How is the Chevy head conversion done? It appears there is an adapter plate to accommodate different head stud pattern, which looks like it would drop the compression ratio to about 3:1, unless special "pop-up" pistons were used. Are the bore spacings close enough? My understanding is that Oldsmobile heads were used on Chevies, to gain an extra port or two; I assume these needed adapters as well? Maybe also used on Fords? (Saw an Olds head at a swap meet a couple of years ago, for $3,500! Also, just missed a score at a swap meet for a good running Chevy four, taken off a saw mill, for $200!) I know a fellow with some old Chevy fours; maybe has separate heads. Don't know the port count. Can look into it or get you contact info if you wish.
@Desmodromic The Chevy head conversion is indeed done by an adapter plate. There have been several made over the many many years. I have one recent made one that was CNC machined from aluminum. There are many "details" that need to be done when doing the conversion. The Chevy head has no combustion chamber so there is no negligible compression loss. The adapter plate essentially becomes the combustion chamber. I was lucky enough to by my parts at fair prices, quite frankly the adapter cost me as much as the head, pushrods, rockers and other assorted parts. The biggest thing I hear from people who have completed the conversion, is it needs more carb. I rode in a '27 T with the conversion and it had a stock Chevy carb on it. He had to manually adjust the fuel enrichment using the choke as we reached higher speeds. But it had power like crazy and went up hills a normal T would either have to use Ruckstall low if equipped or downshift the T trans to low. I was impressed for sure and hope to someday have mine done. I keep missing out on good deals for extra heads. I would love to have at least one more besides the one I have. Sent from this confounded device using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
There was a guy 15 years or so ago that made an adaptor plate, can’t remember his name but the article on the Sweden T running that Chevy head mentions it and the newer version that he uses. The plate is also the combustion chamber as the Chevy head doesn’t have one. For years they were called the poor man’s Rajo. My grand pa bought a new 4 valve Rajo in ‘24 for his brand new T roadster. Said it ran like stink but his brand new stock ‘28 roadster would easily out run it. I wish I had any of his old stuff. Actually I have his tools, he was a mechanic in Hollywood at the White Garage in the ‘20s so that's pretty cool. Gabby ran an 3 port Olds on his Chevy touring. The Olds head is a direct bolt on to the chevy. The Chevy had 1 or 2 exhaust ports. The Olds 3.
What was the source for those cool knock-off wire wheels? Late Model Ts had wires (as an option, or standard?), but were 5 lug bolt-ons. I have some old MG TC wire wheels with adapters I could probably put to use, but I think they are 19". The wheels on this T look to be bigger, maybe 21"?
Several after market wires were made for the T back in the day. The name I've heard more than any is Buffalo. When Gabby had his Wires made, for his last T, they were built by a guy named Manuchi, something like that. He was building them new in the 90s. Don't know if he's still around. Gabby had him lace up a set of 19's but I think he'd build 21's too.
This one intrigues me. It's from the Chet Knox collection at AHRF which seems to be an amazing potpourri of vintage photos going back to the '20s but with very little context. Jim Miller describes this T as being at a road race in San Jose, presumably in 1933 based on the license plate on the Model A roadster. It has a Winfield downdraft carburetor, an OHV conversion, suicide perch and what looks to be 19-inch wire wheels. The stance and look are spot on, IMO. I'd probably want to run the passenger door, though, personally.
I bet that door kept popping open during the races, probably easier to just pull it. That’s a good looking car.
@flyin-t , The one kit ( possibly the one your trying to think of) was sold up to maybe 5-6 years ago was the Jern Thunderbolt kit, manufactured by Neal Jern, who has gone to the great speed shop in the sky. I have seen two different types of cast iron adapter plates. Jerns were aluminum. Mine is aluminum and designed by Gene French and manufactured by his friend ... Hanson is the last name, first name is escaping me. There have been many homemade adapter plates over the years also. It's not hard, but is alot of work. Milling machines would severely help to make one.....I don't own one myself. Eventually it became a "what is my time worth" and I just ponied up and bought one. Sent from this confounded device using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Both this car... ...and this one... ...were photographed at Hollywood High School in 1937. The "$25.00" car was shot behind the auditorium, I think.
This one, I actually wrote up almost 11 years ago now! If you go to that thread, which is all about the Multy Aldrich car, you'll see some other details including that there is more than one Gemsa head for a T running around and confirming the story about the engine blowing up from going 90 to 100 mph all the time.
I hate when these gow threads start up...now I’m jones’n for another T. Been searching the news letters for the T clubs on the West coast for 2 evenings. I keep going back to these modified in the mid ‘20s, I need a top at this stage though, a working chopped top would be cool. I really liked Gabby’s car when he’d run the fenders, it was like that when he let me drive it a few times.
I don’t know, $25 in ‘37 in the height of the depression was a lot of money, maybe not in Hollywood, but in the rest of the nation it was. My mom was born in ‘36, her dad died a week before she was born. My grandma had my uncle who was 3 and my mom and she was a school teacher in San Berdoo. She said she had to sell her car and it was a few years before she could buy another. If she had that roadster she would have been the coolest teacher around.
The top on this car folded, I just didn't use any of the photos. That radiator guard is worth observing too. You see them from time to time on early '30s gows, most notably on a particular Chevrolet that doesn't fit in this thread but I most post anyway.
Thanks for that link, gonna save some of those pics of the top up. That roadster with the chrome hood from a movie (we need to find which film that is) has a more decorative grill guard. I’m still on the fence about that look.
@Bigcheese327 OMG, I just lost my mind!!!! Sooo cool. THANK YOU for posting! Being mine is a cut off touring....Wow, just wow. So cool.
I’m officially out of pics of model t early hop up cars( gow jobs) I’m happy to have information on them from people in the know. I really hope some of these inspire people the way they did me! My project will be a 23-25 runabout on a t chassis. I will retain the stock wheel base using a dropped axle and reversed eye and rearched spring. So it will be 5 1/2 inches lower up front. I want a nice level stance so it will likely need 6 1/2 inches lowering in the rear. The method I will use will be the good old fashioned heavy angle iron and nuts and bolts. I will use modern quality bolts! But I figured that if the Aldrich roadster held up on the lakes with angle iron then I will be just fine! I will be using model a 21 inch wheels, which I don’t love but can’t afford and even if I could, I could not justify the expense of Buffalo or Paso or Dayton aftermarket wheels. I will be adding to this thread as my build thread. I will likely start posting when the body arrives but that may be a while. The thing I love about this period of hot rodding is that it honestly was such a short period between speedsters and what we know as hotrods. The variety of ideas and execution is fun and exhibits the American ideal of freedom even more that a duece roadster!
Extremely well put. Thank you for a great thread. Hoping it opens more to other enthusiast as I have tried to do with my build also. Sent from my thinks it's smarter than me smart phone The H.A.M.B. mobile app
@David Mazza asked me about this one: It's the Phil Weiand roadster, c. 1933. A bit of context provided by my colleague, Dan Strohl (who is also a HAMBster, though I'm blanking on his handle right now): The account I originally heard was that Weiand entered a curve at a high rate of speed and his passenger panicked and yanked the hand brake, causing the car to go out of control. Of course, the hand brake on a T is on the left side, well out of reach of the passenger under normal conditions, which casts some doubt on this version. I believe the Weiand T still exists, in somewhat modified form, as a gow. It no longer sports the cut-down bucket, however. Of course, Weiand went on to a successful career as a parts manufacturer. Dan's story tells the rest of that story quite well.
The Jalopy Journal
