Projects My "You didn't build that" 27 T Roadster build thread

you might have loved EVERYTHING about it, EXCEPT, It was built by a guy 'bout 6'3" and a guy 5'3" would stick up above the w/s.. very impractical, but looked so darn good settin' there....

 

Was that yours, Verde? The only thing I didn't care for we're the front coil overs.



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

Made it by Bob's tonight. The chassis now in guide coat and looks amazing!

Upon arrival Bob already had the body on a rolling body cart, so we loaded the cart and the body on the trailer and hauled them to Rick's for tomorrow's wild stripper party.... errrr, hot rod archeology expedition.

Funny thing happened today, and maybe I should give some back-story on the car to help frame today's phone call.

When I got the car I got NO history on it whatsoever. The title had an issuance date of something like 1994 if I remember correctly, the owner's name and a Utah city. Google to the rescue, I called the guy up. The car was built in the yellow iteration in the early 90's by a guy named Vince in the small town of Delta, Utah. At the time of the build it reportedly had a VERY hot 2.3 engine in it, that just so happened to have been built by Wayne Atkinson, a well known 2.3 guru and a good friend of one of my own good friends.

Talking to Vince, the car's 2.3, four speed and 4.11 gears made it fun around town (population 2000?) but the next nearest town was 50 miles away, a trip he made only once. Vince gave me a LOT of information about the car, where he found the body and A chassis and everything he did to it. He hand made patch panels out of sheet steel with a hammer and a bag, and admits it was his very first build. Uh-oh, what's tomorrow going to bring?

Some time before this all happened, member wayneat contacted ME asking if I knew a local hot rodder. I know him well. He's a good pal and has even commented on this thread. Well, armed with this new info on my then-new T roadster I called wayneat and asked about the hot 2.3. Wayne told me that the engine came out of a Pinto drag car. Bear with me, I'll try to get this right but I'm doing this somewhat from memory several years ago. The engine was in Wayne's son's (or son in law?) car. When bills and other responsibilities were being neglected Wayne repossessed the engine and trans. Vince later bought them and they found their way into MY T, minus the big turbo.

So anyway, my phone rings today. Seems that Vince has found his way onto the club's mailing list, which is GREAT. He moved to my town about a year ago, but we've never met. He hopes to be able to make tomorrow's club EATING (not meeting) and cruise to Dammeron Valley for the wild stripper party... errrr, you know what I mean.

I sure hope the patch panels and body work make him proud... film at eleven. Eleven tomorrow night, that is.



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

Stripper party! I'm there!

oh wait..... it means what? I've got my own car to work on today.

Have fun with it. If you find that "Hot 2.3" I'm looking for one for my painter Marty, he races circle track with a Pinto and blew his engine not too long ago. Thinking of trading for a fresh up paint job on my '58 Effie.

 

Looks like you had a great evening Tim, I just finished looking at your pics! Good friends and hot rods make for memorable experiences, don't they?

I'll ask Vince what happened to the 2.3 if he comes by today. I'm pretty sure it's long gone, but if you're having trouble finding a good core I'll bet wayneat could help you out.

My '27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

Well, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that the body is stripped. The bad news is the body is stripped.

Had a great breakfast with a few club members and headed up to Rick's. We hung out for a while and watched the paint, primer and bondo disappear. Since Bob's house isn't too far away most of the guys wanted to see his shop, so we left the blasting area and headed to Bob's.



Upon my return Rick and Todd (his son and my good pal) were blasting away. They started on the passenger cowl and had moved to the firewall, then the driver's side cowl. Things were looking about as expected, but the bondo was deeper than we anticipated... like 3/8" in places.



The patch panels on the bottom weren't butt welded, they were overlapped. Vince, who built the car in the early 90's showed up but I wouldn't let anyone give him trouble. It was his very first build after all, and we've all been there!

At this point we knew the cowl would need work but it certainly isn't unusable. The driver's door was pretty decent too, but once we made it to the driver's area behind the door we started growing concerned. There are several patch panels pieced together in the area and the "body work" leaves a LOT to be desired.





The space between the body and trunk fortunately hadn't been molded, just seam sealer to fill that gap. The driver and passenger side trunk area, as well as the tulip panel and area below the deck lid are reasonably nice.



Moving around to the passenger side area behind the door are more problems. Basically the same as the other side, going to need quite a bit of work to be filler free.



