Hot Rods The product of my inspirations: My Tudor Sedan

My car is finally far enough along and in a presentable condition to share with you guys. But before I do, I want to give a tip-o-de-hat to those that have inspired me.

First and foremost, the Stewart Family Racing roadster. I grew up crawling all over this car as a kid and got my first chance to drive it at age 16. I've set (and still hold) records in it at Bonneville and have pretty much learned nearly everything I know about cars because of this one car. It's been in my dads possession for over 40 years and it has traceable history as a racecar to the late 50's. One thing that does make it (and my old man) somewhat semi famous was that it was the first unblown roadster to go over 200 mph at El Mirage. Pretty cool. It's an old old car and it's still around but mostly resting now. This is the car that made me fall in love with 28-29 Model A's.

In '68 at Riverside Half Mile drags:


On the way to Bonneville in the early 70's:



In it's prime:


Then, one day while I was home visiting my parents while I was still in the Army, I saw Junior's Mr. Yuck coupe on the cover of TRK. At the time I was really into late model VW's and Audi's but this car really grabbed me and got me interested in hot rods again. I seriously think I have nearly every picture of this car ever posted online. I also owe a big thanks to Clark who was instrumental in building this coupe as well as other great rides. I've incorporated a number of his ideas into my build.

Mr. Yuck:



The other Model A that really got me going was the Model A coupe built by Pinkees. Super low but built to be driven and of course on a (sectioned) '32 frame. Then there was the Pinkees sedan; another bitchin car that had alot of the coupe characteristics in it but with the finish detail of a truly beautiful car.

Pinkees cars:



Then of course there are the Rolling Bones. What really needs to be said about these guys and their cars? They're awesome! I really like the sedan they built for Dennis Varni.

Boners:


And some others...

Kylon32's roadster:


Nimrod's A roadster:


The Iacono roadster:


Stu's sedan was really a big inspiration to me. It was the "duct tape special" when it belonged to him:


And it now belongs to AllStarDerrick and looks even more bitchin':


This is really only a small sample of the cars and builds that have been inspiring me for the last couple of years. I'm limiting it to these few though otherwise I'd be here all night.

 

This is what my sedan looked like when I brought it home:



It was a roller when I got it but it was really only mocked up and was really more a collection of parts versus a car that was any where near completion. The body is super super clean with no rust or major dents or any kind of problems. I really lucked out when I found it.

The car sat for a while while I collected parts but one of the first things I did was build a frame table to work off of.



I started with a pair of Last Refuge '32 frame rails that are flattened and pinched for a '28-'29. I added in all the cross members and did a 15 degree pie cut in the rails to kick up the rear.

Here are a couple random progress pics:





It looked like this for a long time while I figured out a good way to mount the body:



And now it looks like this:

 

Of course I thought about running a bunch of different engines including a Model B, a Hemi, a SBC, a SBF, and even a Chevy II four banger. During my time playing with the late model VW's and Audi's I really got into turbos and EFI. I couldn't afford any of the motors I really wanted but I did find an acceptable substitute: the GM Ecotec. This one is a 2.0L out of a Saab. Why a Saab? Because it was turbocharged from the factory and already has a better head, better cams, a better crank, and better rods. And it was cheap. It's all aluminum so it's also very light.




Turbo:


This combo should make an easy 400 hp on E85. I develop stand alone engine management systems for a living so yeah, it's getting EFI. I'll do what I can do hide it of course. And yes, I am building the car to have a hood.

 

Any plans for a chop? I really dig it as it sits. Will be watching for more. Great build.

 

Very cool . Your frame looks killer.

 

Just last week I was looking for a thread on your Sedan. I'd seen quite a few mentions of it, but never an actual build thread.

Well, here it is! VERY nice work so far. I really like the cars you've drawn ideas and inspiration from and where you are headed. With the turbo 4-cyl, it should be a blast to drive! Looking forward to more progress....



Malcolm

 

Here's a peek inside:

The trans is from a Chevy Colorado. The motor was originally out of a front wheel drive car but with a different bellhousing on the trans they bolt right up using OEM GM parts.



Things I'll be working on next include getting the pedals mounted (under floor pedal assemblies from CNC) and starting on the cowl steering.

