Hot Rods Cab's 1927 T Roadster Pickup Build Thread

If it were my "period correct" choices... which it is

I'd go burgundy first, then blue, black, green and last choice would be white!

On a '32 frame high boy build, does the frame usually have to match the body color as well to make the whole theme flow better or were the frames always black no matter what back in the late 40's?

 

You guys should see Stevies shop jeans... they are definitely "period correct" They smell like they havent been washed since 1947.

Oh....the frame.....it depends.....I wouldnt do a white frame on a white highboy. It starts looking like a stormtrooper.

 

well... then it may have to have a Darth Vader influence to it then, the frame that is

 

Dreddybear......you hearing this???

 

YES, in my opinion always paint a deuce frame the same color as the body it sits on top of!
And this comes from the biggest American Graffiti fan around !

 

Yes I agree with Axle..

 

Hey I'm liking what I hear.

I can always chalenge him to a skate-off...see how that goes...

 

nice engine, well worth the money for a block with no worries. ...love the intake too. Oh, and the welding is coming along great! Nice progress.

 

Man I grew up watching Cab and it would not be easy...

 

Me too, I was totally joking..

"Wake up and smell the concrete.."

Awesome.



Cab your truck is gonna be killer

 

ripping style Holmes...

 

that frame is rad. subscibed to this one...ill be taking notes for my rpu build.

if it was in there i missed it (playing with my kid and surfin a page or two at a time) ,...but what tranny are you gonna run with the flatty? do you have a complete drivetrain with a rear end?

i can dig it...lookin cool man.

 

Very NICE lookin' frame, real clean!

Nick.

 

thank you for the compliments and stoked your gonna follow this

This is the rebuilt '39 tranny i'm going with...



And i'm also running this Halibrand quickie with a closed drive line/shorten torque tube, but not these bells, i got a clean pair of '40's i'll be replacing these with.



thanks again and best wishes,
cab

 

Cab this thing is coming along awesome!!! I love a 40's styles RPU and this one hits the mark. My only suggestion ( I am pretty sure that I have already offered one useless idea already but whatever...) is that the Quickchange seems like it's a bit much for the style of truck. I think a regular old 3.54 banjo would work better style wise. I love quickies as much as the next guy but sometimes I feel like they are over kill on a lot of cars and is just for bragging rights. I always go back to something I read in a TRJ. It said that a lot of guys had to switch to 18" wires out back to make up for gearing because nobody had the money to run a quickchange.

Anyways dude I just wanted to say that if your heart's set on running one it will be awesome but if you want to free up some money the plain Banjo would not detract from the truck at all. It may even be cooler!!! I love it either way.

Oh I just got a '35 and have been looking at yours over and over. Beautiful.

 

I need friends/brothers like this. Cripes! Lookin gooooood.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and kind words, much appreciated
as for this RPU, it's not a budget build, so i'm not too worried about the QC price as it's already been paid for, so i'm runnin it and i was able to sell a few old decks to make up the difference in the price so in all actuality, it really didn't cost me much other than time!

I did see that you got a '35 project going on, too cool and best wishes on it, i'm sure it's gonna be sweet after your finished.
cheers,
cab

 

Thanks Jon, for the kind words my brotha, hope all is well with ya?

 

UPDATE #6
Day one at H & H Flatheads- building up my 59 AB flathead with Mike Herman

We'll, I left San Jose at 1AM Monday morning and drove for 5 hours till arrived at H & H Flatheads where i was greeted by Max Herman (Mike's dad) at 6AM. Mike got their shortly after me and gave me a quick tour of the place before we got started on my motor, this place is really cool and an awesome place to visit if your ever in the LA area

Need a block, 8BA or 59AB... you choose!



Here you see Mike with the fork lift taking my short block out of the bed of my truck.



