Turkeyjerk's Tailgate Torpedo Trad T

Well, I did get down there a few weeks ago and make some progress, but unfortunately I forgot my digital camera. With Matt still living in the stone age and all, we didn't get any pics yet. But the floor is in, the body panels are hung on the steel skeleton, the seat pan is in, and the dash is nearly done too. Maybe someday Matt can get off his lazy ass and take some old style film pics of this bad mofo! Gotta finish the trans tunnel, make a column mount, and hang the door and it's body/paint time!! Shiny black, Woohoo! It WILL be on the road this spring.

 

Awright, mini-update time!! I finally convinced my darling wife to let me use her camera even though I recently drove off with mine on the roof of my truck. After much cajoling, she eventully gave in. WOw, so much time has passed and a lot of work has been completed, but it just doesn't look like it, haha!

Using the top piece of a f-1 column drop, and the bottom mast clamp, we located the column mast and clamped it in place. We sat in the car and figured out the most "comfortable" position for the wheel and welded the brackets on. Matt's using a 50's MG banjo wheel so we still have to find a steering shaft to donate the correct splined end to fit the wheel. I happen to think this steering wheel is about the coolest thing I've ever laid eyes on. He picked it up dirt cheap on ebay cause it was listed "old steering wheel" or something stupid like that.


Matt had the idea to use the bottom part of the discarded seat riser for a dash. It has some attractive beadlines in it and we agreed it would look cool with a bit of work. Plus we're all for recycling old tin however we can. We rolled the bottom edge with a hammer and dolly, added a little piece to each side and trimmed away a notch for the column mast. It will get a set of early 50's mopar pickup gauges. They look clean and simple



We also got the gennie shifter installed and adjusted. Needs a new handle as he picked it up used and the PO heated and bent it, but it seems to do the trick.

 

Matt bought a piece of stainless steel to use for a firewall, so we made a cardboard template and cut it out. I'm trying to convince him to engine turn it instead of polishing it, but either way will look killer.

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A little trimmin here, a little trimmin there...


All fit and ready... We punched a hole for the steering shaft, still needs a little workout with a rat tail file to give it a little wiggle room...

 

Really coning along, keep it up, looks good.

 

Man, you guys are putting that bad boy together in a hurry. Looks good from here. Keep up the good work. (And, of course, taking a break every now and then to update us on the progress!)

 

And of course your gratuitous outside mockup shots...


Big thanks to my buddy JRblack30 for hooking Matt up with this beautiful T gas tank... We started making some mounts for it, but just ran out of time to get them finished. They're gonna look pretty slick. next time... We got the bed all trimmed up and ready to be welded to the body. We were thinking about making it removeable, but in the end decided it was a pretty pointless thing to do. It's gonna stay... Permanently...


Also a big muchas gracias to Hamber Speedrome for hooking us up with the cowl piece we needed for the price of shipping. He's a stand-up dude, thanks again, man!


And last, but not least, Hmmm... where do you suppose this is gonna end up someday??? ...

 

oh hell yeah

 

Really? Seems like it's taking forever!!!

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words. We're really shooting to have it go to the Jalopy Showdown under it's own power in May. I think it's about a 200 mile round trip. It may not be painted/upholstered by then, but at least we'll find out if it's roadworthy! Before it hits the road, we still need to tackle:

1. Open drive conversion/driveshaft
2. Finding and mounting a radiator/some sort of fan
3. Plumbing and wiring
4. Exhaust
5. Front brakes rebuilt/e-brake handle?
6. Windshield/frame

I think I can, I think I can......

 

Man, I like your car. You can really drive it. That is more than be said of some that I have seen. Do not worry about what others say.....for some reason on here they tear up everyone. I guess that they do not have anything else to do?

 

Great post keep it going.

 

NUTS! Great inspiration. Great post. Thanks. Slim

 

Andy & Matt, looking good,hows Buffalo working out for you?

 

Thanks guys, will do!

Thanks, man! Buffalo is cold, windy, and snowy. My welder blew up it was so cold the other day. Other than that it's okay though, I like my job. I'm not gettin' rich, but at least it's tolerable. Can't wait for spring!

