Since you're going to street register it, do some research for the state of Maryland motor vehicle dept. Typically a 'new build/special interest' vehicle titled as a 2023 may have to include 'new car' type equipment. I'd guess most guys build a street tank on a foundation of an already titled Model T, A or other 1920's car, and it's recognized as a custom bodied Model A, etc.
Let’s see now, belly tank, check, flathead check, transmission, check, rear axle, check. Now as far as I can tell you’re going to need at least 3 deuces or fuel injection if you prefer, all the proper safety equipment, as for color just leave the patina on the thing and go drive it.
I would understand painting the tank if I made the tank myself... I couldn't bring myself to get rid of the patina and markings on... I'll probably touch up the bare metal spots from the fresh cuts I've made, but other than that, how you see the skin now is probably how it's going to look when i'm finished. It's too cool to cover up!
Thanks for this... Looks like I'll be going the street rod route... I might have to give the MVA a call and discuss my options since I'm sourcing all the parts separate from each other from multiple different vehicles... I don't really have a base vehicle that i'm working off of... Wondering if I can lean on the 1950 Flathead for registration process but not sure how that would work either... Can't register the tank if it isn't running and driving so just going to keep plugging away at the tank until it's finished and go from there. Montana might also be an option. I might register an LLC in Montana since you can pretty much register a tape dispenser there if you wanted to... Can designate it a company car for my "hot rod shop"
To get tags for an antique, all you need is a title and insurance. You don't need the car. It looks like street rod would be the same. Caught me off guard the first time. Went in with some papers and money and left with tags. (no inspection or # verifications) As long as you have a title for something that could have been built into your rod, I think you could get a street rod tag with a straight face. I have a couple with no titles. That's harder. I was told I could use a "Writ of Mandamus" to sue for a title. Attorneys wanted thousands to do it. Let us know how you make out with a constructed vehicle. One of mine would qualify for that. Mike
Not a good idea. Motor cycles are a whole different animal. You would be absolutely crazy to put something on the street like that. Sorry man two thumbs down from me!
A lot of people so far have suggested a hardtail isn't a good way to go... If I can find the space I might be able to try something like this, however it would be important to me that the axle and the rear suspension be located within the tank, not outside of it. I'd have to cut travel slots for the axle and leaf spring to travel up and down and flex. At the end of the day, yes I would like the Lakester to be street legal however it's not going to be a daily driver. It'll be driven once in awhile to car shows and a frisky weekend drive here and there. The roads around me are in pretty good condition and are pretty well upkept so I wouldn't be too worried about big bumps and potholes and loosing contact with the ground too much at all.
thanks for sharing... I was eyeballing the straight cutoff on the underside in the picture I just posted and was sure there was more to it
As far as titling/VIN, etc., I had a detective friend in Wisconsin do some digging into DMV code in his spare time many moons ago and the basic premise, legally, is that if you have a legit VIN tag and can get a title for it, then you have said vehicle. However, it is a federal offense to remove a VIN from its manufacturer's attachment and transfer to another vehicle. The sticky part is, nothing my buddy could find in the code could explain how much of said vehicle you have to have attached to said VIN. So, basically to my Smokey Yunick interpretation mind, you just would need the piece of metal the tag was attached to, and the tag with its rivets/screws intact. So a patch of sheet metal the size of your hand! (Kinda like the story about Grandpa's hammer). Now maybe a judge would call bullshit on it, but the law is vague. You can replace the entire vehicle, as long as that VIN is still attached to its original metal. Nothing says what portions (firewall/cowl/dash etc.) or percentage of original "car" you need present. Might want to get some of this straightened out before you invest thousands of hours/dollars on this "thing". BTW, I am not an attorney nor am I an attorney's spokesperson, just another gearhead trying to have fun with cars while staying out of jail! Wish you the best of luck.
"a frisky weekend drive here and there" Sorry to sound like grandad, but for that reason I'm glad you're looking at suspensions now. The problem with relying on aired down tires as your only suspension is that it is completely uncontrolled with no damping at all, way better to have air in your tires than under them. Having properly inflated tires and a well damped sprung rear end should make for a more relaxed ride and keep you a lot safer. Depending on how low your seat is your view of the road surface ahead to spot problems will be very limited.
