Projects Project Mattitude: the Beginning

Looking good buddy!

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

Knocked these legs out today.. Still need to notch them to fit the transmission cradle in and tack them to the frame. Some fitting to do, some grinding to do, a little more sweat and it'll all be solid. Everything's loosey-goosey for now. The center part of the legs will be more inward but they're mocked up this way so the cradle can fit in between them.. Does that mean they're spread eagle?

Went from this..


To this.


The angle of the sides of the cradle is what determined the length and angle of the legs from the center crossmember out to the rails.



Slowly.. But surely.

 

Jeesh slow down! At this rate that's going to look like a car pretty quick! What's your "cradle" cross member out of? It sorta looks like what my 46 had as the crossmember between the legs like you have it except mine had an additional piece that bolted to it in the middle and then the trans bolted to that.

Lookin good

 

Thanks Kev!

I only wish I worked faster. At this rate, my beard is going to touch my toes before I get this thing fully finished. I bought that cradle from Chris on here. If I recall, it's from a '35-'36 while the saddle mount on the transmission case is from a '37-'41. The original saddle mount that came on the back of the '39 transmission was too narrow to bolt up to the cradle so I swapped it over for the other saddle that I also bought from Chris which bolts up to the mount.

 

Gotcha, plus side when your done you'll have a bitchin beard! I'm growing "wedding length" beard right now. Maybe it'll be a warm up for a winter length beard

 

I'm just about over three months along.. Sweat is neat.

 

Looking good man. Fun watching this one slowly come together.

 

Thanks. Doing my part to make sure it's coming along slowly.

Got the legs tacked in, cut the notches out, slimmed the '35 Ford cradle down some and it fits in nicely.. A little more trimming to do then I can tack it in and mock the motor/trans up to see how it's looking.

Still up in the air about making super-high motor mounts for the Hurst mount or making my own Hurst-style mount from scratch. The ears of the Hurst mount sits up pretty high over the frame. 4 inches if I'm not mistaken.. But it'll have hood-sides so the mounts won't be visible unless you lean over the engine bay to look inside.

Ah.. Decisions, decisions..

 

Go for the homemade mount. It will look better and it won't look like a bought part. Too bad I didn't think of using the trans cradle like that when I made my mounts up. It would have looked a lot cooler.

 

Matt your doing a really great job keep up the good work! I really love the way the trans mount is coming along, looks pro man!

 

Hi Matt.Loving` the build.Looking excellent for a first build.Don`t worry about "slow".Like my Grandfather used to say"slow and sure beats the Hell out of quick and dead".In one of your earlier posts,you mentioned that the drill chuck key was eating your fingers up.Many years ago I found a good cure for that.Find a piece of brake line that the ID matches the OD of the chuck key leg.Modify to suit.And then cut the tube appx 3/8th to 1/2in inch longer and then solder the brake tubing to the chuck key.Makes it a lot more comfortable to use.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

looks good!

 

weve seen the before pics lets see the after!!

 

I've been welding all day for the last few days. Just about out of gas for the welder and my right angle grinder kicked the bucket on me just a couple hours ago.

But don't worry, I'll update this when it's appropriate. Felt kinda weird posting "Hey, this is what I did today" than updating when I hit milestones. This isn't FaceBook. Haha. I figure I'll just post the next update when I get the legs all fully welded in and make the motor mounts since mounting the motor/trans is in itself a milestone.

 

Thats all I do to. I dont really have time to do alot of picture stuff so i take photos at major points in the build and post when i get time.

 

subscribed

 

Just finished reading up to this point. Really nice job. Keep your mojo going and you will be driving. Hope to see you at the Roundup next year.

 

updates?!?!?! tap tap tap..... haha

 

Dang, you guys! Quit bumping this back up. College's busting my butt right now.. I'm trying to get ahead on my work so I can free up some time.

 

I'm old too. A whole 24 years old. I know, I know..

Graduating in May with my BFA. Finally.. the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

 

43. You must have graduated with Henry Ford.

So do I. I'm gonna be a hot rodder. A broke hot rodder but a hot rodder nonetheless.

 

well I can't say I've been in the same boat with the whole college thing, but I sympathize with you dude! And I have the same (car)eer path in mind......

 

has there been any progress lately?

 

No, there hasn't been. Unfortunately. I did throw the car together so I can at least be able to roll it in and out of the garage. Luckily for you, I've got a couple shots of that. I haven't even started on the motor mounts so a piece of heavy tube steel is holding the front up, the trans is bolted in so the K-member worked out very nicely. Otherwise.. School has been taking up all of my free time.

Disclaimer:: the front will be MUCH lower, much like the shot with the wire wheels.

 

cool!!! its a nice feeling to have it rolling, ain't it? takes up a lot less space than having body/frame separate..............

Joe

 

Man that shot with the wire wheels looks killer... If I had a dropped axle laying around you bet I'd be sending it your way!

 

I've still haven't read this whole thread, but HOT DAMN am I impressed so far. I'll be copying some of your ideas man. I've got a hulk of a 28-29 sport coupe at home, still collecting peices...

 

Well, thanks for the kind words! It's just an Model A I'm trying to make as pretty as I can. It's a lot more work than anyone would care to put towards a sports coupe but this is my first build and I'm learning as I go.

I'm appreciative that there are folks out there who get what I'm trying to do.


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