Hot Rods '25 T Roadster Sports Rod.

^ Thanx, good to know. What, you resting again? Get back to work!!! Gary

 

Cheeky bugger!
So today was a "2 steps back, 1 step forward" kinda day.
Having finished the transmission tunnel framework, I mocked up the rear bulkhead and seat. I'm 160lbs, and 5' 9", not exactly a big guy, but it was too snug. So I cut out the offending tubes, and had a re-think.
The rear portion of the tunnel gets wider towards the back. I decided to narrow the drivers side 3/4" at the floor and at the top of the tunnel. The front portion needed more room for my right leg and foot. I kept the floor tube, but made a dogleg in the upper tube. Of course that meant I had to cut and modify the driveshaft safety hoop as well!
With all of that completed I again mocked up the bulkhead and seat. Much better! Next was mocking up the steering column. Using duct tape to suspend it, I arrived at the length needed. I cut an old Ford shaft to length, and ground the end to a "double D". I will need to turn up a collar on the lathe to accept a bearing, then I can weld the supporting tubes to the collar.
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

Nice update. Don't forget to add the thickness of the insulation and carpeting while measuring up your feet / combat boots for the pedal location! Thanx, Gary

 

It won't have any stinkin carpet or insulation! It adds weight! I'm all about adding lightness, as Mr Chapman said.
We just got 6"-8" of white stuff out of the sky, and I am driving my coupe, and it still doesn't have any Windows or door seals yet.
We must be made of tougher stuff up here . You guys are probably having to put long sleeved t-shirts on, it's getting so cold .
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

I just came back from Detroit for the Autorama. Nearly froze on Saturday AM. SOOO glad to get back to Florida. Yep, I've been weakened living down here. Bet you guys wear Duluth canvas underwear, eh? Gary

 

I live in a college town, MSU, and the kids were walking around in basketball shorts on Saturday!!!!!
Today they called a snow day, so my daughter and I cleared the drive and walkways, and then went for a deserved Starbucks.
I didn't build my coupe to be pretty, to win prizes, get ink in magazines, or get instagram likes. I built it to drive and have fun, and I don't let a bit of snow stop me. I would rather freeze my arse off driving my coupe, than be warm driving my 2003 truck. I drive it to work most days, in most weathers.
The heat has been on for 1/2 hour in the garage, time to get back on the roadster.
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

Todays project was to make and install a removable diagonal tube in the engine bay. The rear mount for this on the firewall has to line up with one of the tubes coming from the dash bar. I used a pair of clevis, which I cut down and plug and seam welded to the ends of the tube. The brackets were some reject brackets I found in the bin which happened to be 3/8" thick, with a 7/16" hole, perfect. I just cut them to a shape that suited this use, drilled some lightening holes and shamfered the bottom edges to visually lighten them. They got welded to the firewall and front corner of the engine bay. Originally I was going to route the exhaust under the oil pan, but with a rethink, I decided to take it over the top of the bell housing. This means the manifold will be quite bulky, hence the need to make the diagonal removable. Theres also a shot of the steering shaft, steering wheel and shifter relationship.
Some mandrel bends and a "Y" collector arrived this evening, so I guess the exhaust manifold is next.
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

Nice Work. And thanks for the pic of the Coupe. I remember it from a while ago. Forgot how cool it was though.....

 

this is a really cool car nice job

 

You already have a strong space frame - why the diagonal? Looks stronger then hell now. Love the build. I have read "the book" on Lowcost Lotus 7 & some have lighter frame with lots HP. Some run V8 or turbo 4.

 

Speaking of locost lotus 7 builds, you should spend some time going through the almost 40 pages of this guys build.
It's great and contains some tech that you might find helpful in your "sports rod" build.
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1586

 

As I said earlier in the thread, I have been on the locostusa forum for some years, and actually have a build thread over there that has a bit more content than I tend to put up here.
If you look back through this thread "gnichols" put the link to my thread.

 

Mike,
With the cockpit area of the T being larger than a Lotus, that leaves a much larger "open" top with no triangulation. The driver and passenger need to get in and out! Also my transmission tunnel is not linked up to the dash as on a Lotus. With both these things in mind, I decided to try to get some triangulation in the the "open top of the engine bay. From the rear bulkhead back, I have a lot of triangulation, so that area is fine.
I have had both "books" for years, with all sorts of notes scribbled in the margins! I also have a full set of prints for a Series 1 Lotus 7.
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

I just went through your thread over there, and will follow along. I like what you are doing, with the exception of the horsepower thing. But that's just me. I'd be looking for ways to up the giddy up and go.
Something like supercharging or turbos or both
Along the lines of the Ariel Atom.
Looks like your car will be fun.
How are things in the health department these days ?

By the way, I missed my opportunity to stop by and see your project. We were in Michigan last summer when I dropped my RPU off at Rod Tops for the top build.
We had a good time and enjoyed the trip as we passed through on the way to Texas.
Larry.

 

Blue one,
Some old racer once said"it's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than it is to drive a fast car slow"
I prefer to go round corners fast, than in a straight line fast. For me it's about playing with 3 pedals, rowing the gearshift and sawing the wheel.
Colin Chapman said that if you increase bhp, you go faster on the straights. If you decrease weight, you go faster everywhere."
I think 100-ish bhp and 1200lbs is going to be fun. When they put turbos on these engines they are getting 250-275 bhp, that power in my car would be crazy fast. Turbos and plumbing take up space, I'm not sure I have that space. I set myself some tight restrictions, I wanted '26/'27 hood sides. This dictates a small engine bay. It's got a full belly pan from the grille shell to the back of the turtle deck, so nothing hangs below. I will look at a turbo once the car is up and running.
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

Got the support tubes for the steering shaft done this week. This was held up by my indecision on what to do about the dash. With my driving position being so low and as far back as I could get, the normal dashboard seemed a long way away. In the end I decided to build a "pod" to hold the gauges, and weld it to the bottom 2 support tubes. I need to make the pod, and weld in the 3rd support tube. I rested a random length of tube to get an idea where the 3rd tube will bolt to the flange at the top of the cowl. I then sat in the car, held the steering wheel, and made sure I could see the gauges. All I works OK.. I have struggled with this all week, but I know what it will now look like, and how I will fabricate it. The 3rd support tube is the last tube in the frame.....I think, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

Stewart, you are my fab(ricating) hero.


