Projects A Speedster Comes Out of the Weeds—Build Thread

What a great find and a great thread!
I like your attitude and approach to bring this speedster back to life.

Thanks for sharing
Bobby

 

Thanks again for the positive feedback, everyone! You’re inspiring me to do these posts a lot faster than I'd expected.

With the floor in place, the body was now a stable, integral unit and ready for a test-fit on the chassis. Ta-dah! Although I’d done a lot of measuring, it was still a huge relief to see everything lined up as I’d hoped. And best of all, I thought the car looked great!





The cowl is longer than that of a Model A, but it’s also much lower, and with the steering column rotated down about 20 degrees it fit perfectly. I modified the steering box using Vern Tardel’s method: I cut the flange off the box mount, chamfered the edges, repositioned, welded back into place, then replaced and honed the bushing. The only difference is that instead retrofitting the flange to an F-1 box, I reaffixed it the original box. (I did NOT do this with my little MIG welder, by the way. I have a neighbor with a TIG welder, and he’s happy to do any welds for me that have a safety aspect.)

Here’s a crappy picture that doesn’t show much.



Repositioning the steering column meant that it now had to pass between the clutch and brake pedals instead of over them. So the pedals had to be tweaked for clearance. One day I came home to find a message from a retired contractor friend on my answering machine: “I left something for you in your back yard.” Here’s what it was:




This called for another gift bottle of wine.

The oxy/acetylene setup with a rosebud tip made it easy. I made a form from scrap wood, heated the pedals and hammered them into the form. Took just a couple tries to get right. Once they fit, I heated and twisted the pads back to square, and trimmed the outer edge of the clutch pedal so it wouldn’t hit the cowl. (The change is kind of sublte, so hard to see.)



I did all this torch and hammer work in the driveway on a metal workbench. There was a lot of smoke and fire and banging. I still get jokes from the neighbors about “The Village Blacksmith.”

While I was at it, I put a couple bends in the gearshift, so it would clear. It’s not elegant, but I figure nobody’s going to notice once it’s fitted with my awesome HAMB gearshift knob. Also, I regard it as temporary: I have a ’39 transmission bought off the HAMB that I hope to use someday.

 

You are awesome. And so is the outcome of the work you are doing. I love to se progress, especially on something as nice as this.
Will the engine get a matching treatment to make it look as fast as the body.


This is lion head, better cam (touring), SU carbs, better distributor, and headers. Belongs to @manyolscars on here.
But twin stock updraft carbs ain't bad either. And looks early rod era correct.

The 39 box ain't a bad call, a better transmission makes it feel more alive then ever.

 

Good to see Your Progress and it appears that all is going Well. I'm subscribed and will continue watching. The Truth is that I was hoping for Chevy Power but I like the route that You are taking. Continued Success ...... Jeff

 

Neat build, can't wait to see more updates

 

I build some with Chevy frames, ('27-'29) they become available from time to time.
The use of the Model A instead is practical, and the V8 front axle with hydraulic brakes is sound. V8 wire wheels are a nice touch, also.
Good call on stripping the body. Good call on everything!
Almost 'miraculous' to have found this and persevered to get it! I'm excited.

 

Awesome find, and your works look fantastic. I built a speedster (Chevy parts) two years ago. Then someone wanted it worse than me and it was sold. Gary

 

The dash was a fun project. I’m told Mercury dashes were originally covered in leather, but when you look at pictures of them now you see all kinds of configurations. The dash on this car has been hacked up pretty bad. The damage was concealed by a wooden overlay when I found it, and it had an old AC cluster that had rusted solid—it was a nice artifact, especially with its hand-restored dials, but unusable. I needed to figure something out.



This begins the saga of the Giving Cowl. The Giving Cowl is a ’21 International cowl I acquired for free—essentially a get-it-out-of-here throw-in with a load of parts I bought. The reason for its name will become clear shortly.



The cowl’s first gift was the dash. It had actually been sitting in my yard for more than a year while I was thinking about dash options before I put 2+2 together. I removed the dash, de-rusted it in white vinegar, and treated it with phosphoric.



I then made a simple template of the opening, transferred it to the International dash, and cut it carefully with a jigsaw.





In place, it looked like this:



I’m very happy with how this came out—I think it really captures the feel. A well-regarded authority on these cars visited me recently (that would be Jarvis), and the dash was one of his favorite parts.

And to think, I almost hauled that darn cowl to the swap meet!

 

Nice dash! Hope you can work that late 1931 Ford steering column drop into the mix. Just thinking out loud, have you given any thought to a 30-31 Ford commercial shell? They were plain painted steel, with a flat non peaked top, might look nice with a Mercury logo in place of the Ford oval. Being steel you could slice and dice it if you need to make that hood fit. Bob

 

Looks great, fun to follow this one. Hope that hood can still be utilized!

 

You're doing great....but that shifter kinda looks like a droopy pecker. I would suggest rebending it further back closer to the bottom, but twist it back upright closer to the top... something like you would have seen in the older trucks and buses. Have you given any thought to final color yet ( I know, you're so close to final paint...)? For some reason I keep looking at it and thinking root beer with cream colored wheels, but that's just me... maybe it's the old burgundy working on me. Matching cream colored interior would be cool. I love that dash... the vinegar left it with an almost wood grained or marbled effect. If it was more hotrod I would suggest keeping it in the final paint, but that might be a little too modern looking for a speedster.

