Projects Tommy R Attempts to Build a Hot Rod Model A

I'm gonna try, grits! I'm gonna try!

 

Inspiration???
You can check out my build in the albums on my profile page. They're in reverse chronical order and come complete with commentary...

 

Nice!!! We'll see how close mine comes to that after this weekend! Are you funding your build with stolen HP computers or what? LOL!

 

Gotta give thanks to my buddy Chris (CJ Steak) for coming by on Saturday as well as my friend, Bryan. Thanks to them I was able to get some good progress done on the AV8 project. We didn't do any welding (yet), but we put together a pretty solid gameplan and knocked out some other smaller projects. Most importantly, I've got even more motivation now!

We got the 9" axle torn down. There's about 1" of solid sludge in the pumpkin. I'm convinced this was the same oil put in that housing when it was built in '66! Good thing I've got another gear set for it. We also placed the body (roughly) on the chassis to mock things up. We set the wheelbase to the stock 106" dimension and did a lot of measuring. Looks like the motor (with current mechanical fan) is about 3" too long to use the stock radiator mount location. Are there lower profile (yet functional) fans available for SBCs?

It looks like I could run a stock wheelbase, but just mount the grill/radiator farther forward of the crossmember to gain some engine room. But I'm concerned about moving it too far forward and making it look awkward. I don't mind moving it a couple inches, but no more. I may also consider stretching the wheelbase to 107" to help the proportions with a relocated grill, but I haven't decided yet.

I've got some pics and will get them uploaded shortly...

 

Tommy, does your motor still look like this???



3" too long don't sound right. Get rid of all that junk on the front of that engine, put on a short water pump and junk that HEI with that humongus cap and remeasure. I put a sbc in a stock 103 1/2" wheelbase model A frame with a 4" recess in the firewall and still had an inch between the fan and the radiator, and enough room to pull the dist.
If you put on a short water pump, move the crossmember forward an inch, you could prolly get by by knocking the firewall back half an inch and still have an inch clear between the fan and the radiator. I'm going to put a little dent in my firewall for clearance and run the 106" wheelbase.

 

Move it to 107"

 

Yeah, it looks like that. The PS pump is going away, but even with a shorter water pump, the issue is the fan hitting the alternator so the shorter pump wouldn't buy me anything unless there's a way to also move the alternator back? I'm not really sure what my options are, but if you or anyone else has suggestions, I'm all ears!

I definitely plan on getting rig of the HEI dizzy for something smaller (and more period looking).

Is that for the reason I mentioned, i.e. to keep the axle centerline closer to the radiator location?

 

Gives you more room for the motor. All the Kool Kids are doing it.....

 

Here's how things set right now. The body is on top of the chassis in a super duper high boy configuration. We set it so body's rear axle centerline lines up with the orignal '32's rear axle. We placed the rear axle under the chassis (it barely fit), but I didn't get a pic of that.



And here's the center chunk from the 9". Nasty....



I've got a couple different options in front of me on exactly how to proceed from here, all of which were suggested by people whom I respect very much. Just trying to decide which way to go. As is typical, I'm suffering from analysis paralysis....as my friend Chris told me!

 

LOL... Yeah, I suspect I'll do that for sure.

 

You can go with the short water pump if you are willing to use a bracket for the alternator which raises it up and/or out to clear the valve cover... In looking at it on Saturday, you can get 1/2 - 3/4" from the distributor cap, then an inch or maybe 2 with a short water pump.

I am still concerned about the bellhousing also. Perhaps someone can offer some insight on whether any clearancing is needed for the bellhousing, since it comes straight back at least 2" or so before turning down...

 

glad to see you back at it tommy

 

You use an early type alternator bracket that goes with the early type short water pump and early style short pullys and stuff. You have to pull ALL of that existing junk off the front of the block and hang back only what you need back with the correct parts.

You guys are going to have to cut the bottom of the firewall to clearance the bellhousing and rebuild the toeboard on each side. That's another reason why I'm just going to recess the firewall, clearance the bellhousing and be done with it.