See you soon.

Chuck

 

Are you back in the frozen north? I will have no sympathy for any stories of sunburn .
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

I like your project! I will be following along.

 

So, on to making the top support tube. A made a gusset for the 2 lower tubes, drilled and tapped a couple of holes to mount the gauge pod, added some lightness and tacked it in place. I want to bolt the upper support tube to the cowl. A mounting plate was made, and bolted to the cowl. A length of tube was then cut and fitted. I need to fettle some of the sheetmetal to fit better. Once that is done, and the sheetmetal fitted, I can weld the tube to the gusset and the mounting plate.
With that done it was onto the gauge pod. The front panel I made in 15ga. steel, marked out, and drilled pilot holes for the hole saws I will use for the gauge holes. I also drilled the pilot holes for the idiot lights. I made a spacer 3 3/8' thick to space the front and rear panels. The rear panel got made in aluminium. I bolted the front panel to the spacer through the pilot holes, and clamped the rear panel, making sure everything was in line. The top panel is in aluminium also. I bent a 3/4" flange, much wider than I need, but fits in the shrinker better. With the shape close, I trimmed some of the flange off to get the ends shrunk as the radius got tighter. Once it was the desired shape, I clamped it to the front panel, drilled though both for the mounting bolts. I drilled and tapped the front plate and filed the flange on the top panel to shape. With it all bolted and clamped together, I can now take it into school, and get one of the friendly welders to weld up the top and rear panels , as I don't have the skill nor equipment to weld aluminium. Once that's done, I can weld the front panel to the lower support tubes and make and weld the bottom panels in place.
Cheers,
Stewart

 

Cool! Subscribed, looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

 

I like the pod. It looks cool, serves its purpose well, and with that removable top, it will be convenient for wiring. Well done.

 

The idea is that the wiring will run up the top support tube then under the cowl top.
Hope it looks better with the gauges in. Now it's done all I can see is E.T. and I mean as in "call home" as opposed to elapsed time. .

 

I admire your skill.

 

Went to have my scan last weekend, and see my Oncologist. Did not get the answer I wanted. I told her that was the wrong answer and I was going to ask her again, and this time she had better think about that before answering, but she still gave the same one. Shit happens! This week has been a bit rough, I have misplaced my F**k You attitude. Tomorrow, we as a family, are turning off all our phones, not answering the door, and are cuddling under the blanket on the sofa. We are not coming out until we have found my F.U. attitude, as I know we will. Once found, get out of our way. We have shit to get done.
I did a few hours out in the garage this morning. Made the lower shock mounts. Need to finish the Panhard bar mount on the drivers side one. Topped up with more drugs and Starbucks, I am going back out there. I might get the top mounts done today yet.
FUCK THE CANCER!
Cheers,
Stewart.

 

Stay tough man. Saying a prayer for you now. You've got some serious talent and a great vision on this project!

 

Sorry to hear that you have cancer. You don't say what kind it is but none of them are something we want to deal with. I had prostate cancer that was fortunately caught in time. Surgery removed the cancer, working on my car project allowed me to forget the associated physical and thought problems that go along with the uncertainty of the future. Best wishes to you and your family as you begin your battle with the bid ugly C.

 

My kind of C is called GIST. It's fairly rare. My sub group is extremely rare. I'm lucky, my oncologist is the leading specialist of this type of C in this country. I go to Dana Farber clinic in Boston. It first showed up nearly 5 years ago as a softball size tumor. I had surgery to remove it and 20% of my stomach. It normally returns within 12 months, so when that came and went, I thought I had it beat. Well, never turn your back on this stuff. It came back 14 months ago. The tumor was tennis ball size. Again I had surgery to remove it, all of my spleen, and some more of my stomach. We know it will keep coming back until it beats me, I just wanted more time.
The aim of the roadster was a street legal hot rod that I could autocross, do some track days, and run in Modified Roadster class at Wilmington in the ECTA runs. We don't know how long I have. Working on this means I have to focus just on the job at hand. Chemo and age are taking its toll . So focusing on the details of the car stops my mind wandering to places I don't want it to go! So decisions will need to be made. I WILL run this thing at ECTA. It may not be street legal, and I know I will need to ask for help and time from friends ( which because I'm an arrogant, independent bugger, I don't do), and then if I have more time, I will make it street legal. We will see.

 

That is a tough diagnosis. Sounds like you have been fighting well for years now. You may be surprised how many old friends and probably some new ones will step forward to help you reach your goals. The hardest part of that will probably be having some things not done just the way you want or could do them but you seem to be a resourceful, goal driven guy that will get it done. I am a man of faith so I will be remembering you in prayer and look forward to watching you get your project on the track or road.

Sam Profit

 

Sam,
Although I don't have any religious beliefs, I believe I do have a form of faith. I seem to have lost it this week, I must admit, but I do believe that a day with my family shutting out the world and concentrating on what makes us strong will resurrect my/our faith. I say that with the utmost respect for anybody elses religious beliefs.
Cheers,
Stewart.