Say......might you be able to hang that rear on a swing arm arrangement, and support the rest of the car on coil-overs, mounted inside the tank? Rubber or poly bushings in the swing arm pivot. Although, that would requre a drive shaft and u-joints. But......I did see where a guy put engine, trans, and rear axle on a swing arm type of arrangment under a 60's Dodge A100 pickup chassis, all inside the pickup box. That would eliminate the need for a drive shaft, but add complexity to the shift linkage. Just a brainstorm.....or fart.....Roger
Since you are familiar with bike suspensions I'm sure you know about hidden mono-shock suspensions, also used on many modern day bracket dragsters and ATVs. I won't post a sample pic here for fear of getting deleted but just look up "mono shock dragster suspension" on the Google Machine.
Am I not seeing things right, or does it have an automatic transmission??? And what? - an 8-Vee belt blower drive??
I picked up an F1 3 speed manual trans for the Lakester. And yes my '91 Honda Shadow had a singular hidden rear mono-shock that I removed for the hardtail conversion. I haven't really done much work with suspensions at all so I'd have to figure out how everything would work together. I'd have to build the frame up and over the driveline to incorporate the mono-shock and would make servicing difficult given the amount of space I have which is not much at all. Remember the tank itself is 21 5/8" inches at its widest point for inside diameter, so space is extremely limited especially as it tapers off at the rear end. I've got plenty of tank length at 14ft, but the lack of space width-wise is challenging. My desire for a clean profile on the exterior of the tank is one major reason for wanting it hard-tailed and would make it super simple to put everything together but I do understand it might not be feasible as a street driven vehicle. I could always try to do a shallow (any suspension is better than none) or medium travel rear transverse leaf spring that would be mounted forward of the axle. One thing I am also planning on incorporating is a removable tow bar out the back. I think it would be really neat to modify a motorcycle trailer to match the Lakester and be able to tow my motorcycle to shows behind it. If I tow the motorcycle, a suspension would be nice for stability. Hitting a bump at speed and having the rear end bouncing several inches in the air off the pavement while towing my bike doesn't sound like a fun time lol.... The tow bar will also double as a bar to push and pull the Lakester as needed. If I go that route, I'll have to build the frame above and behind the axle, so I'll also need to leave some room back there for those components. Lots of stuff to figure out.
If you want some rear suspension, and the trans coupled to the rear axle, you might think about a swing arm.
No offense intended here. I have no idea what experience you have in racing competition but your comment about not being "too worried about big bumps and potholes and loosing contact with the ground too much at all" worries me. Once your tires lose contact with the ground, you have no control over what happens next. You're just along for the ride.
No offense taken. I love that everyone is trying to get me to make a suspension setup. My back would LOVE me for it and I appreciate everyone's input. I am still trying to remember to keep it as period correct as I can... not sure if Lakesters back in the day incorporated swing arms setups but it would be pretty cool and different. I found this picture on the web browsing my options and this might be something I could try. Here are my options so far. Option 1: I'd have to take some time to figure this out due to lack of space and would have to limit travel so I don't accidentally destroy the bottom of my tank on a larger bump, but this swingarm assembly looks like something that could be relatively compact as long as the driveshaft would have enough travel. It would be just like the rear suspension setup on my motorcycle. Option 2: Transverse leaf spring mounted forward of the rear axle. Just the same, I'd just have to make sure the driveshaft is long enough to have the proper travel necessary to work with a moving axle just the same as the swing arm option. With around 12 feet of working length inside the tank, I should have plenty of room to make that work and have a decently sizable driveshaft if needed. An IRS setup isn't feasible for me so I've checked that off the list. Unless my brain is thinking of it wrong, assembling the whole drivetrain on a rotating pivot would be an engineering nightmare for me, so that's a no-go. Thinking on the extreme side of things and potential possibilities I would have to get crazy with a shifter linkage and make sure that also has the ability to pivot. I'd have to account for wires and wire slack to ensure I wouldn't encounter broken wires during driveline rolls.
Your Tank is so long you can most likely (think T Bucket) use a driveshaft. The first thing you need to work out is how much room YOU need and then see what's left, you may be surprised and may not need complicated engineering to get rear suspension for the road. Since the body on your Tank is only about 22'' wide you may need to be in a reclined position, this will take up more room for the driver. Front axle placement will need to be your start as this is where you sit behind and comfit will not be great but that's part of having a Belly Tank. JW
That would be better for the street. This is a Land speed car. Don Waite built a mid engine roadster with swing arm in the 50’s.
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