If you set the engine and transmission so low that it fits under the existing firewall and toeboard, you'll prolly need a zip's waterpump riser in order to run a mechanical fan and have it fit behind the radiator...

 

Tommy is your trans crossmember already in there and setup?

 

Looking good. subscribed

 

Good point about the bellhousing, Bryan! I'd forgotten about that...

Thanks, man!

Yeah, the bellhousing will definitely be something I need to look into 'cause I don't plan on mounting the motor/trans that low. One of my pet peeves is when the motor sets too low. It makes the engine compartment look disproportionate and I just won't have it.

No, Paul, it's not. The rails aren't boxed yet, either. But I was going to wait to put the trans crossmember in 'til the motor was mocked up. I'm always open to suggestions, though....

 

Thanks! Hopefully I'll have some good updates in the upcoming weeks...

 

I dont think you need to go over 106". If you get the crossmembers in, box it up then get your suspension together and in roller form, then you can drop the body on the frame where it's gonna be. At that point you can play with the motor position. I'm sure it'll fit, Mark shoehorned that god damn hemi in his and he didn't reverse or recess the firewall or anything like that. It sits high too. Which will be neat in yours cause you wont have to get any weird pump risers or anything. You will have to trim up the firewall and make a trans tunnel though..

Just my random ass thoughts..

 

Hi Tommy.Great score.Love it.Keep up the good work.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Yeah, I'd prefer the motor to sit higher than lower! Fabbing up a tunnel and trimming the firewall isn't a big deal, though. I actually spoke to Mark on Saturday about it and he said the hemi is actually not that long, just wide (that what she said). Not sure how it compares to a SBC's length, though.

Tell me if this plan is flawed thinking:

Right now the frame is jigged up solid on the frame table. The width of the chassis looks like it'll match well with the body both front and rear, so I don't see any pinching that's needed. So why can't I just box the rails, weld in the front/rear crossmembers to set the wheelbase, and weld in the front ladder bar mount? Basically, everything would be in place except for the trans crossmember. This way I could have a solid roller.

Then I would trim the body to get it to set on the chassis, place the motor/tranny in to make the motor/tranny mounts, and depending on how much clearance is needed for the motor I can either move the radiator forward a bit and/or recess the firewall.

Mark's suggestion to me was basically the same thing, but only tack everything in place before test fitting the body on the rolling chassis. Then once everything is verified to work together, jig up the chassis again and do final burn in.

That's obviously good logic, too....and I'm inclined to follow it. The only added hassle would be jigging up the chassis a second time, but that's really not that big a deal.

Thanks, Leo!

 

Mark's totally right. It's annoying but everything goes together and comes apart a few times before it' done. It's what sets you apart from the cookie cutter cars. I think you have a plan forming!

 

Yessiree! So here's the short term plan. Let me know y'all's thoughts on it.....

1. While in the jig, tack the boxing rails into place.
2. Tack front/rear crossmembers into place with 106-107" WB and tack in front ladder bar mount.
3. Tack in new temporary chassis supports and cut away current supports that prevent the body from sitting on the rails.
4. Assemble tacked-together rolling chassis.
5. Trim rear body subframe rails and place body onto rolling chassis to ensure proper fit and determine whether or not any pinching is needed front or rear.
6. Attach motor to trans and move into position in the chassis to determine motor mount and trans mount locations.
7. Re-jig chassis to frame table and do final weld for everything that was tacked into place.
8. Assemble fully welded roller!

Of course, to do this properly, I'll need to get the proper sized distributor and shorter water pump and accessories. If anyone has leads on this stuff, let me know. Other than the shorter water pump, I don't know what parts I need.

 

It's been a while since the last update, but I got a few things going right now. Since I foresee having a rolling chassis relatively soon, I figured I need to mount up my wheels/tires. Before I do that, I figured I should take a stab at choosing a color for the wheels. That was more complicated than it would seem. I'd decided the car will be gloss black and I want the motor and wheels to be a contrasting color to the black. I've actually been searching for this color for months, but never found the right shade.

