to do some photoshopping

Thoughts?

 

While I'm figuring out the little dash details & waiting for the motor to be finished, let's step back & take a gander at the overall plan. Really like the look of a deuce grille and picked up an original with something like these in mind;





But using a stock nickel shell has some strong appeal;

 

Subscribed. Delicious!

 

So I know what you're thinking...crap or get off the pot. I picked up an original deuce shell and studied it from all sorts of angles. My cowl is 23 3/4" from the frame to the top of the cowl - deuce shell is 27". I'd need to cut 4" out of the '32 shell just to get it somewhat level with the cowl - but I still don't think it would look right with a hood top (this will be sort of an all-weather cruiser).

Someone posted a few pics of this little fellow here on the H.A.M.B. and I was hooked. I'm aiming for a slightly updated version of this RPU - A frame/banger, 35 wires with Kevin Lee repro Lyons discs, half hood, and no fenders.

 

Found a cherry complete T roadster windshield, nice nickel radiator shell, chopped up some stock '17-25 T headlight mounts, test mounted the lamps (17-25 with aftermarket "National" lenses & 26-27 nickel plated rings), and pulled the body off the billiards table for mockup. Here's where she sits as of this weekend;







Headlights are currently positioned about 2" farther forward than I'd like...I need to remove a couple angle iron brackets that farmer Brown welded to the frame when he converted it for use as a hay buggy - then I can get the brackets positioned correctly.

 

That gas cap is a 1920's Cadillac iten, I used one on my Riley 4Port Dirt Car, perfect period piece. The wing nut allows you to slowly release the pressure. This is a great thread, keep things rolling. Bob

 

I like what you are doing! What is a clum switch?

 

subscribed

 

A clum switch is the old style lever switch with a key in it. Looks like a battery kill switch, but with a key.
Really cool build, I love it.

 

Great build man!! I'm really diggin it!

 

What he said. Hook me up!

 

I believe this is the switch that came out of that panel:

 

I really like where you're headed with this one. Currently building a `28 Ford A-V8 roadster
myself and trying to avoid using components newer than WW II. But mine doesn't have all the neat shit yours does. Keep us posted on progress ... this is exceedingly cool!

 

Holy shit!!!! This it the most incredible thread ever!!!! So stoked on everything you've done or are thinking so far!!!

 

Looking good bud and glad you finally put this into a thread!!! I'll be sending the radiator to you this week!!!

Man...you got some real gow-job goodness going' on with this one!!! LOVE RPU's!!!

Subscribed!!

 

Good heavens fellas, I really don't know how to respond...this is my first real build and I really don't know what I'm doing. I've followed many of your posts & build threads religiously and tried to soak in as much as possible...thanks for the kind words & encouragement, I'm humbled.

 

Looking good Gary, let me know if you need anything.


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