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Projects A Speedster Comes Out of the Weeds—Build Thread

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by ClarkH, Dec 25, 2015.

  1. ROADSTER1927
    Joined: Feb 14, 2009
    Posts: 3,127

    ROADSTER1927
    Member

    SUPER COOL!:cool::cool::cool:
     
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  2. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER


    :rolleyes:...agreed that all really ices the cake so too speak...it just keeps getting better...
    Great vision and detailing...were those bullet details factory or something you saw and felt 'Yeah That's the Ticket'...they are so fitting...;)
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2019
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  3. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The hood came out of the Cadillac factory with those little bullets. I was fortunate to find them... in a mason jar under a pile of rubbish when I picked the car up, way back when. Amazing they didn't get separated somewhere down the line.
     
  4. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Well, I’ve run into an issue with centering the steering. I’m hoping you guys can tell me whether my reasoning is on the right track or totally off base.

    The situation:
    I have an F1 steering box and what I believe to be ’34 axle and spindles. The F1 box is 4.5 turns lock-to-lock, and my car is 3.5 turns lock-to-lock. So to get everything centered, I aimed the wheels straight ahead, disconnected the pitman arm, centered the box at 2.25 turns, and then reattached everything with the pitman arm pointed straight down (i.e. 6:00).

    The problem:
    Starting at center, I now reach the left bump stop after 2.2 turns of the steering wheel, and reach the right bump stop after only 1.3 turns. (Reassembled it three times to confirm.)

    Looking everything over, I see a possible source of the problem. These steering arms have been bent, and do not mirror each other. The arm on the right is half an inch shorter and a half an inch further away from the backing plate, compared to the arm on the left. Here are pictures:

    Left side:
    left-1.jpg
    left-2.JPG

    Right side:
    right-1.JPG
    right-2.JPG

    I’m thinking the fix is to heat and bend that right arm to make it match the left, then reset the toe. This is where I’m hoping you guys can give me a reality check: Am I on the right track, or am I missing something?

    Any advice is greatly appreciated!
     
  5. ROADSTER1927
    Joined: Feb 14, 2009
    Posts: 3,127

    ROADSTER1927
    Member

    Your idea will work fine. As we are in driving season I would just center the box when going straight and not worry about it turning a little shorter one way for now.
     
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  6. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    You may want to check your Ackerman angle also while doing this.
     
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  7. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Thanks for the suggestion. Just did the measurements: Left side is perfect, right side a little off.
     
  8. What a fantastic thread! This car could not have been found by anyone who would have done a better job. Such a good read (now that I finally finished it)!
     
  9. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    My brother and I were going to take Dad out for a big drive this weekend--the speedster and Dad's '31 coupe--but the weather crapped out. So here I am on the Hamb! I haven't posted much lately because I'm taking the advice of @ROADSTER1927 and more or less just enjoy ing the car for the summer.

    Here's the car at the Fourth of July show in Blaine:
    2019Blaine2.JPG
    As you can see, she's now sporting new Firestones and powder coated bent spokes.
    2019Blaine1.JPG

    Here's the car at the Greenwood Show, where there was a lot more sunshine:
    2019Greenwood1.JPG
    2019Greenwood2.JPG
    2019Greenwood7.JPG
    2019Greenwood6.JPG
    That's my wife with the flower in her hair in that last shot. She loves the shows (she's the one who insisted we do the event in Blaine, a town she spent summers in, growing up). She's wonderful answering questions about the car--so long as they have nothing to do with the running gear, which is a closed book to her. :D
     
  10. Blues4U
    Joined: Oct 1, 2015
    Posts: 7,589

    Blues4U
    Member
    from So Cal

    Very cool, she sure draws a crowd eh? The car I mean! :D
     
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  11. Thor1
    Joined: Jun 6, 2005
    Posts: 1,664

    Thor1
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Clark,

    The new tires and wheels really work well with your car! I really like the color too - it works with the body color. It is good to see you're getting some miles on it.

    Steve
     
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  12. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,397

    catdad49
    Member

    Clark, how many people have any idea what your car is? I think it's pretty cool that your Wife can answer most of their questions. How does she like riding in it?
     
