100 points for each one of you! You both on the right track... The lower tank has been moved up about 4" so that the lower outlet is even with the frame. We did this to give us Clearance for the front Friction shocks. Photos of the rad on the car will be coming int the future. CBB
hopefully taking the 4 " out of the bottom of the radiator won`t be an issue with keeping the engine cool. T engines need all the cooling help they can get. but with a new flat tube core it might be ok.
We went from a two round tube core. To a three flat tube core. So I don't think cooling should be an issue. Even with the 4" out of it the new rad has more cooling capacity then the full sized old rad. CBB
is the engine mounted in the orginal spot and are you using the T fan? the two core rad used a longer fan hub to get the fan closer to the rad. you might need the short hub or the fan will hit it.
The engine is back in the original spot, and we planned on using our stock T fan. We will double check all of the clearances for the fan now that you brought that point up. Thanks for that bit of knowledge! CBB
There has been a little progress since the last time we checked in on are two socially challenged builders. On the Front of the car the Exhaust, and the intake manifold are getting some love. The Exhaust header is a simple mount, because this Red's header is designed to fit a Model T. The Hard part is getting the Aluminum Model A intake to bolt up tight as it's what keeps the header in place. To get this all fitting correctly we had to make up some Spacers. We used sections of the old Tie Rod turned down and Shouldered with a heavy washer on top to accomplish this. The Studs that screw into the Block also had to be modified, as the threaded are on them was not long enough to hold everything tight. That was a simple task with die. Everything was Test fitted and looked like this. The Model A Intake is designed for a Two barrel Carb. We will be running a one barrel Carb. So the area in green will be removed (think hole saw). We also have a one barrel to two barrel adapter that we will be flipping upside down to finish the fit. As normal we got caught up in building and forgot to take pictures of all the steps. So We'll skip Right to the test fit.
We also Install the Axillary Transmission. The Rear Radius arms were shortened and adjusted to fit the now much lower car. The next part has eaten up a lot of time and is not complete yet... and when done very few will see it. Is the rear Suspension to Radius rod support. This Bracket wraps around the Radius rod and supports the end of the Shackle drop bracket rod. A 1/2" pinch bolt will go through the bracket above the Radius Rod to lock it tight on the rod. Also a Bushing will line the hole (yet to be drilled) that the support Bar runs through. The pictures above are showing the test fitting. The Bracket will end up closer to the rear wheel and the rod will be shortened and threaded on the end. We have also started to look at how and how far the body mounts will need to be moved to allow the 2 1/4" set back that is needed for the fender lines and rear tires to line up properly. The example here it the passenger side body mount in front of the seat. This is an Easy move. Some of the others we're still thinking about because the Emergency brake handle and running board bracket will be in the way of the "easy" move. This where we are today. We have hit a small snag with the new front radius arms. We are designing the frame mounting plates and have a question. The front axle needs to be at a 5.5 - 7 degree angle for proper steering. But what's that in reference too? The Frame? The Ground? Level? If's compared to level the whole frame is on a 5 degree tilt now, so we just need to mount the arms straight. If it's compared to the frame, the mounting plates will be 1.5" above the frame (yes it's UNDER-SLUNG that much ) If anyone can help us out that would be great! As always comments are appreciated. CBB
The coupe is looking great guys! That rear suspension is really turning out sharp too, but you may have to re-arch the rear spring for a tad more clearance between the shackles and the brake drum backing plates and of course the rear axle and the rear cross member. During the re-build on my car, I didn't mess with the rear spring because it sat high enough. After the body was installed and assembly continued...it got lower and lower. After the drive to Bonneville and back, I noticed that the spring had "settled" (most likely it was sagging before I started the re-build) and was starting to make contact with my shock mounts. I will have to remove my spring and re-arch it my self to compensate and return it to it's intended ride height. My suggestion is, set the body on the frame and add some weight in the trunk (to simulate the completed car fully loaded) and see how far she squats to the ground. A good set of shocks will help too.
Thanks for the info. Clayton. We are making plans for some alterations to help us with clearance issues. We can do some grinding and cutting to help. I was thinking on making the spring shorter which would pull the bottoms of the shackles in to the frame, but not sure how I could pull that off. I have already re-arched the spring when I flipped it and reversed the eyelets. It's funny your pictures references being level from the ground. Bruce and I kept putting a level on the frame and getting perfect level instead of the 5 to 7 degrees of rake we expected. After scratching our heads for awhile Bruce says "hey what about the slope of the garage floor". My floor drops 3" from the side walls towards the door for drainage . Hopefully we can get another good work day in this weekend. Jim
I have done stuff like that too ..... I think we all have. You will have an easy time at it once you get the car mocked up on level ground.
