Guy brought this to auto body class today, he's tall and wants to make it longer. Has another pair of doors but was also talking about extending it behind the doors. What's the best plan? Going to make a new frame.
I bought four wooden framed metal skinned doors at a swap meet. Research revealed they were 1916 Maxwell. My bud bet me I couldn't make a rod from it. At first I thought 'dual cowl phaeton', but when my boss gave a Model A roached out frame I decided it was too short to incorporate dual cowls. So, an "A" gas tank skin and a '46 Ford deck lid turned on its end for the rear and a "little" metalwork on my part and this is the result. Is this what you have in mind?
Stretch the doors and behind the door frame to keep the proportions correct. Cool project. If done correctly it will look stock, just longer.
I'll go with Alchemy. I've got a 27 roadster body hanging over a stock running model a chassis and I'm planning on mating them. I want to run the T radiator with T hood. T wheelbase is 100" and the A is 103.5". To keep the stretch somewhat unnoticeable, I'm thinking a little in the doors, little more behind the doors and possibly some in the hood.
Hello, My brother and I have always liked roadster pick ups. We sat in one together and it was a little tight for two big brothers side by side. At the time, we wondered how to make it larger. No one was doing those things back then. Today, with the creative ideas and skill levels up, there are many examples of extending the original cab section different ways. Doors, doors plus side panel extensions, stock doors plus extended side panels, etc. It is personal choice and available skill level to get the job done. I drew this orange RPU for another post and drew what I thought was just enough extension for us to fit back in those old teenage days. I thought the stock door fittings are important, so they remained stock with a good fit. The extension would be behind the doors on the side panel. I have watched others extend the side and door panels or a combination of both. Extending the side panels seems to be less intrusive, as long as the proportions are still viable. Recently, another HAMB hot rod guy @Never2old did just that, in his great build. That took a lot of planning and work. I am sure he could give you plenty of tips or photos, if they are around. Contact him for his pointers. In my drawings and ideas, I shortened the bed to give it an even middle ground as far as front to back look of an original RPU. @NEVER2OLD Jnaki My brother was the first to say he wanted a shortened bed on any truck or RPU this was back in 1963-65. Besides, if heavy or larger items need to be carried around in a house move, we have a niece and her husband with two big 4x4 long bed trucks just built for that purpose. It can be done and this red RPU is a great example. Send your friend this link and Check it out. Also, send a PM for more details. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/28-rpu-build-thread-it-will-be-red.703537/
Its a tough task. Friend has a body he stretched 6 inches, and hes still too tall. So much so that his wife has to captain the car, and he rides passenger. I wish I knew where he did his stretch, and the proportions. You'd never know it was pulled out longer if you didnt know, or it was parked by another 27
everyone was after me to lengthen mine. i wouldn't do it. a hot rod is all about proportions and stance
Thanks guys, will run all the ideas by him (he's going to be doing this, not me). When I saw it yesterday I thought it looked both roomy enough already and also too nice to cut. But he's 6'4" and it's his project. This is his first pre-war car, hate to see him go down a rabbit hole with it. Says he has the bed, fenders, everything.
There's your answer- after that, play around with seat bottom height and angle (and remove the hump/foot well at the bottom of the seat back) to better fit him!
If I was to build my body over again (arguably I am doing that now anyway) I would have made my doors longer instead of using the center panel in my shortened touring body. Figuring out the subframe and how you are going to get the body lines to flow right will be your challenge with changing the length of a 26/27 T body though. There is a curve and taper to contend with, though a roadster subframe does extend straight back through the turtle deck (I have some cutoffs if you decide you need to extend the subframe, fyi). Here's what I'm working with if it helps: That's a touring body with the back doors removed. Because of the taper, I had to make a new back panel that was narrower. Now having gotten in and out of it more than a few times, I think longer doors are the way to go. That door basically opens up to the steering wheel.
Here is a good build to look at. IIRC the panel was recessed 3" to move the seating back. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/skoog-special-27-roadster-build.948452/
I started with something similar, added 4 " behind the doors and ended up totally building a custom rear section of the body.
Behind the doors looks better as a rule. If he is a long legged galoot then extending the doors makes it easier to get in and our of. If you want to make it longer but don't want it to be obvious extending the doors and behind the doors both is you best bet. If I was going to make it 4" longer for example I would think that 2" in the doors and 2" behind the doors would keep it looking more proper.
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