Model T Speedster-pics whose got 'em

Been thinking about this for a while. Seems like there may be some interest in T speedsters here, so why not a picture thread? I'll get it started with pics of one I built in 84. It's a 15 with Rootlieb fenders, hood and aprons. The seat, cowel, gas tank, and tool box were made by Wayne Erickson from patterns I made. The engine is a 27 block with a Fronty head, Model A crank and rods, Egge pistons, and a cam ground to Winfield specs. I used an overdrive from a 50's Studebaker, and a Ruxtell 2 speed rear end. We had a lot of fun with this car. Ran in the San Jose Speedster endurance run from 84 to 95. I sold it in 95 to buy my current roadster.

The drag strip shot is from Portland International Raceway. We did the Portland endurance run a couple ot times, and the local club booked the strip for a play day on Monday following the endurance run. We ran the 1/8th mile and had a ball.

Gotta' be some more speedster pics out there. Let's see 'em.

 

my grandmother in my grandfather's "T" speedster, trip to wisconsin from chicago, 1927. note: no windshield and rubber rain coat. hardy travelers, the hot rodders that preceeded us.

 

The "hot rodders that preceeded us", exactly! What a cool picture. Yes, humans used to be a lot tougher that they are today.

 

Here's the speedster that started our involvement with T's. Dad built this one in 81 from a Rootlieb kit. he used a 26 block with a somewhat rare Ricardo high compression flathead. dad learned to drive his dad's T when he was 9 years old on the farm. He had many good T stories from when he grew up with T's in Nebraska. That's me and my brother in dad's speedster before I built mine. We were about to take off on the San Jose run in 83. Note the Bud cooler lashed to the running board. We were ready for anything!

 

my grandfather, ira's first homemade speedster 1924. photo taken in MN. on way to n.dakota from chicago ,to work the wheat harvest. i've been told there were no paved roads in the dakotas then, and most of them were not even marked.

 

I knew there were some great pics of T's hiding out there. Don't know for sure what kind of wheels those are, but they are cool. The thing I learned about speedsters is no two are alike. Every one reflects the owners taste, ability, and budget. That's one of the neatest things about them. When you think about it, pretty much like street rodding today! Cool.

 

my granfather, ira's second "T" speedster. this one is an "ames" factory built body i think.
photo taken 1925 at jewel, kansas. he drove it there from chicago to visit family. tried to enter in a race at the county fair, but they wouldn't allow it because he had an overhead valve conversion and the locals wouldn't stand a chance.(so i've been told). as near as i can tell this must of been a nearly new chassis then, with the buffalo wire wheels plus the ames body, i don't know how he afforded it. must have been expensive.

 

Still REALLY early on in the build stage (read as HDF pattern almost done), but here is my goal:

 

Dean, how did that Frontenac treat you?

Ames sign in my front yard...

 

my unrestored (and probably NOS) Faultless

 

That is cool! What a find. Those disc wheels are nice. The Isetta is cool too. Whatta' ya' gonna' do with that?

 

The Fronty wasn't what I hoped it would be. They made 3 versions of the rocker arm Fronty heads. The commercial, which was for truck use, a street version for passenger cars, and the "R" racing version. The difference was the depth of the combustion chamber. I had the truck version which had 1 5/16" deep chambers. Even with the maximum pop up on the Egge pistons, the compression was below 6:1. Couldn't do much with milling it because there were actually 3 different castings, and it would have been way to thin with enough milled off to do any good. I used a side draft carter carb off a Chrysler marine engine, the same as used on Corvairs, and the 53 Corvettes. I ran better than a stocker, but I wanted more. I sold the Fronty head, and got one of the "T-Go" heads that Jim Culbert designed. It was mostly copied from a Rajo BBR head. It was aluminium, and used valves and rocker assembly from the slant six Chrysler engine. it wound up with 8.2:1 compression. I used a side draft 48mm Webber carb, and a Bosch front plate with a SCAT VW distributor. The A crank was drilled for pressure, and I used a VW oil pump driven off the back of the cam. Damn that thing ran! Tore up the clutch, and had to use a heavier clutch spring to hold the power. Also had to balance the trans drums because of the RPMs. I made two passes at Portland, and ran almost 80 in the 1/8th mile. WAY faster than the car felt safe!!

 

Here's one I built for my brother in 87. It was mostly a lot of left over parts. The engine was a 27 that had never been in a car. It came from an old auto shop in a San Bernardino high school. All that was missing was the carb. We found a neat Winfield aluminum flat head for it, and I made up a manifold for a VW Solex carb. That engine's bottom end was the quietest T I ever heard. I'd buy all the T engines like that I could find for $250!!

 

That should be a nice one. Keep us posted on the build.

 

Here's my 16 Speedster!
Dennis
Salinas, CA

 

GREAT POST !!

