As mentioned in post 1 of this thread...I had a couple "dramatic" years and deleted just about everything in this thread. That was weird! I'm over it now...sorry to all who were watching. Wanted to fix this for a while now and currently have a good bit of free time on my hands so I'm going to add as much back in as I can. This'll certainly be a digest version of the build. I sold the car back in June of '16 and it went over to Japan. As it was listed for sale, purchased from Flip in Santa Cruz via eBay. And delivered to me in Garland, Tx by BenD Not much room in the garage so it stayed in my living room until I moved to Rowlett. I collected windshield posts and chopped them, and a very nice polished V860 front axle. Once moved the real work started. It was originally set up for a flathead but I picked up a '49 Olds 303 to use. Motor mounts modified from some available Hurst reproductions Wanted to use quarter elliptic springs up front so I cut some factory spring perches to weld into the V8-60 axle This was the first spring setup hacked together from a cut up speedway spring, I later changed to a Posies setup Everything mocked up again The frame originally had a suicide style perch but I wanted a T crossmember Made some hybrid front wishbones from Model A yokes and '42-'48 bones. I wanted a full frame around the windshield so I used parts from two originals Heavily modified a '30 firewall Used a cross steer '35+ box turned 90 degrees to point the pitman up Transmission crossmember Shock mounts with the headlight bar tying them together Front crossmember replaced here with large square tubing notched for radiator clearance. Recessed a couple gauges into the firewall Getting ready to move to Austin Tx at the end of '14, here she is all assembled and ready to go
Had a couple weeks inbetween jobs after moving and got a lot done on the car. Had the frame blasted, boxed it and cut out the cowl hoop Worked on a column drop and dashboard. Dash started a '38 Olds. F1 pedals installed an clutch linkage done Floor structure built Major upgrade with a Rodsville quick change Cut down a '50 (I think) Olds wheel Built some new structure around the door Here's the newer spring setup Added a flange around the firewall Wanted less of a kick up on the body so I did a piss-poor job of making new pieces with what I had at home. Also raised the deck 2" Had to re-angle the deck as well since it changed as it rotated up on the curve of the rear of the body. Began filler pieces underneath. Ended up making a new rear body panel, again not very well with what I had at home. The frame was pretty much done at this point so I cleaned it up and primed it. Had the front end chromed and painted the wheels. Before I moved to Austin I was doing engine machine work for a living and machined the block. Once in Austin I found a shop to machine the heads for me. Got it all put back together.
Realizing that the pictures on my computer aren't in any kind of order so I apologize that they are a little disorganized here. Built floors and a trans cover from a heavily modified '37 Zephyr piece and tied it all into the firewall. Built a seat from some round tubing and plywood Modified a speedway stainless tank Some inner door structure and latch mounting Built a battery mount Finished up the headers. These are in earlier pictures in various states, assembled from a Gear Drive driveshaft style kit Best option for a radiator was a cheap aluminum one but had to stretch the shell to cover it all up. And unfortunately the most practical option for a fan was an electric one. Made a mount and shroud for it that wasn't quite so ugly. Somewhere along the line I rebuild the '39 box Shaved the fins off of some no-name covers for a Gotha/Isky look Started some quick and dirty bodywork and got the car in primer, then painted the firewall to match the drivetrain Something else done along the line was modifying the belt line to continue uninterrupted all the way to the cowl. I cut the bottoms off of the windshield posts and welded studs to the back side so no hardware would be visible. By now I brought the car up to my workplace to get it finished for the Roundup, '15 The car mostly assembled. Deck primed...had to change steering wheels temporarily as the Olds wheel wouldn't let my knees fit in the car! Spent a couple days wiring the thing I believe this was taken just after the first drive around the parking lot The only thing missing was a windshield which I couldn't get cut in time. Made it to the show and had a good weekend overall. And finally back home in one piece