After we got the engine inside and on the work bench, the re-conditioned short block (I purchased from Minnesota), the hi-rise intake, oil pan, 12 volt starter and generator and two speedway water pumps (note, got sent two rights as i never opened the box to look at them) all got a further inspection from Mike. These are the only parts i brought down with me, i had to purchase the rest of the parts from these guys to complete my build. No worries though, they have it all right here



This machine is a Peen blaster and it takes heavy rust and paint off metal objects, we stuck the oil pan in there to see if it would do the trick.



My first task was too grease up the cam gear and mount it, not knowing how much to put on, i globbed it on there. This was the first time i got fired from working at this shop on my trip.. you see, after it was all said and done, Mike fired me about 7 times in three days. Oh, i was late to work one day two, that makes 8 times They run a pretty tight ship here and that's why they do such amazing work and all the engines that come out of this place are top notch flatheads. They do professional work and take their business very seriously. but, kidding aside Mike was very helpful and generous all three days working there.



Cam gear cover bolted on!



Next i got the starter ready for paint.



then the block got a coat or two of black engine enamel paint.



I got put to work on the oil pan with the sanding blasting box because the peen machine couldn't take off the thick coating of paint



Mike said it was taking way too long to get the paint off so he pull me off the machine to see how much more needed to be taken off.



He then said this will do the trick, maybe we should have just started with the paint stripper first



A grinder/sander was used to get into all the cracks and hard places.



So now, it was ready for paint and i shot it with the same black paint and let it dry while i started on the next project.



We found an old oil filter in his stash of goodies, brought it to the sand blast box and it was good as new (i need to get one of those things, they bring old rusty things back to life, i love it). I proceeded to grease the oil pump gear before it's application.



Slipped it into the bottom of the engine, then tightened one bolt and wah-la, it's in place!

 

Next on the agenda was grabbing the flywheel and mounting that to the end of the crank, then wiring the bolts in place after tightening them down so they can't loosen up, safety precaution.



The pressure plate went on next and got attached to the flywheel, that was hard to line up as we had to turn the flywheel to get to the other bolts, but i got it finally.

 

Mike recommended that we rivet the oil dip stick attachment, that way any screws can't get loose and too also avoid leakage from that spot on the oil pan.



We then proceeded to the front of the motor, lined up the dots on both gears and attached the aluminum timing gear to the end of cam shaft.



Next Mike pounded in the bottom double pully while i set the gasket in place for the timing gear plate and bolted that on as well.

 

Mike adds a little silicon to the rope bushing on the flywheel side to avoid any leaks on that side too.



After the oil pan was finally dry, it was time to mount it to the block, i got handed the ratchet and went at it.



Mike flipped the whole block over on the work bench with the trusty electric engine hoist up above and then we positioned the intake gasket and mounted the Weiand intake on the top.





After placing a little silicon to the head bolts, we hand screwed them in on one side. Next was the gasket, and wow it was finally starting to come together as Mike brought out a fresh pair of Navarro heads i was purchasing from him.

 

Can you see the smile on my face as i continued to mount these bad boys on



...then it was over to the other side.



After a long 12 hour first day and about 6PM, this is what we both accomplished and i was super stoked.



Stay tune for day #2 at the H & H headquarters coming tomorrow.
cheers,
cab

 

Awwwwwwwwwe Good Times!!! Man your doing it.. I'm proud of you kid

 

Just so you guys know how hardcore dedicated to this Stevie is.....he just got back to Campbell from LA, and now hes driving 2 hours each way to my shop to drop the engine off. Then hes turning around and going home tonight.

WILDMAN!!!

 

great thread Steve, props to the guys at H&H, great to see they're not just proviting a great service, but allowing you to make it your own....

Look forward to more...

 

I don't ever remember seeing a flathead go together anywhere on that hamb so thanks for that tutorial. And this picture???? Looks like heaven. Frame that one!!!

 

Steve,
I grew up following you on your board. It's so cool to see you follow the same passion that I have,for old cars! Notice a little grey in the beard...just like me,HAHAHA!
Can't wait to see it finished...Any idea when that may be?

 

lookin good steve. thats great you got to get in there and do some hands on..

 

badass bro! so stoked for you. definetly gonna be a rad rpu brotha.