@bct that is great news, and thanks for letting us know. Please keep us updated on when and how to order.
I assume they are pressed? Lovely job. I could do with some, but wrong side of the world. @LCGarage looks like you are moving forward nicely!
Just talked to the machine shop, 283 short block progress is slow, they're waiting for the crank to get back from regrinding and not bored yet. So then asked if they'd be ok keeping the block until spring, they said no problemo. At this point we are getting ready to head South for the winter, just sold another old bike ('71 El Montadero, more money for RPU project), continued working on the shop to make it work friendly and better organized. When we get home in April, have 3 big projects; the '29 RPU, Bultaco 175 Lobito and BSA A65F. One smaller project, the continued upgrade work on my wifes '55 Dodge Custom Royal. It's getting a new radiator and a 65 Belvedere rear end and master cylinder (2 circuit brake conversion). While I will be working on all of them, the RPU is going to start getting the bulk of my attention. Always very busy with projects and spending time in the shop. Thanks for following along, sorry about the winter pause. Might be a few posts as I attend swap meets and continue gathering parts for the RPU. Happy Holidays and Take care!
On the road South, spent the night in Alamo, Nevada, and now drinking coffee in the A.M. and thinking about the RPU. I asked for opinions before on suspension, not many responses. Planning on using the stock frame, replacing the front cross member (it's cracked), on that there are several choices from stock to "dropped". Since I have a 4" drop axle, should I use a stock replacement cross member? Thoughts? For front and rear trailing arms, initially was initially planning to go with the drilled Model A re-pops from Speedway in the front, but want to somewhat match that in the rear. Then I saw the 35 to 36 rear arms were strong, had plates available to bolt on to arm and then weld to axle housing, those looked like winners, then started pricing them on eBay and at 450 a pair seems pretty steep. or should I just step up and stop whining about the price? So now I'm thinking of some kind of aftermarket hairpins front and rear. Springs, Model; A transverse front (new) and transverse rear. I read about various A or T springs used in the rear, not sure what the differences are. I'm thinking a Vega style front cross steer? What seems like a series of simple choices isn't so simple. I'd like to avoid buying a couple of components, then finding out they don't go well together. Not to over-complicate this post, but on brakes will use the S10 rear discs out back, and some small front discs on front with a master cylinder for manual 4 wheel discs. Your thoughts and opinions are welcomed!
How far south are you heading? We headed south for the winter and I sure miss my RPU project and shop. Lots of time to plan though.
We're headed to Parker, AZ by the 18th. Sitting at Lake Mead right now. Being away from the shop is tough, but my bride encourages all my stupidity (and there's a lot of that), so taking her South for the winter is only fair, and we do enjoy all the hot rods in Havasu, and the swap meets and races at Havasu 95 Speedway.
Lc, If you haven't already checked out @pecker head rpu project build thread, you should. I think it is a great template for a practical, functional model a framed rpu. I think it would be helpful in some of the questions you have with your chassis decisions. He seems to drive that thing all over the place and it looks cool. I also have an A rpu in the works only using a 32 frame, but @pecker head rpu is an inspiration for a good driver hotrod. Food for thought over the winter. By the way, I really dig your 283 build. Nice score in the cam!
Thanks for sharing that High test 63. That is some great inspiration for my 29 RPU build. Mine will be 283 powered as well. Can't wait to get cracking on it.
@pecker head RPU build is full of excellent information, thanks for sharing! I'm about 4 pages in and have learned a lot already.
And I learned most everything I did from studying the HAMB. Thanks for the cool comments. I’m in the middle of a T5 swap at the moment.
Great project and bikes! I like the Black Widow theme. I have a set of the Fenton’s on the 283 in my ‘34 Chevy. <<<<<<<<<<<<
When I saw the speed holes in the backing plates, I knew we were brothers from another mother, I love drilling holes in my old vintage race bike parts, and plan to do the same with the RPU! From my old SL350 twin, just a sample;
Fentons! I think the first iteration of the RPU may not have all the desired goodies, but just get it to driver status, then as time and funds allow, add some cool things like Fentons or similar. Could you please post a pic or two of your project? Thanks!
