Projects **Malcolm Model A Roadster Build**

I'm not sure what the 'rating' of the shocks are, whether they're 50/50 or something else. @ELpolacko may know, though.

 

Thanks. I was wonder what poundage they were rated at. 125lbs., 130lbs, 150lbs., etc.

 

Love seeing the progression of this car!

 

Love your car.....and that "a" coupe is badass is that a big rodent motor or a ford? In it?


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Rodent motor? You mean a big block Chevy? It has a built Ford 390 in it with a factory 3x2 setup... sure runs good!

 

Speaking of progression, I added aluminum wheel discs recently..

 

I like that. Did you make them? Are you getting it ready for Bonneville?

 

Thanks! I had a friend get them cut at work --- a commercial HVAC shop. I believe they were cut out on a CNC plasma table. ..And yes, getting it ready for a huge road trip that starts with Bonneville Speed Week.

 

So what did you tear up at the HAMB drags? Hope it was'nt to bad.

 

Nick,
Missed ya at the shop party.....See you in KC I hope.
Dennis

 

The flat disks look more original than many of the cars trying to pull off the look with actual Moon disks!

 

On my third pass of the day, the center 'hub' of my clutch disc broke away from the outer clutch 'ring' or friction surface. The car couldn't move on it's own after that. Thanks to @ryno and Matt and Megan Legare (lakeheaders.com), the car was trailered back to Omaha. We got back around 2am Sunday morning, Matt and Megan stayed in my guest room, we unloaded in the morning and I had the car torn apart that afternoon. I picked up a Ford Motorsport clutch kit on Monday and thanks to @jho and his dad, we had the car back together on Tuesday evening.

Last Friday morning I left on another 1300 mile trip, this time up to Deadwood, South Dakota for Kool Deadwood Nights... and got back last night. No problems on that trip, except for getting drenched with rain a couple times!

Dennis, sorry I didn't make it to your shop BBQ when the Rolling Bones crew came through town. I ended up staying an extra day in Sturgis/Rapid City and was on my way back to Omaha that day.
I also can't make it to the Greaserama this weekend (I let Shawn know). A family obligation came up that I can't miss.

Haha.. Thanks, Trent!
I've been up in your area (Rapid City) twice during the past month and will probably be making more trips up that way in the coming months. Will have to look you up sometime while I'm up there.

 

Glad to see this thing getting so many road miles on it with so little trouble. You have to expect to break something occasionally when racing. That clutch could have done a lot of damage.

When you first got it going there was a hop or vibration in the rear. You thought it was tires or balance. Did that prove to be the problem? Have you experienced any more of that on these long trips? I'm asking because I want to use a similar rear suspension on my '26 Chevy roadster. Thanks, Tom

 

I added 4 ounces of balancing beads inside both rear tires/tubes. That fixed the rear tire imbalance problem. I can now cruise down the interstate anywhere from 70-90+ mph without a problem.

 

I'm glad it was just the hub when I was talking to Jason about it Sat night I said "I hope it's just the hub broken " I'm running one of those 6 puck disks in my new coupe they are a little chattery sometimes due to the metallic friction material but supposed to be bullit proof.

 

Thanks for the quick response. I'm hoping for a roller by spring and I like that rear suspension set up. Words of experience are welcome. Glad you are back on the road.

 

I'm glad it was just the hub, too! The new Ford Motorsport disc looks a lot tougher than the POS that I was running - hopefully it holds up to the abuse.
Forgot to post this photo earlier:

 

You know I was a little miffed when I saw a shot of your car in Deadwood! Give me a shout when you get back this way!

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Nick,
Sorry to hear you can't make it to KC this weekend......You and your ride will be missed as the club was looking forward to having it in the sweet 16 this year as per Tammy telling me.

 

What tire pressure do you run in your back tires? I think I have the same rear tire size and steel wheels. All of my tread doesn't seem make contact with the ground on the rear...

 

I think that's pretty standard. On bias-ply tires, the shape of the tread isn't straight across. I suppose if they were under pressure, the tread would flatten out, but properly aired, there should be some curvature to the tread. When driving, there will be situations (such as cornering), where the slight curvature of the tread comes into play.

 

So did I miss it somewhere what times did you finally get this time?

 

I run about 32-34 lbs. of pressure in the rear tires. Being 7.50x16 tires on 4.5" wide wheels, the outer 1/2" or so of tread doesn't make much contact with the road. Wider wheels might make a difference....

I never did mention that --- my best pass this year was a 12.52 @ 114mph... very traction limited!
I had lowered the rear tire pressure to 24 lbs, did a longer burnout, and it actually launched better... but the tires broke loose when I hit second gear on that (second) pass. First pass was slower and third pass I broke.

Next year, I'm bolting on a pair of slicks and hoping for a high 11 second pass.
http://www.cokertire.com/vintage-drag-slick-900-15.html

 

Thanks Nick! 12.52 is pretty good with limited traction!

 

Seen this drive by 1 time in Deadwood, while we were eating at the pump house, absolutely fell in love. Never really cared for roadsters till I seen it, now I'm building a period correct 283 that I was going to put in a 2 dr sedan. Now I'm looking for a roadster. Super cool car. Me and my buddy searched the rest of the weekend to find your car, and never seen it again. Hope I can catch up with it again

 

Thanks a lot man - wish I could've met ya! With the rain that weekend and no top on the car, I had parked it in the parking garage part of the time. We stayed in Rapid City and also did some cruising through the Black Hills, so didn't sit still much while in Deadwood.

 

It's been nearly a year since I updated this thread, so I figured it's about time!

I haven't put nearly as many miles on the roadster this year, as in the past few (partially torn apart). Last winter I decided to start gathering parts to put a top on the car. With the Hallock windshield, it would've been very hard to make a top look good, so I also decided to change to a chopped and leaned back Model A windshield. Well, that also lead to changing the dash!

The Hallock now lives on a very cool flathead powered traditional RPU in England.

I ended up with a 4" chop and leaned back approx. 16 degrees from stock. I started with 2" chopped stanchions, so not real sure if they were stock 'lean'.
The dash is a '32 style dash.
I designed the gauge panel and had my friend TJ @junkboys machine it out of aluminum plate.
Eric at Pinkee's Rod Shop was kind enough to send me the dash rail and stanchion mount pieces that were cut off his roadster project.
It took quite a bit of work to make everything fit together, but I'm very happy with the results.

A few photos ----
(will take some better ones soon to add, including side profile)








(above photo by Tom Davison)

 

I like it. Gives it a whole new personality. What's next? Swaping out the late model for that Y-block you originally wanted?

 

I think he meant mouse eater.

Hey good to see you in Joplin this year and the A windshield is a definite improvement. Looks as good as it runs.

 

Everytime you touch that car it looks better---nice work!!!