Anyone have experience in cutting down a four door t sedan and putting a turtle deck on it to make a roadster? Do most things on the body line up? I’ve got a chance to get a four door sedan but don’t really want a four door. Might be a lot cheaper to cut the sedan down than buying a roadster. I should mention I’m a union boilermaker and have welding and fab experience so the work won’t be a problem.
I built a very nice T coupe out of a clapped out '29 tudor a while back. It turned out beautiful but I can't find any pics of it right now. Definitely doable. Proportion is everything!
Depending on the year a little; T 4 drs are constructed quite differently than Tudors, coupes, etc, wood sub-rails, wood framed body & doors, etc. Might be better off starting with a T cowl, which seem both pretty available and cheap, and turtle deck, which aren't, and fab the stuff between.
It’s a 26. Not sure how much wood is in the body. I haven’t been to look at it yet. I was really interested in it because it’s only a few hours from me and is titled in this state.
Titles are always an advantage. How about a conversion to a cool little tub with a tonneau cover over the back.
Dont cut up a four door if you dont want a four door . Find a roadster I know there out there(I know of two of them in my area). Im not a four door fan but built right they can be Kool. Just my two cents.
A '26 T sedan cowl is a lot different looking than a roadster cowl, the sedan cowl has a big step in it where the door hinges mount where as the roadster cowl is flat on both sides.
Open T body s are cheap enough. When I was helping my buddy gather 27 parts it wasn't hard. I bought a turtle deck complete and we bought a few doors. He already had a terrible front half. The stuff doesn't jump out at you in the classifieds but if you hunt for it a lot of folks have stuff stashed away. The direct route might be the best route in this case.
T roadsters really arent that pricey and are realitively easy to find. Find the real thing and build that. Or do like Justabeater did and fab up your own body....which is what youd be doing with that 4door anyway.
The cowl on a 4 door is shorter than a Tudor also. Best to use roadster parts. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Shameless plug (but also reality check), I have a '27 touring body with an awful lot of parts that go with it that would save MANY hours of labor in the classifieds. Your time has to be worth something. Lots of tourings get made into roadsters and roadster pick-ups. Approximately 10 hours north of you. Proper Pa. title in my name comes with it.
I’ve never been a fan of cutting up perfectly good cars. If anyone is interested in it I can pass it along. It looks really solid in the pictures and the engine isn’t siezed up.
I’m with everyone else here who says that you should start with an open car cowl and go from there. A 4 door closed car isn’t a good starting point and as the other guys said they are way different and won’t convert easily or well to an open car. As far as welding and fab experience goes, that’s a plus point for you. Being a union boilermaker however is about 50 points against you