Projects Modified Lakester Build (THUNDERCASKET)

EDIT: To jump to where I'm at now, go to Page 9; I'm doing something different and plan to get this L-6 concept done some other day.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/modified-lakester-build-preliminary.751582/page-9

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I have parts, a body, & a title inbound. I'm jumping the gun a bit since the first round doesn't arrive until tonight but I've gotta do something to vent & share my excitement a little at least!

This is going to be my first build. I'm low on experience as well as tools. I figure I'll figure out what I need as I encounter stopping points in the build. I've had the sense to get a compressor & a bunch of air tools and sockets at least. Otherwise, I've been focused on sheetmetal tools; so far I've got my hammers, dollies, shot bag, mallet, snips, & planishing hammer with plans for a shrinker/stretcher, bead roller, ring roller & eventually an english wheel. I plan to do a fair bit of body fabrication from this build and into all that follow.

The basic plan for the Modified is to use a Model A frame and the front section of a Model T touring car & fabricate a new rear section to the body once I have my framing & rear suspension figured out. I'm also leaning toward using a hood, which I'll fabricate & at least take a stab at fabricating a grill shell once I decide on a front suspension layout. For drivetrain, I'm leaning towards a Ford 300 I6 mated to a T5. I'd sure like to add a quickchange rear & a supercharger to the mix as well.

So there it is. Any suggestions?

 

Sweet! I'm doing the same thing - 27 T touring front half on a 28 A chassis, 30 A motor w/Winfield head, cam, carb, & intake. Sort of a 'banger version of the Dick Megugorac modified

 

NICE! I'd like to do a banger some day but I chose the 300 I6 for my first build since I can just order speed parts online and get OE replacement parts down the street at the store. I also liked the idea of trying to rev up a truck motor a little.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with the front suspension. I really like the idea of using quarter ellipticals but I'm not sure how that'll work out on a stock Model A frame.

 

Modified build

http://rides.webshots.com/album/90404002GZNDAk

 

I'm building one too!
My advise for you.
Stop spending all your money on a bunch of tools you'll likely never use or need.
That's quite a list of tools already.
Save your money till you fgure out what your building.

 

I like how you set up the friction shocks. I'm not sure if I can get away with them & be legal in MA yet but I've considered them. I saw a fella use them on an open wheel truck but what he'd actually done is link them to a torsion bar through a crossmember.

 

Well I kinda have to now; I've shot my wad at this point! LOL

I know I still want more sheetmetal tools, I know how & what to use them for and I know what I'm going to want to fabricate with them. I want to lean towards lakes style aero mods where I can. I've considered belly-panning it at least partially, as well as capping the front crossmember if my suspension will allow it.

 

That's just the thing all my friends said when I spent the last year collecting tools...

Example. I bought a stomp shear. It takes about 5 minutes to cut a floor pan patch. Much better than 2 cut off wheels, lungs full of dust, sparks everywhere and a big mess.

I disagree. Proper tools will be with you until you're gone. They allow you to do work in a shorter amount of time (we all need more of that).

But tools don't make the car run!

 

Oh yeah! I've already gained a healthy amount of disdain for the cut-off wheel! I'll usually resort to a hack saw or snips if I can get away with it! I've got an electric handheld sheetmetal shear too but no brake/shear or throatless yet.

 

Since this thread is pushing the useless with out pics limit, here is a rough, incomplete, rendering of what my original direction was before I actually started buying parts.

 

Modifieds are the tits. What year model T? Model A frame is the ticket, good thinking.

 

Steering and front suspension already look scary!

 

It's a 27, which is what I really always wanted for my first build. The Model A frame is really just luck of the draw. I bought what I could find and afford and kinda let that direct the beginning of the project. Since it's a Phaeton, I'll actually have enough to start a second project when I'm "done" with this one too.

Yeah, I'm not doing that setup anymore. I'm looking for alternatives. I'd like to do a quarter elliptical setup but I'm not committed to that plan. Being my first foray into building, I may even just get an out-of box monospring kit, but again, not committed to that either.

 

The 26-7 Ts' are special. How're your doors? The doors and hinges are the thing i will look closely at the next time i do one of them.

 

I'll find out when it arrives! But they looked good enough to work with in the pictures. I'm not shy about taking on fabrication work where I need or want it, particularly for this build. I'm seeing each challenge as a needed lesson at this stage (we'll see if that changes to cussing when I'm neck deep in it).

 

here's my 27

 

Nice plan!

Here's the one I almost finished...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266975

 

First wave of parts arrived!

Now that the excitement has settled a bit, that "OMG NOW WHAT DO I DO FIRST" FEELING THAT I was expecting has rolled in.

 

Silent Rick you and I think a like. i am building a mod a whole lot like yours. I need to figure out how to post photos on here. Mine is powered by a Chevy II banger.

 

i posted to show patmanta what a 26-27 T touring front half could look like on a model A frame.

 

Nice, guys!

That's pretty slammed for what looks like a stock front axle there! Did you do all your dropping with that fabricated frame & stock suspension parts?

Did you chop the front of the frame and do somewhat of a T style monospring up front there?

 

i moved the crossmember back a few inches, bobbed the frame and used the axle and spring pack i was going to put under a 32 frame build.

here's my build thread

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=670760

 

You can never have enough tools, you are only limited by the square footage of your shop.

 

My shop's a bit tight right now. It's an old 2 car with a poorly planned workbench (that I did not build), ONE power outlet, all my tools, my winter wheels for my Challenger, my Lawnmower, & my Snowblower all competing for space in it.