Sounds like a good plan! Here are a couple pics. The Chevy has been on the road since 2011. It’s not finished and not sure if it will ever be, ha! There is a link in my signature line if you care to see more.
Quest for parts update; found a new unused pair of the Speedway drilled split wishbones, they are about 250 miles from here, but the price is right. The guy says he has a fair amount of random Model A parts, so next week we'll make the drive and see what he has. Getting the RPU up on its wheels is a priority next summer, along with hopefully mounting and firing the engine.
More parts updates; like many of you, I'm on a budget and saving 20 bucks or even a 100 here or there matters. Yesterday I ordered a pair of the re-pop SBC ram horn exhaust manifolds from Speedway from their Garage Sale. These manifolds are new, just missing gaskets and hardware. Almost half price. As Sexy as the Black Widow Fentons would be, they are pretty spendy and present fit issues with the steering. So ram horns it is, at least for now. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Smoo...t-Manifolds-Small-Block-Chevy-Raw,531885.html My front axle was also a Garage Sale piece, bought by someone else and then not used. Got it cheap. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/shop/garage-sale~16384-3
Parts update: the exhaust manifolds arrived mid-week and Thursday we drove to Lake Elsinore to buy the split and drilled speedway bones, and to see what else the seller might have. We did score a few good pieces, some to use and a couple to sell or put on the shelf; The speedway bones will definitely be used, as well as the Vega steering box and ram horn manifolds. A couple pieces looked usable on the RPU or maybe other projects and were pretty cheap, so grabbed them. The 5" lamp on the right is a KD860, in decent shape and kind of cool. Looks like it could of been used as a headlamp on a Cushman or something like that. The Mallory distributor is a YL 577 HP, should fit Chrysler 383/440 and was like new, so grabbed that. Last but not least was this Ford Twolite Headlamp, in pretty nice shape and came with an extra lens; Another piece where the price was right, but now the question is can I find another one to match in decent shape and at a reasonable price? Also do I want to run the big 9" lights? From what I can see, the 9" lights look best on a fender-less car and mounted low. Your thoughts?
It's just my opinion, but I like small lights on a fender less hot rod. I figure if I took the fenders off to make it lighter and faster, I would put smaller, lighter, HAMB era headlights on it as well. I saw a pic the other day that the guy put early HD sportster 5 3/4" headlights on his highboy. It had the rubber mounted lamps in the bucket. I thought it looked pretty racey.
I'm leaning to smaller not bigger as well. It was hard to pass up such a nice light for a very reasonable price, but I can always just sell it. I like the old headlamps that are kind of art deco with a turn signal or running light built on top. Part of the Black Widow theme for me is to incorporate some race car features beyond speed holes, such as a small roll bar at the front of the pickup bed. I do have small headlights on my doodlebug, but they are too small, so have to find the right balance.
You should check out the hemi powered land speed car "fast freight". Is is in an A frame. Has a roll bar. One of my favorite hot rods. Do a search here for more pics and history. i want to use some of the styling cues in my new rpu build.
@High test 63 Thanks for tip on looking for Fast Freight! Here is a link to pictures and stories about this awesome RPU; https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/fast-freight.1068882/
Merry Christmas to all you gear heads! My dad's first car, I just realized it's some kind of home made RPU!
Hey guys, just a heads up on windshield post repair pieces, @bct just let me know he's beginning to make another batch. I've been hoping he'd make and sell another batch, as mine are totally gone and sure, I could cobble some thing up, but his are so much better than what I'd make! Here's a link to when he started building them 5 years ago, disregard the pricing as I'm sure that will have gone up; https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...oadster-cowl-post-tops.1104764/#post-13001171
Headlights, continued. I traded the single big chrome "Twolite" for a pair of no-name lights. I realize these are kind of cheapies, but figured I could convert to a seal beam and make them work and I'm only into them 50 bucks plus some postage on the trade. I also figured if they wouldn't work out on the RPU, they could be an upgrade on my doodlebug AA, which has those dinky lights. Anyway, please share your thoughts on these; Before you unleash a volley of slings and arrows, bear in mind this is a budget build. LOL
The Jalopy Journal
