I've been working on the "Exquisite" 27 Coupe build but have recently come to a spot where I need to get some vital...expensive parts. I thought I would put it on the back burner until and build my 23 traditional T bucket. The body is a fiberglass body which I got when I helped a friend going through the big "D" move. He gave me the body as payment almost 12 years ago. It has been gaurding a tree in my back yard since that time and has been a huge conversation piece. I figured it was time to give it respect and put it on the road. I am not sure what I'm going to use as the rear yet...a turtle deck or a 20" pickup bed. I'll cross that bridge in a couple months when I get to it. I am not a big fan of "glass" bodies so if I come across the same style body in metal don't be surprised if the glass gets retired back to the garden and metal lives on. The frame is going to be a not so traditional tube frame built from 2x3x 3/16th tubing. I say its not so traditional since I plan on kicking the frame out just behind the fire wall similar to a model A frame. The rear kickup will go straight of the widened rails giving it a few more inches in width in the rear. The cross members I'm going to make out of retangle tubing. I have dreamed up an idea to make it clean and simple. I just hope it works. I have not come across any built like this yet so I'm excited to see how it turns out. The front end is a Speedway tube with a six inch drop. It is currently a spring behind design but I am thinking about changing it to a spring over design to give me a few more inches of clearance in the front. I think I have also located a pair of 56 Ford backing plates, hubs, and drums for the front. The rear end is going to be a Ford nine inch with a spring behind design. I am planning on running a 283 sbc with a 350 turbo transmission. My goal is to build a short wheel base, safe, fun, and different (but the same) little car. I hope this is a short build but I will see how it goes since I will only be able to build a few days a week. I will also document my build here on the Hamb both for motivation and for guidance in case I get myself in a bad spot. Thanks for reading along and if you are curious or interested please follow along. If you have suggestions, comments, or questions feel free to speak up and I'll try and explain how my crazy mind works.
Step one in the build is to get a good foundation for the rest to hang on. I started with a section of 2x3x3/16th tube and a chalk drawing on the floor of the shop. I cut the pieces I need using some rough measurements that I drew up. I want the car to look short since I am not a big fan of those stretched out buckets. I prefer the shorter cars where the engine sits as close to the radiator as possible and the front end sits below the rad.
After getting my pieces I then tacked the frame togethor to see how it looked. I noticed off pretty quick that it was off about 1/4 inch from being square so I built a welding table to get it squared up.
Getting it put on the table helped a ton. I cut the front out so a 2"x4"X3/16th rectangle tube would fit. The rear was notched so a 2"x6"x3/16th retangle tube would fit. I got it squared up on the table and put the cross members in using a c clamp to hold them in to see how it looks
I liked the look so far so I cut it apart to clean up the parts and get them a little squared up. After a day of grinding and cutting I started on the front cross member which I have dreamed up. What I did was took the retangle tube and cut one side off. I have a front spring perch from Speedway which I'm going to cut and weld inside the cross member to give the spring a little clearance for movement. On the top of the retangle tube just above the spring perch I'm going to cut out a hole just a little smaller than the perch and then weld it all togethor. It should recess the u bolts enough to let the radiator sit right above the cross member and should make the front end look flat and clean.
I got my six inch drop front end bolted roughly togethor and then set the front part of the frame on it to see how it was going to work this far. It is being held with clamps so its off just a little from being square.
Just because I couldn't help myself and to see if the model A grill shell would fit I clamped it on as well
The rest of the frame pieces were then cleaned up and made to match the other. Lots of grinding took place to make this happen!!!
Thanks guys....hey Chad that metal body just might work on this. LOL I hope to have it jigged up then finished welded by the end of the week. Want to have the cross members finished so I can get the front hung to see if it turns out like I hope.
Another two day cram session in the shop!!! First I got my front axle perch from Speedway and cut the crap out of it to get it to fit my needs. After cutting the sides off I got my 2"x4" cross member and traced the pattern onto the top of it. I then came in 1/2" from the sides of the templet and drew a box. I drilled the four corners of the box then cut along the lines making a hole in the cross member. Next I came in from the underside of the cross member and squared up the spring perch. After getting it centered I then welded it in place.
