Projects 27Roadsterguys Roadster Build... (starting from scratch)

Well guys and gals.... Here is the beginning of a long, long road of blood, sweat and tears, not to mention a lot of money.

I recently picked up a 1927 Ford Roadster body to build my first roadster with. I don't have a ton to report in the first post, other than I just got home with the body. I live in St. Louis, Missouri and drove to Rocky Ford, Colorado to pick it up. It was about 1,700 miles round trip. (I really wanted this body) Everything went well and was basically uneventful. Here's a couple pics of what I got, sitting in it's new home.

I can hardly wait to get wrenching on it.






There ya go guys, first post and I even remembered to put in pics.

I actually picked up an 8BA Flat Head V-8 on the way home too, but I haven't taken any pics of it yet. More to come soon and I'm sure I will have plenty of questions coming soon.

Let me know what ya think of the body, I think it looks pretty good for being almost 90 years old.

 

That thing looks CLEAN!

 

Thanks, that's why I drove so far to pick it up. I was a long drive and I paid a little more, but I don't have a big pile of rust to start with.

 

Welcome. That looks damn good. The first car i built was a 27 T roadster. I still have it too.
good luck with the build.

 

I'll be posting pics of the motor soon, It's wrapped up in a plastic bag in my truck still. I didn't see any need to post pics of a trash bag, I've seen trash before. Hahaha

I've loved the 27 Roadster body style since I was a little kid, to bad it took me till I was 43 to finally own one. I have a line on a Model A frame and Bronco 9" rear end too, I'm hoping to pick those up this week or this weekend.

Also, thanks for already making me feel welcome here guys. I'll keep the photos and updates coming.

 

Great score! Welcome to the t roadster club. Still collecting parts for my build. My avatar is my ride when Blind Owl had it on his chassis. Love it.


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That body is amazing! I believe I just soiled myself whilst gawking at the pic! I aquired my '27 roadster body from a guy who had to cut it out of the tree that had grown up underneath it over the last 70 years. You can imagine what kind of condition it was in! You're my hero!
Subscribed!!

 

Keep posting great start.

 

What a great starting point, I will be watching with interest.

 

Ok guys... Two questions.....
#1 will a basic engine stand hold the weight of an 8BA flathead motor?
#2 what size bolts and thread pitch hold the bell housing to the block? I don't wanna dick up the threads in the motor.

 

Yes on the engine stand for 8BA
Have to go to garage to get bolt size, but 5/16 course thread if I had to guess.

 

smart move! very nice shell to start with!

 

Get the attachment that bolts the engine via the header flange, don't bolt it up like a sbc because of the extended bell housing, bad juju.

That is a great body. You are very lucky to have something that nice to start with.

 

went to garage my mercury block is 7/16 x 14 thread I have a stamped steel bell housing bolt length 3/4"

 

8ba does not have the extended bell housing, 59a does. 8ba will be ok on bolting to back of block so yes on 8ba, no on 59a...

 

welcome , looks like a nice body.....looking forward to the build

 

Nice looking body!

 

great starting point. 27 roadster's are one of my all time favorites.

 

That's a damn, clean body to start with!! Can't wait to see more! 26-27 roadsters are my fave too!!!!

 

Ok, guys...
I went to the ol' Ace Hardware and got some grade 8 bolts to mount the motor on the stand.

First a few more "Body Shots"







As you can see, I will still need to do some panel repairs on the lower portion of the body (below door line), but for the most part this is a nice body and I know Howell has the panels.

Here goes with the pics of the "heart" of the beast...














I'm guessing the numbers in the last photo are my casting numbers, can anyone tell what year my engine is based on the numbers?

I think they read J2802

The engine is currently "stuck" so I am soaking the hell out of it with PB Blaster, I wanted to use KROIL, but no one had any at the store. I took out the spark plugs and used an entire can of PB soaking down the insides and spraying a little on each bolt, to help loosen everything up, before I tear into it.

I'm thinking it's been rebuilt at some point, because under all that dirt the paint looks pretty nice. You can see the shiny gold paint in some of the photos.

either way enjoy the new photos.

