Projects Scratch built T

I have been kicking around the idea of building a little T roadster for some time but when it came down to finding a decent steel body they were either to far gone and over priced or just over priced in general. So I came up with the idea of taking a 46 dodge cab I had laying around and see if I could do something with it. I started by cutting the cab roof off and quartering the cab. To get that T look I took out 15 inches in the front and 11 inches in the rear.

 

I started looking at the way to body looked on the table and it seemed to be missing something. I really didn't want to put a small pickup bed on it I didn't want to make a bobber out of it so this is what I came up with. I don't have a lot of tools for this kind of work so all of it was done by hand and a strong back. I used some 1/2 x 1/2 square tubing and bent it to a pattern I made from card board, since I didn't have a T sitting around I had to guess of how it would be shaped. Once the framing was we in I skinned it with 20 gauge sheet.

 

As you can see from the pics that it is a ton of welding and cutting small pieces by hand but I feel that I it pretty close.

 

Awesome job, keep the pics coming!!

 

Great work. This is what hotrodding is all about.

 

As I got further into it I found that the door hinges were gone to I went a head and bought some suicide ones. I quickly found out that nothing goes as planned and had to really modify them to work correctly. When I finally got them to work I finished off the top off the doors and cab.

 

More pics of the doors, I forgot to mention that I had to build some support for the doors to help with the newly located hinges. Now that I have the body pretty close to what I wanted I went a head and built a frame for it. I started out with .120 2x3 steel and came up with the length of my well base and went from there. I bought all my suspension from Speedway it was easy and fairly cheap. I live in an area that makes it hard to hit the swap meets. I went with a rear buggy spring and a front 5 in drop axel set up.

 

More frame pics....

 

I forgot to mention that on the way to building the frame I picked up a 454 with trans to slap between the frame rails. I thought it would be cool to put a removable hard top on it to give it style. I didn't want use canvas to cover the frame so I used 22 gauge steel sheet to cover it. I have got some more work to complete it, but I think I am headed in the right direction.


Curt

 

This is inspiring. It illustrates a willingness and ability to do whatever you've gotta do in order to fulfill a desire, and it serves to show others that it can be done. It seems that more are resorting to similar methods as the original tin gets harder to find and/or afford. Jeez...look at the current thread by the French Hamber (schoum) who's building a '34 3W coupe from a 2dr sedan...just amazing.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=844421

I don't consider it to be any geat indiscretion in building a hot rod in this way. As long as the work is done to get the proportions right, and to instill it with at least a reasonable amount of traditional spirit, it's a great thing. Truth be told, I don't even have a big problem with "bobber" trucks...again, as long as the proportions are good. It can't be denied that a guy can approach nearly the same end result by doing what you and others have done...especially the way you're doing it. It's looking really good.

Here's a picture of a hot rod a local guy built. He started with a late '40s Dodge truck cab as you did. He added 3" behind the doors for more leg room and better proportions, and hand built the chassis, bed and grill shell. It's fast and it's fun, and I think it looks pretty good.

Thanks for posting your project. Looking forward to the progress. Good luck.

 

Agreed...nothing here to be ashamed of!
Both vehicles are a lot closer to traditional builds than many "street rod/traditional" builds I've seen.

Regardless...I'm just jealous of the bigger doors!!! LoL

 

That's no lie. Easier to get in and out, and the extra height means that half your body won't be stickin' out, even if it's channeled.

 

Now, that's just flat cool. It shows that if you have the ability to visualize you can make something work that other will be saying won't turn out worth a hoot. That's gong to be an interesting little roadster when it's all done.

 

holy hell the things I see on the HAMB!
you have mad skills and huge testes to take on a project like that.

 

That´s a great build! I like how there´s something created and visualized just from an idea and some flat sheet steel! That´s as pure as it gets!

 

Thanks you guys for the kind words, it means a lot to me to hear that. I was a little unsure weather or not to post it here due to the fact that its more of a traditional site. I will keep the pics coming.

Curt

 

Not much to say, but those are some pure words of wisdom.....Thank you my friend.
Curt

 

Now there`s the true spirit of rodding.If you can`t find it.BUILD IT.Outstanding.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Good job tackling this project, well done.

 

That looks great. Keep posting


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looks cool. Good job getting after it. I do want to say the doors IMO, are WAY too thick and make the car look like a coupster instead of a roadster, wich is what it looked like before the doors where widened. And not feeling the roof, same problem. looks coupster. But what the hell do I know, just another stupid internet opinion. HAAHAhA carry on.

 

great build , I enjoyed the photos

 

Hey Von,
I have no problem in constructive opinion, in fact I thought the same thing when I was putting it together. My plan was to cut down from the top of the and angle inward making the top of the door about an 1 1/2 thick. As far as the top, its just idea I am playing with to see how it turns out. I am not sure what a coupster is though, maybe you could fill me in on the meaning.

Curt

 

I finally got around to mounting the steering box only to find out that I bought the wrong one for my application. I purchased one at a swap meet about a year ago for 100 bucks, its a chromed Vega box with arm and drag link also chromed. It seems those are primarily used for a cross steering set up not traditional. Since I didn't want to lay out 400 of my hard earned cash on a Corvair box, I built a mounting bracket that I think will do the trick. It was by far less expensive.

Curt

 

Here's a pic of the roadster I built from a '38 Plymouth coupe that was totally trashed.....



This thing was seriously fun on the cheap, (until I started to chrome shit).

 

Wow.
These Hot Rods are impressive even without considering what they started out as!
Hope more get posted.

 

I am impressed, and I know where there are a couple of 40's Dodge pickup bodies In the Army they preached using what you had, a "field expedient solution", you took it to heart.

 

I gotta say, as an idea floated out there over a couple beers,
it doesn't seem like a good thing.
But man, you're really putting something cool together,
it's got some lines to it! and i'll watch your progress.

 

Great job. IMO, not knowing what a coupester is, is helping your vision. Keep at it and keep the pics coming.

 

WOW! What a cool truck. That truck looks great, nice work putting it all together. I really like all the chrome you have on the front end.