And then there's the passenger door. Um, shit.



With the bondo blasted away the doors no longer fit nicely. Big surprise. I'm discouraged, but the body certainly isn't dumpster material.

There is light at the end of the tunnel though. Bob has another T roadster body that was an old hot rod that was channeled. The great part is that this body is in EXCEPTIONAL condition, and Bob is offering it for sale. To me. Not you!

Typically I'd suffer through and "dance with the one I brung" but I think it's time to switch gears and sell my freshly blasted body. Bob figures he'll have 400+ hours in mine to make it "right", hardly part of my budget build. This body Bob has will take MUCH less work, which means less money, which also means on the road sooner.

Ugh. I'm using fewer and fewer parts from the original car we started with a year ago, but the end result will be so much better by starting with better parts. Now to try to offset the cost of the "new" body by selling the freshly blasted and now protected "old" body.

At least we had a killer sunset tonight.


My '27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

Hey Daddio, that's great news!
(Trying to stay upbeat.....)
That new body will look great and save you time and trouble in the long run.

 

Dang Eric that's a bumma. I have had times when my heart ended in my boots but there is always a way round it. This is why I am not touching the body on mine till I have to.Glad to hear Bob has saved the day so to speak. Can you tell me the size of the holes in the doors ? Onward and upward. JW

 

Beautiful sunset! Patch panels? well they're nice too.

I'm sure this will look top notch when done, that's why you stripped it all the way down.

 

Thanks guys, I'm glad I have an option here. At least I don't feel "stuck" with the body I have.

JW, they're about 1/8", Maybe smaller. As the filler was coming off we thought it had been hit by a shotgun, we later realized there were distinct patterns that followed wrinkles in the sheet metal. The holes were drilled for a slide hammer.

Tim, I got a little more on the 2.3 for you. It was in Wayne's stepson's drag race Pinto. Wayne gave it to Vince who ran it for years, then sold it. Wayne told him he wouldn't be able to run an automatic trans behind it because of the healthy cam. I guess it was pretty damn fast, too.

Did I mention Vince loaned me his scrap book of the car? I'll scan pictures later today and post them. Got LOTS to do: gun show, church, gun show, shooting, help a friend move and put a starter in another friend's truck. Maybe I'll scan those pics tomorrow.



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

So much for the good deal when ya started.
That puppy is RUFF !
400 hrs ? Didn't think Bob was that slow.

 

Wow, that yellow paint sure hid a lot. If you had never stripped it you would never have known.

This makes me glad I am taking the time to do mine as right as I can before moving on and I will rely on the usual skim coat of filler, certainly not 3/8 "

Post some Pics of the other body when you can.

Larry

 

That brown 27'T does belong to someone here on the right coast. I don't know who, but it is by far my favorite rod around! I believe it was built by Bad Donkey hot rods. At least it's tied to them somehow. This car is always with theirs. Like I said the car is incredible!

 

Hey Eric my brother may want that body if your selling PM me what you think you want and I'll ask him. If you don't have it sold already. Nice you have a back up plan.

 

Amazing what a little (lot) of bondo will cover up!

Lets see pictures of the new body when you get a chance for comparison. I think your body is actually not all that bad as most of the damage is in areas where patch panels are readily available.

 

Bob admit's he's not the greatest metal magician, but he's sure not a bondo slinger either. I'm not in the budget for 400 hours of work, someone else may be able to do it quicker but they charge a LOT more than Bob charges me. Yeah, it's rough but it's not dumpster material by any means.

Exactly. I'm really torn between "shoulda scuffed it and squirted it" and "holy shit what have I done." Regardless, at least now I know that the body was a lot rougher than I had hoped for, and I'm glad we stripped it down to reveal it's true character.

You're talking about the "finished" one with the Y block, right?

Curt, PM's sent and received. Thank you.

Will do. It's easy to get to, just need to do it.


We figured there was probably two gallons of filler used on the body, maybe 1 gallon or more left on it by the time it got paint. With some metal working skills and redoing a few patch panels here and there you could certainly minimize that amount, but then it's not going to be the finished product that I want my wife to end up with. So, we'll take a few steps back and start fresh.

Funny, I'm sitting here counting the parts from the car "as bought" and I'm down to just a handful.