I love these damn cars!! I own three of them and am presently building a 25 Miller Indy car T speedster as well.
These are some some pics taken over the last year or so, we have a few here in Indiana and have had a T Speedster get together each year etc. next one is June 17,18,19 etc next year in Rockville Indiana.


First pic is my " Simple T " cruising around the Indy 500 track this year, passenger is my father in law.. Bob Ford ( 91 years old loving every minuteo of the ride)..



My very driven 25 made from parts and driven for the last 5 years including the Newport Hillclimb each year........




y friends car with a rajo head etc..Tom Massey



Meet in Evansvile indiana , we drove 183 miles in one day , thats cruising in a T for sure....



Are ya ready for this one , twin model t engines ,,,he broke on of the engines the first day out!!!

 

This is Tom Rootlieb's speedster. I saw it in Turlock on a parts gathering trip with Dad. It had a stock engine, but the detail, and hand made parts blew me away. Tom actually drove it from New York to Seattle. This car actually inspired me to build my speedster.

 

One more...
My friend Bruce has driven this thing at every tour with wife Kay hanging on !!!

Another one at the meet , hand made every thing !!!!!



Will post more from shop and other pc.....I have tons from past events from todays style to orginal barn finds etc.....

Cheated this weekend and drove my newest purchase so the wife could have a top...


300 miles in three days!!! Great tour nice weather and the car ran well, smoked a brake band yesterday trying to stop coming over hills in Jasper Indiana. Had 17 other cars and a great time for sure ....oh well time for some new kevlar bands ..

 

I love these things!

 

Now we're gettin' somewhere! Great pics. 183 miles? The San Jose endurance runs are 200 milers. When you finish, you are beat, dirty, and your face feels like a baked potato, but you've had a ball, and you'd turn around and do it all over if they's let you!! We've run up Mt. Hamilton, outside of Santa Clara, in driving rain, and over the pass to Snoqualime falls in Issaquah, Wa., in 30 degree weather. I'd be trying to wipe my goggles to see where we were going, and my wife would be trying to read the map so we didn't get lost. Had some great times in that T!

 

I looked into these as a new project a few months ago. This thread has got me thinking about them again.

CURSE THIS PLACE!

 

Good. Now, go get a T frame, and get started. My plan is working.

 

When Dad decided the speedster was too tame, he set to work building this two man T racer. On this car I really saw his creativity, and building skills at work. He wanted to run with the "big dogs" on the San Jose runs, and he knew a T trans and rear end wouldn't hold up, and give him the speed he wanted. He used a BBR Rajo 8 plug head, Winfield cam, Datsun pick up twin plug distributor, two Kadron carbs from a VW hop up kit, an A crank pressureized with a cam driven 48 Pontiac oil pump. The real engineering cam in on the trans and rear end. He removed the drums and bands from the T trans, and adapted a much shortened Pinto 4 speed behind it. The rules stated that T running gear must be used for authenticity. Dad adapted a 62 rambler carrier to fit the T rear end housing, cut down a 36 Ford ring gear and pinion, and welded the Rambler housing ends to the T housing which gave him the Rambler axles and brakes. I saw him do all that, and still cannot believe he did it! He wanted a racer type body, but the engine and running gear took so much time, he only got the cowel, hood, Miller shell, and a quickie seat back done for the 86 run. Following that, he set to work building a wood buck for the tail. He worked a month cutting and ghanging the buck untill he got the profile he wanted. He found Red Tweit @ Red's Metal Shaping to form the aluminum tail. red had done work for Kurtis, and that tail looks as good inside as it does on the outside. Joe Gemsa had the pattern for the Miller shell, and Dad made the grill. The wheels are 20" snap ring Buffalos with a NOS pair of 20's board track tires on the front. This car was sold to Warren Record of Arcadia in 95. Warren runs the snot out of it at the Antique Nationals drags, and San Jose endurance runs. He's blown up two engines, but Dad's driveline is still holding up.

Oh yeah, the wood tail buck is still on top of my office. I love to give it a good home to someone who could use it.

 

Dean,

Love the story about the rear end. Anybody got a better idea using a small carrier inside the T housings. Our local hillclimbers require a stock running gear and rear and front axle etc. The rear axle is the week link and for safety sake you really need the later brakes discussed in there somewhere..

 

that is great. eventually I will have to think about another speedster...they are rather addicting.

 

Go for it fur biscuit... you know you want to!!!

(and you also want to send me those detail pics of your LAST T chassis build)

 

OK, but you gotta' come an' get it.

 

Make sure you try this link, www.nwvs.org

 

Thanks,Bowtie, N.W.V.S. is an awsom site. Hundreds of speedster pix. There a lot of great ideas for any one who is planing to build or just dreaming.

Jack ......