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  13. hasty
    Joined: Jul 5, 2009
    Posts: 1,411

    hasty
    Member

    Your car looks stunning
     
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  14. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I appreciate where you're coming from. On both counts. :D

    Thanks Steve. As you can imagine, I really went round and round on wheel color. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) It helped having a color selector left over from our home remodel. Well worth the $20.
    ColorSelector.JPG


    The answer to your first question is 3. The car gets all kinds of attention, but out of the hundreds of people who've looked at it, only 3 knew about Mercury Bodies. They were Model T people, obviously. Frankly, most people get a blank look when I say "speedster."
    The answer to your second question is that my wife loves riding in the car, but only for short distances. She's only comfortable wearing a full face shield motorcycle helmet, which spoils her good looks. This winter's project is definitely a windshield.

    Thank you! Stunning is what I was going for! :)
     
  15. Greg Rogers
    Joined: Oct 11, 2016
    Posts: 802

    Greg Rogers
    Member

    Wow, just amazing! What a great job you have done. I'm sure you are very proud and should be. Thanks for posting your build journey. Excellent!!
     
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  16. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER


    image188.jpg

    https://primotipo.com/tag/alf-barrett/

    :rolleyes:...Clark I saw this in search tonight and thought about your Speedster...Check out the link its interesting lots of American Iron over Yonder given the same Love as here...

    The Downunder Racer is a 34 but maybe the fella that built your ride was from Aussie as in what were the influences and we know Boattails were here too Auburn for ex...

    Quoted from OP...

    "The car was built in the early 1950s by a kid who worked at a local machine shop. That was the era of the Mechanix Illustrated speedsters, and this car was created along those lines—sort of a cross between a miniature Auburn and a European sports car. It was driven hard for about 10 years, at which point it was worn out."

    It seemed to me that that big car look was a part of where your original ride was heading...and actually still is...;)

    Speedster2_pruning.JPG

    Speedster5_loading.JPG

    Anyways hope your having a great time getting out into the wind with it...;)

     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2019
  17. AmishMike
    Joined: Mar 27, 2014
    Posts: 968

    AmishMike
    Member

    When u dragged it out of the bushes had a windshield. Do u still have - good start on what u want.
     
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  18. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Hey @Stogy, thanks for that link. Great pitures there, and the cars sure look to be cut from the same cloth as mine. And yes, I'm having a great time with it. Just last week my brother and I took it to Whidbey Island for an outing with Dad.

    Here we are on the ferry. In an unwitting tribute to @squirrel's Hudson Adventure, my brother brought his '49 Hudson, which he acquired last April at the Portland Swap Meet. We figured at 86, dad would be more comfortable in its copious interior.

    IMG_1729.JPG
    Starting out from Dad's driveway:
    IMG_1731.JPG
    Off to the seaside:
    IMG_1741.JPG
    IMG_1739.JPG
    Fort Casey:
    IMG_1733.JPG
    And so on...
    IMG_1735.JPG

    Apart from the throttle linkage coming disconnected at one point (easy roadside fix), she ran like a champ. But I've got a punch list for winter. Biggest issue is that one of my wheels is bent; I talked with @wheelkid and it sounds unfixable. So now I'm in the market for a replacement KH wheel that's doesn't wobble. So it goes...

    Hi Mike. Yes, windshild is definitely on the punch list. I saved that old frame, in all its gas-welded-angle-iron glory. But it's much cruder in person, and isn't really what I"m going for. After a lot of thought I'm back to considering '26-27 Chev roadster posts. I think I've collected 3 pair by now.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2019
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  19. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    :rolleyes:... @ClarkH...Such a Cool Machine and Toss in the Old Hudson...even better...thanks for sharing the pics...Those are some great shots with the Hudson...
     
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  20. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    So 'Stupefyin'! I've been mezmorized from the start...imagined 6 hours rescuing this fabulous find.
    Wiring's my thing, never could understand Bob's 'anxiety' with a mess of wires. Every ONE of them goes someplace...Just one at a time. (oh, and keep them in order as you go... LOL)
     
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  21. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,627

    The37Kid
    Member

    My Model A Ford projects are dead, don't want to see them burn to the ground. The 1911 Hupmobile and '22 T Bobtail will have plug wires and a kill switch. I may have one running before my time is up. Bob
     
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  22. 26Troadster
    Joined: Nov 20, 2010
    Posts: 787

    26Troadster
    Member

    i have been trying to follow as best i could, very nice work.
     
