Hot Rods Is this a Brookville roadster pickup? Update: NO. Now building 1929 roadbriolet/cabrioster pickup

The battery is back in. We had to tweak the mount after we finalized mounting the cab.

While mounting the cab, we used our new cab mounts to tweak the fitment of the doors.

I'd say they are very good as shown above. The following are a few more pictures that show what a great job my young helper is doing.

Notice the fit of the doors to the body.

Looks great to me. Tweaking the steel floor components for final fit and paint is next. Also, the front end suspension and steering component corrections and fixes are complete.
I didn't take additional pictures but the cab is centered on the chassis at both the front and rear and is mounted uniformly to the frame... the gaps are right!!

I can't believe we are closing in on 25,000 views on a project we started talking about only three and a half months ago and wasn't delivered until September 12th.
Fun with cars is what it is about!

 

I thought I'd show what we did to make mounting the cab easier. We welded a short rod to the side of each mounting nut. Made it much easier to fish the nut into mounting position and once started; made it simple to tighten. The rod will rotate with the nut until it hits the mounting bracket and then no need to keep a wrench on it to continue to snug it up.
Worked great! I suggest y'all consider doing something similar when you are confronted with trying to bolt something together when tight spaces are involved.

Should we make a separate thread just for this tip or has everyone been doing this for years... except me?!!

 

Thanks for the tip Al! It is something we used in my workplace for years. I have used it a few times on my car projects. It is especially helpful if you are working alone.

 

Hey Al, Merry Christmas to you and your family.
By the way, did you get the Christmas present I sent?

 

^^Thanks for the good wishes, Jack.

I did get this one out and drove it over to get an update on the cabrioster pickup but the doors were locked.
We all need at least some time to be Santa Claus!
It felt great to drive the car after it has slumbered most of the year... seems I got distracted by some dang pickup!!
Merry Christmas to all!
Al

 

Didn't know you were of the Chevrolet persuasion Al. Nice car!

 

All ways good to see the Fat Rat.

 

Yep, the Fat Rat has been around awhile.
Thanks for the kind words.
Merry Christmas!

 

Yeah, Al must be slipping in his old age...there's even a Mopar in his stable

 

What's the deal Al? I need my daily @Hamtown Al fix! I really enjoy your posts.

Dave

 

That Mopar is one nice ride. He drove it over to my house last summer. AL has some toys, that's for sure.

 

For those that are wondering about the Mopar... 1948 Chrysler Windsor Highlander Convertible... with a Hemi!

Notice the sleeper tailpipe treatment.
Little do they know.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^Beautiful!!^^^^^^

 

The floor has been tweaked and painted and final mounting is complete... I hope! The shifter is secure to bolts coming from the bottom that has nuts on the top and then more nuts after the shifter is added... makes removing the shifter easier as don't have to get a wrench on the bolt from the bottom.

Also tweaked the driver's side engine mount to properly use the top front bolt... seems the engine mount was a bit off.
Next is to get the bed centered on the chassis, square with the cab, and raised a bit in front to keep the flow of the body lines and the bed rail lines parallel. They are close but we're gonna use measuring devices and everthin' to try to get it on the money.
Above is a picture of the current gap between our filler panel and the cab. We're gonna remake the filler panel to get the gap down to the target of a half inch all the way.
Here's a slightly different angle.
We're getting close!
Stay tuned!

 

AL,
I have a sheet metal nibbler if you want to borrow it. Makes quick work of cutting the sheet instead of sawing it.

 

Thanks, Bill, but my helper is working in his shop and has it covered... I hope!
He told me this morning he found another brake line leak! I'm guessing it is the one brake line that came on the pickup that I did not replace!
I was hoping to get it today... maybe tomorrow!
Weather is good, too... probably snow tomorrow!!

 

Al... I'd suggest the use of a dead perch on passenger side of axle/spring.
Not fond of excessive 'tubing' running horizontal under traditional Ford front ends...
Just use the front spring. It's already there...

 

^^Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't gotten to a final plan on that "opportunity."
The good news is I picked up the pickup this afternoon.


Note that uniform gap between the filler panel and the cab. My helper put a 90 degree bend on the back to make a bit stronger and also to attach the top to the front of the bed with a rivot.

This is the filler panel in more detail.

This it taken from the top of the bed. You can see the bend and the head of the rivot.

Enjoy the pictures. I enjoyed the ride home except that there were so many tourists in town that I couldn't stop and get a picture at the ice cream shop! Nowhere to park to get ice cream either! Actually, I could have parked somewhere... I know all the nooks and other hideaways but wanted to get it home on this initial run after so much tweaking.
Happy New Year!!
Happy Al

 

I meant to add that after leaving the picture taking spot; I NAILED it up the hill!!
Great balls of fire!
I think the cabrioster pickup is gonna be fun!!
No pictures of the marks on the road... sorry.
Still some tweaks to go but it is much, much closer.
I'm very thankful for my young helper and his considerable skill and determination.

 

Happy New Year!!!
The good news is I had a prime parking spot.
The bad news is the parlor was closed for New Years Day.
Yes, it took several shots before I caught the breeze and the flag working together.
I'm looking forward to advancing the build on this fun hot rod this year.
The weather was fantastic! 72 degrees!!
I swapped hot rods around to get this one back on the lift and get back to tweaking!
I'm thinking of actually hooking up a speedometer!
Now I can finalize the wiring and routing of same.
Opportunities!

 

Here are some pictures of the new body mounts to the chassis and how the bar stock welded to the nuts work.