Out back we have a two-link with a panhard bar and air bags (yes, it has air bags - get over it) ala Clark. I built the panhard bar to tuck up into the Model A cross member. Can you see it?



I didn't want the back view of the car to be cluttered with suspension crap so I tucked everything up as high as I could and I put the bags ahead of the axle. So from behind at a normal level you see this:



But if you get down on your hands and knees you'll see that nothing hangs below the bottom of the frame rail. This is good for ground clearance on a low car but a pain in the ass because the engine, trans, driveshaft, and rear end are all up inside the car. It's a tight squeeze but I'm trying my best to make it all work.



And up front I did spring-behind-axle to get the front of the car nice and low.

 

And here the car sits with the bags aired out. There is actually a piece of 1"-by wood between the frame and axle so it might go a smidge lower but this is more or less what it'll look like at it's lowest point.



Wait, that actually might be ride height. LOL. Anyways, whatever, it's low and that's how I wanted it.

 

What an interesting build! I'll be following along on this one, and thanks for sharing it with us.

 

Yes, definitely planning on chopping it but it'll probably be the last thing I do. Plus I can't decide on the chop amount. It'll be at least 3" but no more than maybe 5". I still have a million other things to figure out before I even think about chopping it.

Thank you. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

Haha, yeah I'm always talking about it but was a little reluctant to show everyone what I've been up to. I figured now was as good a time as any. Your roadster is definitely on my list of inspiring builds. Actually, your car made me almost ditch my sedan and start looking for a roadster body! And yeah, the turbo banger will be a lot of fun. Thanks for the kind words Nick.

 

I do alot of my front suspensions the same way you did yours, and it works well. Wondering what type of steering you are going with?

 

Beef, 2x on the interesting build. I'm very interested in your power train, could you say more about where the motor, bellhousing and tranny were sourced? How you plan to wire it? Should I get to my next build, the 2.0 Ecotec turbo is by far my engine of choice. PS have a daily 09 HHR SS. Later, Gary

 

Very cool! I'm gonna stay tuned in on this one!

 

Very nice project. Thanks for sharing,stay off that Buell and keep wrenchin....

 

Very novel approach to mount the radiator on the front axle, never seen that before.
Be sure to post more pic of the mounting setup

 

very nice

 

I'm going with cowl steering but instead of having the pitman arm on the outside of the cowl I'm going to put it on the inside. The racecar (first pictured in my inspiration list) has center steering with the pitman arm inside the car so I've kind of always wanted to do it that way (minus the center steer part). Then I saw the Pinkees coupe and thats how they did it on that car so I knew it was doable.

This is what I'm thinking of doing:



Basically, I'm going to build a hoop that has a flange for the steering box to bolt to. The box I'm using is a 48-52 F1 pickup box. I modeled the hoop as actually being a hoop with bends in it but I think I'm going to just have the uprights be vertical and fishmouth the tops and then lay a horizontal bar right across the top of them. So it'll sorta be a hoop, just with no bend in it and some giant gussets to keep things from moving.

 

Hows the scrub line?

 

Nice rod.
What are your wheels from?

Lars

 

Hey. That trans looks familiar. Glad to see you're doing something really cool with it. Wayno

 

Hey clever stuff. I was reading on an OT forum about a guy with a huge Holset turbo on a Saab 9000. He said it made 520hp before it blew! 400hp should be no sweat.

 

Nathan - Good to see your build on here; glad you're making progress. Don't forget the cage - G/CBGALT? (G looks like an open record) vic

 

Hey Gary, looks like you're already enjoying the fun that a boosted Ecotec can provide. I have a couple of older hot rod buddies that also have the HHR SS and they were really blown away with how fast it really was.

The Ecotec engine was actually developed in a partnership between GM, Saab, and Opel. The most common motor is the L61 which is the 2.2L naturally aspirated variant. I originally started with this motor and had plans on upgrading the pistons, rods, heads, etc. but then I came across the LSJ motor which is the 2.0L supercharged version that comes in the Cobalt SS/Saturn Ion Redline. These supercharged versions are usually kinda pricy BUT the same exact engine minus the little blower comes in the Saab 9-3 cars which are turbocharged (engine code B207R). I've seen these motors on eBay for $900. The later model engines like your '09 are all direct injection. These are still good motors to use except that you'll need to completely ditch the stock injection and create you own non-direction injection setup.