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  23. 41 GMC K-18
    Joined: Jun 27, 2019
    Posts: 3,561

    41 GMC K-18
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I just discovered this thread today. What a fantastic journey from start to finish! It made me smile and feel very proud that this build has taken place appearently in my own neighbor hood ! I love living here in the Ballard district of Seattle, congratulations on a great build Clark.

    Dennis.
     
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  24. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    OK, the time has finally come. The speedster is getting a windshield.

    After going around and around on this, trying over a dozen options, I settled on mid-20s Chev roadster posts. While not the most beautiful of the w/s posts I considered, they are the most practical: Their curvature at the base matches my cowl, they are easy to mount, and their square profile makes modifications relatively straightforward.

    With the car already painted, this was a somewhat delicate operation. First step was to slather the cowl in blue masking tape. Next, I had to establish reference points on either side of the car—not easy to do on a car with so many curves and asymmetrical doors.

    I triangulated using the firewall, cowl base and cowl vent. I also made a little measuring doohickey to confirm I wouldn't drill into the internal cowl support. Got my spots marked.
    doohickey 2.JPG
    post placement.JPG
    I got one side set, and then transferred it to the other. My wife is an illustrator (among other things), so we have lots of tracing- and carbon-paper on hand.
    tracking post.JPG Took a big gulp. No turning back now.
    drilling-cowl.JPG
    All done. Made some gaskets out of sheet rubber—edges are rough; I’ll trim them later.
    mounted.JPG
    This left me with inward-leaning posts. They looked like they were doing the last move of the YMCA. (There’s a reference that will date ya :D)
    leaning-posts.JPG
    This is where the square Chev posts paid off: one cut, bend, done…at least for the moment…until they get shorter…
    cut post.JPG
    straight posts.JPG
    Nice little rake, ~20 degrees.
    rake.JPG
    All for now. Next up: Windshield frame
     
  25. Blues4U
    Joined: Oct 1, 2015
    Posts: 7,589

    Blues4U
    Member
    from So Cal

    Very nice, I like where it's going!
     
  26. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    What...No more Goggles...:eek:...Looks fantastic Clark...Its funny I was just eyeing that last side profile a couple of posts ago and envisioning a top...I'll bet you were too...;)

    Awesome treat for us in the Luxury Theater Seats...Merry Christmas to You And the Family @ClarkH
     
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  27. Loose Ctrl
    Joined: Dec 21, 2014
    Posts: 53

    Loose Ctrl
    Member
    from Upstate,SC

    I much prefer the vintage set up with no windshield, leather helmet, and goggles. :D
     
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  28. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I enjoy the twists and turns...Clark has a evil eye for makin' believers...actually so do a lot of builders around here...I have had to make a bungee cord Jaw Picker Upper as my arms are wore out from putting it back into place...:D
     
  29. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Thanks man!

    Thanks Stogy. Yes, you sussed it out, a top is part of the reasoning behind this; more on that later. Merry Christmas right back at ya. And you know, I can still wear the goggles… ;)

    It pains me to admit I kind of agree with you. I thought long and hard about this, because it definitely changes the car’s attitude. In the end, the choice was dictated by drivability. Around here, we get maybe five or six weeks of proper roadster weather a year. A windshield extends that window to four months or so. And it allows for that top Stogy is so eager for me to make.

    But as you say, it was a very vintage, very cool look, so this is kind of a loss. But trust me, the emphasis in that sentence should be on the word cool. My wife, for her part, won’t miss the old look one bit—she’s looking forward to riding without a full facemask.

    I appreciate the compliment! But, uh, maybe you should wait for the windshield frame update before singing my praises too highly. I’m right at that stage where I can’t tell whether my concept is brilliant or insane. Hopefully my evil eye hasn’t gone cross-eyed. o_O
     
  30. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I have complete confidence in your nailing a look you will be content with and remember you can always make aluminum plates to change out looks on a whim if you desire the full on in the wind mode...now I just thought of another option make the lower hole a rotating joint and fold it down...or easily removable...okay I'm gonna button my revolving dreamscape and hoist a beer for a cheers to you Clark and celebrate your adventure to date...what a cool Speedster with a Hotrod Edge...;)
     
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