"Gowjobs": Depresion Era Performance and Early day hop-up tech

I had the rear-crossmember trick in mind when I posted (it's also in the Fahnestock book), but since T rear crossmembers aren't reproduced, and A front crossmembers are, I was thinking it would be easier to pick up a Model A piece.

-Dave

 

Yeah, Dave, I see your point. I guess it's one of those things that if you're not in a rush and you set out a plan for your build you can find all the vintage parts/pieces you need. T stuff happens to be much less expensive, too, fortunately.

I just happened to have a TT rear crossmember since I was using the frame as a starting point. The rear member was useless for anything other modifying it since I was running a stock T rear spring mount, so it worked out to my benefit.

 

I am definitely not in a rush, and always pick up '20s bits when they cross my path below market price, so maybe a T crossmember will still work its way into the mix. I just thought that if I ever got in a rush, the A piece might be workable and a bit more vintagey than a T-bucket type front perch.

-Dave

 

Hmm, it appears a plausible and nearly free option has been staring me in the face all along, and I failed to see it:



It would mandate sliding the radiator back, but I think the couple inches lost could be made up when kicking up the rear crossmember.

I'd sure want to make sure the clamp stayed tight, though!

-Dave

 

i like em flipped , good work dave. on a side note i went thru the "modern mechanixs" blog online and couldn't find the gow job article .....i did see one page here . of the article, that had 1935 on the bottom ....checked all 1935 issues.....found the info here for aug. 1933 but thats not it either.....anyone have it or a link?.....thanks

 

CAN'T GET MORE TRAD THAN THIS. WHAT A GREAT THREAD.

 

This is a good setup, but it does mess with you radiator mounting situation. Here is how my friend Chris and I did it on our T speedster the "Becker Special" which we were building as a surprise Christmas gift for his late father Bill.





This is a very old trick from the 'teens and '20s and works really well...it also allows the radiator to be mounted in the stock fashion

...Glad to see this thread back up and swingin' again

 

i did mine this way:

10" engine set back, and fabbed in a new cross member. kept the wheelbase at 99"

 

On the topic of wheels, I bought these a few years ago, they are stamped with a Firestone logo and are set up for "T" wood wheel hubs. They are a split rim style (like big ford trucks). I only have two though. I have also successfully converted Chevy solid wheels to fit on "T" wood hubs.



My "T" - see my signature for more details....

 

Here is a T with Firestone wheels.

 

Great another amazing thread that is now forcing me to collect parts for gowjob. Thanks you *******s!!!!!!!! This hot rod , gowjob thing is worse than crack. great post keep the info coming.

Mr model T congrants on the coverage in the new rod and custom little pages what bad *** litte car.

 

I actually found the flipped crossmember with the Google search "john gerber site:mtfca.com". There are a few more good pics on the thread I discovered.

Clayton, that undersprung setup on the Becker Special is ingenious. There isn't too much flex on the doubled spring shackles? Seems like a lot of leverage. Of course, on a car without shock absorbers, I'm not sure how much one would notice anyway.

-Dave

 

Dave,

That's coaltownkid's build- haven't seen him on the HAMB in a while now.

 

I wondered if he mightn't be a HAMBster. His MTFCA profile says he hasn't been logged in for about a year.

That's too bad. And after Rolf's reappearance, makes you think.

-Dave

 

to pull the flipped front cross member drop off you have to do a bunch of spring work:

The spring is bent into a sort of "U" shape so the ends stick out, this is to move the axle in front of the cross member, next you have to flatten the spring to make up for the loss in over all width. coupled with slightly laying the cross member back (a wedge works good here).

Secondly, the spring perches have to be rotated back to align with the new spring angle.

All that work to just move the front axle forward 3" so the motion of travel does not involve hitting the frame.

 

Couldn't you use Laurel style perches to kick the axle out in front of the spring, thus gaining clearance as well as a bit of additional drop? Forgive me if that's a boneheaded question, but I'm not intimate with the T ch***is yet (all I have is a bare frame).

I suppose another option would be to knock off what -Brent- has done and weld the spring perch to the front of the flipped crossmember.

-Dave

 

would work...all you are attempting to achieve is moving the front axle forward so the horizontal movement is unimpeded.

 

Bwahahahah! the "Gowjob" revolution has claimed another Victim!

...and thanks, I'm super stoked about the "Little Pages" coverage

There will be some inherent flex, but the hardened 5/8 bolts, spacers and center shackle plate tend to keep everything pretty well stationary. Chris and I improved on the original method. The original only had a single threaded "adapter" that on the end of the lower shackle pin....that's all that held the spring!

Our setup is WAY stouter than the original, which was a popular, cheap and easy setup in the old days.

The altered wishbone (connected at the top of the axle) also keeps flex and axle roll down considerably. This car as a result floats really nicely

 

That's what I did on my Roadster. I found an original set on Ebay.

My Roadster w/ Laural Brackets = 8.5 to 9 inch drop

The "Becker Special" w/ custom front end = 11 to 12 inch drop

 

Clayton,

was the spacing necessary on the front half of the shackle, or was it done to place the axle further forward?

 

This was done to give me more clearance between the axle and the front crossmember. The little upper spacers help move the axle forward while the lower spacer helps to keep the correct spacing between the shackle plates and adds support.

 

found this surfing last night....stole the pics from ebay auction is over....sold for $750 w/ 2 bids.....i love it .....

 

here is the page of the modern mex. article i do have....anyone else have a link or copy of the whole article, thanks.

 

I do have the entire article, but it is locked in a semi dead computer. I have someone working on retrieving it as we speak, and as soon as it's available to me again I will post it.

 

thank you . and good luck with the computer. the file in the above pic is named "display-temp".....so it may not be available on the WWW anymore.

 

That's a heavy-truck rear, isn't it? Neat ch***is, but I'm thinking that despite the T front axle, that it's more like a '50s sprint car, than a Depression-era creation - though maybe it evolved from such.

-Dave

 

here is the info....yes its a little new ....1937 built and raced till wwII



http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290550377839&clk_rvr_id=232366810038

 

Older than I thought, though. Somebody got an interesting piece for not much money. Thanks for sharing that.

-Dave

 

it is way more sprint car than farmyard gow but they kinda cross paths here and there......i thought about putting it in the vintage sprint car thread , but i've never opened it to even look ....mostly interested in the real old stuff .