Projects 1920 T Roadster Build Thread

Brent, That was a great way to modify that wishbone. I knoe you will find a way to countersink it also.

 

It's nice to see another person mod some of those bones before I get to mine.

 

I bought a countersink but the shaft was 3/4" and all the drill presses I had available were 5/8" max. I located a 1/2" shanked countersink and will hopefully grab it Monday, A.M.

PM me when you need a countersink and I'll let you borrow mine. No sense in spending the extra dough and let me tell you, they're NOT cheap. Still, it's worth it to me to have done it on my own.

I was looking at them all cleaned up (they're both cleaned-up and ready for primer) and thinking, "these things look pretty freaking cool."


On another note, I prepped the turtle deck so it's ready for epoxy primer, sanded down the primered wheels with 500 grit, sanded the frame and gave it a second light coat, scavenged some handles for my hood top from a junk 1920 T hood, and started working on the windshield frames.

I've got some parts to order tomorrow... I need:

Tubes and rim liners (from Coker)
A foot starter rod (lost mine)
Brush-able black engine paint (Hirsch Auto)
Tune-up stuff and little odds and ends for steering and suspension

The list is getting smaller!

 

Late last night (or early this morning) BCChopit sent me these photos of the intake. Man, it looks killer. I cannot wait to get my hands on this.

As always, click the photo to enlarge it.







Thanks for the photos, Bill!

 

Thanks, I'll let you know when I get there.

 

I picked up my carb from Uncle Max. Not only is he a cool guy, he's an artist when it comes to these carbs. I'm thoroughly impressed and I'd highly recommend him. He's got some tricks and some neat tools he's made just for these Strombergs. Take a look at this thing.











Put the last coat of primer on the wheels.



Tomorrow is my last day in Salt Lake before I head back east for some R&R with my family. It's my one year anniversary on the 3rd, as well, so I won't be working on this until I get back.

I'll be hitting it with a full head of steam because there'll be a ton of parts waiting for me when I get back.

 

Looking good. I'm jealous.

I can't wait to get to this stage.....

 

I'm thinking this thing could be making noise by Halloween. If so, I'm going to be taking this car somewhere VERY special for its debut.

 

That's better then I can say. I'll be luck to hear mine by New Years!!!

 

C'mon, you don't really have that much left to do. I'm ***uming it's less than me, right? I mean I still have the body (prep, wood, exterior, interior and lake tarp) AND the engine and all its "stuff" to contend with. Oh, and then there's that thing I need to do... um... ***emble the whole thing! You better have this thing making noise in time to pick up a Christmas tree.

I expect to see a JefferyJames HAMB Christmas photo with a tree strapped to the roof of a 35 Ford 5w.

 

Well it was looking like I was close when it was sitting on all 4's but then I got that bright idea to take the suspension out again and clean the underside as well as paint it and now it's looking like I have a body on a frame....that's it!

I do have everything else pretty much ***embled besides the brake internals which can go back under the car next chance I get.

So yeah I guess I am much further then you but you seem to have a nice pace going Brent. I really should have the engine in by next weekend if I find my spacer and it SHOULD be sitting back on the ground this weekend if I don't go up to PA for the showdown drags. After that I'll have the plumbing and electrical to keep me busy and finally the interior after everything else is in and ready to go.

But like I said, you have a nice pace going. I only can get out there once a week now.

 

Brent,
This looks GREAT!!!!! Talk about attention to detail!!!! You have done some really slick work/mods on this gow job!! It makes my '27 roadster body on an A frame look like a real POS with zero creativity!! I can't wait to see her going but not as much as you, I'm sure!! Wonderful job and very inspirational!!

 

I'm confident you and your crew will get it together, no matter what. There's no need to rush.

Thanks, Bugsy. That's nice of you to say, I appreciate it. I've got a 26/27 Roadster on an A frame for my next project. I've been collecting parts all year for it. It's another budget project, like this one but with a few pretty cool vintage hot rod pieces.

I don't see a build thread on yours yet, what's the hold-up? Get at it man...

 

The body is back from Salt Flats Speed Shop where I had Chris work some of his magic on the body. It's got years of wear and tear and I didn't want a complete make-over. So, any problem areas were dealt with but with minor metal finishing.

