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Hot Rods The "Whatever" project

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Dave G in Gansevoort, Sep 28, 2020.

  1. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    You and me, and a lot of cabin-fevered car nerds. Besides we need to find parts!

    Today I worked on the under cowl support hoops, fitting them in, and cutting some of the floor away to get them to the frame rails. But then I was looking at the rear of the tub, and decided that I don't like the seat mount now. And I need to make a hoop behind the driver. And get it to the frame rails and...

    So I'm in a quandary. Stuck in my head, I just don't see it yet. I've perused Marty Strode's projects, and the other T-bucket builds, hoping to find a design that I can plaigerize. But to no avail!
    DSCN1311.JPG Here's the problem area. I'm stuck and need help! Any and all suggestions are welcome. PLEASE!
     
  2. GearheadsQCE
    Joined: Mar 23, 2011
    Posts: 3,375

    GearheadsQCE
    Alliance Vendor

    Dave,
    I've been contemplating this situation with my yet to be started Modified. I envision making cardboard templates of the contour of the body upper lip. Then fabricating a square or rectangular tube that tucks under that lip. It would be bolted to the cowl support hoops. Or in my case, the engine mid plate.

    In the back, it would be bolted to the rear frame kick-up thru the body.

    Small diameter round tube could also be formed, but I don't have have the equipment or expertise to do that myself. Perhaps you know someone who could bend some 1" or 1 1/4" tube to that shape. I don't think it needs to be a full 11 ga. or .125" wall. Maybe @Marty Strode can opine here.
     
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  3. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    That should help. No one ever told me how little room there is in a t body. I guess I'll go get some cardboard for CAD (cardboard aided design), and sketch out how much room I have for me.

    I'm thinking that I may have to get one of those tubing rollers. My bender only does the radius of the dies, and I can sort of see a tube behind the drivers seat arched to match the body and then curve down to the frame rails. Don't know if I'm going to be able to pull that off...

    And then to tie that to the front structure, a pair of tubes curving down the sides of the body dropping below the door opening on the passenger side. Once that is done it seems easy to get the rolle hoop down to the back tube. Easy peasy, if I had Marty Strode's skills! I don't think SWMBO is going to be up for a road trip to the west coast pulling the Whatever project on the trailer...
     
  4. GearheadsQCE
    Joined: Mar 23, 2011
    Posts: 3,375

    GearheadsQCE
    Alliance Vendor

    I forgot that you were going to have an opening door. The drag race guys do a swing out bar. That might make it a bit easier because you can do it in multiple sections.
     
  5. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,798

    Marty Strode
    Member

    Dave, you don't have room for that large dia. tube in the area of your feet, I am busy today, but I will find the pictures that should relieve your situation. Marty
     
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  6. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Thanks Marty. I realized that today when I mocked up the seating position. The firewall hoop is fine, but the rear one isn't. It's out, as my size 9-8E (ducks feet) just didn't clear it. I mean not at all. I could work the brake pedal, but no way the clutch.

    What I'd like to know from you guys that have built both hot rods and race cars (especially you, Marty) is how do you keep yourself from getting carried away with stuff that isn't needed for a street going hot rod. I've never built a hot rod before. Some dirt cars, road race sedans, even designed (tho didn't build) a prototype chassis for a hybrid hydraulic drivetrain vehicle or 3 when I worked for the government. Don't ask, if you knew the details you'd be P.O.d like I was ultimately.

    I did make progress on the rear part of the support structure. From Marty's earlier pictures of that part of his roadster, I was able to figure out how to get to the frame rails and support the roll bar I'm going to use. DSCN1344.JPG It's not at the final height, it's just resting on the seat mounts to locate where it needs to be supported. I used some leftover bent tube and added a second bend to follow the curve of body. DSCN1346.JPG Took it to my sort of office and made a sketch of the bends and figured out the angles and spacing between the bends. DSCN1348.JPG I'll splice some more scraps together tomorrow and see where this takes me.

    And Marty, I have 40 feet of 1 inch 0.120 wall DOM in the garage, as I seem to remember that you did mention that size somewhere in your build!
     
  7. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,143

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    The old line "measure twice, cut once" is a great quote but rarely pulled off.
     
  8. 55Belairretrorod
    Joined: May 2, 2013
    Posts: 129

    55Belairretrorod
    Member
    from Australia

    Yeah, more often than not it's "I cut it twice and it's still too short"
     
  9. ssffnomad
    Joined: Jul 23, 2008
    Posts: 954

    ssffnomad
    Member

    Dave G lost some of his shop time , when he recently came over to visit our 39’ project. We got in some quality bench racing . Now it’s my turn to visit the “Whatever “.
    Stretch
     
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  10. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Yup! To all...
     
  11. ratrodrodder
    Joined: Feb 19, 2008
    Posts: 380

    ratrodrodder
    Member
    from Boston

    Hey, leave a weld or two unfinished so I can actually help out on this thing! You'll be terrorizing the neighborhood in no time :D
     
  12. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Thanks to Marty, I was able to lay out the rollbar for the Whatever project this afternoon. Spent all afternoon drawing stuff out full size and reverse engineer his sketch to get the angle of the bend (94°) for the legs, go and look at his other posts, and in the same time, he's finishing up another project! I'm going to take up butterfly collecting, I'm just so slow at this stuff!

    But at least I now know how much tubing to cut, and where to start the bends! Oh well it's a tiny bit of progress...
     