 

Matt just won an old Offy 6x2 intake on that big auction site everyone hates. Looks like we're gonna need a few carbs! haha!

 

Wow, seems like it's been a while since the last update! First off, these pics suck and they're old too, but matt Finished the trans tunnel. He made a skeleton of 3/8" rod and skinned it just like how he sews his home-made quilts.


Underside view...


We also patched up the hammered spot on the cowl top.

 

Remember way back when we found our "ready to run" banjo rear needed a new axle? Well, we pulled one from a donor that I had laying around and set it off to the side. This past week, we cracked the rear open to swap the axle and found that every gear in the thing was RAZOR sharp on the edges and pitted worse than the surface of the moon!! Good thing the donor had a good set of gears in it. We decided if we were gonna do it, better do it all. Matt made a call to Mac's and several hundred dollars later, he had a box containing all new pinion and diff bearings, races, gaskets, and seals. Everything's been cleaned, inspected, and ready to assemble. Big thanks to Steve at NAPA for helping out with disassembly and pressing all the new parts on. No pics yet, but as soon as it's back together we'll have a few.

 

Meanwhile, Matt's been patching the old girl up piece by piece. The bottom few inches had to be done on both sides. He had to build a new section below the door. Looks pretty spiffy! Probably straighter than it was new! He also cut some small patches out to fill the spots where the rear touring section attached the the front.



Back panel...

 

Chassis is painted and partly assembled. We're waiting on the spindles that are out having the kingpin bushings honed. Once they're back and the rear is assembled, it's a roller for good!!!


We also chopped and fit the stanchions and built a windshield frame from some tubing. I've really been slacking on the "in progress" shots but basically we cut the stanchions down till the windshield was about 12" high. We wanted it chopped but still high enough to offer a bit of protection from birds, junebugs, and bumblebees. We laid the stanchions back a bit too. Not sure how much, but till we reached a balance of it looking good and still being able to fit our fingers between the wheel and the glass with a bit of room to spare. The frame is just some tubing that we slit lengthwise and welded up. I have a feeling the slot will need to be opened up a little more, but we'll know when we get the glass.

 

Next, we spent a little time getting the steering set up so it will actually work. We scored the bottom half of a corvair shaft at a local yard and I pulled an early ford keyed shaft from my pile and welded them together, sleeved it with some tubing, welded it up, and roll-pinned it on both sides. Big thanks to kwmpa for letting Matt borrow his '40 wheel until we can find the right splined end for the MG banjo it will eventually run. We also installed the gauges.


And the world's most pitted '34 pickup e-brake handle!

 

Looking dammmm good.

 

And we rounded out the day reminding ourselves why tall people shouldn't build T roadsters. Nothing like a couple full grown men taking turns sitting in a half finished hotrod up on blocks pretending to rip down the road.

Me and my shiny golden locks glistening in the sun. oh yeah...


Matt's getting ready to tell me a secret that I already know... Shhh, don't tell!


We may have to contact KIRK! and see if we can start an east-coast Snugglers chapter if we both have to ride in this thing together. Snuggle up, It's cozy!


Well, that's where we're at as of Easter Sunday '09. The Jalopy Showdown is 5 weeks out. Will we make it? At this point, it's anyone's guess. If all goes smoothly, (yeah, that'll happen!) he will be driving it down unpainted and unupholstered to Latimore. It will then make it's debut in SHINY paint, fully upholstered, with CHROME (yes chrome!) at the showdown drags in the fall.

 

Sincerely, thanks man. Your T was a big influence on this build. It's one of my favorites.

 

Matt's famous quote of the day, "Hey did you get a picture of me using the e-brake?"

 

Very cool update,

thanks for calling me to help

 

black?

 

Thanks Jon. With easter and all, I wasn't even sure if I was gonna have a chance to help him! I'll be down on the 25 and 26th, you should come up then if you can. We can check out that vair too... I'll call you next week.

 

Yep, shiny black!

 

killer

 

So did you fags get that thing running?
Oh ya and I made it home.

 

Looks plenty beefy. Kinda hard to put structure in a T without using up all of the available space. Nice job.