I need a shed & I need to demo that "workbench" I've got.

 

Since the body isn't here yet but I want to jump right in, I'm struggling to figure out where to begin today. I was considering making an attempt to start de-rusting the frame, but if I do that, I'm worried I'll potentially do something that'll screw up future priming or welding I gotta do.

So about as far as I think I'm gonna get tonight is getting the frame up off the floor and onto some blocks.

Any suggestions for how I can most effectively apply my efforts at this stage are very welcome!

 

I'm still VERY, VERY new to this. I'm also not loaded, so I have to work on a tight budget. I found that the best way to work on a budget, is to find good deals. BUT, you can't find good deals if you don't know what you are looking for.

First, I found the type of car I wanted to build. Then I searched Google and Google Images to find cars that fit the profile I wanted. Then I researched what they ran for suspension and other things. A LOT of threads, and many, many hours.

Once I had a good idea of what I wanted to do for suspension, I researched the different parts and ways to build it that would fit my budget. Then I started looking around The HAMB classifieds, ebay, craigslist and swap meets to find out what sort of prices are high and low. Also paying attention to what the pars looked like, measurements, and know problems with the parts. This will allow you to recognize the items you are in need of, and not have to order them out of a catalog. This also saved my money. BUT, it took a lot of time. Sometimes hours upon hours online. I posted Craigslist want ads for items that I was looking for, along with the price I wanted I pay. I have been really lucky, and found a TON of my parts locally.

In the mean time, stacking shit on top of each other and getting a general idea on what you want as far as stance and looks is about the best way to stay motivated. I'd practice welding scrap pieces of metal together. Try hammering out dents in scrap metal and start attending events and shows. Look at what other people have done. Talk to people and get a good network of locals in many different areas. The HAMB is a great place, but having someone right next to you that can give advice (good or bad) is a much better deal.

You can learn a lot on this website. You sometimes have to weed through the threads and read all the opinions and facts.

The Tardel Book is a great place to start. Here's a preview of the book online. But I think having and actual copy is a good idea.

http://books.google.com/books?id=5T...ge&q=1940 ford rear spring in model a&f=false

So in conclusion, what has worked for me is lots of studying, SEARCHING (if you thought of it, there are about 20 others that already posted it usually), learning how to search using poor grammar, knowing what you are looking for/what the current market prices are and MEET THE LOCALS. They are out there, in every city.

Lastly, have fun and remember that The HAMB is dedicated to a very specific type of car. Just because people here don't like what you are building, doesn't mean it's wrong. You have to take this place with a grain of salt. Just because you can't post pictures here shouldn't stop you from having a fun and learning.

Here are a bunch of links that I saved. They helped me out quite a bit.

http://www.classicroad.com/modelA/frame.htm

http://macsautoparts.com/ford-model-a-specifications-page/a/215/

http://lainefamily.com/ModelAFiles/ModelABrakeUpgrade.htm

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=612792&highlight=model+hood

http://www.droppedaxles.com/FORD_AXLES.html

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103232

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=654488&highlight=modified+tub&page=2

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282490

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677460&fb_source=message

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=671975&page=6

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=689722&page=2

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58724&page=2

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294701&highlight=roadster+measurements

 

Well thanks, Beau, I appreciate the advice. I'm already pretty far into the preps you mentioned though I haven't gotten out and been too terribly social yet. I've met a few rodders at a couple shows, both young and seasoned, but I haven't really networked outside the HAMB. I actually live in walking distance of Chop Shop Customs in Woburn, MA but I haven't met anybody from there just yet.

I guess you're right about trying to get things mocked up a bit. I was figuring today I'd at least get the frame up off the floor and the parts better stored & sorted. I've got the frame, 2 front axles, a rear end, rear spring, 4 wheels (that will need some TLC) and some other odds & ends that may or may not go into this build, right now.

I guess I can start making a parts list and focus on getting the thing to a rolling state for this first stage. Fortunately I have one to work from that I made when I was first planning the build; it hasn't been updated to reflect what I'm working with now and it's mostly made up of new parts though.

 

Just subscribed, I am also building a 27 but not a modified although I sometimes think I should have because I am building the body from scratch and a modified body would have been a lot less work!.

I will be watching I love modifieds


David

 

The frame takes a lot of attention, you'll use the front crossmember and the rear crossmember (in a fashion). So you start drilling out and removing all those rivets and bracketry on the frame, leave the center crossmember in it for now - it'll go away - take a flapper disc and get rid of the rust etc, clean around all those bolts holes etc and prep to weld them up. You'll want to box the frame but that is a ways down the pike. right now you just want to get that frame as clean as possible. Be very fussy. don't worry about shock mounts or steering mounts etc, just focus on the imperfections in the frame. That'll keep you busy until the body shows up.

 

I'm planning to do a fair bit of fabrication on this build as far as sheetmetal goes too so I'm glad I fell in love with the Modified for the same reason! I'll be fabricating a rear section since I don't want to cut up the original touring car back end (I want it for future build, I might have said that already though). I'm also heavily leaning towards belly pans and steel floorpans.

Ok, GREAT! I'm pretty picky about details and imperfections when I know I need to be ("good enough" has been a learned behavior). I have an angle grinder, a set of bastard files & some nice new bits that I haven't gotten a chance to use yet just waiting for the task.

I've already seen a couple minor wiggles in some of the edges on the inside of the frame. They're very difficult to see. Should I be concerned & if so, should I hammer & dolly them out? another method? is this an indication of a bad frame or just age/manufacturing related? Thanks!