Projects The Sachem Special; a little 'T and A' for the ROG

The Race of Gentlemen is only about 10 weeks away, and if I am going to have any hope of getting in, I had better build a car that might be considered for entry. It seems a bunch of guys locally have come across early T bodies, and I am one of the lucky ones. It's a shell that casts a shadow, kinda rough but not too rusty. I think I can make it something pretty neat. So I'm gonna keep track of my efforts here.

The list:



The day we brought it home:


I'm going to leave the back half for another project:

 

Time to start freshening things up a bit.
Just got this rearend yesterday from @CaliDreamin' and it's a little nicer than the one that was in the chassis, so it gets a little freshen up, and an adjustment of the drums and shoes. I'll swing it under the chassis in a day or two once I've gotten some more stuff done.



Swapping out the front brakes for some nicer ones too. And I'll continue the cosmetic freshening as I go. Some of you might remember this chassis as the start to last year's ROG effort. I scrapped that plan when @CrazyUncleHarry needed a rear end for his speedster, and I realized the roadster body I had needed more work than I could do in the time I had. So, this chassis got put on the back burner. But, it's a solid candidate for a pretty quick build, so we're at it again.



I'm starting on the inner structure for the body. All the wood is gone, so I am building essentially a cage out of steel. This piece will sit inside the cowl, and keep the two sides and the cowl top together at the front, and provide a mounting point for the aluminum firewall that I'll make a little further down the road.



Gonna get this squared up and ready for the inner structure, but I think it's going to have to mostly come apart to make that happen. It's fairly solid sheet metal. But it's nothing like that body that @Pete got.



Anyway, I have some neat stuff set aside for it, and some cool care packages coming from all over too. It's going to be a neat little racer when all is said and done. And hopefully I can get it done in time for consideration for the line up at the ROG. We'll see how it goes.

 

I am using a variety of things. Some L along the bottom side edges, with 1x1 square to make that loop inside the cowl, and to run along the bottom back edge, and probably as the front edge of the seat frame base. The space between the 1x square will be filled with wood floor boards, supported by the bottom of the L. I am considering using round tube on the top edge of the body, and around the door frame, as I think it'll be easier to bend than square. It is, in part, dictated by the availability of scrap ends. I gotta keep this one on the cheap.

 

also, @patmanta I'm not too concerned with copying the location and shape of the wood with metal. I am just concerned with making the body rigid and safe. I am mostly planning an inner cage. I haven't decided if I am going to try to keep a working door, or if I am just going to run tubing all along the top edge there too. I guess it depends on the time I have before TROG.

 

On IG, someone asked me what a Sachem was. So I thought I would provide a little background for those that don't know. Apparently, I have a tendency to give a name to my jalopies, as is evidenced by my previous effort, the Silver City Special:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/build-thread-introducing-the-silver-city-spl.723050/

I guess it just provides an identity to the car. Maybe a way for someone to connect to it, an easy way to refer to it. Instead of "hey, you know that car built by that guy..." one can say, "hey, you know the Silver City Special..." It can also help to build a rivalry... the Silver City Special is gaining on the Dust Bowl Special (@Bugsy )...

Anyway, when planning this car, I was inspired by the rebellious spirit of the Native Americans in my area. Metacomet, also known as King Philip, was chief (or, SACHEM) of the Wampanoag tribe in southern Massachusetts. He plied political brilliance, finding ways to get along with and cooperate with the colonists. Again and again, he gave concessions, gave up much of his tribes' armaments and land, each time hoping he and his tribe would finally be left in peace. But, after 13 years of negotiating, in 1675, Metacomet lost his patience. The colonists had taken away too many land use privileges, their expansion had decreased the number of natural food resources, and they showed every sign of continuing to try to push the Wampanoag out of southern New England. He allied with several other local tribes to push the colonists out, and the fighting was fierce.

One night, cornered in a swamp, he was betrayed by another Indian and was shot and killed. His body was dismembered, and his body parts, including his head, were staked up across the disputed territory as a sign that messing with the colonists would end in disaster. So fearsome was Metacomet that his head remained on a spike in Plymouth for 20 years after his death.

So, what does all this have to do with hot rodding? Well, Metacomet was a badass. And hot rods are badass.

 

Well, a structural cage without much care for originality, I think. And I have some .120 and some .078. I usually grab whatever the steel supply has in 3 or 4 ft drops.

 

hahaha!

 

Got the main leaf installed on the rear:



Front drums get a spit and polish:



Wheels and tires ready to go:



Shifter knob is a door knob from my grandmother's house. I heated and bent the shifter to make it
positioned a bit better:

 

@The37Kid bob, happy to pass it on. I'll send you a PM. When I bought it, I was told the body was a '19 but I'm not sure how you tell with as little as is left. I saw a 15 and a 16 at garage night tonight and they look the same as mine for the most part. So I dunno.

 

I took a break and had some General Gao's.



Then decided to tackle the rear spring install:



This part makes me nervous, c clamps on place. Time to take out the all thread.



But the rear is back in:



And now the front is out:



I didn't get pics, but I pulled the front spring. Found 3 broken leaves, and luckily they are 3 of the 4 I wanted to pull. The front will get freshened up with some smoothing to the remaining leaves, new brakes and backing plates from the stash, and some new u bolts. That update is coming soon.

 

Thanks Mikey! This one has been a lot of fun so far.

Great info, Bob! thanks.

I know what you mean. Sometimes it isn't in the cards. But, it's totally worth finding a way to make it happen somehow, someday.

 

cleaned up and painted the front end. i'll install new brakes and reinstall the spring soon. today i hope.



front cross member gets a freshen up. the frame horns are kind of a mess. i thought about lopping them off. i thought about straightening them out some. in the end, i decided to leave them as is, let them show off the scars of the years. it's a race car, after all...