Hot Rods whats going on with the front frame on this car???

is it a stock frame pinched and bobbed??? or some thing else???

 

I think you nailed it. Not a traditional look, but it's still pretty neat.

 

There’s a few trad cars pinched and bobbed
The Doane Spencer roadster was

 

I don't think it is pinched as it appears to be a 32 body on a 32 frame. It looks like they just removed the front frame horns. The front reminds me of the Speedway Motors Lo- Boy. A buddy of mine had one, not a bad car.

 

thanks for the answer... It's an imitation steel body with stock hindges and a cowl vent... rolled the rear and bobbed the tank off...probley buy the model a tank kit and make the rear look stock.. pretty sure it would take alot of fab work to put frame horns on the front and a spreader bar.... anyone know who made the body???

 

wouldn't you have to pinch the rails in front to get them behind the rad grille???

 

The bobbed frame ain’t hurting it
Those tires and wheels are.

 

it does have a cross leaf buggy type spring in the rear,,, so thats a plus to me

 

fronts are 14'' wires.....at least you won't see yourself going down the road...

I need an automatic car..., just trying to add up all the stuff I'd have to change...seats have to go first....can't even start to amagine what they were thinking.... for sure not the planet i'm from...

i spent all day to day working on my 29 to get the seats back 3/4'' and down 1 1/4''....


they put this seat in about 6-8'' forward.... must have something to do with the gas tank in the trunk...

 

Actually the bobbed frame is very traditional. At least on the wheels 20 lug nuts is all it'd take to correct them

 

the way I did my 34- 25 years ago is more the look I like....

 

If you're thinking of buying this car, I would pass. You already have a long list of things you don't like, and things to change. I personally like the front of the frame, and yes it appears to be pinched, and I like the rear roll pan. I agree with the seat change, and the tire and wheel change is easy. All the other stuff you don't like can get very involved, and expensive. Pass on it.

 

I wonder what a normal sized person would look like sitting in there? The screen height and steering column position provides clues I believe.

Chris

 

either the guy was real small... or they pushed the seat way forward to fit the fuel tank in the trunk... anyway, for me the seat would have to come out... no telling what they made the seat out of.... maybe used wood like a boat??? the guy that has it is a flipper and knows nothing about it... so it's a long way to go to hope it's fixable... worst case would be to pull the body off and make it a real car.... who knows..

 

the good thing is anyone can do the work once you get a scope of what to do.... I think it has good bones from the pics...I've pretty much in the last 50 yrs had to change tires and wheels on every thing I get.. just finished my enclose trailer... took the 3500 lb drop axels out and replaced them with 6000 lb straight axels ,so had to go with 6 lug wheels...but upped the carrying capacity from 7000 to 12000.. and we just got a new rv... had to put bigger tires and aluminum wheels... so the tire part is an always deal.. as far as the fuel tank, it's an easy fix to go back to stock.... and thats if I even wanna after getting the right stance and wheels on it ...same with the front... maybe spend the money for the finned buick drums, drilled axel and such...... i'm looking at it as a sack of bones.... could be something some day....?????

 

The moved tank shouldn’t affect the seat. It doesn’t have to anyway.
I liked the bobbed rear better than the stock tank.
Especially with some type of old school push bar

 

the tank is between the seat and the trunk... maybe be when built the tank was moved forward, and the seat back per the customer, or owner builder preference... still would like to know the manufacture of the body and chassis... seems the are a lot out there offering complete package's for the assemble yourself guy

 

pics???

 

We need to move the car over to the photo shop thread for a change to more traditional wheels and tires.

 

You want to know the body manufacturer? You said it was an imitation steel body. Do you mean repro steel, or are you being cute by implying fiberglass?

Only steel repro bodies I know of are Brookville and the other one. I see two rivets in the wheelwell where the gutter brace attaches inside, and I’m sure the “other” body had their own modern style of bracing. So it must be Brookville.

I note a little wobble in the lower rear rocker, and the rear tail panel is all welded in. Those look like things that might have happened to an original body, but find it unlikely on a Brookville.

Weren’t you a hot rod shop owner? Don’t you know about the manufacturers out there?

 

Pinching the front of the frame down to the width of the grille shell was popular in the '80's. It really accentuates the pointy-nose racecar look.
Li'l John Buttera did it to his white A roadster.
Both John Corno's and Dennis Varni's AMBR winning A roadsters were too.
(you can google them- their wheels and front springs aren't HAMB appropriate)
I think maybe @Malcolm 's roadster is too.
Here are some examples:

 

I quit building roadsters about 30 years ago, we used tci and Wescott.... I didn't wanna get the GOB's panties in a bunch using the F word.. so I said imatation....and sub'd kit for package..

and thanks for the cute comment...

 

we did it in the 80's when people wanted the IFS...

 

Not sure about the interior but appears to be well made to accommodate the owner & could possibly be repositioned to suit, wheels/tires need resized, fronts need offset inboard & headlights moved forward, track bar type bumpers might be a thought. Do your own thing by keeping what you like & change as you go without breaking the bank.

 

I like the pinched and modified frame rails as well as the bobbed rear. And dont think the wheels are too bad, just the front tires. haha

 

Three vintage examples of bobbed frame rails. And those are just what I had handy. Guys seem to forget that custom modifications tended to holdover into other eras. Just because guys were doing it in the 70s and 80s doesn't mean it was a 70s or 80s style. Guys were chopping tops in the 70s and 80s too

 

If you can buy it right to justify the changes that you contemplate, fine. If not, let someone else worry about it.

 

what would be a good buy it right price??

 

WTF........

 

Looks like the spring mount on the crossmember failed, or maybe there was no hole for the center bolt to nest in. Makes one wonder about the rest of the construction details
But hey, on the bright side that right brake hose stopped the axle from going any further.