thought you guys might like to see my '17 model T speedter I am building.

Hey guy's here are some pictures of my work in progress. This is my Model T speedster I've been working on for the last three years. It has a 60 horse flat-head 4 banger with the stock 2 speed tranny coupled to a 3 speed Warford overdrive coupled to a 2-speed Ruxstell rear axle with a 2.77:1 ring and pinion. We have also adapted a set of 4-wheel disc brakes to the Houck knock off wheels from a 1983 Nissan pickup and Mercury Mountaineer calipers for the front and Chevy Lumina for the rear. We are hoping to get it to roll highway speeds and top out at 95 mph. The car uses all vintage speed equipment from the pre-1930s. Except for safety equipment I.E. brakes, steering, and roll bar.




Hopefully this is what it will look like when done with a lightweight aluminum body, weighing no more than 100 lbs.




I've been learning a lot. Just wish I had more time to work on it other than just Saturdays.



sorry for boring you guys, but I thight you might appreciate it.

Chris and Melissa Becker

 

Cool...reminds me of the Indy cars of the teens. I dig it.

 

Your not boring me, I love this stuff. Looks like your doing a good job, keep us posted.--TV

 

very nice, wecome from another portlander.

 

Great project! Now that's roots roddin!

 

Awesome, any more info about the Banger.........

 

Yes - I'd like to know more about a 60-horse T engine!

 

keep up the good work. good thought about the brakes.

 

Cool! & very different!...which is even better! Good Luck!

 

Nice, looks like a good start ...Have fun and Welcome !

 

Awesome! We need a tech article on how you did the brakes - like yesterday! With pics, if you got 'em, but I'll take what I can get.

Thanks for sharing!

-Dave

 

Not only the brakes - but the whole front end setup. What wishbone and axle arrangement have you to cope with front wheel brakes? I've seen T wishbones tied in knots by a sharp turn...

 

What is a 3 speed overdrive? Looks like an A tranny tacked onto the T tranny. How does that work? And a 60HP T engine? I need some details, I'm freakin' out.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the Warfords actually underdrives? I know they were a popular accessory for farm trucks because they gave the T trucks a lot more pulling power and that the speedster guys liked to combine them with a higher ring-and-pinion to gain some top end without losing their acceleration.

It's possible I'm remembering that wrong, as I'm new to T's in the last couple months and I'm still gleaning stuff from the T boards.

-Dave

 

That is a great looking project. Welcome to the HAMB.

 

very cool, nice wheels

 

Now that's a refreshing change of pace. Very clever use of components. Be sure to keep us updated as progress continues.

Frank

 

I think you can rebuild some of the "underdrives" backwards; nothing like being overtaken by a TT truck doing 45mph or so...

 

Speedsters are sooo last century.

I have seen your car over on the NWVS site. guess there will be 2 '17 T speedsters on here now! (though yours looks alot better than mine)

 

cool! are parts hard to find for a project like that?

 

Looks like your chin deep into a very cool project! Thanks for posting and keep us updated please!

Looking at the pics...I'm wondering if your front suspension will bind due to the angle of the additional radius arms compared to the wishbone?
What purpose do they serve anyway?

BTW...is that wishbone even from a T? Looks thicker in the pics somehow than I remember T stuff...

 

cant wait to see it done.......

keep the progress pics coming.......

 

very kewl keep me posted ....

 

Very nice!!!!!!!!!! Keep us posted.

 

hey guys,

I have too much info. to give a quick response here at this time, but I am printing your questions off and I'll write a detailed tech article on my front end and brakes, as well as the engine. It might take me a couple of days but it will give me some thing to do while I unloading my 53' tanker truck at work.

Thanks for the interest.

Chris becker

 

Welcome to the HAMB Chris! Nice project, something tells me there is a Livingston V radiator on order. Never seen an A wishbone on a T axle, look forward to the front brake detailed report. Good luck with the project. Bob

 

Well boys her are some answers to some of the questions you have about my speedster. I have to update my brake info and the engine tech sheet, so this will have to suffice til Sunday or Monday.

Thanks, Chris Becker

What wishbones are you using and why two?

The split wishbone is the standard “T” wishbone cut in half with ¾” 4140 alloy rod welded to the cutoff end with threads for hiem joints. My guess is that the large unsplit wishbone came off of a late ‘30’s Ford car. I found it hanging from the ceiling of our shop and I had to do some minor adjustments to make it work. One major modification I did to the wishbone was to extend the ball mount 6” with a 1” diameter rod and custom-built turnbuckle. I did this so that we could adjust camber on the front axle also stretch the wishbone to fit under the extra 12” we added to the chassis with the suicide front end.

The reason I chose to have two wishbones on the front was to control the stresses on the front axle with the disc brakes; the original was too flimsy to handle such a load and would collapse. I do not believe that it will bind up under a load because I had a front-end specialist help with the geometry and building the front assembly (it could bind up under extreme distress i.e. hitting a ditch). Before any binding could happen the oil pan would get knocked out. The ground clearance between the bottom of the oil pan and the ground is about six inches.











How did you lower the front and rear?

The front and rear suspension lowering brackets are copies of vintage ones that were found on speedsters built in the early 1920’s.

The rear-lowering bracket is 5” and uses a 1 ½ “ thick 4140 steel plate cutout (similar to an s-shape) (the bracket should be done with a large plasma or laser cutting machine). The lower part is bolted through the original rivet holes where the rear cross member would reside. The rear cross member is then relocated to the top of the bracket by running bolts through the brace holes after the brace has been removed. The rear cross member is also the rear spring mounting location. I have also boxed the entire frame and added simple tack welds to keep everything in place.

The front bracket is sort of like the rear except it drops the front 7” and stretches the wheelbase 12”. It is made from a piece of 4140 alloy steel 1” thick by 10 ½” wide by 18” long. After the piece has been cut it needs to be bent with two 24-½ degree bends equaling 45-degree angle. The lower bend marries to the front cross member and the top bend carries the spring pack. We used c-channel that was cut and rewelded to contour the frame that is the welded to a plate on top of the spring mount to strengthen the front end (originally they were 16” by ½” diameter rods that braced the front end, too flimsy).

For all our suspension lowering brackets we tried to use 4140 alloy steel, which is a recommended type of steel that the auto and truck manufacturers use for suspension in components on today’ s modern vehicles. 4140 alloy steel can handle the stresses of the suspension that would normally break most steels. I was able to procure pieces from out tool steel supplier (Pacific Machinery & Tool Steel, Portland, OR) from their remnants bin from little or no cost even with cutting it to size. For the front bracket a large press brake should be used to bend the 24 ½ degree bends as heating the bends would make them brittle.

 

This is just too cool! A real hopup!
I hope you'll keep us posted on progress.
The diagrams and pictures are excellent!

Josh

 

I really really dig the old ford fronty's.