Well, I started at the front and have been tightening and cleaning the underside of the truck and making note of the many items still to be painted and otherwise addressed. Now that all the lights and turn signals are working properly, I'll try to eliminate this mess. I also added a piece of rubber hose, sliced down the side, to the transmission line that was rubbing against the frame. I bent the line a bit for more clearance but still added the insulator.
I'm also going shopping for some new rear shock bottom bolts of appropriate length to get rid of another "opportunity!"
Working Al... but still have to finish my black eyed peas today!

 

Sorry for the delay, fellas, but I had an "opportunity" arise with the 36 Fordy.
I'm not sure why but the rear wheel cylinder on the passenger rear that I last worked on in 2009 decided it needed to whiz!! The DOT 5 has held up pretty good I'd say... along with everything else!
My young helper replaced both rear cylinders and the brake shoes as they had tried to absorb the leaking brake fluid!
While we had it in the air, he also replaced the leaking transmission pan and changed the filter while he was at it. We also decided on the design for adding a trailer hitch to the pickup... I want to be able to tow our club trailer with it. We got the truck portion(receiver) of the trailer hitch fabricated and mounted on the truck. The club trailer carries our banner, gas pump, club dash plaque board, and volleyball equipment as well as softballs and a bat.
I don't remember the last time we carried it anywhere but we used to take it on every rod run.

Here we are in 1978. You can't see the trailer but you can see the gas pump and banner mounted on it's frame. All of the equipment and the club board had special storage compartments.
All of these fellas are a lot older now but I'm still the same! Well, maybe a bit grayer... and I shaved off my mustache.
I'll look for a picture of the trailer... ya might have to wait until we are fitting it to the 36 Fordy!
That club board that was made for us by the Senior Citizen's Club of Portsmouth, VA in appreciation for our club painting their senior citizens' center in downtown Portsmouth. Today it is covered in dash plaques. We only added dash plaques if at least one member attended the rod run and DROVE his hot rod to the event.
A great bunch of guys in my opinion. Five of us in the picture are still in the club and several others passed while they were still in the club.

I hope to get back to the cabrioster pickup shortly... stay tuned.
Stay warm!
Al
PS This guy showed up one time and tried to reload his camera from our pump!!

 

Picture of the hitch mounting plate bolted on. Plate bolts to the rear of the chassis on the right and the extended bumper mount (2" tubing)on the left. Plenty solid. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!!

This illustrates the plan but we'll likely have to fabricate a custom insert that holds the trailer ball... bumper prevents using one like this one. A bit more tweaking required!! We will figure it out... I hope!!
The receiver should go mostly unnoticed unless it is being used.

 

I've been tied up with other opportunities outside of the hot rod world but today I managed to change this:

Into this:

It is better and it was and a lot of extra wire has been eliminated. I also shortened the wire from the starter to the fuse panel. I prefer that the wiring be less cluttered but need all the connections so can disconnect headlights without having to cut wires.
Still have much more to do to spruce it up but the weather has decided we need to stop taking joy rides.
Painting touchups while outside have also come to a halt. Don't like painting in a garage full of other finished cars.

 

Al, a quick question. What is your wheelbase, I figure 114". I set mine at 118" because I set the rear spring ahead of my quick change(I wanted to show off). It doesn't look longesh to me as some suggested.

 

Bert, I'll measure the wheelbase tomorrow. Your car doesn't look longish to me... maybe swoopy and cool! My bed is much longer and I didn't have a quick change to show off!

Here's mine from a somewhat similar angle. You need to get bigger pictures! Old eyes!
On another front, I wasn't able to find shorter bolts for the bottom of the rear shock mounts so I removed the temporary "spacers" I was using and just used the bolts I had... that's traditional ain't it?!
Also, I got some pictures of the source of the scrubbing I was occasionally hearing when cornering in one direction... you can see that the weight of the car must be moving the rear spring in the shackles just enough to touch the back edge of the rim... and the tire, too, I think.
The above is trying to show how close things are.
Here you can see the paint rubbed off the edge of the rim and also where the tire has been rubbed a bit as well.
I've gotten new 5/16" spacers which should solve the issue. The rear axles already have long studs so that won't be a problem.
More later,
Al
PS Hang in there, Bert, on your car... feel free to post some updates on your car on this thread as well. We'd like to see them... and yours is much prettier than mine!

 

Wheelbase looks like 108" and change(1/4" to me).
At 118", yours is ten inches longer... guess yours really is longer than mine!
Bert, post some bigger pictures with a full side view to compare to this:

Stay warm,
Al

 

Al, I have been under the weather since Covid. I'm a long hauler and battling exhaustion problems. I will get back ASAP. I can,t get back far enough in the shop to get a good side shot of the roadster but as soon as the weather breaks I will. I am anxious to get a good view of my car. I am half way thru the wiring and intend to have it finished in the spring. I am enjoying your build. BTW I refer to mine as a Cabrio roadster. Thanks for the wheelbase.

 

Thanks, Bert. Your build is looking great! Thanks, too, for sharing bigger pictures!
I'm sorry that you, like so many, have had your activities curtailed by these dang health issues and the weather... along with everything else that seems to be a hindrance these days! Not to mention the issues of having aging bodies when our minds are still so fresh and young!!
That is a distinctive touch you have added to your grille. Also that flip up floor in the bed is very innovative. I'm going to look at that more as I get further down the road with my build but I'm not sure I'll really need access to the underside much as nothing is stored below it... yet!!