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

Trophy Dash at the Phoenix Mile ! Roy Prosser at the wheel.

 

Cool shot. It’s neat that there’s a decent amount of photos of the original car. Sometimes it’s hard to guess what a nearly direct side view of a car would be when all you’ve ever seen is a 3/4 from above shot as it breaks around the curves in the track

 

Tim, this shot is from the Hot Rod Magazine article. It shows just how long the hood was, and all of the photos make my job easier. Now, if Pat was a little shorter (like a foot), he would more resemble Roy sitting in the car.

 

Yeah it completely changed my mental image of the car

 

Since we won't be going to Wendover with the Lakester,( circumstances out of my control), I have been back on our project. Pat and I decided to install a hand brake, along with a foot brake, that work in unison. The reason is, with the center seating position and the driver straddling the the transmission, the clutch and brake pedal are right next to each other. Pat will use the hand brake, and clutch with his left foot, while driving from the pits to the oval. After pat selects the gear in the transmission, he will brake with his left foot, and throttle with his right while racing on the oval track. It is the only solution for this application. We needed a sleeve through the frame for the brake handle pivot, this is what I came up with. I have a 3/4- 36 spline shaft and coupler on order to complete the package. When it shows, I will make the handle and linkage. I got the side nerfs mounted today, will post those pics soon.

 

Head to head comparison with on of my standard roadsters.

 

Any idea what they did in the original car with the brakes?

 

there was only an in-n-out box in the original, - no clutch, so the brake was probably on the left side like what is envisaged here.

Am i correct???

 

Marty, what a great shot of the exhaust system in that first pic.

I, too, am not in Wendover this year, for the first time in a decade. I am building a new backyard fence, however (as if that is adequate compensation).

vic

 

You are correct Mark, the brake is done like the original. The clutch will be like a dragster, a simple pedal connected to the cross shaft in the transmission. This is one case where two left feet would be handy.

 

Vic, I had hoped to spend some time with you at the salt, like a couple of years ago. Lets plan on next year.

 

I've not been able to get past the "planning" stage for some time now Marty.
Never been, they tell me it's HOT!

 

This is how the side nerfs turned out. They required a riser bracket at the rear, rather than just a socket welded the the side of the frame rail, as it is in the front. The rear mounting will be done, when I complete the curve of the tube, to pass under the radius rod. Tony Huntimer ( typo 41), felt sorry for me not being able to go to Bonneville, so he sent me one of his wonderful calendars, shown in the last shot. Thanks Tony !

 

Doug, it takes some planning to make it an enjoyable experience, but WOW it's quite the spectacle !

 

Marty, your work is wonderful. I'm very impressed, as always. And very glad you're back on it.
One explanation: As stated quite a while ago, I decided to put a transmission (early Ford) in the car, along with a clutch and a starter, so that I can use and enjoy it more than just "vintage" outings at circle tracks (if and when they let us). I was hoping to do some antique drag racing with it, but lately I've had problems with that. I was also hoping to be able to cruise fairgrounds at rod runs with it. But now even that is being called into question (see my new "column" on son Bill's South City Rod & Custom web site for comments on this). I don't want any of my cars to be simply show pieces. However, the way Marty's building this, it's going to be one, even driving around. And I'm saving up for chrome now.
Cheers, Pat

 

The hand brake mock-up is complete, now some welding, trim the end of the shaft, and make one spacer. The handle is attached with a 3/4-36 spline, so it will be easy to adjust for different drivers, get the hint Pat !

 

Just wondering... why not a hand operated clutch instead? Lots of modifieds on the oval tracks used them in the midwest in the 60s. Gary

 

Pat is going to run this at the drags, perhaps some hill climbs, and you cant clutch with your left and shift with your right, and steer at the same time. It was the only solution in this case.

 

10-4, Gary

 

Hey Marty, think we should make the seat adjustable, too?
Pat

 

I worked at setting the backlash on the Pat Warren rear today. As I stated quite a while back, using these sideplates, the spool area of the live axle is far different as far as offsets related to the ring gear mount, compared to stock Ford housings. Halibrand sideplates are similar to Ford housings. Without having the live axle that matched the PW parts, I had to start from scratch to get the proper dimensions. My friend who will machine the new spool to be pressed onto the 4130 tube axle, made up a test spool, as you see in the lathe. It had the ring gear flange, and a couple of sleeves pressed on, my chore was to carefully machine a little here and there, until it I could get the unit together, with the proper clearances. Another challenge was being able to keep everything stable, and not rolling around on the table. I rolled up the ring you see, that is welded to a steel plate, it holds it just fine. Usually when building any V-8 rear axle, we bolt the axle housing to a large truck brake drum, and stand it up vertical, so you can stack the parts during assembly. Progress !!!!!!!! end today.

 

I got the final curly cue on the side nerfs tonight. Here again without pictures of the original, I thought a triangle mounting plate would look appropriate. My machining on the real axle test spool, came out fine, the backlash and gear pattern is right on the money. Now I will turn it over to a real machinist to make the spool and complete live rear axle. The nose will be next, trimming it to fit, and get it mounted. Then mount the radiator, and build the hood.

 

Neat nerfs Marty!

 

Very neatly done! Looking forward to the next update.

 

What makes my long, arduous search for a Spalding dual-coil ignition to install in my Spalding repro roadster almost silly, is that when I got this Wayne Chevy engine 35+ years ago--it had one in it! But (a) I had no idea what this big, weird distributor was, and (b) I had no idea I was going to build this car, and (c) although it had everything else (including the rounded early Mallory coils) it was missing the essential Stewart-Warner Tach Drive Adapter that made the distributor work in the Chevy engine. So, being an early member of the then-young Inliners International club, I saw an ad for someone looking for this weird stuff, so I gave it to him. Oh well.
So I am doubly happy to say that my crazy search is finally over, and I want to thank a few people very much. First Derek Bower who, through one of his customers who knew I needed one, gave me a good, original '32 Nash Twin Six stock distributor to start with. More recently Sam Strube, who happened to find the elusive S-W Tach Drive Adapter in someobody's pile at the Turlock swap meet. Although it was from a Buick straight eight (with distributor), he could see it could be machined to work, and the price was very right at $25. Also thanks to Sam and one or two of his buddies for doing the necessary machining to make the adapter fit the Chevy engine and the Nash distributor. And finally to Tom Taros (the guy I got the Iacono dragster from), for figuring out (and further machining) the combination to work as a Spalding dual-point, dual-coil ignition (this included grinding three lobes off the breaker cam). Here's what the parts and the assembled unit look like:



Thanks very, very much to all who helped with this.
Pat

 

Yes, it takes a community!

 

That's some good karma right there!

 

Two thumbs up...Patrick..

 

I have been building a roll cage for a Bonneville Street Roadster for a friend, 21 different tubes to fit and weld so far. Since I am only doing the cage, we decided to leave off the upper section until he has the steering, pedals and seat in place. That way we can get a better fit. He will run it with carbs first, then a blower.

 

Also, I found some time to work on the transporter. The floor and engine cover needed insulated and covered, I found some suitable rubber. It was time to install the skirt/steps, and make some protection in the step area. Now the good news, I will be mounting the nose on the Spalding next week.