Hot Rods Spalding Bros Repro, for "Too Tall" Ganahl.

Wow Marty kool shit! I thought I was good putting BIG NUTS on my 40 Ford axles.

Gary

 

Thanks for the info. I have a set of Drum/Hubs like is on the rear of the Black number 2 car. Love these old race car parts. That's where our hot rod roots are. love to see these parts being used.

 

Thanx much! Gary

 

I set the body on yesterday, and made a profile template for the firewall. Once the firewall is in place and the driver side patch panel is welded and hammered, I can cut the slots for the rear radius rods.

 

Oh yes, Marty! We haven't got candles yet, but this is like putting the frosting on the cake. Man, that looks good.
I just called Anna in to see this, and her immediate response was an animated "Wow, that's so cool!" It's more than cool when your wife has that sort of opinion of your car project, yes?
Marty, I knew I brought my car to the right place to be built. Your work is absolutely perfect. Oh wait, I didn't bring you anything, did I? You found this pristine body and hand-built all the rest. Thankyou. Big time.

Pat Ganahl

 

WOW! WOW! WOW!

 

Pat, I am glad that you and Anna are happy with your car, you have been more that patient with me on this project. With it sitting on the floor and having the body on, I am relieved about the proportions of the car. To me most unique feature of the original car was the long hood, and the Ingels nose mounted ahead of the axle. From the face of the cowl to the front of the grille is going to be around 43-44 inches, which should render the long "skinny hood" look, that we are trying to achieve. Firewall coming up !

 

Firewall is fitted in place, I used 18 ga Electro-Galvanized steel. Once it is bolted and welded in place, it will stiffen the cowl area, I can cut the tack welds loose and reveal the flip-up the hinged cowl piece.

 

Great work!

 

I do love the look of a turtledeck T track roadster! Of course you're recreating one of the very best looking ones ever built.

 

Working late, I got the welding done on the LH patch panel. It's a slow process, I weld 3/4", a friend hammers it flat, and so on. Pat will do the final finish.

 

Man, that is nice. Pat, you sure did take the project to the right guy.

 

Hi Marty; Talking to you at Riverdale sure got me reved up about my Roadster pickup !! think that might be my next project !! have been looking at Dean Lowe's truck on here for years ! it would HAVE to look like his, as it was PERFECTION !! Come up to the East V west Flathead run on the 17th , I'll make sure you have a Flathead to drive out there !! Chris

 

Chris, I would love to come up to the Flathead run, but I have to concentrate on Pat's car. We do need to start on those 29 RP's this Winter, so we can hit the "Match Race" circuit, and that 14-71 blower of yours won't fit the rules ! Great visit at Riverdale, you have a couple of outstanding boys. Now back to the Spalding. I fabricated the 3/8 " aluminum adapters to fit the smaller A-1 shocks yesterday, when Pat procures another pair of the A-2's, it will be a simple swap. I crawled under the car and took a couple of shots of the firewall, to show how it meets the dash. It needs a little trimming on the sides, for a final fit. Next will be adding some weight in the proper places, to get the corner weights, so I can order the Torsion bars.

 

I got over another hurdle today, with the installation of the firewall. It is removable for painting purposes, just clecos for now but it will be bolted in with 10/32 machine screws. Also, I was able to clip the tack welds loose on the upper cowl, and the hinge works great, just like the original ! Now I can trim the rest of the flange off of the top body rail, hammer it over and skip weld it.

 

man, that's bitchin.

 

I haven't been looking forward to making the body cutouts for the rear radius rods, but with some tin snips and a die grinder, here is the first one. Once the torsion bars are installed and the final ride height is established, there will be more trimming for proper clearance.

 

Don't know why you were dreading it Marty. Looks simple enough to me.

 

Marty
I would never try to tell you how to do anything BUT I'll tell you how I did mine for the steering link. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. After the cutout and not as close as yours I tacked steel brake line tubing around the opening and then good ol Bondo.

Gary

 

Marty,
Don't you own a cutting torch?

 

Marty , awesome build ! I was lucky enough to find a body here in Australia! They are very rare as the Australian early t,s here were different and built locally. I will be copying many aspects of your t roadsters you have built . Thanks for posting

 

Bruce, I never thought of using my cutting torch, I thought a meat cleaver would do a nicer Job, hmm, I wounder where I could find one of those. Gary, I plan on adding some reinforcement to the openings on the inside, so as not to disturb the look on the outside. Asphalt Demon, That is quite find, make sure and do a build thread when you get started, I would like to follow the progress. How about some cockpit shots, and a 3/4 shot with the arms in place. I have some WW2 lap belts, I think one would look good for display purposes.

 

Amazing - such a well proportioned build.

Also great to see the rear suspension arms pivoting where the torque-tube pivots - engineering at its finest.

 

Mark, I just sat in it, and I am sure Pat will fit. The plus is the belly pan, the foot rests will be at least 10" below the top of the frame.

 

Love the lap belts. Kurtis had a stash of those and I ran one just like that in my 1/4 midget. Another one kept me in the Studebaker when I took it flying.

 

Maybe i will Marty!I could use some help with references!....actuallly is there a track roadster thread?better do a search? chasing a turtle deck to replace the pickup bed as i type this from the U.S ,but I'm gunna try find the history out about the body first,just in case I'm butchering something of historical significance in OZ before i remove the pickup bed.I also have my eye on some 3/4 ton diffs for a traditional rear quickie .Johnny

 

Maybe I should commit to finding a T body to suit the junk I have. If Pat can fit into this - anyone can.

 

On the inside! DUH I never thought of that.

 

Scanning through this thread, I realize I had no clue what a jewel the original car was. I've always loved the stance and proportions but missed a lot of what was under the skin. Your project gives us a detailed look at what was an extremely well-built hot rod not only for the time but even today. Pat is right - he found the right guy.
Thanks for letting us follow along.

 

I hope that everyone reading this sees the attention to detail that Marty is giving this. It would be much easier for him to deviate from the original in order to expedite the build. The original was REALLY well done, but they didn't have to follow what someone else had done 60 years before. Quite a balancing act to say the least. Great job , Marty!!!!!