It's been a while since there's been an update here...What can I say we were screwing around ! no really we were screwing around ! I have the videos to prove it! Spud Gun Firing AirCannon Firing Trebuchet Flinging a Pumpkin A large number of pumpkins and potatoes gave their lives for these videos So now that we got all of that out of our systems we're ready to focus back in on the car. We've totally restarted the rear spring drop shackles. It now is a more angles design made out of 1/4" plate instead of 3/8" plates. The Build was the same. We started by cutting out the shape and drilling the main through hole that the drop will hang from. A section of 1/4" walled tube was welded between two of the plates. We used the 3/4" bolt seen in the above picture to align the plates and the tube and hold it all tight for welding. The longer plate will be bent to add space for the Spring. Bending was accomplished by heating and bending. Here are the new drops all bent and ready for some clean up. The Old drop is on the Right to show the difference in the designs. The new ones are each a couple of pounds lighter then the Mk1... That's where we're at currently. We've done some quick test fitting and things look Promising but we really will not know for sure till we get all the holes drilled and these babies under the car. Thanks, CBB
Very nice guys....VERY nice. That looks like a good solid bracket that should give you all the clearance you need. Been thinking on the chopping idea. wasn't sold on it until I messed with it myself. No chop: Minimal 2" or 3" chop: I think the most minimal 2" or 3" chop really keeps the proportions and profile in check.....while not making it look too "outlandish" with a 60's 6" or 7" chop that has become synonymous with these coupes over the years. Just thinking out load
While I like the chop, the out-of-proportion-ness of the non-chop does it for me. Why? I have no clue. It's just prewar badassness.
I do agree, but I'm not completely sold on exactly which one I like. To be honest the uncut look is a cool, but I like the proportions of the chop though. This is true and was rare, but not unheard of in those days. I know a fellow H.A.M.B.er who's father had a '28 Chevy coupe that he gave a 4" chop sometime between 1935 and 1939. He was a member of the Redland "Hornets" with "Multi" Aldrich in the 1930's.
This is a killer build. I haven't been around T's very much and seeing some of the tricks you used to get it down are awesome. Stuff so simple, that it's like "Why didn't I think of that?" Please, keep on, I need to see more of this.
My Great Uncle, Wm. Tell Martinelli, worked in the Duesenberg factory for some years (twenties to thirties) and gave me a 'lesson' on chopped tops in 1954. Many of the Duesenberg roadsters & phaetons were ordered with 'chopped' w/s and top bows. There were Coachbuilders that chopped these soft top cars at owners' requests. Less expensive roadsters & phaetons received this treatment thru the '30s, and it wasn't all done in California!
Just to put some of you at ease we're not chopping. Don't have the time we had some things open up and we have a tight window to be able to paint this old girl soon. So the Chassis work and such are on hold so we can pound out the body work and get her under some new paint. Stay tuned for a more in depth and proper update. CBB
Thought you guys might like these Just so happened to have a a pic of a friend's '26 coupe body from the exact same angle and photoshopped it onto a pic of my car at Bonneville this year.
MrModelT, That is great and just what we needed to get us busy to work on the car as the weather gets colder. That is pretty close to our vision, the only exceptions are that we have the white walls and our front end may be couple of inches lower (our rake seems to be a just little steeper). Thank you! Bruce will be posting more pictures soon. We were up until 3:30 am last night putting a patch in the rear panel where our only amount of rust was. We now know our welding skills need to improve. Thank goodness for grinders cause that will make it all OK.
So kids here's the scoop. We got a heated Garage to paint the body in... But we've only got it the week of Christmas . We also found out about it oh..Thursday. Other then washing it off with the Pressure was a few weeks back we've not started doing any body work. So the next few weeks are going to be a mad dash. Sit back and enjoy! Like I was saying a few weeks ago Lizzy got her first bath in years (at least the 2 years we've had her, and based on the dust a decade or so longer then that ) We hosed mud off of most of the bottom. and some of the inner panels. But the old girl looked good after the bath. This Friday I started on the Rust repair. We're also removing the spare tire mount in the process. So Step one Layout the where the cuts are to be made. Step 2 Cut. By the time you see this on the floor...it's too late to turn back The Hole. Some converter applied to the hard to get too areas. Then the sanding starts..... Hours later. The old paint is gone. Notice the dent in the Passenger side rear fender gets bigger? Well that's because it was filled with mud at some time in the past then painted over....I mean MUD not bondo, or filler, dirt and water. Mud covered in paint. Now a patch panel is made..(ok it took 2 tries to get it fit right..) The rear has a slight crown in it so we ran the patch through the English wheel a couple of time to get it so fit nice. Then it was clamped into place The next photo may offend any "real" welder out there so if you have small children you may want them to leave the room before you look at it. We welded the patch into place. With much trying and some geese pooping along the way. we also found every thin spot in the old body too . At this point we checked the clock and it was 3:30am.... Time for some sleep. On Sunday I got to pay for my welding crimes.... by Grinding. Alot! Then I filled pin holes.... And Ground some more. So That's where we're at...We know that there are some dents that need worked out of the rear. Some where there when we started some we added but that's why we didn't pop the originals out before hand. All in all I don't think we did too bad for it being the first patch panel either of us have ever made or installed. By the end I could even lay a nice flat bead...If only I had started that way I would have saved the lives of several young flapper wheels . As always let us know what you think...Good Bad or ugly... CBB
Love it! Over Christmas, be sure you change your respirator cartrdge if you see Santa Claus with a tie dyed beard riding a polka dot unicorn.....
My Respirator is in need of a new cartridge currently, that will be fixed before the spraying starts. We're looking for a 28-29 Model A Hood. Just need the tops, but will take the whole thing if needed. We have a 26-27 T hood complete that we'll Trade if interested. Thanks, CBB
This is going to be such a beautiful car! I really don't know what to say other than that... and please keep updating us! Clayton, I wish you would start a thread with just your technical drawings, I love 'em!
The Jalopy Journal
