Hot Rods The product of my inspirations: My Tudor Sedan

I can't wait to see more on this!

 

Gonna give this a bump for the front tire hieght.

 

Tman, good suggestion. This past weekend I decided to work on my turbo manifold a little more so I'm tip-toeing my way back into it. A little here, a little there and it'll feel like I'm making progress again.

George, the car is extra low in the pic because the air bags are air'd out so the frame is sitting on the rear axle. It's stupid low right now but I think it has a very reasonable stance once there's some air in the bags. The tires are radial Excelsior 5.50 16's and they're supposed to be 27" tall but I've never measured them directly.

And yes my wheels are made from the same centers as those god awful faux wire wheels. As was said elsewhere, I love Halibrand solids but definitely can't afford a set so these are my faux-librands.

Thanks A Rodder. I think you're entirely correct... no it's not super trad but that's not what I wanted to build. I'd call it mod-trad... it's my slightly modernized version of a traditional looking hot rod. I did my best to keep the proportions right and give it a good stance and make it fast and everything else that a hot rod is but I wanted to give the super trad guys something to think about when my little 120cid four banger makes more power than their trad v8.

 

What I don't understand is that within limits it seems to be ok to have a few modern things, as long as you hide it or camouflage it. You can have IFS, if it's hidden by fenders, or a disguised alternator, or EFI if it's hidden inside faux Strombergs, or 12v ignitions, or Halogen bulbs, or power windows if the switch looks like a window crank, and so on, and so forth. If your sedan ends up with a hood, like my truck will soon have, no one will know your engine isn't vintage and the entire car will be very, very cool, even though that particular DOHC mill will probably look just like a cool old racing motor and probably make more HP. It's a slippery slope... Gary

 

Well, I feel a little better on the wheels now. They actually look pretty good in the 16" rims, remind me of late twenties Packard disc wheels. On the fronts, I am figuring on 26" on the front of my project, looks like I definately dont need to step the front of the rails, it should land right where I want it. Anderegg Tribute and I were discussing it off board, and he said the same thing, looks like you got it right, Louie.

 

Well thank you for that. I wish I could say it just turned out that way but the truth is that I spent MONTHS drawing up the chassis and suspension in AutoCAD and I knew exactly how much to vee the frame and where the front end would sit relative to the front axle before I even started cutting. That's the engineer in me... plan first then cut.

 

So you pie-cut the rails a tad? I will take another look at the photos, must be fairly subtle. I am mostly looking at the front ride hieght, I am planning on 1/4 elliptics at the back, and probably a fabricated chassis, so different deal around back. Thanks for all the info.

 

it looks AWESOME!! as a big fan of tudors, this one really gets me thinking!

 

15 degree pie cut right ahead of where the bottom of the frame goes from being flat to where it starts to kick up over the rear axle. Basically when I was done, the section that normal slopes downward past the rear axle and down to the bumper was now flat and parallel with the top of the frame. It gave me the couple of inches I need to get the car down without technically "zee'ing" the frame.

Thanks! I think the world needs more early A tudors on '32 frames!

 

VERY slick. Thats why I couldn't "see" it, I kept looking at the frame right at the cowl, and couldnt see anything. Clearly, you REALLY planned this out, and thats the key. Lots of innovative thinking...

 

Some links to the Ecotec I-4 midget racing motor (alcohol) program. I don't know how much of it might be applicable to gasoline engine builds, but it was all new to me so I thought someone else might want to take a peek. Gary

http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/latest-headlines/chevy-ecotec-joins-ussa-midget-engine-initiative/ <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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http://gmtunersource.com/component/k2/item/788-ecotec-invades-midget-racing <o></o>
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http://www.midgetmadness.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22768 <o></o>
<o> </o>

 

Great read. I love it when people move a little beyond the vintage drive trains and incorporate some technology into a classic looking hot rod. My opinion is that as great as vintage engines are, modern fuel blends and prices will eventually demand that more of us adopt this type of philosophy, that is if we want to drive our cars with some regularity. Its refresshing to see that it can be done while still maintaining classic style. Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Great. I especially like the fact that you haven't chopped it so far that the mailman tries to stick your weekly junkmail in the window. I'm not too fond of the pancake look.

