I really, really like the style of fenderless roadsters. A-roadsters, T-buckets, RPUs, love em all. And I want one. The problem is that I'm a big guy. Long-legged and broad as a door, and I've got arthritis in both knees besides. So there's no way I'd comfortably fit in a 30s car (unless maybe I made it a stretched one-seater and stuck my wife in the trunk ). But I still want a fenderless car. Of course I know later cars generally look bad fenderless. I've seen the r** rods too (and I think I've figured out, at least part of, what makes them look bad). So what I'm wondering is if anyone has built (or seen) a "large scale" fenderless roadster. One that looked good, preferably? I'm thinking it could maybe be done by scratch-building a stretched and widened 30s-style body. Or maybe using a 40s car body on a wider than normal ch***is (to get the tires outside the body lines) and building a nicer-looking cowl onto it (the ugly cowls being another drawback to running those bodies stripped down, I feel). The big challenge would probably be finding proportions that "worked" on the larger scale, but it seems like it could be possible. At least those are the thoughts in my head, so far. Anyone have any ideas, or examples? Or should I just get used to the idea that guys like me drive cars with fenders?
I'm 6'3, 270 pounds and I fit in a Model A with the seat moved back just fine. I also fit in a 4" chopped Model A coupe with the seat moved back. Another option would be a Phaeton or Touring with the front seat moved back. Lastly, try looking for a car that isn't a Ford. 1930's Mopars, Buicks, Willys are larger scale than a Ford and might be an option if you're not diehard roots traditionalist. Here's a pic of my gorilla *** slingin' my turd through some mud puddles:
Being a fellow fat boy I know what you mean . I built my self a stripped down 53 chevy truck . It may not be your thing but I had plintey of room. I think a 48-53 ford f-1 cab would work good and still looks somewhat like the 40s cabs . I'm on my iPhone and can't post pics. so check out my album.
get another brand roadster body besides a Ford, the Buick roadsters from the 20's and 30's are significantly larger than the Fords.
I think People were shorter back in the days that these old cars were built. Just make your seat backrest real thin.
I have a friend 6'-5" and easy 280 or close to 3bills after he raids my fridge Im not sure if i would call him fat (because i dont want him to pummel me, but he's a good sized man) he rolls in a T-bucket.. yeah it looks like a monkey ****in a football but he does it..and also owned a Miata To be honest with ya, I dont know how he does it..Im not that big of a guy and its tight for me..its a good fit i guess i would say, at 165# 5'-10" i cant imagine what its like for you bigger guys..has to be a PITA
A Model 40 (33-34 Ford) is substantially larger inside than the earlier cars, and still looks ***y without fenders. They also have large suicide-hinged doors. In any case, you will have to design the ****pit layout around the pilot, instead of just putting the stuff in and hoping you fit. Of course, the placement of major components (seats, steering wheel, windshield) are obviously important. What might not be obvious is the importance of getting the small stuff (pedals, shifter, switches) in the right places; if the car is a close fit to start with, these things might be the difference between it being a joy to drive, or a pain in the ****.
I am what you would call a BIG guy, if 6'5" 320 is big. I had a 30 A and was very krampt in the seating compartment. My next is a 34 3 window, should be roomy enough and acceptable for a fenderless build. If I had the chance to start another build I would be doing something like FlyingBrians "Fordillac" here is his official build thread. This thing looks very roomy and cool as hell. Also looks fun, oh, to be on of them ******* cruisers.
Sounds a lot like me, I had to sell my Willys Jeep because I just couldn't drive it for more than 20 minutes without getting leg cramps. Having size 15 feet doesn't really help either. I barely fit into my '50 Chevy pickup. I'll shoehorn myself into anything if its cool enough, but the Jeep just wasn't. I even replaced the seats and still couldn't do it.
