Projects Scratch building a 26 Model T Pickup, everything starts with a buck !

Hey Guys.
I finally picked up the equipment on Friday, so I can really get this project into overdrive now. I spent the whole weekend setting it all up as well as setting up a space to use it. That included building a whole new workbench. The space was going to be in a purpose built workshop under the house, but I decided against that idea due to the excessive time and effort that would have been expended setting it all up. I will eventually use that space but it will be for fitting the body to the chassis, the extra space saved by having the workshop in the house will make that task easier. Having the workshop inside the house, allows me to work on the panels day or night without having to worry about the weather or an external power source. As well as creating the new work space, I also put together a 12 ton shop press " that will do the internal frame and louvers for the hood" English wheel, Shrinker/stretcher and electric bead roller. I also a purchased a number of extra dies and a guide for it when I went down to pick up the tools on Friday. As for my old Eastwood bead roller, I am pretty sure a 1mm sleeve insert will allow me to use all those dies in the new bead roller, which is a good thing considering how much I spent on them.

 

Looks cozy in you shed.

 

Here is the pattern for the cowl top as it stands. Its a reversible design to allow a perfectly asymmetrical shape, measured from the halfway point along the cowl vent opening. The idea is that it will also act as a stencil that can be flipped over to the other side when tracing out the shape onto the sheet metal for cutting There will also a be a steel die to shape the cowl vent opening, that will comprise of four sheets of 1mm sheet metal attached to a timber base, similar to the bucks that will be used to shape the A Pillars
The cowl buck will be a two part design with one millimetre step at the top of the lower section and the bottom edge of the upper section to allow the two sections to join together like a Model a version. The folded sections in the join will be much squarer than those of the Model A, so therefore much less visible, that will be helped by the fact that the windscreen posts will bridge the two joins as well and they will also be part of the structure that bolts the two parts together.

 

I was careful to capture all the information in this section including the areas that will need to be stretched along the lower edges once the flange has been created, those are the vertical lines marked in with a black texta. I have been using this section for a reference for the cowl vent area as well as the swage that sits behind it that sits above the dashboard.

 

The next task will be to collect the scrap sheet metal that I have already paid for to begin the shaping process. The scrap consists of roof skins from a pair of Ford Falcons. Once removed and collected from the donor vehicles, I can use the cardboard patterns I have made up to trace around the sheet metal that will comprise of the cowl sections and cut them out. Then those sections will be put under the English wheel and shrinker stretcher and checked against the buck. I am hoping that by the weekend, I can finally have something resembling a cowl under way.

 

It looks like a neat one for sure. Further down the track I am wondering if I can grab some measurements off that tub section in your pickup when I have finished the cowl and doors, as its impossible to find any in this part of the world. That's if its no bother of course !

 

The rear of the tub from the doors back on my car is totally fabbed by me and in no way resembles a stock body.
It's 4" longer than stock for leg room and the rear panel and lip have a different curved profile.

 

Hey Guys.
Work on Roadster is finally underway again after some much needed downtime between jobs allowed me to finally visit my local scrap guy to collect my sheet metal. After cutting out the section, I spied what looked like a BB Ford truck wheel. I have a soft spot for AA and BB Ford trucks and I already have a pair of these rims at home so I figured a third one would not hurt. When I went over I spied something else as well, one half of a hood from a twenties tourer along with a rear door and rear fender. I was able to fit it all in the car and bring it home.

 

All in all it was a good find. The hood half can be used as a template. I also checked the rear fender against my Model A quarter panel out of curiosity. It turns out the radius is almost indenticle to the Model A wheel well. As I have posted previously the wheel wells on the T will have the same radius as the Model A so this fender can certainly be used as a master to duplicate should I decide to fabricate the rear fenders.

 

With the sheet metal layed out, I used the cardboard patterns as a stencil for the outines that were sprayed around them. It was a good feeling to finally be able to cut the sides out. After they were done I did the same thing for the cowl top. To get an asymmetrical reverse side, I taped the pattern directly to the centre of the piece of sheet metal to allow it to flip over to the other side.