After getting the front cross member in decent shape I welded the front subs of the frame onto them and installed the front end to see how it all fits. I also say front subs because I originally was going to have the frame kick out from the front subs....plans do change...stay tuned.
The back cross member was done the same way as the front except I used the rear spring perch from Speedway. Let me draw your attention to the awesome rust....I mean "patina" which gives the frame an aged look!!!
After playing with the rear half of the frame for several hours I was not able to get it as square as I liked and decided I should just run the rails straight. This must be the reason that buckets have used the same style frame for all these years. This will also help me get the rear end hung better so in the long run it worked out and since I had already tacked all my original parts togethor I decided to cut new ones using 2"x3"x3/16th" tubing. I was able to get the frame all welded, squared, ground smooth and sat the body on to see how it was coming along. Which also brings up a point. This body was my first paint job I ever did nearly seven years ago. The body is going to loose the flames when it gets painted for good.
I am very interested to watch your frame come to fruition! Some very interesting ideas there, keep it up, and thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the positive comments! I should inform everyone that I am in no way, shape, or form a professional builder. I welded my first bead in 20 years about a month ago when I built my welding table. I have also never built a car from scrap. I have hung parts on running cars and the typical so this is all new to me. I do not have anyone in person to help me build this so I'm going at it solo teaching and learning as I go. I have gotten most of my ideas for this build by reading other build projects here on the H.A.M.B. I have been really motivated an inspired by the 26 T build which "Blue One" is building here on the H.A.M.B. and I also borrowed his idea for the welding table I built. Because of my virgin ability this frame might get a few more gussets on it just to be on the safe side. I am also going to farm out a few pieces to a professional for safety reasons....ie: welding the new brackets for the front end to move it from a leaf behind to a leaf above front end since my wife and kids will be sharing in the fun of the car.
Can someone school me on the "banjo" rearend. I have what I think is a 28/29 rearend. I see where the big hype is on the later banjo rearends. What is the difference in the rearends? Would the 28/29 rearend work behind a 300hp small block Chevy if it was converted to an open drive system and are there kits where I could install a later style brake drum brake to it? Thanks. I searched the forum for my questions without my luck.
Maybe I'm seeing thing's. But is that front crossmember tilted a little forward ? It might just look that way in the picture's. I know it should be either leval or tipped back just a little. If I'm just seeing it wrong I apoligize. Gregg
Its a bad picture from the angle. The cross member is square 90. The front leaf spring is also square 90 and the front axle is laid back about seven degrees on the axle ends where the kingpins go. I am not sure this will work properly but we should find out after trial and error. Thanks for checking though Gregg....I need all the help and knowledge I can get. lol
I was able to make it to the shop for a few hours today and was able to get the front boxed in like I wanted. I have not finished it up just yet but got the spot welds ground down and looking halfway decent. After getting this done I think there was probably an easier way to do it but the end result is looking alright. What I did is used a bunch of scrap two inch wide retangle tubing. I cut off the sides and used the pieces to give the frame rail a little better flow. I plan on cleaning up the welds more during finale prep prior to paint.
Today I was able to get the frame rails done enough that I can start hanging some parts. I finished boxing in the rear crossmember and then cleaned up all the welds a little. Some still need some fill in a few places and it still needs a little finishing up but I figure i would wait until I get closer to paint since I have alot more welding to get stuff hung.
I've been away from the build for a couple of weeks until this morning. I was able to go down and fix a couple of things which I was not crazy about. Since I had the frame where I wanted it, I decided to cut the center section out of it and shorten it about another three inches. I was lucky enough that it came apart and went back togethor almost perfect. Remind you there was already a cut in these rails which was already going to get boxed and secured. I also cut the back of the body and slid it back farther onto the kickup. I was able to keep the frame from cutting into the interior very much but to also cover the kickup to give it a shorter looking stance. I am planning on the rear tires sitting beside the body. The front suspension is out at the welding shop getting the new brackets welded on. As I said earlier I was worried about the six inch drop front end. I figured by making it a leaf above style it would raise the front end up a few inches and would give it a "snub" nose front end look which I am going for.
In case anyone is wondering where I'm going with this or what my inspiration is for this build, the pictures below are the car which I have loved since I was a kid and am making a similar style to. I figured I would take this idea and make a more modern version while keeping the traditional style and influence.
The Jalopy Journal
