This is the blacksmiths shop. Apart from his modern truck everything could be 100 years ago. And there was my 32 heavy axle - as straight as a die.
Wow, that's nice! The car as well as the pictures from the blacksmith's place. That "modern truck" is a Hanomag Henschel from the 70s, so about 40 years old.
Thank you for all the photos, it's always good to see your projects. That chassis paint work reminds me of a 1919 Locomoblile I helped restore back in the 1970's, only the outside of the rails were painted, the inside was left in primer. Every running chassis was road tested, after it passed its testing it got bodied and fenders were added, then painted. Bob
Actually I quite like doing it that way. This is the second time I've built a rod where the chassis is painted black inside and only the outside of the rails is painted in body color.
Today I finished the front axle and the spindles and brakes. The front brakes are repro Lincoln Bendix drums. One of the top bolts has been replaced by a threaded boss which will be used to mount cycle fenders. Because this means there's a big nut on the inside I had to modify the grease baffles to provide clearance. There's plenty of space inside those big Lincoln brakes though. When dropping 37-41 spindle steering arms a lot the problem is that they get in effect a lot shorter bringing the tie rod too close to the axle and also short steering arms aren't a good idea. This gave me some sleepless nights until I came up with the idea of using a right hand spindle from a LHD car and the left hand one from a RHD car. This gave me longer steering arms on both sides. Luckily both Speedway and So-cal stock special tie rod ends which have an extra hole in them to mount the steering tie rod too. The steering rack is a Uni-Steer which was just about all I had space for.
When using Lincoln bendix brakes on Ford spindles you have to modify the top of the spindles like this.
The brake hose mounts in the tab like this. I don't use the standard 1940 Ford front hoses which come in the brake cylinder sets because I find they're too short for early cars with narrow frames up front. But the truck front hoses 01T-2078 are a bit longer and work a treat.
Last up for the day was the electric fuel pump which is a compact unit from K&N. Now the Buick Nailhead has a mechanical pump but I was concerned we might get fuel starvation when running the 1/8th mile so this electric pump can be turned when required. I'll run two fuel lines all the way to the carb for a full dual system. The added advantage is it also functions as a fuel reserve system. The pickup attached to the electric pump is an inch longer than the regular pickup tube so if you run out of gas you can just switch on the electric pump and you've got another couple of gallons reserve.
Hey Ed love the build so far, what color is that on the frame? Sorry if you said already and I missed it.
Thanks for the extra pic of the brake hose tabs with the line installed, just what I was looking for.
Just some dark grey color. We found a dark grey industrial work clothes locker which we liked the color of and found a close match. I was aiming for something teutonic - something like Wehrmacht grey. It has a strong hint of steel blue in it.
What a great build , and what a person can learn in a unusual place . My grandmother was from Russia and used the term Babushka , l never new what it meant until now , she always used it as a term of endearment . I can understand why you use the term for your "T" Keep up the good work on the little Babushka
Really nice build - with a lot of imagination and workmanship/fabrication to boot. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished product - outstanding!
great design and craftsmanship, thanks for documenting build. It's motivated me to get back at it......
And yet it's incredibly light. That massive center X goes all the way from the front to the back yet you could pick it up with one hand!
While everyone was asleep on the sofa over the Christmas period I wasn't ;-) So here's the update. Here I started off with a reproduction Vintique grill shell and filled it myself. This gave me the chance to create my own unique shape up top. The shell was sectioned to match the chopped insert. The shell is still much deeper than the radiator so I blanked off the section covering the front crossmember and made this opening for the transmission cooler. Remember we're running a two speed aluminium powerglide. Here's the cooler fitted.... .... and from the front barely visable. Hand built radiator built in Germany with brass tanks and a copper core. And here we are trial fitted. The acorn nuts on the insert are for mounting the front license plate.
These are the wheels. I used Firestone tires, 8.20 15" rears and 5.25 - 5.50 17" fronts. Tires are balanced with 10 ounces of Dyna-beads in each tube. Front wheels are Ford 1933-34 17" spoked bought here on the Hamb and they're beautiful. My painter took loads of time to get them perfect. They're painted silver. Rears are 1950's Packard Caribbean 15" chromed spoked wheels in original chrome. They have a 5 on 5 bolt pattern. Front drums are reproduction Lincoln painted with heat proof silver paint and baked in an oven for an hour. I'll be fitting 1933 Ford V8 hupcaps all round.
The rolling chassis is basically complete. Just waiting for the powerglide to come back from Mc Driveline in Schweinfurt. All lines are laid and the chassis wiring loom installed. I've tried to keep must of the weight below the axle line to improve the handling. The battery and master cylinder will be accessed by lifting the seat base.
First roll out picture... Just shows you what you can do with a 1940-48 Ford/Mercury frame! It comes down at the front a bit when the engine and transmission go in.