 

Love this roadster. Agree with all the clean comments! Amazing starting point.

I'm also building a 27 roadster, but nowhere near ready for a build thread. Keep the pictures coming!

 

It's never too soon for a build thread, they help keep ya motivated

 

Not to much to report today, but after a little "persuasion" me and my neighbor got the motor to turn a little, as in like a 1/4 inch of movement at the pry bar. It's not what I would call a break through on the motor, but it is a small sign of improvement. I was told this motor hadn't been turned over in between 15 and 25 years, so I'm sure there's a "little" rust in the cylinders. I just keep spraying penetrating oil in the plug holes and soaking it all down. I know with a little time and persuasion it'll eventually break loose and turn over. Then I can break it all down and start rebuilding it.

The plans for this weekend are to hit the swap meet and look for a front and rear end to sit this baby on. I want a suicide front end, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I may find one at the meet.

Who knows... maybe I'll get lucky and find a trunk lid for the turtle.

Later

 

I bought my deck lid from one of the after marker mfg.
Happy hunting that's one of the fun parts of building.

 

8BA year is stamped in intake manifold flange (coded). Pick up all the flathead rebuilding books you can find, and start reading. I would remove the heads, intake manifold and pan to see the cause of seize before prying too much.

 

Ok, will do

Went to the "FUN FORD DAYS" at "Gateway International Raceway" and... Well... Waaaaaa Waaaaaaaaaaaaa.....

What a joke, it was about 300 Ford Focus's and all the announcers were like Ford Focus this and Ford Focus that and 41 Miles Per Gallon...BLAH BLAH BLAH... Then I went to the "swap meet" area and there was exactly TWO PEOPLE selling "swap meet" parts. One guy had some 1960's Ford Mustang stuff and the other guy had some "Fox Body" Mustang stuff. That was it!!!

There were a few "real" drag cars there and a few of them went down the 1/8 mile drag strip, but the rest of the "racing" was all FORD FOCUS racing. They had so little power that when the tires got grip on the track the engines would bog down and some of them even died when they got traction. One car was such a P.O.S. that it left parts that were falling off of it all the way down the drag strip and the announcer kept screaming "WOW THAT CAR HAS SO MUCH TORQUE THE EXHAUST CAN BARELY STAY ON THE CAR!"

All I can say is this was the BIGGEST JOKE I've ever seen for a car event. I'll never go back. They should of just called it "Ford Focus Fun Day". Anyway, I'm done with my rant.

I'm going to go pick up my Model A frame from my buddy and play with a real hot rod in the garage.

Later

 

I pulled the heads off the Flat Head today. Here's what it looks like. I think most of the "sludge" is lead and carbon deposits that I have soaked with penetrating oil. The motor is still stuck. I'm going to try pulling the pan next.





So far I see no signs of cracks etc. I'm pretty happy with my "boat anchor" so far.

 

I never thought about posting this before now, but this is more or less the goal for this build and the inspiration behind my idea for what I want this car to look like when it's completed. Just not flat black... I'm sure your all very familiar with this car.

 

Ok guys, I'm getting ready to order patch panels, floor sections and such...
I know I was told that what I bought was a 27 Model T Roadster body, but I know that 26 and 27 look almost identical, so I want to be sure and order the right stuff. I've looked at some of the sheet metal replacement companies and I'm finding that some stuff is specific to 26 and some is specific to 27. I did a little homework and found this page... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=436175

But... there are no photos attached, so I'm not able to see what people are talking about. I don't want to waste a bunch of money shipping stuff twice and have panels not fit. Can anyone look at the photos I have of my body and tell me for sure if it's a 27 shell? Sorry guys for the "dumb" question, I'm just new to the Roadster stuff, but I'm sure I'll learn along the way.

 

Ok, I just had an extensive conversation with the Tech guy at Howell Sheetmetal and my car is actually a 1926, the dead give away was the door sill does not have the "Ford" script in it and it has the holes for the door sill panel that screws in place.

Mystery solved

That actually works out good, as the frame I found is a 1926 as well, so now when I title it everything will be correct.