Features Who's Building a T?

I agree, then again are the ever really done?

 

Time to update....
Man am I having fun!

• Doors and garnish moldings are still awaiting paint.
• I upholstered the tranny cover with the gray Nauga, made a stainless shield for the throttle foot, and put down rubber mat instead of carpet so I can clean it of salt at Bonneville (I have some really nice medium gray carpet on order):
• I have prepped the wood frame for the top and will soon start the headliner. I bought Hartz cloth (convertible top material) and Hartz fold-over hidem for the outside of the top in a dark gray.
• Got the grille shell and headlights mounted up front and the windshield glass and frame mounted:

• Steering is all in place and clutch is bled. I have a 3/4" Wilwood master cylinder and a hydraulic throwout bearing. Right now it feels like I am running out of stroke with the pedal arm hitting the steering box. I will wait until I fire the engine to see if it releases, but I have a 13/16" master cylinder on order from CNC. That will give me 17% more stroke (and 17% more pedal force needed) but I can live with that:

• Tomorrow I am starting the wiring. All the wiring and the glass mat battery (17 lbs.) will be up behind the firewall on the passenger side:
• Oh, and have started putting the dash together.....

 

Very, very cool. JW

 

Looks great.

 

You are moving right along

 

Welp. The Tall T is back in my garage after a long rest in my buddy's pole barn. coma. Let's make today's a two-parter:

1. Can you identify the taillights in the mock up?
2. Do you like them?

I've had these quirreled away for a couple of years and they;'re from the early sixties, which is the genre I'm shooting for.

Let the guessing and the opinions flow, gents.

 

Olds Starfire?

 

olds starfire and an excellent look if I may say so

 

Is there enough room for your foot pedals? Mine doesn't have the tranny hump and and I'm hard pressed for room down there.

 

I like the car and like the tail lights, but combined in my view there is way too much tail light compared to the amount of sheet metal out back.
I'm still open to being convinced once they are mounted.
Glad to hear that you are back onto your project now.
Its been a while.

 

I think you're right, V8, but damn I wanted them to work. There's no harm going with the classic Pontiac taillights other than it's just so common.

Thanks for weighing in. I've started a FB page and invited a lot of my buddies and fellow T lovers to join. Check out "Austin T Party" on Facebook bt don;t let it eat into your HAMB time. Ha.

I wish I could do a downsized version of this T-Bird's ass end.

 

Just great that you are back buddy and I'll keep an eye out for your progress.
I hear you on those T Bird til lights.
I see your next project heading in the full on custom direction...

 

I can see the olds rearlights work if the where placed a bit higher then the photo
and recessed or slightly tunneled.
They dont look any bigger then the 58 chevy i plan to use on my build.

 

goldmountain-
I don't know what steering you have and I had a lot of trouble getting enough room with the large size of the Tremec TR3350. I used the 1966 Mopar manual box extended thru the cowl side to give me as much foot room as possible and even encroached on the kick panel to maximize the space.

Also, by moving the seat back as far as possible (with the gas tank way out back) I can stretch out my legs fairly straight.

But I will have to wear narrow shoes (being an old guy, I have SAS Comfort Shoes that fit the bill):


Note that the throttle spoon barely clears the side of the tunnel, hence the protective scuff plate.
I had to really get creative on the pedal arms to clear the steering and the master cylinders are both behind the firewall with access to the brake MC thru the gas filler-come-cowl vent.

Hope that helps on your T.

 

Thank you for your response. I get the feeling that my kickpanel upholstery will get a lot of abuse from using the clutch. Have absolutely no room for a dimmer switch so I'm using a momentary switch on the end of the turn signal stalk.

 

I am using a Ron Francis headlight switch with a four-position pull - off/park/low beam/high beam. I have it on 40 COOP and really like it.

 

I like those quite a bit, Anders. Also like the straps you're using for mockup. Good idea. I thin your lights with look great and I'm reminded that the plate placement is an important element as well. Thanks for sharing your shot and for being a part of the "Austin T Party" on FB.

Okay If I post your pic over there?

 

Yep!