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  13. gconnsr
    Joined: Sep 14, 2008
    Posts: 144

    gconnsr
    Member
    from AZ

    I had a nice Black Widow collection going but they came with the cars
     
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  14. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    I'm not going there! And they say the east coast is going to be inundated with some big ass hairy spiders soon... I hate spiders!
     
    64 DODGE 440 likes this.
  15. We will capture them, shave them and re release them. And of course tell them not to visit you!!
     
  16. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    I have this blowtorch attachment for a propane tank, and figure I can add gasoline injection. Make one heck of a flame thrower. It'll be just like that 50s era sci-fi movie "Them" about the giant ants. Only I'm not going to go into the storm drain system!

    Bent up a couple of short sections of tubing today, and made most of a mockup of the hoop like Marty showed. Was getting ready to tack it together, but the old trick back said nope, not today! So I'm just about to take a muscle relaxant, a warm, moist heating pad, and call it a day. With any luck tomorrow...
     
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  17. ratrodrodder
    Joined: Feb 19, 2008
    Posts: 380

    ratrodrodder
    Member
    from Boston

    Save your tubing scraps - if the weather turns on Sunday I can practice my welding :D
     
  18. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    And that's the problem: we all save stuff, cause we're going to use it some day...

    I'll lay out a few items for you to practice on. I have buckets of short sections of steel.
     
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  19. Fabber McGee
    Joined: Nov 22, 2013
    Posts: 1,286

    Fabber McGee
    Member

    I don't see it as a problem. I hate to cut 6 inches off an 8 or 10 foot piece of steel because usually within a few weeks I need the longer piece and have to weld something back on to get it long enough. Grrr...
     
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  20. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    But you have long winter nights to work in the garage...
     
  21. Fabber McGee
    Joined: Nov 22, 2013
    Posts: 1,286

    Fabber McGee
    Member

    ...and light all night in the summer to work outside, what's your point? haha
     
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  22. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Now just think, you get to work outside in sunlight and fresh air for what, 3 or so months out of the year until all hours of the day...

    Oh crap, I didn't think about honeydo lists... maybe it's not such a good thing.

    Otherwise I got nothing today. Trick back kept me inside instead of the garage. Hopefully tomorrow it'll be good enough for me to spend an hour or so in the garage...
     
  23. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Went to a swap meet with my nephew ratrodder today. Came home with a complete empty T10 case. So now if I find a main shaft and reverse gear parts, I'll be able to make a working T10 for the Whatever project, instead of the T5.

    When we got back from the swap meet, Alex, the nephew's real name, and I took some time to mock up one of the rollbar ideas for the Whatever project, and were able to get some pictures to determine the height of the bar.
     
  24. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Darn it! Fat fingers...

    So here's a head on picture taken at my eye level:
    DSCN1350.JPG Not high enough! Sorry for the shocking view... I ain't going to look any better! So I climbed out and we added spacer to get it higher.
    DSCN1351.JPG A little bit high, but now we have a good reference height. Alex measured from the top of that shiny thing in the center of the picture to to a horizontal line off the top of the bar. He also got a side ish picture. It just demonstrates that I'm building the automotive definition of a blivet!
    DSCN1353.JPG No I'm not tiny! Alex, who is about the same size as his father, my big brother (why is an older brother called the big brother?), got into the Whatever and I took a couple of pictures to see how a more normal sized human being fits in it.
    DSCN1355.JPG DSCN1354.JPG So next is to finish the mock up for the Strode design roll bar and determine if I can make it work with me in this thing. I have a reference height to work from. I'll get to that tomorrow and post a picture or two of the car with it and get opinions of which is better liked.
     
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  25. ssffnomad
    Joined: Jul 23, 2008
    Posts: 954

    ssffnomad
    Member

    Was there 7:30 - 10:30. Missed Ya .
    Stretch
     
  26. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    We were there 8:30 to 10:30, where were you hiding?

    Got a 62 T10 case from Don yesterday. Now I'll be looking for a good main shaft and reverse gear parts. I can then put a T10 in the car. It's interesting to see how much less space it takes up compared to the T5.

    Should help with getting my duck's feet in there...
     
  27. Dave G in Gansevoort
    Joined: Mar 28, 2019
    Posts: 2,598

    Dave G in Gansevoort
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Okay, so I got 3 pictures of the mocked up roll bar ala Marty Strode (mostly...). Mine is above my head by 3 or so inches, just in case I decide to autoX it in SCCA events.
    DSCN1364.JPG DSCN1363.JPG DSCN1362.JPG Compare and Contrast: which style does everyone like? I can get to the frame really easily with the single seat hoop, and brace it to the rear or forward like the 1st Cobras did. And then it's easy to just brace the under cowl hoop to support the steering column. BUT, how to tie a shoulder belt for the passenger's seat.

    If I go with Marty's design, seat belts are easy, getting to the frame is not much different, AND with the side bracing like he does, the steering column can be supported without that hoop under the cowl, saving a bit of hoof room, not a small consideration considering 8-E width feet! My parents left me standing in the cow pasture too long as a child...

    So give me opinions, and if you can make circles and lines on the photos like in Alice's Restaurant. I'll tell a real story about that song and my home town some day...
     
    brEad likes this.
  28. Hey Dave try 15 triple E shoes. Been my problem while trying to fit my BOZO feet into a midget and the 2 man we are building. As they say it takes a bigger foundation to hold up a church than a Privy!! Project coming along.
     
  29. Oh, Glad you like the case. Went to a great owner.
     
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  30. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,798

    Marty Strode
    Member

    Dave, since yours is closer to a Supermodified, you could just put on a cage like I had on mine for a while. img20161106_16190320.jpg
     
    brEad likes this.

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