Projects YARD ART ROADSTER (BUILD THREAD)

In 7 of alotted 45 days, you're moving along at a pretty good clip. Welds look good from here, so keep it up.
Exactly how did the '36 tranny case fit to the little 6? (does the hogs head have the '32-'48 passenger car pattern?)
Did you finalize spring length to fit between reversed '40 bells?
The thread is accelerating now. Good luck!

 

I am getting very excited myself. I have another set of used internals coming for the '36 trans. It looks as though the trans will bolt right up with no issues. The splines and pattern are the same. This is a 2nd gen 226, so the hogs head has the "V8" '32-'48 bell housing pattern. I haven't modified the rear axle yet. I want the trans installed first, because I may not have to shorten the torque tube. I'm going to try and use a Model A axle initially, and if all else fails I will cut up my '33-'34 rear. The front spring mount is being delivered today, and the spindle re-bush will happen soon after. More to be posted soon.

 

I was so excited to get most of my major parts today that had me road blocked. But it never fails that something will fail. I ordered the wrong front U-bolts a while back and thats why the spring hanger won't assemble correctly. Summit Racing and overnight shipping to the rescue. Progress will be made yet this week come hell or high water!

 

Experimenting with mirror placement while waiting on parts.

 

Here's my yard art roadster. The cowl forward is real 31 roadster. The rear clip is 29 coupe and the doors are some 31 coupe door skin bottoms. The running gear is all stock. From 20 feet, it looks like a beater.

 

It looks good from here!

 

My daughter likes helping me build the roadster.

 

The front axle is bolted in! The axle & spring assy is all new cheap catalog parts, but the split bones are "A" and the drop brackets were salvaged from an old junky axle I found at an auction for 5 bucks. It looks like they were in a similar location before.

 

Rebushed and reamed the spindles. Figured out approximate ride height. Just need to bolt up the trans case to figure out where the rear axle will live. It surprised me to see how low the chassis is sitting. I love it!

 

A sneak peak at the roadster during final ride height mockup. Everything fits great! Only hiccup is the rear spring mounts that weld to the axle. I will have to re-engineer those.

 

Everything in the driveline bolted together perfectly. All of the geometry is set. Extending the wheelbase 6.5 inches allowed the body to clear the engine, trans, and rear crossmember. The '37 steering column fits fine too with plenty of adjustment. Trans mount and rear spring mounts are next.

 

Picked up a good trans from Mike at Gas Axe Garage, plus I had bought some used internals to rebuild mine. Very relieved the transmission is nolonger a worry. With an empty trans case installed, I was able to locate the '36 mount in the same relative space the stock crossmember lives. The plan is to use the '36 mount flipped and bolt it to the underside of the stock crossmember. Now that I have good clearance, time to rebuild the structure.

 

I've come up with an extra set of real roadster doors and quarters so I'll put them on this and I make it all real roadster

 

Lemme guess, she’s also your project inspector, right?

 

First test fit and it works great. The trans is fully supported by the crossmember. Spacers will be welded in above the transmission mount after I add extra plate to the underside. I will hold off on the rest of the metal work until I can properly fit the brake and clutch pedal assembly.

 

It is far from perfect geometry, but you can't expect perfect from a 94 year old frame that was abused as a hay wagon after it was abused as a car. I will correct any ride height issues with Jack bolts like the old dirt track cars did. But more importantly, the frame is fully supported by both front and rear springs. I have more finish work to do, but the tricky stuff is done!

 

Dropped the windshield off to get glass installed, welded the front body mount tabs to the frame, fabbed the steering box mount, and finished the steering column mount. I'm running a '37 box and column with the correct frame mount.

 

Figured out where the pedals will live. I'm using 1950 F2 pedals. The pedal length looks tight to the bellhousing but ok. The crossmember will need more major surgery. Also laid out the dash.

 

Started work on the gas tank. Not planning any long roadtrips, so I went with a 6 gallon boat tank. I've modified it for a Willys truck sending unit and bottom gravity feed rather than syphon feed. I'm taking it to a professional to weld up everything Monday.

 

pedals look fine...since you're out of room leave the accelerator on the column like A and T

 

I like the hot rod. It is coming together nicely. I like MOPAR flathead straight six although I have never had one.
This is the gas tank I put in the trunk of my 1927 coupe.
It is a gas tank from a generator. It is also 6 gallons and is vented with it's own fuel gauge.

20220530_175254 by chessterd5 posted Aug 6, 2022 at 10:13 AM

20220612_151718 by chessterd5 posted Aug 6, 2022 at 10:13 AM

Looking forward to the rest of the build!
Thanks.

 

The pedals are tight, but I think there is room in front of the shift tower for the stock F2 pedal linkage or I have a spoon setup as well. I will know more once the floor is in. The column is a '37, so no accelerator present.

 

Looks like your tank works pretty good. I have 13 days left till Relix Riot. Trying to make big things happen. Should be more updates soon.

 

Big progress on the interior. The dash is 3/16 aluminum with an angle iron brace to mount the '37 column drop. I went with Willys CJ2A style gauges. Nothing cool, but cheap and period correctish. The seat frame is also completed, so I will attempt to bribe some tomorrow to upholster it quick.

 

Got the windshield back from A1 Auto Glass today. Chopped the stanchions 4". Still have a few things to tweak, but it looks killer!

 

Do you still have the v8 clamshell? Did you use it? Wanna sell it?

 

I used the clam shell to mate the '36 trans to the "A" rear axle. Sorry, I don't have any spares.

 

That windshield looks great. Very sensible and practical.

 

It's time to pull out the rear axle, finish the welding, clean, and reseal. Or so I thought lol. Some water had come out of the rear during mock up, so I figured I would dissolve the rust with Evapo-Rust and reassemble since everything turned good. Well Evapo-Rust won't fix a busted pinion gear. Roadtrip scheduled for Monday. 6 days till Relix Riot!

 

Dammit Jim!