Projects My "You didn't build that" 27 T Roadster build thread

Thanks guys, I reported it to Ryan in hopes it will help him sort out whatever issues the servers are having. Ryan, put this thread on your low priority list!

EDIT: He already replied that he's on it! Thank you sir.

 

I went to Bob's today for a few hours. Progress is being made, but I'll spare you the details until I can post pics. For some reason I'm not able to attach pics from my TJJ app.

Once I can post pics I'll give y'all the skinny.



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Very nice, the 27 T roadster has gone on my favorite car list right behind the 39 Deluxe coupe. not a big fan of the track nose.

 

Thank you sir. Admittedly, the '39 Deluxe is tough to beat!

The problem posting photos was not a site issue, but a problem with my phone. Now that that's sorted out I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Until then, here's a teaser.



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I arrived at Bob's yesterday to find the TH350 mount was done, and the front crossmember well under way. Bob wasn't sure how I wanted long I wanted the front frame horns so he waited for me before cutting cut them off.



I said "I want 'em short!" so we measured, marked, drilled pilot holes, and Bob started cutting.





Here's where it gets interesting. I actually worked on the car for the first time! Shhh... don't tell anyone but I ground the cuts flat and beveled the edges so that they can be capped with plate later.



Then we started mocking up where we wanted the front suspension to "sit". We got it square and where we were happy with it.



Because of Bob's careful planning, the rear of the bones will attach at the same elevation as the rear bones, making a nice aesthetically pleasing transition and keeping them parallel with the frame rails. All of this and the driver's side measures a perfect 5* of caster!

And before anyone points it out, yes the split bones are upside down. This gives us the additional clearance for the steering linkage which will run right under the spring. This was the plan from the beginning.



Then we measured the passenger side and found a problem. The passenger side measured 7* of caster! With the kingpins in you can see the difference.



Oh the joy of using old parts! We'll take it to a diesel shop and have it untwisted. You can actually see the twist where someone, long ago, welded a plate for a panhard attachment. I've had this axle for 15 years and never noticed it, but I also never had it on the road.

Bob spent some time figuring how he was going to drill and sleeve the wrists of the bones. I cut some round stock for the sleeves (no pics, boring) which Bob will bore in the lathe. I didn't have three hands but with this picture you have an idea. Bob likes making his own parts when and where practical, and will fab these bolts to hold the wrists of the bones. He shows in detail how he does this on his first DVD.



That brings us back to last night's pic of where its at now. Thanks for following along.



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Hmmm, the last few pics didn't show up correctly. I'll fix it later today.

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Looking Good ! JW

 

Being a welder I tend to notice things like this.

Porosity in the welds. Some repair and grinder work will be in line for the welding it seems.

 

Thank you sir!

You're completely correct and I also noticed those areas, and a few others too. Bob assured me that this is all the rough in, all areas will be ground (grinded?) and finish welded.

Please know, I WELCOME such critiques! There is no reason for me to get butt hurt over someone pointing out a potentially dangerous situation or poor choice! Thanks Blue One for helping keep my wife safe!

 

Being a welder as well, IMHO the only reason to "fix" those welds would be cosmetic. Although we can only see the one angle, the width and thickness would infer plenty of strength.

Oh - AWESOME build - and I really like the way he's got it laid out on the table at seating height.

 

Thanks man. Bob's a great builder and I should really see if I can scan some of the photos on his shop walls of some of the cars he's built. He did have a '27 track T that won a class award (1st place) at GNRS in the mid eighties.

He built his first cars on the garage floor for years before figuring out the seated working position was optimal, LOL. Watching him work is really a treat. He takes the time to do everything the "right way". He's a big guy and certainly capable of lifting and heaving things into place, but methodically uses tools to do the hard work for him. When I wonder why he's taking the time to use an A frame and chainfall, he shows me how much quicker (and safer!) it is to do it right. He teaches a lot of this in his DVD series.

Regarding the welding; again, all input is appreciated and welcome!

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Looking good!!

 

That may well be true, but the cosmetic factor alone would be reason enough for me.

Sloppy welding just looks bad even if it will in some cases be strong enough to do the job.

As far as weld faults like porosity, I tend to wonder if they are there and visible, what other problems (like lack of fusion for instance) might be there and may not be as visible.