• Rear end with brakes
• Front brakes
• Mustang steering box
• Lever action shocks

Stuff not used:

• Body with handmade trunk lid
• Chassis and title (sold to a nice guy in Vegas)
• Windshield stancions (too rough to chrome)
• Fiberglass T radiator shell
• Front axle and homemade hairpins
• Triangulated 4 bar links on rear
• Fuel cell
• Steering column and wheel
• Wheels and tires (sold to a racer in Vegas)

But hey! This is how we build hot rods, right? Buy something, use what we can, recycle the rest, and keep plowing ahead!

 

Dig your spirit Eric. JW

 

Thanks man. Happiness is a choice, setbacks can affect those choices only for a short time. We'll take our losses but be better for it in the long run!

 

Spot on my friend. JW

 

Nothing new to report, but I just noticed this thread was moved into the Traditional Hot Rods group. I'm actually flattered, I figured it would live in the General Discussion arena. Thanks mods.



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

A lot of drama for a car build hope you get it done......

 

I hear you, man. Sometimes when you put so much into something drama happens. It seems more like excitement to me. Kinda cool how these things unfold in front of you, the good and the bad, it's what makes the finished product special.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

You could post photos of the new body...

 

Wow Tony, haven't heard from you in a long time! No drama really, just sharing my ups and downs, successes and failures. We'll definitely get through it though!

Lots of excitement, just a little disappointment, and lots of unfolding. I'm very technical, but this thread is really more about the journey than a how-to I suppose. A book report, perhaps? If I were building the car in my garage or could be at Bob's for a few hours each day I could make this MUCH more technical. As it stands, I just get to see things once or twice a week after they're already completed.

Really, the thread is more for me to document the process for future reference. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed it too.

As soon as I get back to Bob's I will. This afternoon, maybe.

 

I wouldn't really call it drama so much as just life. In any project whether you are building it yourself or having someone else do it, life always has things in store for you to overcome.

I know there have been a few in my own thread and again, I don't call it drama just life.

How you deal with it all and carry on is what makes the difference,in life and getting a project done. ( Eventually in my case )

Will watch for pictures of the other body.

And don't let the changes get you down, I had different ideas for my project and have bought and sold a lot of parts as the build has evolved.

Larry.

 

Thanks Larry!

Hey guys, I finally made it back to Bob's yesterday. After looking carefully at the body, and comparing what needed to be done to the one Bob offered, we decided to move forward with the one we started with.

First and foremost, the frame was built to fit the body. Not knowing if Bob's body will fit is a big problem now that the frame is ready for paint. Next, as good of shape as it's in it's missing a few key parts and pieces that will take additional time and money to source/build like cross members, seating area and deck lid.

I guess distance makes the heart grow fonder, as looking over the original body it doesn't look as bad as I remembered. I specifically turned the body and cart to take the photos to the right lighting to show it at it's worst. That way, when a potential buyer was looking at photos he would know exactly what they were in for, and possibly be pleasantly surprised when he arrived.

Here's where the body and frame sit now.







And here's the body Bob offered.





On another note I spent several hours working on my shoebox yesterday. You know those remote oil filters for the full-flow bypass oiling systems? I think they're ugly as hell and wanted to change things up a little. So I cut apart the old oil filter and I'm hiding everything in it. Should be pretty trick when done.





My '27 T Roadster build:  http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

I love this build and glad I found it. I hate the body didn't turn out so great but there are some guys here on the HAMB that started out with worse! haha. Also, I love the oil filter modification you're making. Can hardly wait to see how you put it all together. Keep up the great work!

 

Question about this image:


What's the purpose of the piece at the bottom of the image? Why does is it appear to be somewhat cantilevered out into space and not attached to the frame rail at its end point?

 

See post #288

 

Thanks man, it's very appreciated. The body was a bummer but we'll cope, and certainly more has been built from less by guys here. FlamedAbone's Merc comes to mind! The oil filter mod came to a halt this afternoon. I made a change in a part that will improve the overall result, but have to hit the parts store in the next few days. I'll keep you posted.

Like Larry directed you, we covered this previously, but thanks for asking. The unsightly gap between the body, frame and wheel can be seen in this picture, but its a little tough to make out.



That gap really bothers me when not properly addressed, so Bob filled it in for me. There's a Japanese wannabe Harley in my neighborhood that has a similar gap between the frame and rear tire. That bugs me too. I want to flag him down and tell him to do something about it, it just looks unfinished.

Larry has this same illness I do believe.

Thanks bud!





'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383