Projects The Hardscrabble Hop-Up; A 1940's Style 'T' RPU build

Gary, i like the cut down windshield "photo shop"
the machine work reminds me, a customer tows in a '40 dodge coupe with a leaky head gasket, i pull the head and find two gaskets and the head is warped, i send the head out and they have to cut a lot off. i get a new gasket, put the head on and torque it down, fill the radiator and hit the starter....nothing. grab the fan...can't turn it. drain the radiator and loosen all head bolts. hit the starter and the head starts to "dance" on the block. turns out someone put chrysler pistons in a dodge block [different wrist pin location], so they put two head gaskets, and thus warped the head.
long story short [crowd voices; "too late"] I had the machine shop cut exactly what was sticking out of the block [1/8"] off the pistons and put it back together. fastest flat 6 i ever drove.....just wouldn't restart until it cooled off.

 

Nice, those are some of my favorite gauges. I've got a whole cluster of them waiting for a future project...


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Thanks to Sugar City Speed Shop for shining a light on this project. I'm only about half way through the thread (damn work getting in the way) but had to comment. I have been collecting many of the same pieces to do a roadster, especially chassis/suspension components. I too am shooting for a pre-war-ish period build. It will be great to see how everything fits together. I'm stoked to see more and more of these builds.

Thanks for sharing.

 

The long hours of sitting and staring brought me to the conclusion that the T shell I have is just not nice enough to go with. A little wheelin' & dealin' and I brought home this (32 commercial shell)...couldn't pass it up.

Damn-near perfect - almost nice enough for chrome plating

 

Ditching the T grill! No! Mock up that commercial grill and give us a look.

 

I like the t grill.

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maybe nickel plate it?

 

I like the looks of the T grille too, but mine is way too junky.

I'll need to cut down the '32 shell about 4 1/2" or so to get the right look.

Couple of different ways to do it 1940's style;

Chop off bottom of grille:


Cut sides of grille to fit down lower on the cross member:


At the moment, this little truck (on p 67 of Montgomery's Hot Rods: As They Were) really has me fired up;

 

Love the commercial shell! I have one getting painted for my '26 right now. I think I spent 10 hours beating mine back into shape and welding in missing bars and bottom sections, I only wish mine was as nice as yours is!

I notched mine to fit down lower over the crossmember like your second pic (I think the odd headlight bar is throwing off the look of that particular car).

I love the look. I know they're kind of a victim of their own popularity but they're popular for a reason, damnit! 32 shell says hot rod. I bought a '34 commercial stainless trim to go in mine from Drake and I cut up a 30-31 cowl band to go over the windlace channel on the back side for a little extra flash, I like it that way.

Looking forward to seeing this mocked up on the car.

 

I don't know about the '32 Commercial shell .....its too.....post-war. I think it gravitates the car too far into that 1946-1949 era.

The T shell keeps it in that 1936 - 1941 "Hot Iron" or "Supe Job" era..

I say stick with a T shell. That is my vote.

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I just added a T shell to my pile of Bobtail parts, and think the T shell might look best on you project. I know it could go a long way to funding other parts of the build. Bob

 

The T shell would be awesome, just don't think I can do this roadster justice finish-wise with a beat to hell nickel T shell.

The commercial grille certainly moves the 'era' a bit, although deuce shells were widely popular just before & during WWII. In fact, I've seen more period photos of 26-27 T's with deuce, A, or Whippet shells than T shells ('38-45 era) - that was a big consideration too from the standpoint of historical accuracy.

Jack Calori modified (1938);


Connie Weidel's 27 in 1942;




Dave 'Monk' Thormin (probably 1943-44);





I'd say it fits the '41-46 era well, which is more or less the era I was originally aiming for.

 

Sorta mocked up. I already have a '32 "B" radiator, so I mounted it up then carefully jacked the body up 'til it looked right. 4 3/8" seems to be the magic number.







More to come....

 

I really like the T shell but you are right when it comes to historical time frame, the deuce shell (commercial or not) would be something that was done in the late 30's. Get a pic from a bit further back, it is starting to grow on me.

 

Whoa! Crazy to see monk back then. I used to talk to him at the local cruise night in the early 90s. He was the real deal. God speed buddy!

Dave 'Monk' Thormin (probably 1943-44);




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That's cool that you knew him...

Monk also used a '32 Commercial shell on his 27 roadster! I believe this photo is from '46;

 

I like the '32 commercial shell. I think they were (and are) used a lot because they make sense with the styling of 20's bodies - pretty curvy and fluid...Whatever you go with, it seems like you put a log of thought into what you are doing and have great taste. Thanks for posting your build.

 

T - 32 grill shell - just makes sense to me, same way im going with my roadster with a big Connie Weidell theme, what length hood are you gonna run, i've measured mine out to 26" and it'll look just right, not a fan of the lengthened look of a T on Stock A rails

 

I absolutely love the Connie Weidell roadster!

On the hood, I'll be somewhere around 29-30 in length. A little longer than I wanted, but if I move the body up on the chassis, the bulge in the firewall interferes with removal of the cylinder head and the rear wheels will not be centered in the raised areas on the bed.

I might be able to shorten the hood a little by moving the radiator back an inch or so.

 

As I PM'd you the Tourer is around 770mm lip to lip - 765 bonnet length. Going to try and get the Coupe to the same if I can.

 

we measured mine up and with the "26 hood length the wheelbase will be 100" so stock T, i'm building mine front first then gonna make the rear axle fit the body as i want the tight front look.

 

Thanks Phil! That's just a hair under 30" - which is where I'm at on mine.

 

What motor are you going to use? The only I way I could possibly come close to making a hood that length work would be to notch the firewall....something to keep in mind if you're using an A motor

 

i'm running a modern 4 banger so abit shorter in length and height

 

Got some butcher paper & mocked up a hood top;

 

Was really hoping to see a T grille shell on this great build...not feeling the truck grille...maybe if it was a passenger grille...but I'm biased that way.

 

ditto

 

It's the only way!


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Nice! How much did you drop your grille shell?