Art & Inspiration Cotton Werksman's T roadster.

Mid to late 60's for Cottons yellow Roadster.

 

I didn't realize that!
If I had of looked closer I would have noticed it in the quote Wally509 put up! LoL
Very cool.

 

The late 60's Gary. Pretty advanced for the time for a street rod.

 

Cotton's car woke us up as to design & build. Saw it at Detroit or Tulsa.

 

Advanced for the time...yet used parts considered retro or traditional even back then.
It's like he used the same old recipe but still came up with a brand new taste!

 

I was doing some random messing around and searching on the 'net, looking for photos of Cotton Werksman's T roadster when I came across this thread. I saw the car in person at a NSRA Nat's many years ago but didn't remember it was a tube frame car. Quite an innovative piece of work still today.

Looking at the photo on Pg. 2, Post #55 that shows the almost bare frame of one of the three similar cars built, I got wondering how did the body get put on? At first I could see the body being threaded over the front of the frame, top opening first, then though the bottom and eventually rotated up into position, but then quickly realized that wasn't possible with the solid back panel of the body. It would have had to magically pass through the rear tubes of the frame. The upper rails of the chassis are too wide to have lowered it on from above it seems, so just how did the body get installed. Was the back panel of the body perhaps split and the bolted together at a glass-in flange installed on the back panel and the sides?

There's probably an answer so simple I'll give out a Homer Simpson "Doh!" when it is pointed out.

Curious minds (OK, at least mine) want to know.

Lynn

 

Cool interior pic!
Why doesn't someone build a "T" similar to this fantastic HOT ROD?

 

The above post, in my opinion, pulled from an earlier post in this thread, hit the nail on the head about the car. The Werksman roadster was quite a unique approach, compared to the Fad T's of the day. How would it be received today? Can/could old and new "tech" be mixed and appreciated once again (ie: tube framed car with flathead/Ardun)?

Lynn

 

Tube frame with a twin turbo SBC.

 

I agree with lake harlyey. I picked up an old R&C at a swap meet. In it was coverage of NSRA Western Nats, and there was a photo of a track roadster. Tube frame, aluminum Hageman body, fat tires, Ansen Sprints. Awesome car. But it isn't a Ford or anything else. So I wonder if it would be welcomed at NSRA or GG shows.

 

Yeah...that would be cool, although I was thinking Model A 4-banger, RTS-170 transmission and a banjo rearend, all in a tube chassis. I haven't irritated/tortured myself with my tubing bender for a while. Lynn

 

The yellow car has always been one of my favorites. I'm enjoying this thread a bunch!

 

Sad update. For those who don't know, Cotton Werksman passed away Saturday afternoon September 4th 2021. Rest in peace, Cotton.

 

One of those guys that remained true to the hot rodding he grew up with, build it yourself and never follow the crowd.
Godspeed Cotton.

 

Though I only spoke with him a couple times & actually only met him once , he shared experience & kindness to a 21 year old in 1970 that left a lasting impression . god bless .

 

There was a recent post on his life by his son on the Traditional 50s And 60s Styled T Buckets FB site (reposted from the Fox Valley Hot Rods FB site). A very good read. I like his cars, low and "sporty" not just buckets. One or two of them were on tour recently with the NSRA.

 

RIP. He screwed together some cool cars!

 

I just returned from a trip to the north Chicago area and found out one of my art school / car buds from Barrington knew him well. I wish I had known that earlier, as I would have tried to arrange a visit to his shop.

 

Sad to hear that Cotton passed away. I got the privilege of standing with a group of guys and listening while he told us about the T at Tulsa in 73.

I'm thinking his car, the Corvair powered T and Mike Minnett's streamlined street dragster were in close proximity to each other on Sunday (and possibly other days) at Tulsa when the whole event moved from the fair grounds to the race track on Sunday.
That particular Corvair powered T was from El Paso at that time. I'm thinking someone else built a quite similar one. The red one was driven from El Paso to Waco for the NSRA Lone Star nationals about that time.
Mike Minnet (sp) drove the dragster from Dallas to Tulsa towing a rather sketchy trailer with his slicks and jack in it. Photos borrowed from Carnut's Tulsa photo coverage as I can't find my photos that I took at Tulsa.

 

Well, Roth cars make the cut!

 

There were several hand made cars that got into NSRA events in the 70's that may have carried the hot rod spirit a lot more than they stuck to pre 48. The black dragster I posted in post 79 is one of them. Mike also had built a super nice T bucket with quarter elliptic springs on all four corners that got a lot of attention
I probably got more of a ration of crap with my 48 in 73 than those guys did and some guy at the back gate at Tulsa took it upon himself to give me a ration of crap over what he claimed that it wasn't a 48 an had to be called off by one of the guys in a golf cart before he really pissed me off.