 

I am focussing solely on the cowl top at the moment as I expect it to be the hardest part of the whole project. I deliberately cut it oversize to allow for error. Working out the taper at the sides has proven a real challenge so another pattern was made up, this time out of masking tape, this one sits flat over the panel, giving me an accurate outline of the panel with out the trouble of having to gather the cardboard where it bunches up. I will add another section to the rear of it that will replicate the area that sits above the dashboard and the houses the windscreen posts. This section will also be reversible and removable to allow for the subtle swage that runs along the length of it and tapers off above the posts.

 

The next task will be to make up inserts for the Eastwood roller dies and anvils so they will be able to work on my new bead roller. In particular the step dies, as I will need to use them to make the flange on the leading edge of the cowl where the hood sits.

 

Hey Guys.

This is just a quick update. I spent the best part of Saturday making up the sleeves for the dies. It was a frustrating job but much to my surprise they actually work. I was able to finally roll the flange at the front of the cowl panel using the Eastwood step dies. I was originally going to use the guide to do most of this only to find it would not reach the shorter beads. Undeterred I decided to use the masking tape to outline the area I wanted to roll. In the back of mind I kept telling my self that I could not do this free hand as my experience with bead rolling up until this point was almost zero. One thing I overlooked was that even when the pedal was not in use, the bead roller stilled turned, very slowly but turned never the less. I used this to my advantage, the fact that I did not have to worry about the foot pedal, combined with the super slow speed meant that the rolling was surprisingly easy. I still have a little work to do on the sleeves but once I have, they will work with the other dies which will mean that I can use various tipping dies to flange up the bottoms of the panel with a crisp clean fold rather than trying to hammer it down. Yesterday was spent practicing on making up a pair of unrelated "dummy" roadster doors from some of the off cuts from some other sheet metal I had. I used this as an exercise to see just how well the shrinker/stretcher worked as well as the bead roller with a guide. I was able to roll two virtually straight beads in to the practice doors as well as give them a little crown with the shrinker/stretcher. With that done, I am a lot more confident in finishing the cowl panel and sides and when they are complete, getting a start on the doors.

 

Loving this thread! You have a great "can-do" attitude!

 

Hey Guys.
I found some time this afternoon to do some more shaping on the cowl top. The first thing I did was run the fold through the bead roller using the tipping dies. Once I turned the edge, I stretched the fold to give the bottom edge of the cowl a reverse curve. While the reverse curve is not as pronounced as one found on a 28/29 Model A cowl, its nevertheless still difficult enough that I could not continue the reverse curve further up the side. I ran the piece through the English wheel numerous times top and bottom only to fail each time. In frustration I took to the side with a hammer more out of anger than anything else. I then realized that wheeling alone will not reproduce the complex cowl shape needed, but hammering will.

 

I came up with the idea of creating a special buck. Not a contour buck, but a forming buck. I retrieved the reversible masking tape based pattern I made up and added two extra strips to it. This pattern was used to shape the firewall swage at the front of the cowl, so it will be the ideal pattern for the forming buck. I will be using 25mm thick plywood for the stations in the buck. As it will be a forming buck, it will need to be able withstand some very strong blows, especially around the area where the reverse curve is the most pronounced. The two extra strips equate to two extra stations around the same area. Once finished I am hoping the buck will hold up to the task. If it starts to look weak I will add metal strips at the top of each station to maintain the shape and also reinforce between the stations with more pieces of ply until there is no flex or give what so ever. The buck will basically be a die. That will be the next task.

 

Looking forward to your next update!