The powerplant is a great choice, I've got an earlier Saab B234T in the shed (a late one w/the Ecotec bell pattern, bigger and heavier than the Ecotec but given the right externals 350HP+ in a stock longblock) that might go toward a similar project...someday...when I finish all the others. But...are you sure the internals of the Saab turbo Ecotecs were different from the others? I'd thought it was all externals and ECU once you got to the turbo versions.

The MA5 (or whatever the GM code is for that Aisin transmission), whatever engine you use it with, is readily available and fairly cheap and a nice-shifting box with all the hydraulic clutch bits, but it's a shame it's got a walking-speed first gear, something like 4:1 and very wide spacing otherwise, the engineers lost to the bean counters in the Solstice/Sky because they got the same gear spacing but for other uses I guess it depends on how heavy a vehicle you're trying to move.

(Aside: if you're not averse to modern hardware and tolerant of wrong-wheel drive, the '08-09 Cobalt SS with the LNF motor and limited-slip diff was a spectacularly nice piece of hardware to drive, material quality a little cheesy but such a PERFECT chassis and brakes...)

 

"This combo should make an easy 400 hp on E85"(Quote)

Really! I missed this statement the first go around. Thats amazing.

 

...one of the coolest threads goin...neat A.

 

We really need some updates Beefy!

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Progress has been slow. I kinda took some time off and have been spending more time with my wife and family. I did finally start working on the steering. I sent my F1 box to NealinCA after cutting the flange off and he machined it down for me. I'm going to do a tube clamp on each side of the box. I'll have to build a matching shaft section on the right side of the box but that shouldn't be a big deal. I think it's going to work out pretty well. I got the steering mount hoop tacked in and bought a big piece of quarter plate to make the gussets.

I also finally welded up my turbo manifold. It's all together and bolted to the engine and my turbo's hanging off of it. I'm happy with the way it came out. The only thing I still need to do is add on the wastegate mount and then I'll send the whole thing out along with the turbine housing to get coated.

The biggest piece of news is that I'll be moving my sedan along with all my fabrication stuff and tools into a shop this weekend. I'll be sharing the shop with my brother who's building a streamliner for Bonneville. Decided to nut-up and buy a real sander and grinder. Found a very nice Baldor 1.5hp sander and a matching Baldor 7" grinder. I'm really looking forward to getting into the new shop and am planning on spending much more time working on the sedan this summer.

I'll see about taking some pics of the cars and the new shop this weekend.

 

Sounds great Nate!

What kind of coating are you doing on the manifolds?

 

The modern drivetrain is awesome and to cover it all up is even better. It keeps the class on the outside and keeps the class on the inside seperating the two era's.

It looks great without a chop and on the 32 rails.

Nice job. Good lookin' hot rod

 

looking forward to seeing this screamer on the road

 

How bout keeps the class on the outside, and the gas on the inside... of your tank!

 

Cool thread. I have been curious about the 2.0 ecotec engine and how well it fits in a hot rod. Strong running 4 banger.

 

Cool seeing my old Sedan was in the mix,derrick did a Great job with.beefstew your tudor Is turning out great

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all moved in now...



my brother's streamliner



turbo manifold. still need to add on the wastegate.

 

Still loving your sedan build! To think that little lump in the front could be making 300hp easy is just SO cool. Gary

 

300hp easy is definitely cool but this should make 400hp without breaking a sweat.

 

Now that you're moved in (and obviously in good company) will the thrashing commence? We want updates!

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That exhaust header looks like a little bit of a bottleneck at the turbine entrance, little more used to stuff like:



or



at the 3HP-per-CI level. (Top is a Jak Stoll Saab 9000 B234 header, bottom is a Boport Ford 2.3 piece.)

Let us know how it works out.

 

Yes those are nice manifolds but way overkill for only 400 hp. Look back a few pages and you'll see the manifold I designed but decided not to make because I'm able to make my target power without having to modify the motor at all. Don't need a manifold designed to support 750+ hp when I'm only looking to make 400. A popular ecotec turbo kit uses a very similar looking manifold and makes 400+hp. If I decide I want to make more power it'll mean a new manifold, bigger turbo, and built motor. Those manifolds are nice but would only be eye candy on this motor.

 

I like your build its what I have thought about for a long time, with a big PLUS! Glad to see someone doing all that, I probly wouldnt wouldnt have done as well tho. I like the 4 banger, like the suspension, its my idea of old with new thinking altho I,m not a chop the top guy, a little off the top is ok for me. good one!