All weld faults have varying degrees of severity, I like to be sure of a welds integrity, visual inspection is probably the first step.

I think that since he is an experienced builder he will fix any potential problems and pretty things up.

 

Right you are! Thank you for watching out for us!

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Update! Made a quick run to Bob's earlier today between a few customer visits. The front end is coming along nicely!

The rear mounts for the front bones have been made and are tacked in.





Bob had the passenger side wrist drilled and a sleeve tacked in.



Bob called later this afternoon to tell me he had the driver's side done too. The suspension moves nice and smooth through all its motions.

Standing back and admiring the project...





While there, we planned the front shock mounts. We'll reuse the hydraulic lever shocks (not friction shocks), mounted directly behind the front spring. The levers will face forward with a dog bone connecting to the axle. They will be somewhat covered by an old pair of King Bees.

The chassis will be a roller by next week. Steering, seat and pedal placement will be addressed after that. Then, final chassis welding, sandblasting, prime and paint!

I'm really going to have to make the wife nail down her colors soon... if she doesn't I'll paint it pink with zebra seats! Actually, she might like that.

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Its coming along quickly... I started my T eight years ago and at this pace you will be driving yours first!

 

I watch your build with great interest! The fabrication, thought, planning and execution are amazing!

I can't take credit for building this though, it's all Bob with a few of my ideas. He now has about 100 hours into the build and about another 50 to finish it, excluding bodywork and paint. He logs his time each day.

Had he and his wife not been sick for the past two months a lot more progress would have been made. No complaints here, as the build is moving along really nicely. Fingers crossed, we may make it to LARS!

 

Ran up to Bob's today and things are moving right along.

I won't go into too much detail, as I'm pressed for time today. I will say that in the pictures you'll see the progress too.

Bob has completed the front suspension, minus finalizing the shocks, but you can see on the driver's side what the plan is.

Front panhard bar is done.

Mock up engine and TH350 are out, 283/PG that will be used are now in. Trans mount for the PG is under construction.

I'll detail more later....




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It's moving right along, thanks for the update.

 

Thanks Kramer!

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The wife and I had planned to get to Bob's yesterday, but weren't able to connect. He needs to fit the seat, steering and pedals to her and we'll do that tomorrow afternoon hopefully.

Bob did send pictures to me today though, and I'm more excited about the progeress than ever before. Sometimes little steps make such a big visual difference.

Last photos had the rear of the engine and trans supported by a chain while Bob finished the PowerGlide mounts. Those are now finished...

Passenger side:


Driver side: (creative clearance around pedals)


Body on the chassis again!




More pics tomorrow hopefully!


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Coming along well,that body looks cherry. Cant wait to see it on its wheels aswell.....COOL !!! JW

 

Looking good, or is that Fabulous

Larry.

 

The body IS in pretty nice shape but as you can imagine, has a few issues. There is some bondo in areas, but I don't think we'll be taking the whole car down to bare steel. The worst spot is on the tulip panel, just behind the passenger, where there's a hairline crack in the paint. Chances are good that it'll be worse when we dig in to it, but overall the car is really solid for being painted 20 years ago.

It's whatever you want it to be!

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Fun to see the body mated up with the frame and engine. Looking great!!

This is nice to hear for once. I don't subscribe to the "take it all down to bare metal" theory.

 

Yeah, its pretty exciting to see it coming together! If I were to do it myself I probably wouldn't have the first lug nut off yet... hence having Bob build it!

I'm okay with not stripping the body down too, just giving attention where needed. Besides, this build doesn't call for "that" level of detail, and we can ALWAYS go back and do bodywork, right?

I think Bob wanted to strip it completely, but we'll DA it and respray. Of course AFTER we fix the problem areas.

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Looks good man! I can't wait to start on my T.

 

Thank you Mike! I hope its half as cool as your peek-up!

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Folks should know that you are finishing the shoebox at the same time! No need for gold chains daddio!

 

Dave! Thats true, I am trying to get my shoebox back together. Thanks for your help and advice... and I still need to get your engine stand and Flathead contraption back to you!



Victoria and I are going to try to make it to Bob's today. We've both been extremely busy with our businesses lately, and carving out a few hours has been impossible. Which is also why my shoebox isn't running!

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