Yeah, I keep hearing stories like that. And then I look at the cars at the shows and think, "how the heck to people get in there?" I did see a big guy in a T-bucket at a show awhile back. He fit in it, but I remember thinking it was a good thing his wife was skinny. I'm not all that tall (5'10") but I seem to have oddly long legs or something. There's a friend of mine who's, I think, 6'2". He works on my cars sometimes and I always have to move the seat waaay the heck back when I go to get in it after he's driven it. Part of it is that, with the arthritis, I generally need to either be sitting upright (like in a truck) or pretty well stretched out. I used to drive cars with less legroom no problem, but these days all it takes is an hour in a position that's even a little awkward and I'm hobbling when I try to get up and walk. Taking some measurements of my current vehicles, I figure that, to be comfortable, I'd need a minimum of about 4-1/2' between where the firewall starts to kick up and the back wall. That's not allowing for any storage behind the seat. The other problem is that I've got wide shoulders. In my Subaru (smallest car I've got for comparison) I've got my elbow rubbing against the door on one side and my shoulder rubbing against the side of my wife's seat on the other - and that's a 54" (inside) wide cabin. It's tolerable, but I wouldn't want to go much narrower. From what I've found online, a Model A is something like 42" wide - that's not going to work for me. The Phaeton or Touring with the seat moved back would solve the length issue, but I'm still concerned about the width. Maybe take one of those and try to stretch the width? Could be tricky around the cowl, but it might work. As for whether it's a Ford or not, I honestly couldn't care less. It's all sheet metal. As long as I like the shape they pounded it into, I'm not too worried about who did it. Are any of those wider? Looks like a blast. Great looking car too.
I went to look at a Willys a few years ago. I climbed in the thing and knew it was all over. My knees were in the dash board and I couldn't see out the windshield without hunching forward to get my head down...that thing was TINY.
An aquaintence out here has a 34 roadster. You could be 6'8" and still drive this one. Seat tucked back, huge amounts of legroom. Anyone could drive this car.
You could always go with a phaeton- that would give you more than enough room,and still provide the open air 'roadster' feel you want. And they still look bad ***! By the way- I think "Fenderless for Fat Guys" might be the coolest thread ***le in history.
.........Go with a 33 or 34 ford.......lots of room for us big guys.......I had to go with 37,39,40 coupes.......I know because they call me Big Bad John
There was a "bigman's" T bucket built in Houston some 20-30 years ago. Last I heard it was sold to a fella from OKC Oklahoma. Seems to me it was about 12-14" longer in the door area and 10-12" wide across the back. Cowl, windshield etc. and forward ch***is were standard T bucket stuff, rear section of frame longer and wider, wheels offset in back to the outside.
I'm 6'3" and weigh around 325. I've got a 33 Ford 3 window coupe. Without a package tray, the seat slid back and careful steering column placement, there is a lot of room inside. Plus the suicide doors make entry/exit very easy, kinda like backing into a toilet stall.
I'm 6'7", and at my fattest I was 320, and I never had much trouble in my '34 Ford roadster. Paid out the *** to land it in my driveway, (BEFORE I even touched a wrench to it) but it was a lot nicer for a big fat ******* like me than my '29 A.
Another vote for the '33-'34 Fords. Lots of room in my 5-window!! Not that I need it at 5'8". Just bust out the wallet
Now that sounds sort of like what I was thinking of... stretching the width (and, if necessary, the length) to something more comfortable than stock. Maybe use a full-size truck axle on the rear to get the wheels outside the wider body. Anybody got any idea of the dimensions on these cars? I found something that said a 31 Model A was 42" wide, but how wide is a 34? What about a 37-40? What about other makes - was there much difference in width there?
Not till I figure out what sort of car I need to buy. I take it the 33-34s are the most expensive ones I could look for?
Just build a roadster rod from a bigger-body car. A guy around here had a 1919 or so Locomobile rod. It basically looked like any other 1920s body except it was long. Really long. Leg room was not a problem. That particular car didn't look so great because the builder had no eye for proportion or style, but the body itself looked fine. And if you found the shell of some luxury liner sitting somewhere it'd cost you a lot less than a '33 or '34 Ford body!
There's a company that makes streched steel roadster bodies for just this reason. They advertise in street rodder. I think its Shadow Rods or something like that. You can also get yourself an extra 4 or 5 inches by making longer doors, or strech out the front end and move the motor a little forward for foot boxes.
I think this is the best advice. As i get older I realize that it really is a 5'10" world out there. At 6'2" I find myself moving more and more cars off the "want list" to the "can't comfortably fit" list. I just won't fold myself in half to fit in something. If only Ford made the 29-29 pickups bigger...
Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. I don't know about a locomobile (I'd have to see one), but I'm sure there are tons of cars out there that would make good-looking hot rods, and aren't fords or chevys. Makes sense to keep an open mind while I'm looking.
Here is my old '34 Hudson. Cheaper than a '33-'34 Ford and a lot bigger than a '32 or a Model A, but good luck finding one. .
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