Figuring this out has unleashed our chassis building project. Body is made out of 1/2"-1" square tubing and 18 to 22 gauge steel or aluminum sheet metal. Resembles a Model T roadster or '32 Ford pickup body.More like the pickup. Have turtledeck and package carrier plans to make to. Point is.The body is dealt with.No muss.No fuss! We will mock it up with 1/2" square tubing and poster board to work out the dimensions. Now that we have a Budget body plan our chassis project is full speed ahead!
No.Sorry. Just thought of it last night. This is how far we've gotten. Firewall shape has quarter round top corners. Sides are straight up and down when viewed from the top. Two quarter rounds at two back corners when viewed top. 22 gauge steel 4x8 sheet is $28 1/2" square tubing is @$10 per 20 foot stick. 1" of same is @$15 a stick. Looking at 50's 'Special build's' we were thinking 'They look a little dumb' in some ways. Finally figured out just to let go it.Was stalled coming up with body that was reasonable AND looked cool.We're throwing out looking cool. Anybody that really knows hot rodding will appreciate it. It is a continuation of the way hot rodding should be. No big strain on the pocketbook.
I give you A+ for effort and creativity. I have a friend who built a roadster then made a steel removable roof out of 3/4 square tubing and then bent sheet stock in 3 areas that really looked like the fabric roadster tops but in metal.
'Make sure it has a bunch of curves' Will do our best. 'A+ for effort and creativity' Oh.Go on! About the firewall. It is tempting to use a sheet of aluminum.That would go against the budget thing though. So.Same 22 gauge sheet with maybe two horizontal cross braces midway down from the top bow. We will come up with dimensions by using two buckets seats on the floor and a yardstick. Work out leg room and shoulder room.Plus height of sides.Space behind seats. About the cowl.About 12-16" long.(measuring from top center of firewall along the top) The firewall is one hoop.Then a matching 'cap hoop' sitting on top longitudinals for back of cowl. Better make them duplicate curves so sheet metal just rolls over top with no problems. A cross brace in cockpit under cowl rear hoop make the instrument panel and steering column support. Overall goal is to have budget body. Good coat of enamel paint on it.Leaning towards white, yellow or red.
Here are some Paint sketches. Cowl.Front view. Body.Side view. Body.Top view.Cowl is on left.Quarter radiuses are at rear corners.
I like the get down and dirty hot rod builds. Reading the how's and why's makes me smarter , I hope .
It can be done. But like has already been said, please don't bend up a square body. You can check out the build I did on the thread Pounding out a T roadster.
Thank you for all the responses. This is something that can be built in the garage. Looking at making the radius's out of pine to leave out tube bending. The sheet metal can be screwed onto the wood. Looks like plates to join to steel square tubing will work. Posting a picture of a 50's home built chassis. That is the spirit of the thing. To build it and not over analyze how cool it looks.
Think you need to rethink the 90 degree corners. Bodies usually are wider in the back and taper toward the cowl. Of course, this makes for a much more difficult project. Do what you want since there are no rules in hot rodding.
u Will think about putting taper in the body from the top view. That would make everything more difficult though. One thing we are looking at is this. Closing in the top a a little. 4-6" band around the the sides and back. Make it feel like your are sitting in it. Maybe raising the back a little bit. Gradual rise from cowl crossmember along the sides and around the back. Just ideas. This is down as how we will do with the body though. Keep building a car affordable and doable for the garage builder.
Just don’t make it look like this. I think something like what you’re suggesting has been done, probably not for less than $100 though. https://www.tbucketworld.net/
'like what you’re suggesting has been done' Well.The first one you are showing is too square and the second one is a Model T body. The square one gets points for building something different and good building.Looks like quality work. The T has very good chassis building skills.Like real good. Really our body will probably end up wider than the quick sketches. Probably a tad lower also.Will be putting bucket seats right on the floor. It's a 'Road Racing Tub'. Our cowl has no taper although it is rolltop looking.
I've heard that Jeep CJ hoods can make a good rear surround. Planning on checking that out to go with my Model A cowl when I get "roundtoit on one of my sumday projects". Ed
The first one is a poorly done abortion. But look again at the second one, it’s not a model T body. Take a look at the link I posted.
The Jalopy Journal
