Well, finally started doing the harder parts of my new speedster build. My father and I had already gotten the engine running and all the mechanicals sorted out. All that was left was making a body for the thing. Currently we made a firewall, mounted the grill shell, made headlight mounts for a pair of 1932 Buick headlights out of a Model A headlight bar, mocked up the approximate location of the 2 seats I purchased from a guy in Connecticut, made 1 good hood out of 2 bad ones, and got a 1941 Ford hood that'll be trimmed to make into a boat tail. All in all, got quite a bit of stuff done, but still have WAYS to go. Here are some pics of it as it sits right now:
I can't wait to see this thing driving. Keep us updated and post some video when it's up and running.
I can't believe I never concluded this post. In May we brought the completed speedster up to the Jalopy Showdown in PA. She's got a bit of a whine in the rear and tranny, but that's the risk you take with the "put it back together the way it came apart and pray" method of pinion/ring alignment. The 4.11 gears have to come out anyway, so I figured I'd get it together and get a decent season of driving out of it. Oh it got a little muddy, but it's clean now . . at least mostly . . that mud from the showdown stays with any car FOREVER.
Whoa! That's super cool and makes me want to make a speedster out of my chassis. Any pics of the firewall and innner structures holding the sheet metal together? Thanks TBone
That has to be one of the coolest photos I've seen in a long time! Now that it's painted/finished, how about a photo update (from every angle). Looks like a lot of fun. Congratulations.
Alright I've had the opportunity to take a few detail shots of it sitting in the garage. (They were taken at night so some of them are a little dark) Here it is nestled into it's resting place until I take it out for it's next jaunt: Here's a view of the dash and floor. The floor is made of two sheets of 3/4" plywood, the toe board is made of .050 aluminum with access panels installed with inserts and screws for easy access to the shifter tower and brake clevises without removing the whole thing. The dash is made out of a nice piece of oak, the speedo is a '33, and the cluster is made from 1/8" aluminum that used to be a "No Shoulder" sign that was obtained as part of the aborted speedster project that was to be my first speedster project. The firewall was made from two sheets of 3/4" plywood as well, with a layer of .050 aluminum in between (polished, but muddy). The rear layer of ply making up the front of the cowl, while the front layer made up the horseshoe shape that the hood rests on. Due to the geometry of the cowl I used a second "front" hood retainer to hold the hood to the cowl. The engine has been converted to 12 Volts with new generator guts inside the old 6V gen and a voltage regulator mounted to the firewall. I currently have a blockoff plate on the fuel pump boss because of strange fuel pressure issues I've been experiencing with the stock pump (probably because of the 2 94s) So I have a fuel pump mounted up under the back. (Yes it's hard lined with P clamps with rubber only where there is relative movement . . or a fuel filter . . . for the safety inclined) Patterns were roughed out for the cowl out of cardboard, then each half was trimmed and screwed into place to actually form it (the first time at least). Since I have no ability to roll edges, I took the rough edge and put some of the plastic "door edge molding" you find at <INSERT here store parts auto box big generic>. It stays in place, doesn't look all that cobby, and adds a nice "finished" edge to the metal. The tail as I think I've sais previously was a 1941 Ford hood that I picked up *cheap* at Hershey last fall. The hood was split down the center and overlapped to get the desired width. Another 3/4" ply "firewall" was added at the rear of the seats, at the height and the width that "looked right", with a curve to match the contour of the hood. The tail "hood" was attached to the rear firewall with screws and brass inserts in the plywood (the kind you find in boats), so the rear was removable if any issues came up, or if I needed to replace the battery. The gas filler actually has a slip joint made with an exaust pipe adaptor so it has no issues with being removed. The sides of the tail were made in a way similar to the cowl. Templates were made and they were formed by attaching them. The sides were attached to the top using screws and swaged inserts in the sides (again for easy removal of the tail top). The fuel tank is an old poly tank I picked up at a local swap meet (in hindsight it's got the fuel feed directly out the bottom which probably isn't the best, but I'm not all that concerned with that). The "overlap from sliding the hood sides over eachother can be seen still on the bottom portion, as only the top was trimmed to fit under the trim piece of aluminum added. A few things I didn't touch on: The windshield is 1/4" abrasion resistant polycarb (Lexan). Windshield wiper is stock A (and required for NY State safety inspection!) Steps on the sides are rumble seat steps mounted to cut down running board mounts in the stock locations. A bit of outdoor carpet behind the seats really dresses the interior up. It's strange how minimalist a stock Model A steering wheel looks with all the bakalite weathered off of it. It's fun as hell to drive.
looks good ive seen you and your dads cars up at the oak dale meet on thursdays...there both cool rides ..
SUPER NEAT! i just love everything on this, simple construction, nice finish work, original thinking. not a lot of dough!
I have two Speedsters for sale if you know anyone interested. I have a 1912 and a 1923. They are both listed at www.HaggleMe.com Thanks, Steve
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