Projects Art Deco Roadster

Some time back I asked some questions regarding a t56 that I was wanting to put behind an inline 6 on an art deco roadster I'm building:



Bunch has gone on since then:

- T56 is history and has been replaced by a T5 from a V8 Camero. Pull type slave cylinder from Speedway and an ECI master cylinder for the clutch and a 90degree ECI Power Master Cylinder for the brakes.

- The engine is a 60 over Chevy 250 Inline. Clifford aluminum intake, Clifford split headers, Edelbrock 400CFM, 65 Mustang 3 row radiator, belt driven fan.

- Made some progress on the sheetmetal:







- Wiped the new cam I put in the Chevy 250 because I was ignorant. Bought a new head (long story) from Tom Lowe with lots of head work and lump ports. Put in a new Comp Cam and broke it in last week...Thursday actually...a historic day. Everything went fine. Today I drove the chassis for the first time.







- I'm not running a PS pump. I've tied the two power steering lines together with fluid in them. I'm concerned that as light as the car is, it will be twitchy with power steering. It turns easily even when not moving and is nice and responsive on the road.

- The front coil overs have too heavy springs on them. They are TCI All Americans and I'll order new springs when I can weight the car. You might notice the front end sits a little high. That's because of the hard springs.

- Everything worked great. LOTS of power...scary fast and I didn't even get on it....bat out of hell comes to mind. Got it in 4th probably up to about 60 and let off.

- THEN I heard aGROWLING sound coming from the right rear. With no bodywork the right rear is about 3' from my head so it was pretty easy to pinpoint the noise even while driving. The suspension is C4 Corvette (84 front 96 rear). The growling sound is ONLY when I LET OFF the throttle over 25mph. I know nothing about Corvette rears so I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice as what the noise might be and how to go about determining the problem.

Thanks

Kerry Pinkerton

 

Saweeeeet! That's really exciting getting that thing on the road Kerry. Congrats in a big way!!! Good luck sleeping tonight...

 

Kerry, Glad that you finally got to give it a road test, know you are excited about that.

Joe

 

Congratulation Kerry

That is a huge accomplishment,seeing it rolling down the road..thrills me to death.

Sorry to hear about your noise but there are always bug's to iron out.

 

Cograts Kerry! Keep the updates coming.
Rich

 

Nice job Kerry!!! It's a great feeling getting a car out for the first time. Seems like there's always something to fix.

Is the yoke going into the rear axle tight on the right side? Rear case is full of gear lube? The wheel bearing tight? Wheels tight? Just a few things that come to mind.

Good to see an update.
Jeff

 

Wow! Incredible sheet metal work. Neat car!

 

That car is awesome, nice work.

 

Looking real good Kerry... keep in touch!

 

Looking good my friend:d:d:d


johnny

 

Hi Kerry
Looking good!!
I don't think there can be anything better than that first drive in a car you built yourself!
Barry

 

It looks like the GA crew needs to take a road trip to 'Bama.
Nice looking metalwork.
Curious about the choice of six lug rims.
Also curious to know the weight when it's finished.
Keep up the good work and keep those updates coming.

 

WOW!! That's about all I can say, for once..............You sir, are an artist.

 

Cool !!!!!!! keep the pics comin....

 

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm still smiling. Now the challenge will be to not drive it all the time and get a ticket

I need to get his noise resolved and get back on the aluminum.

The roadster is actually quite large. It has a 116" wheelbase and I wanted a wide track. The Corvette rear wasn't wide enough for the look I wanted without special offset wheels. I just happened upon these Escalade wheels and like the art deco look they have. There are 2" spacer adapters behind the wheels but the net result given the wheels standard offset is about a mid wheel offset.

The car should weigh about 2300# 49/51% maybe less.

 

waaay too pretty for those wheels. i would like to see it on wires but it has a modern chassis under it and you probably want to keep that theme going.

Maybe some inspiration ideas from a modern day Morgan? A big diameter 3 peice wheel would look nice IMO.

 

very kool build!!!!

 

You've got some mad skills.

Doc.

 

hi kerry,

sounds like your ring and pinion might be wore out, how many miles on the center section ??

post a pic of the car with the body on it so these guys can catch up on the build.

gary

 

Kerry, thanks for showing it to me last month when Joe and I were bringing home the Model A p/u.

Gene

 

That's for sure.
Hey Kerry, I don't know how far along you are with her, but how about including some pics of your "female companion" when you post more about the bodywork!?
Barry

 

Excellent ! I like that style...some beautiful metal fab..

 

Some nice skills happening there.

 

Nice work on that body and chassis, I'm thinking there is a better wheel choice out there though. Those ones scream Escalade...

 

I'm Happy for you Kerry:
Friends are happy for a friends success.

You tube video?? come on now.. a small camera is cheap.

 

I agree but a set of custom wires is not in the budget for now. These will do for mock up and testing until she is closer to finished. The 'LOOK' I'm after is a late 30's Art Deco Bugatti/Alfa. This is the main reason for the inline engine. You won't be able to see the chassis/running gear unless you lay on the ground. Although, Bugatti did make a six spoke wheel back in the 30's.

You mean Monique?

 

WOW! You and Sellers should get together. Great work.

 

Wow, It's always amazing to see some of the fabricating and welding on this site! Beautiful car and bust! Just awesome!

 

Looking Great Kerry!

Build Monique some arms so she can hide the keys from you!

 

Really nice work Kerry! Your dedication to that project is truly amazing. Your friends at metalmeet miss you.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com