I am working on my dad to get him started on a build thread. He's on the HAMB nearly every time I go to his house. And, he is a HAMB member. I am not sure why he hasn't started one yet. I'll try again.
All the shift linkage is stock. I'm not sure of it's original application. As far as the clutch linkage goes - I'm using a hydraulic throw-out. After channeling the body over the 2x4 chassis, a hydraulic throw-out appeared to be my only reasonable option if I wanted to have any foot space. I suppose that's the price you pay for running a manual trans.
Your coupe is pretty damn cool, too. Good luck with that one and, keep up the good work. I will be keeping my eye on your build progress.
Arghhh, I hate being asked questions like that. It reminds me of all the things I still need to do. I'm sure at some point in time it will be ready for the road. I need to do a lot of things before I can say it isn't under construction anymore. I really need to get the body off the chassis in order to strip and paint it. I also need to work on some door latches/handles, floor boards, a dash, lights and blinkers, and the list goes on. I should probably work on getting it titled pretty soon, too. There haven't been any updated pics in a couple months because there hasn't been any update worthy progress in the last couple months. I installed a fuel pressure regulator and gauge back in December sometime. But, that's been about it. After today, there will be 63 days left till the official start of spring. Looks like I better get my ass in gear.
63 days left??? well maybe we sould have GARAGE TOURS! yup, NW Iowa garage tours! we could start in your garage, after all i have 4 cars up there somewhere
On several accasions I've got to see both Matt's A and his father's T-coupe. Both cars have a lotta creativity and fresh ideas in them ! Matt's inherited his fathers ability to do about anything he sets his mind to. I remember in the wayback when Matt's Dad and I were racing Late Models, that he made a dry-sump oiling system out of a power steering pump----meanwhile I was spending about six big ones for a Barnes pump !?! Dumb old me !!!
Friday night I brought my radiator to a friend to have him weld some tabs to it. I had him weld on two tabs to mount the radiator to the saddle. I also had him weld on four tabs to mount the grille shell to the radiator. Yesterday was the first day in a long time I went out to my shop to work on my roadster. I worked on getting my radiator moved closer to the front crossmember and I also did some work on the doors and door jams. This coming week I hope to continue working on my doors and door jams. If I complete that, I would like to do some work on my clutch and brake pedal assembly. There seems to be a bit too much slop in the pedals. Right now the pedals move about an inch before the clutch and brake engage. Hopefully that will be as simple as tightening up some things.
I finally got around to finishing one of the door jams. As I was looking through the "Texas Playboy" '32 Roadster build, I came across one of his ideas and, I thought it would work good for my application. Here is a link to his thread. If you haven't had a chance to look at that build, you owe it to yourself to check out his thread. I wish I could build my car half as nice as that one. Anyway, I scrounged up some turnbuckles and did the best I could. The turnbuckles gave me the option to adjust how the door fits. I can push the door jam closer to the door or pull it away from the door. Since this is a "roadster" and I don't have a roof to hold things together, I figured my door alignments were a dynamic adjustment. In other words, I am sure they will change slightly simply from driving the car. I still have a long way to go on "polishing the edges".
I'm sorry I haven't uploaded any progress pics in a while. I guess that's because I haven't done a whole lot to show progress; just a bunch of odds and ends. Most recently I fabbed up some trunk hinges and some trunk gutters. I also had to get my fuel cell modified to allow some more clearance between it and the rear end. Also, I sent in my application for a VIN to the state of IA. I haven't heard anything back from them yet. Hopefully I will soon. I would sure like to be able to get a title and license for it soon as we are getting some nice "roadster" weather. I'm sure I could be doing plenty of other things while I wait that will make it more road worthy.
good job so far on the build bro........whats the height of the z in the rear if you dont mind me asking?
Damn nice roadster. I really like the three speed thing. Super reliable and brutally fast in a light car. Great profile. I'd drive it just like it is! Keep posting. My A build thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7117318#post7117318
Because I am using a stock Model A rear crossmember, the z is rather deceiving on my chassis. If I measure from frame rail to frame rail it is 13.25". If I measure from frame rail to the top of the crossmember the Z is 16.75". Here's my disclaimer: I designed my chassis using AutoCAD before I fabricated it. So, I took the dimensions from my drawing, not my car. I don't recall changing any any dimensions as I built the chassis.
Thanks for waking up this thread again. I have been so busy remodeling my house that I haven't had a chance to work on my roadster in months. I did, however, pull it out of my shop to take a quick spin around the block last month. I simply wanted my roadster to know that I hadn't forgot about her... because we all know that our cars have their own feelings and personality, right? I appreciate all the positive feedback. It is inspiration for me to get my butt out to my shop to continue working on my car. Chubbie: I think torguefest is an unrealistic time for me. But, I only have a couple things that are keeping me from legally driving it. I need to finish my windshield and get a license plate on it. I already have the VIN and title crap taken care of. So, the hard part is out of the way with respect to having a "legal" driver. I hope to join you all on a highway soon.
I have been able to get back to work on my car recently. My work started with building some way to mount the windshield. After I completed that, I built a custom size roadster windshield frame. I had a friend of mine with a mill help me machine out a 5/16" channel in some 6061 aluminum bar. I then got some glass cut and, siliconed the glass in the frame. The next major thing I needed to do was get a license plate on my car. So, I visited the local DMV to inquire. Previously, I has acquired a VIN number and title by way of a DOT inspection. I thought they told me that the registration was suspended pending another inspection once the safety standards had been met. So, I asked what it would take to get my car licensed. The officer told me there was nothing stopping me from licensing it. I then did what every honest person would do and, I played dumb. The result was license plates for my car. Most recently I have been cleaning up some old steel wheels to mount my tires. I had heard much about the success of electrolysis for removing rust. So, I thought I should try it since there didn't appear to be much to lose. Let me just say that the results are amazing. I'm sure if you ask 10 different people who've done it what they did, you'll get 10 different variations. In my case, I did everything everyone else does with the exception of substituting baking soda with 20 Mule Team Borax. I would let my wheels sit in the solution for 12 hours, power wash them, flip them, and put them back in for another 12 hours and power wash them again. The results were amazing. The rust and in some cases paint would be falling off when I removed them. This past Friday I had some tires mounted and balanced. I felt as if my car was ready for a hiway test. I didn't even make it out of town and my front end started the death wobble. I brought it back home and scratched my head for the rest of the night. On Saturday morning I went out to my shop to try to resolve the wobble issue. The first thing I checked was the toe. I found that I had 3/4" toe in. Once I got that to about 1/16" I took my car for a test drive. This time the wobble was gone and, my car was hiway ready. And, that's how it is now. The next step will be to work on the interior stuff for a while... floor boards, dash, seat pads, etc... I hope to be able to drive my car out to Outkasts in Mitchell, SD in a month.
Thanks guys for the encouraging words. I always enjoy reading positive feedback from fellow hambers. I feel rather selfish at times as I don't give nearly enough positive feedback to the other hambers. I must try to change that. There are so many talented builders on this board that have forgotten more than I'll ever know about building custom rods. I've learned quite a bit of what I know from many of you guys.
The Jalopy Journal