 

Wow! You're really moving along now. Like anything new, there's a lot more thinking involved than meets the eye. Looking forward to more.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Hey Guys.
Another update. I spent the best part of the week getting ready for the local Swap Meet today. While I did not sell any thing, I did score some good parts. One was a full set of 28/29 glass fenders and the other was an original 28/29 running board. While I have never been a fan of fibreglass panels, these are good quality and the price was more than right. As have posted previously, the roadster will fully fendered and rolling on a Model A chassis. So the fenders will be Model A as well. I won't actually be using these fenders for the final build. I still want steel ones, but these fenders will actually be used as a jig to build the body up in. The plan is to build the turtledeck around the rear fenders. The rear fenders and the running board can also be used as patterns for steel ones that I plan to fabricate. The other thing I plan to fabricate will be the valance panels which will be made easier due to the face that I also have front fenders. Once that is done the only original panels I will need to source will be the front fenders. I am a long way off getting my chassis sorted out and having looked at it last month, I am having doubts that it will be up to the task. I just had news on Friday from my local rod builder that our state government has outlawed the use of reproduction bodies and reproduction chassis in the construction of street rods. The result is that in order for a street rod to be legally registered in my state, it has to possess an original body, original chassis and an original engine block that has an engine number. This basically means that this project will never see the road in my home state. As much as I would love to move to a street rod friendly state, I don't have the money to do so. In spite of this draconian legislation, I would still like to continue with this build for my own satisfaction as much as anything else. With all the fenders sourced, the next task will be to return to shaping the cowl and once that is complete, setting up the body jig.

 

I assume by Batlow you are in NSW. I don't know if what you have been told is entirely correct, but if it is, it really sucks.

 

If this baby has to be a Midnite Special it will have provided a bunch of "hands on how to's" for the do it yourself guys here in Hambonia... thank you !

 

Make the body so close to the original that they cant tell it is homemade. Dont tell them

 

I am already entertaining the idea of using an original A frame to appease them but if the situation with the body is too difficult then this will either end up as a trailer queen or a garage queen. Either way its too late to pass it off as an original.

 

Hey Guys.
I finally found some time to do some more work on the cowl. The biggest obstacle with shaping it has been creating the reverse curve. I got onto Youtube to get some ideas and found a tutorial on how to do reverse curve panels from a guy called Lazze. Anyone not familiar with what he does should check out some of his videos, because there is not much he is not able to do. Having watched the video through several times I am pretty confident that I can shape up the panel without having to resort to more extreme measures. Before I can do that I need to finish the buck. The masking tape based template that I made up is being used as a guide to where the stations will go in the buck. These have been numbered for the individual stations to stop them from being mixed up.

 

The actual buck itself will have a 17mm plywood base and the stations will be slotted in slightly over sized. The stations will also be numbered to avoid any confusion. Each station will also be angled to correspond with the contour of the buck with the outer stations angled out to 45 degrees and the central ones closer to 90 degrees. There will also be an allowance for a cowl vent as can be seen in the design of the tape based template. The stations will follow the same shape as this template. By having a cowl vent opening, I will also have a convenient place to clamp the panel into place when I start the shaping process along the edges.

 

The image above is of the template sitting over the original cowl. When I found this cowl, it was sitting upside down so all the upper area had rotted away. By placing the template over this cowl, I have a much more accurate idea of how to shape the buck. The buck itself is shown below. I will most likely add extra walling to the front and the back before I begin adding the stations to make it more rigid. Once I have done that I will begin shaping the stations. To do this I will place the template over the second cowl and use a contour gauge to trace an outline along the numbered strips that run between the firewall and the beltline that sits above the dash rail. I can then transfer that outline directly onto ply that I can then cut and slot into the buck.

 

I am just starting a very similar project. Looking forward to seeing what you do.

 

Any updates to this project?

Happy New Years!

 

Yes, I would love to know if you have more updates

Sent from my cell phone when I shoulda been working, using the H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Hey Guys.

Sorry to say it's on the back burner at the moment. That's not to say I won't recommence it in the future. The biggest obsticle with this build has been sourcing decent original Model T parts to take patterns from. Believe it or not these 26/27 roadster/roadster pickup bodies are as rare as hens teeth in Australia and very expensive. The other barrier to shaping the cowl has been creating the reverse curve. I think I have found the solution but unfortunately it involves buying more metal shaping equipment to create it. If and when I can afford the equipment I will be happy to kick it back off.

Until then, thanks for all the support.