Then I saw it.... Bass' "Texas Playboy" has the exact color I want! Fortunately, Brian mentioned in his build thread that the color is 1951 Ford Hawaiian Bronze. Awesome! Looks like it's time to get some paint mixed up!

First, I need to get jiggy with the oven cleaner to get the crud off the motor. Here it is soaking in the cheap stuff (which works better than the pricier stuff). Next to it you'll see a '55 Chevy bellhousing, which I decided to use in conjunction with the Hurst style motor mount. Unfortunately, the motor will need quite a bit more cleaning to be ready for primer/color.


So I head to Car Quest to have some paint mixed. They supposedly had the recipe for this color, but when I arrived there Friday afternoon, they couldn't figure it out. I already had a buddy waiting for me in his paint booth and I was under the gun. As a last resort, I decided to call Brian Bass to ask him if he had any further info (like codes) for the paint he used on the Texas Playboy.

I have to give credit to Bass here. He happened to be at the shop after hours when I called and he found the can of paint and provided the code I needed! Brian, I tried to send you a PM, but your inbox was full (go figure!), but I want you to know I REALLY appreciate your help. It's not often someone goes out of their way to help a stranger and I don't forget stuff like that. Thank you.

So I got the paint mixed up and my buddy learned me how to use my new Eastwood paint gun. Things went really well! FYI, there is a huge blower (not pictured) pulling fumes away, but next time I'll wear a respirator anyway.


Now I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that my wheels/tires are now mounted up. The first bad news is that the color is more brown than bronze. I'm not sure if it needs to be more gold or what, but it doesn't quite pop the way I'd hoped. No worries, though....I honestly didn't figure I'd get it right the first time anyway! Good thing I need to repaint 'cause the guy who mounted them for me put the tires on top of the wheels and scuffed them pretty badly. Whatever, these wheels are awfully pitted anyway and I think I'll need to replace them.

Blah, blah, blah....here's some pics of the 5.50s and 7.50s in the garage. I also painted the bellhousing and motor mount.


And finally, this is something that caught me off guard. It took the light shining into the garage in just a way that I could see it, but take a look at the area at the front of the cowl. Looks blue, doesn't it?


I guess there once was some welting in that area? So it would seem to be the car was originally blue, but was repainted black (with a brush) at some point in its history. But evidently, the welting wasn't removed so it kept the blue underneath. The funny thing is I've only seriously considered two colors for the body of this car: blue and black. Black had recently gotten the nod. But how in the hell have I owned this body for 2 years and never saw this until now...when I'm finally dealing with paint for the first time? Maybe the car's telling me something or maybe I'm just losing my mind.....but I've decided the car will now be blue.

It won't be the original blue because that's way too light. I'm going to opt for a darker blue. And I think the wheels/etc. will definitely need a different color. Scott Miller's coupe (below) is an approximate example of what I'm thinking, color-wise. Dark blue (maybe not quite that dark), but I'm thinking of more of a gold accent color than the champagne on his.


Anyway, I hope to have some more updates coming soon...

 

Stay at it!!! You're on a roll!!!

 

Man, I'm tryin'!! It's tough to keep the motivation up at times like this, but little things like mounting wheels/tires really seem to help raise the spirits....

 

I just did mine... "The Kid's Coupe"/Red Wheels & Wide Whites...

 

ooo going the love watching this come together

 

Nice Tommy....'bout damn time holmes...
Color is similar to Dubcee's coupe...his may be a little darker.....brown is the SHIT....
You look older than I imagined......haha...wait.....is that gay to notice???

 

Yep. You're gay.

I think I've decided what I want to do for the colors of the car. I took pics of this pickup at The Revolution last year because I really like the clean appearance. The blue I'll use will be similarly dark, but glossy. White firewall, black wheels, etc. But since I'll be running blackwall tires, I'll either use some chrome caps/trim rings or I may just run chrome wheels. But for now, it looks like I'll repaint the wheels/etc. in gloss black.



I'm not 100% definite on it, but pretty sure that's the direction I want to go in...

 

I like that blue a lot! I have been thinking about going dark blue with my custom