So moving forward. Finished up the centre cross member legs, lots of quality time with hole saws. Shortened the rear of the frame 6 1/2", and had to remove the ugly from its previous life. Welded the rear cross member at an angle to set pinion angle that I established during mock up. Installed the centre crossmember. Next up is rear and centre transmission mounts. Cheers, Stewart.
Well, I started to design the rear transmission mount and hit a snag. I originally set the frame at the rake I wanted. I then set the intake horizontal. I wanted to mount the engine higher, but the fan blade would hit the upper hose, and there was no way I'm running an electric fan. So the engine was as high as could get it leaving 1/2" between the fan blade and the hose. With the longer length of the engine and the length of the trans tailhousing, this left the bottom of the trans and the output shaft well below the frame rails. I didn't like it aesthetically, but it was where it had to be. The snag though is the driveshaft will only be about 14" long. The output shaft was quite a bit lower than the pinion. Normally this wouldn't be an issue as long as the crank and pinion centerlines are parallel. But with such a short driveshaft, it put the working angles way out. So a rethink. In the end I decided to raise the transmission at the rear. This means the intake isn't horizontal. To overcome this I will need to get the carb risers milled at the correct angle making them horizontal again. A knock on from this is that the rear crossmember is also at the wrong angle for the new pinion angle, GRRRRRR! So it was a case of rethinking the engine mounts. As I had already designed and made them, I noticed the weight of the engine on the frame splayed out the bottom of the frame. So a makeover was in order. I was able to save the mounts on the block, I just had to redesign the frame mounts. I made a crossmember that went under the pan and is welded to each frame rail. It looks similar to the old Hurst SBC cradle. It of course got lightened, as I made far to heavy looking ;<). With that made, then moved on the rear trans mount. I cut the rear crossmember off, cut the ends of the frame to the revised pinion angle, and welded it back on. With everything only tack welded, it was time to remove the engine and trans, front and rear axles. This allowed me to seam weld everything. With that done, I could put everything back in the frame without blocks and straps holding things in place. A bit of a setback, and I hate having to do things over, but I'm back on track again. YAY. Next up are the front and rear radius rod mounts. Cheers, Stewart.
Stewart, How did I miss this thread? Are those “my” axles under the car? It’s looking great! Can’t wait to see it in the flesh. Chuck
Sure are! I'm using the shorter ones as the bottom ones, and I'll modify one of the long ones for a 3rd top one. Cheers, Stewart.
I made the front radius rod mounts by cutting up the remains of the A front crossmember. I posted a thread about them, some thought I was wasting a perfectly good crossmember, oh well. They're done now and tacked to the frame. I used early style tie rod bungs made my Cory Taulbert, can't say enough about them, they are excellent! I hade made the trans mounts before I had noticed the problems with the engine mounts. After I had remade the engine mount in the form of a cradle, it was upsetting my aesthetic sensitivities that the engine and trans mount didn't match! So today I decided to remake the trans mount. Both pieces are made and lightened, the flange needs bending to shape and welding together. I feel much better now !! Cheers, Stewart.
Made progress this week. Fabbed the trans mount. This also became the rear radius rod mount. This means its down on its own wheels/tyres. No blocks, axle stands or jacks holding everything in place. It looks pretty much the same as my original mock up, as was my intention. The only difference is that the wheelbase is shorter by 3" down to 98". I'm really pleased how it came out. Mocked up how the panel will look in front of the grille. The grille I have is a '27 but looks too low. I think I'll raise it 1 1/2". These pictures of Snuffy Wichell influenced the stance of my car. Cheers, Stewart
Pushed it outside to get a look from different angles. I like it! Comparison of styles/era with my coupe. Makes the wheels on the coupe look so tiny! Cheers, Stewart.
As the Limey Kid, MG Midget/AH Sprite shocks should be mandatory! Car pix shows the friction shocks that finally gave up the ghost
S'funny I used them on my last roadster. I like them. They are cheap to buy, cheap to rebuild, and light. I know versions of them were on '40s MGs just not sure if they fit in with the style I'm going for. Trying to make it look like it was built in the '40s as a street gow job that raced at the lakes. I'm torn. Cheers, Stewart.
I think it was related to the caliber of the creator...some like Kurtis had design skills on top of the world and there was money flowing around on these creations and some were purpose built but more finessed.
Looks good I'm improving a previously made one as well. Went with quarter ellipticals up front and adding quarter ellipticals in the rear. Its been a long road fixing a lot of the owners previous mistakes. Mine has a slant six in it so I'm glad to see someone else using a six too! Keep up the good work!
Ha!! so you said your crossmember is from a 46 pickup. Thanks for to info, I transplanted one in my single seat project after I had found it laying in a junk pile. I didn't know what it was other than I thought it was a Ford pickup. I sectioned mine to be the same width at the ends to match the T rails I'm using. Sort of funny someone had post a picture of my brown T modified one page one.
Rusty, I've liked your modified since I first saw in R+C. At the time I was a partner in business selling Model A modifieds as a kit. So my passion about modifieds goes way back! Cheers, Stewart.
Small world man! Love your work, top notch! I think of myself as a detail kind of guy (being a finish carpenter)and I really dig the stuff you have done.
The Jalopy Journal