 

I'm still thinking about 37kid's suggestion about the Mercury logo, but the only place I can see it looking appropriate would be in sill plate logo's inside the doors. Speedster's by nature are generally free from a lot of trim... it would have been considered excess weight.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Bob. I just did a quick search on Model A commercial shells and couldn't find a good picture. Do you have one? Are the dimensions similar to the passenger car shell? I was planning to write a post on shells tomorrow —I've tried several, and the best fit so far is the 1931 shell my chassis came with. But I'm looking for options.

 

Oh crap! Thanks for that visual. What's worse, my wife agrees with you! So much for my quick-and-dirty shifter solution.

Color is in early discussion. My wife favors green with mustard wheels. I lean toward blue, which was its original color, I think. But some variant of burgundy also appeals, because even after stripping it's still that color in my mind.

 

Clark, here is a crappy picture of the top of a 1930 commercial grill shell on a Model A that I'm building. Bare Steel with a flat area by the top of the radiator opening. Gary

 

The dash is great! You give us a new gift everyday, sort of like the 12 days of Christmas when viewing this thread. Tim

 

I love what you are doing here!! My favorite thread right now!!

 

Thanks! I honestly think I was this car's last chance.

The hood is a must. Check in again later today.

Thanks for the pic! I see why Bob suggested it—the flat area has the look of the orginal. You have cool car there, by the way.

Yeah, the holidays are a slow period for me, so it's a good time to do this. It's time-consuming tracking down photos that are stored on five different devices. Over the years, technology has advanced a lot faster than this build.

 

Like the floor and dash, the firewall on the speedster had also been hacked up pretty bad. I guess this was done in the early ‘50s to accommodate its former Plymouth power plant. Here it is again.



Bad though the firewall was, there was no way I was messing with it—it was original, and contained the serial number. The right thing to do—someday—would be to graft fresh metal onto what’s still there. But that will have to wait until either my skills or bank balance improve. For now, I decided the simplest solution would be to make a steel cover that could be sistered to the existing firewall with bolts. Pretty straightforward—a flat panel with a 45-degree lip at the base to support the forward floor.

I was preparing for another trip to the fabricator when it hit me: The Giving Cowl! Its firewall is perfect! I broke out my recently acquired torch and went to work cutting it out. While I was at it, I went ahead and removed the cowl vent for my brother’s chopped ’29.





After I finished cutting and took this picture of the carcass, I suddenly thought, “hey, look at those forward floor brackets. I need those forward floor brackets!” A little cutting, a little vinegar, a little phosphoric, and finally my floor supports were complete.





Just so you know, this was not the end of the Giving Cowl. I also removed the hinges, visor and windshield frame and sold all of them at the swap meet. Man, that cowl really gave its all to hot rodding.

 

Man...this project is coming along very nice....this speedster thread is really intriguing me, and the potential is really inspiring...totally groovin' on the whole ''look'' of it all.... really enjoying this

 

So here at last is a view of the car mocked up.



I did a lot of online searches to identify that hood. At first I thought it was ’32 Buick, but now I’m thinking ’32 LaSalle. Any expert insight on its origin would be welcome. Whatever it is, I’ve got to give the original builder credit—I think the hood really gives the car attitude.

I tried several radiator shells during the mockup stage, including Model T, Overland, and Essex. I was hoping for something a little unusual, but nothing fit as well as the ‘31 shell.



Don’t get me wrong—I think ’31 shells are great. But they kind of scream Model A, which isn’t what I’m going for. Yesterday Bob suggested a commercial shell, and looking at the picture Gary posted this morning, I like it. So I will definitely look into that some more. Input on this is also welcome.

Incidentally, the hood came with all of its vent doors and bits—kind of amazing that none of them got lost. I found them during the “extraction,” stored in boxes and Mason jars.



The chrome on the vent doors is shot. It would be cool to re-plate them, maybe in dull nickel, but they’re badly pitted. I may just fill and paint.

 

Any chance the hood is a Chevy, they had side vents and I think you can get them repopped. Glad to see the rear fairing has been lost... pretty ugly IMHO. Looking good. Gary

 

Your luck is unreal! Now you've even found the small parts? Well, it's good for the hobby to bring this back and you're doing it justice.

 

I think chrome on the doors would be too much flash for a race car anyway. Just use the little handles. You could even paint them the same as the wheels for some contrast. Or come up with a 5 letter name or sponsor name in period script.

That thing is looking so sweet. I'm so intrigued watching this go together. It's a style of car I've never paid much mind to and now I'm wondering where I could find parts to build my own.

 

How about a '28/'29 Auburn grille (the one on the left)?

Steve

 

Pretty sure you are correct about the hood - either '31 or '32 LaSalle. The Buick side panels are similar, but the top is quite different. Looking awesome by the way!!

 

Here's one with a Whippet shell

 

How about this being the hood donor.
http://blog.cars-on-line.com/?attachment_id=5649

Hudson, by coinsedent also a boat tail.

 

if you are looking for a cool grill that will fit in the same place as a Model A grill, check out a 31 Chevrolet grill.

 

Sold it to a HAMBer? Will be seen at TROG/colorado hot rod hill climb?
I really like that car.