I'm going to build my own wiring harness for this motor. Like I mentioned before, I do EFI development for a living so I'm always building harnesses and doing one-off ECU's for different stuff.

The bellhousing is from the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky (GM PN 89060089). You can order it brand new from gmperformanceparts.com. The trans is an Aisin AR5 and its the 5-speed manual trans that comes in the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon (replacement to the old S-10/Sonoma pickup). I lucked out when I found my trans on eBay... it only has 8000 miles on it and looks near new.

Charlie, that's just a temporary mock up. I'm making some bolt-on brackets that will float the radiator up over the axle and also serve as something to catch on the front axle should something in the front suspension break. So my suicide front end isn't really that suicidal.

 

Looks great nate. Makes me want to work on my Tudor some more but I have this silly lakester taking up my time AND mind!

 

I will definitely be checking back for updates on this very clean, cool, and well-thought out build. Carry on........

 

Dunno. Car's not done yet. If it's an issue I can change it.

I had them made by Jason @ Early Wheel Company. It was a bit of a debacle getting them but I'm very happy with how they turned out. They're 16x4.5 in front and 16x6 in back. The matte grey finish is my attempt at making these look like faux Halibrand magnesium smoothies. I can't afford real ones so I made fake ones and if you squint just right it kinda just maybe sorta (doesn't) look like I've got some mag smoothies. I like 'em though. Remind me a lot of what I see on Bonneville cars.

Yo Wayno! Yeah man, finally did something with it. Thanks again for hauling that thing for me. I still owe ya one!

Ha yeah I thought about running this thing but man it's a pain trying to make a street car a race car and a race car a street car. If I build a car for LSR (which I will after the sedan's finished) I'll probably build a rear engine mod roadster. I think there are some opportunities in the smaller engine classes - don't get any ideas though.

 

thumbs up on the motor and trans, neat combo.

also nice pictures of your families roadster as well, great looking car.

 

Beef,
I think my SS makes about 260hp now and with the GM chip that bumps to 280hp and 300+ ftlbs torque! I get 30mpg at 70, too, and the HHR weighs 3300lbs I think. More than enough motor in a small light car. I plan to keep my "Alfa Rod" motor bone stock, direct injection and all. I think it would be fun to lay it over like I think you are doing, but only if it will oil ok and I can still use the OEM injection. I'm worried about being able to get enough intercooler stuffed into it somehow, however.

Even the whole un-blown setup from a Sky or Solstice would be good in a light car, eh? Mallet (Ohio) had been selling takeout motors crated with warranty awhile back, but I'm not sure if they still are. They put V'8s in those little cars and kept the stock trannys as they were evidently strong enough.

Please put me on your list for an ECU and harness!!!! Seriously. And... I sure wish you lived in Tampa, I'd be over helping and picking your EFI brain all the time! Later, Gary

 

I laid my engine over slightly out of necessity. They are actually canted like that from the factory. In a FWD application the engines lean back a little and in order to have the shifter on the trans be vertical I had to lay the engine over on the exhaust side. What's interesting is though is that with the engine upright there is a funny angle in the oil pan and as soon as you lay the motor over that funny angle actually becomes horizontal... just like it was meant to be that way.

Yes, any of the naturally aspirated Ecotec motors would be more then enough to move a Model A or something of similar size down the road. As for intercooler, I'm using a water-to-air intercooler that will be mounted to the front of the engine and there will be a small heat exchanger mounted in front of the radiator.

Regarding the trans in the Solstice/Sky and the V8 conversions... that's actually the trans I used in my sedan. It's the same AR5 transmission in both the Colorado/Canyon and the Solstice/Sky. The only difference is the position of the shifter. The trucks (like mine) have the shifter in the shaft housing area and the cars have the shifter remote mounted off the back of the trans. Oh, and the truck tranny uses a standard slip yoke and the car trans uses a flange. So yes, this trans will be plenty stout.