The Monday after, Tim from Hop Up came and took some great pictures of the car. Then I just enjoyed it for a while, fiddled with a few things and getting it all to work right. I had a major driveshaft issue which I worked out, changed the fuel pump, added a couple leaves to the rear spring, some other odds and ends. This was a Dick Spadaro u-build it setup...guess the 303 had a little too much torque. It was replaced with a shortened solid shaft. Drove out to Wimberly with the Mrs. for some lunch It didn't take long for me to want to improve on the car though. I had gained a lot of sheetmetal fab knowledge and wanted to apply that to the car. Apart it came for a bunch of upgrades. Big change #1 was a '40 dash. The wheels I had on the car were 4.5" rear and V8-60 3.5" fronts. I worked a trade for a set of chrome 4" wheels and kept my tires. I also wanted to try my hand at redoing the deck. I had seen a Ron Covell DVD on doing the same so I gave it a shot. Made hammer forms for the sides from MDF and plywood for the rest of the buck. I had access to a pullmax at the workplace and was able to punch the beads in the quarters. It was close in appearance as a stock deck but I didn't run a bead around the bottom or front edges and made the deck lid fit flush with model A style hinges and a '32 latch. Since I made the deck as symmetrical as possible, I found that the body tub itself was pretty far off from when I did the work the first time. Took a lot of cutting an filling to correct. I made new lower louvered filler pieces that fit much better as well. This sides belt line was never level to the driver's side as it should have been and the door was actually crooked in the body. I cut out and rebuilt most of this side of the car. I made a roll pan for the deck the same way as the deck itself and bolted it underneath. It has a notch just enough to access the quick change. Another change was putting a reproduction early Corvette steering column in. I wanted turn signals (though they were never wired) and to use the Oldsmobile wheel. I had to get another fuel tank to modify and relocate the filler to the center which I thought looked better.
The only other change was to Arrow 775 headlights from what I cant remember I used before. I had been without hubcaps on these wheels until this point because before chroming, they had been polished so much that the nubs would not hold onto a hubcap. I built the nubs up with weld to put my Merc caps back on. And that's it. I held onto this one longer than most cars I have done and really enjoyed building it. But after so long in a roadster I decided I wanted a coupe (which I got and promptly got rid of in favor of another roadster) and couldn't afford to both build and own another car. I don't regret selling it, but it is by far my favorite car that I have built and I do miss it.
Without a doubt one of my "top ten" model T's, caught myself wondering what happened to it/you the other day when I was dicking around on IG. If you don't mind me asking, how tall are you? How did you find it to drive?
Thanks! I’m 6’. I wish the car had a taller windshield on it and I was getting ready to make a new taller one before I sold it. And I struggled some with leg room, first using the repro ‘55 wheel with a big offset to clear my knees. Then later changed to a longer steering column with the flat Olds wheel. Forgot a picture but the gas pedal was up high over the side of the trans cover. It was a pretty comfortable spot though you wouldn’t think so.
Hmm, I was also wondering about it the other day. I always loved it, neat car. Do you know if it ever got paint?
It did. The car kinda went a different direction by the time it was finished but of course the only way to control that is to finish them myself for a change. The work done on the car though was very nice. Really, I don't think I'd mind it at all if they'd just put the windshield back on.
I looks good, but I sure would have likes to see it completed to your vision of the lighter blue metallic, with the gold engine. Where did your valve covers go?! Agreed, definitely needs the windshield
They’re floating around Japan somewhere. I’ve reached out multiple times to try and buy them and the Star emblem I put in the radiator shell back but never got a reply.
I don’t mind the longer exhaust, but the stock valve covers are definitely no improvement. Black is a good color on that car. Maybe a buckskin colored leather seat though.
Great to see you added the pics back to the thread, one of my favourite Ts. I agree it needs a windshield. A couple pics I saw on IG
Let’s see. Now we have this. But first we had this. Maybe I’m the only one but I’m just not really liking the Japan version of the car. I thought it was pretty much perfect the way you built it to begin with Eric.
The Jalopy Journal