One of the things I wanted to do with this body was put a rail along the top, rather than the wood that was there. One of the main reasons for doing this was to match the door and the body panel opposite of the door. They're much more stiff than the wood-topped panels. The body is very sturdy in comparison to what it was prior to this change. The rail, once finished, will be covered by the leather interior, which will wrap over.











This is a good viewpoint showing where the rail will be bent over. The wood frame will tie into this.



For the first time in a LONG time, perhaps ever , the door fits the opening of this car. The panel looks great.







Rear corner patch, the area here was thin and had blown through during blasting.

There will be updates throughout the weekend as work progresses. I came back from my anniversary/vacation to a bunch of boxes in my office. I am eager to get back at it.

I'm about to go sit down and make a to do list so I've got a plan of attack. If I don't, I wont get as much done... I don't know why, I just like having something to strive toward.

Anyhow... that's it for now. Sorry for the low-quality pics.

 

Minor update... still plugging along. After work today I picked up a bunch of supplies for the weekend and completed countersinking the front bones. The bit made the job exceptionally clean and quick. Below are a couple photos.

 

Here's some more progress photos. I didn't take pictures of the little odds and ends just some of the more interesting things I did on the car the past couple days.

I made a step for the driver's side of the car. I got this idea from a HAMBer's speedster. I can't remember his name at the moment but it was a good idea, none-the-less. I used a running board mount (a rear one) from a Model A and a rumble step.









I had a mirror sitting on the shelf that I had gotten in a box of old Ford parts. I'm not sure of the year but I figured it'd do the trick with some finessing.

I stripped the finish when I was sand blasting a while back and hit it with some heat and bent it until I got it where I wanted it. If anyone plans on doing this, be warned it doesn't need much heat. Use too much and it'll melt. I hit it with the flap disc and got the back to a shape that conformed with my dash.

 

I'm nearly finished with rolling the rail I had Chris, from Salt Flats Speed Shop install. The pieces he added increased the strength substantially but after rolling the edges it stiffened it up even more. This T really needed it.

Although it'll be getting wood to this rail will work better with what I've got planned for the car.

This was my more labor-intensive and exciting project of the weekend. I'm learning about metal's idiosyncrasies. As well, I completed this with pretty simple and rudimentary tools. I got it looking more finished than what the photos show because I worked on it a little more.

The leather I'm using in the "interior" will wrap over the rolled edge. Although it won't be seen by others, once together, I want it to be the best I can do. I've got the time and will power so I've been overcoming. I'm going to look into getting some metalwork specific hand tools because I found this not only fun, but very the****utic.

My 26/27 Roadster turtle deck is fairly wavy and I think I can get it back into shape, but not with the tools I'm using.





I had to use relief cuts to keep things square. These will get welded up.





After looking at it outside I realized the back upper edge was not straight across on the top. So, I kept at it and it's pretty much consistent across the top.

 

Lookin' good sir! That was a weekend well spent from the looks of it. Just a thought, Do you know the whereabouts of a '23 - '25 roadster drivers side? I'm just looking at my collection hanging on my fence, and I have a cowl, p***enger side, door, rear panel, and a Touring drivers side. If I could find a roadster drivers side, I'd go that route instead of touring.

 

Top notch work Brent, you're doing a grand job - thanks for keeping us informed

 

I'm using a touring driver's side. The belt line was smoothed out to help match. I will keep my eyes open, though.

Thanks, man, I appreciate it.

 

Brent you gonna have er rollin by next spring?

 

Yes, I hope so! I'd like to have it together by November, actually. We'll see, though. No rush.

 

Keep us posted! lookin good man.

 

That step is awesome.

 

I looked up the HAMBer I got the idea from. It's BangerMatt. This is the car.

 

Another minor update. I had bent a quarter inch steel rod to secure the upper part of the interior without having any screws, bolts or snaps being seen. Tonight, I marked out where the bolts will go and drilled holes for them.

Then, I put a bolt in with nuts sandwiching the body leaving some space so I could cut the heads off the bolts. The rod will be to those this weekend.

 

Looks great -Brent-.

 

Thanks, Skip!

Not really an update, although I've been doing a little bit every day after work this week.

I wanted to share a little piece of artwork by HAMBer BCChopit. This guy is one hell of a fabricator. He'll be making the intake for my B motor, as well (to mount 2 81s).

I'll let the pics do the talking.

 

That intake is ***s! Looking great Brent!