 

Hope Stoner doesn't mind if I share this. Most badass T on the planet coming together at Conder's. Damn.

 

I also have a 26 T coupe and know about the foot problem. I wear a pair of mockinsons(bedroom shoes) to drive my hotrod all the time. As a matter of fact I wear them most all the time......

 

Just when I thought my tail light search was going to drive me over the edge, along comes Dave Nowicky of Throwback Hot Rod Designs. To those who haven't had the pleasure, Dave had taken it upon himself to create the perfect solution, IMHO. His sand-cast tail light housings come in several styles and can be ordered raw, or in polished form, which the beauties I'm sharing with you today did.
The tail lights arrived with everything a knucklehead needs to install 'em, short of a stepped drill bit
and a Sharpee. Dave was inspired by Madonna's bra when he came up with the pair I have here, but offers many more options that take the cookie-cutter 1950 Pontiac tail light into new territory.
Lily, the Tall T is no longer in search of the perfect tail light, thanks to Dave and his handiwork.
Sleep will come easily tonight.

 

Just when I thought my tail light search was going to drive me over the edge, along comes Dave Nowicky of Throwback Hot Rod Designs. To those who haven't had the pleasure, Dave had taken it upon himself to create the perfect solution, IMHO. His sand-cast tail light housings come in several styles and can be ordered raw, or in polished form, which the beauties I'm sharing with you today did.

The tail lights arrived with everything a knucklehead needs to install 'em, short of a stepped drill bit, a Sharpee and a measuring tape. Rumor has it that Dave was inspired by Madonna's bra when he came up with the pair I'm rocking here, but many more options are available via the Throwback Hot Rod Design website: https://www.throwback.design/

Lily, the Tall T is no longer in search of the perfectly proportioned tail light that doesn't make her ass look too big. We have Dave and his handiwork to thank. Sleep will come easily tonight.

 

no question on that choice, they look great!

 

JW

 

Just got my rear corners and back valance panel from MAC's Auto Parts. Now all I need is a killer metal man.

 

about the tail lights. check this thread out.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...llow-their-own-car-after-theyre-done.1111388/

 

I hope you have better luck with the corner pieces. I believe Howell's Sheet metal makes them for all the Model T retailers. The passenger side was right on. Not so for the driver side. I should have made my own, as I had to wedge cut and reweld several places for a basically simple metal shape.

 

Gaining.

 

Update for 26 COOP:

1. I had a problem with freeze plugs on the 354 Hemi. When I built the engine, Hot Heads no longer sold the old-fashioned dome type plugs that you smear with sealer and expand with a ball pein hammer. So I bought the expensive stainless-steel-with-an-O-ring type and thought I was home free. Well it turned out that a shoulder on the SS plugs interfered with the casting hole such that the O-ring was not really seated. Fooled me! They then offered a copper type with an acorn nut that collapsed an inner disc to push out against the counter-bore in the block. It had a 7/8" wrench flat that was so poorly stamped that I had no way to keep a grip and tighten the nut. Ended up buying a box of ten original steel Dorman plugs....all of them were .011" oversize. Had to turn the O.D. to fit, using a buddy's lathe. Used Permatex No. 1 and had to make a special end on an air chisel tool to pein the centers with the engine in the chassis, and now all is well. But I lost about a week on this problem!
2. Made new seat plywood and arranged for an upholstery shop in Annapolis to do my seat, which I would have done myself, given the time. Gained a week back!
3. Just finished the headliner and top, but not without a little drama:

With the headliner on I installed the frame back on the car with a sponge rubber seal between it and the top frame metal. Then I installed a dome light. When I tried to stretch chicken wire, it wouldn't lay flat no matter where I tugged. I'm thinking that we no longer know how to make good chicken wire.

So I looked around the shop and came up with a better alternative.....a Harbor Freight fiberglass welding blanket!
It stretched tighter than a drum head:

Just to be on the safe side, I put down a layer of the finest cotton cloth....and old tablecloth:

Then with a 1/4" foam padding layer, I applied the medium gray Hartzcloth cover and Hartz hidem. All is well: