You know the struggle then of dealing with someone else's build skills. You can tell mine was built with good intentions and some good parts. Unfortunately some of the execution wasn't what I would call acceptable. It's difficult for me to not want to totally rebuild it lol. I'm forcing myself to prioritize safety ( as much as can be expected in a four wheeled motorcycle) and reliability first and then worry about looks. It is interesting trying to figure out the what and why of this build. I wish I knew some local car guys that are familiar with t-bucket type cars to look it over and give me honest opinions on topics too lengthy to type lol. Btw on my short list is change the windshield to something like yours. Is that a 4" chop? I don't like the long bars running to the front on mine
I just got done putting my drag link behind the axle and through the hair pins. Your axle is way out in front of the radiator so I'm not sure what you will run into . If I was you I'd get aftermarket spindels and bolt on arms then you dont have to mess with your chrome ones . It's likely cheaper to just buy new chrome ones than getting yours rechromed. Just from pushing mine i can tell the more correct Ackerman angles make it much better I think it looks cleaner to . I want smaller brakes so the 14" Torque thrusts will work. I think on a T like these if you have a mag type wheel a 14" looks fine on a smaller car and gets it a bit lower with less work . Im going for a early to mid 60's look to use up a lot of the speed equipment I have from then If I has to start over I'd have the radiator over the axle like most earlier cars . If i can find disks im keeping the VW calipers and aluminum hubs. lot less weight to.
If I build one myself it would definitely be taller like yours. Is your cowl cut for clearance of the distributor? In my search for front brake options I found this wilwood kit. It might clear your 14" wheel?
The body was cut / hacked before I got it 25 years ago or so . but if I want to run the radiator were is should be and the rear wheels were they need to be then it needs to be there to clear a standard Chevy points distributer. Ill be running a big Mallory coil driven magneto maybe, so Ill want some clearance anyway . Why make it harder to work on? . It will clear a Joe hunt vertex now for sure I double checked . Im trying to get the engine another 1/2" back now the water pump shaft is like a 1/4" from the walker radiator . hoping to cheat the rear end back a 1/4 with the heim joints and move the body back 1/4" and the engine a 1/2". I have a 30 1/2" long hood Id like to be able to use Its cut to be channeled but im going to not channel it and I plan on running a set of model A boxing plates i had cut years back that will formed to the body line . to give it a kind of like its on a 32 frame type look . That my plan this week any way . Sort of a second set of frame rails . should stiffen it up and also give a better place for a roll bar to mount maybe . It going to have some HP so Id like stiffen up the frame and give it a bit of side impact protection as well . Those Willwood brakes are expensive and Id like to use the crap I have . this is actually a spare parts build from stuff I collected for a second better build I hope someday . Seems like there should be a 10 or 11 " disk brake set up for a stock type ford hub . there is for a Chevy hub and spindel set up . I need/ want to keep the lugs chevy 5 on 4.75 pattern so I can run the other rims and race stuff I have. This might see some light drag strip use ( 300' street drags ) . I may run the Hilborn injection in my avatar with a belt drive pump set up I have . Im a long way from done and its going slow slow slow
Not to throw this thread off topic too much, but that was Jerry Dixey's 27. I have articles saved from Street Rodder when he had the top made. I emailed him once to ask about the windshield. He said that it came from the guys at Shadow Rods and the windshield for the XL-27 fit his original cowl with little to no modifications.
I took the top section of my windshield off along with the bars running down towards the radiator. It looks much better and looks like the on Jerry dixeys 27
Some chopped windshield posts and the bottom half of your window or a new one would go a long ways to changing the look . Some different wheel other than the center lines would also really make a difference. Not a lot of money for what you get in looks I remember in the early 80's people had to have those wheel ( my self included ) There on my Vette still . The wheels really date the car . maybe in 50 years they will be the cool thing again on a 80's nostalgia build . That an all the billet they had then . I have a set I considered having powder coated black . I haven't decided what I'm doing for a windshield on mine. I have a 4" chop from speed way set of posts that are still pretty tall . I may cut them a bit since there rustly any way and then take the top and bottom frame and cut the center out and butt them together. How reinforced are your posts under the cowl ?
The posts look well supported for a small windshield in my opinion, it has a piece of angle iron running across that also supports the dash and steering column.
1biggun, After getting the fuel system sorted I was able to test drive it and it has horrible death wobble at 35 mph. Tried all the normal stuff like alignment, tires, tightening stuff ect. After pulling everything apart and seeing the condition of the parts assembled in the early 80s I ended up deciding to just rebuild/ replace a bunch of the front end parts including the brake system to make it more reliable, safe, and easier to get replacement parts. So I won't be using anything from the kingpins out including the brakes. I'm still waiting on parts to put it together and when I'm done I'll get pics of the excess parts and post them on here. I ended up ordering new spindles that use bolt on arms along with dropped arms that clear the hairpins. A new tie rod assembly that's a larger od and uses larger rod ends. (Hopefully will cure the death wobble) these parts will allow me to switch the steering to behind the axle and hopefully fix the Ackerman angle.
I did get the fuel system all sorted out, bought aan aluminum tank with a center fill that fit perfectly after making some mounts.
I have had a '27 and still have (2) ,'23's. and chances are your "Death Wobble" is the result of the Ackerman is not correct. If you take a string from the center bolt of your spindle arm/drag link to the center of you pinion it should make straight line through the kingpin. If not you have an Ackerman issue. You can heat and bend your steering arms but you will loose your old chrome. So plan on replating your spindles after bending and you will also need a longer drag link/tie rod.
I agree the Ackerman angle is incorrect in this car. I am in the process of fixing that, still waiting on parts ugh. Questions I have is how the majority of the T's I see at shows have the tie rod out front with bad Ackerman angle but they drive fine according to the owners I've asked. And driving straight ahead how does the Ackerman angle come into effect? I understand the problems with turning. My car has 15k miles on it by previous owner and he couldn't have driven it 35mph the whole time so Ackerman can't be the sole cause of a death wobble? As I mentioned before I'm in the process of rebuilding/re-engineering the front end. Hopefully it solves a few issues.
I think the issue with "death wobble" on mine was mainly caused by the kingpins. Previous owner had a receipt for new kingpins. It appears the shop "upgraded" the kingpins with the roller bearing type and didn't shim it correctly. One side had shims but the other side had .040 vertical play. I'm guessing it's an old front axle and their kit didn't come with enough shims. Also the steering box was not centered in its travel by 1/2 turn, The castor was set at 12°, and I think the tie rod up front was undersized. Another thing I noticed today while trying to install the new rod ends on the draglink was that the bolt holding it to the pitman arm was only a 1/2 bolt through the rod end. The arm is setup for a tapered ball joint. And the rod end was just tightened into the tapered hole. It wasn't loose but can't be the safest way. Picking up a 5/8 LH tie rod end tomorrow. Hopefully the taper matches the steering arm. At least they had the nut safety wired lol
Trust me on this. If the Akerman is off the car will never drive as it should. Turn your wheels either left or right and look at the difference between right and left. The inside wheel should be at a tighter angle than the outer wheel when it should. be the other way around. It will also scrub the shoulders off your tires in a relatively short time.
A LOT of folks run too much pressure in their tires on these cars. You probably need something in the low 20# range for the fronts. I would start at 25 and inch it down. My old T liked 23#. Too much PSI an you will get the "superball" effect that creates bounce and oscillations
Great car! Lots of good info here, I have had many of the same problems as you, terrible shake at 25 mph, turned out to be a bent spindle, new speedway spindles , arms and tie rod behind the axle makes my track roadster a dream to drive, I have 11” dodge rotors, gm metric calipers and it stops perfectly, never ever thought about them being too heavy. Also changed the pedals and master for better ratio… those Ts really use up space fast!
I agree totally on the Ackerman angle being bad for turning, my car has a 122" wheelbase and it was a bear pushing it to turn it around on concrete. 30 point turn. I'm still not convinced that causes death wobble. My car doesn't have shakes or shimmy, it felt and looked like the wheels were turning together and apart in quick sequence. There's a video of a jeep with the same thing on YouTube. Definitely oscillating. I could accelerate out of it and would go up to 55 fine but as soon as I started slowing back to 36 it would start. Dipping a tire in the grass would stop it but obviously one can't drive like that. Regarding the difference in wheelbase from right side to left side. I set the front end squared off the frame mounts of the hairpins so it is the same on both sides. ( Measured from top bolt on upper batwing to center of bolt on hairpin frame mount) I have about a 1/4" difference measuring from same hairpin mount bolt to center of rear axle. I'm afraid to even open the can of worms trying to adjust the rod ends holding the rear axle. Every rod end in the front end was seized. I'm guessing they didn't know about anti-seize when it was put together. And the rear ladder bars are definitely home-made and not in a good way. Really want to just drive it.
Also the tie rod end I bought didn't match the taper of the steering arm. Didn't realize there is multiple size tapers. I sure am learning a lot. Crash course in straight axle suspension. I guess what I need is a pinto taper ball joint with left hand 5/8 thread. The only thing I found is an adapter from speedway that has the right taper on one end and a 5/8 threaded section on the other. This will allow me to use the 5/8 rod end I already bought. More waiting on parts.
I appreciate that you're coming back and giving the results of your testing. It's sure to help someone else down the road.
Got the front end put back together. Finally was actually able to drive it! Found out I had one tire that was egg shaped. They were brand new when I got the car but who knows how long it sat? Took the tires in to have them balanced and they guy came right back and said these can't be balanced. Fortunately they had two of the same size in stock. (185/65-15) The death wobble is gone up front. I drove it around about 40-50 miles. Runs cool, has a stumble when secondaries kick in. I think that's related to the advance in the ebay HEI distributor I put in? So that's next along with getting the rearend sorted out. It has a watts link setup that the center pivot is wallowed out and again the rod ends are sloppy with no jam nuts so it gained some side to side play and the coilovers feel way too stiff, rides like it has no rear suspension. Of coarse I'm sitting on a piece of plywood as a makeshift bench seat so you feel everything. It also has a vibration that feels like the driveshaft. It looks like a homemade shortening job so it's at least out of balance or maybe not welded straight. Even with these problems it's awesome to drive, its like a big gocart. It's cool getting all the thumbs ups and looks. The windshield is about 6 inches to short for me so you definitely get the wind in your face. I also decided not to lose my hat and set it next to me, bad idea as my balding head got sunburned!
Good work, keep it up. That driveshaft being welded anywhere but tube to end is a really bad idea. R and R that thing for less vibration and some peace of mind. Thanks for the detailed posts.
Just an update, got a new driveshaft installed. And a friend of mine machined the bushing out of the watts link and pressed in an actual bearing. I also took the top frame of my tall T windshield and cut it down. Had a local glass shop make new glass.
Still working on getting the interior done. I built a plywood seat so I could try out different positions and angle . Settled on this that gives me the most room (6' tall) and still will allow me to get below and behind the seat. Hopefully in January I have an upholstery shop that can fit me in.
I’ve never been a fan of Heim joints on street car steering. If you still find wobbles, I’d recommend switching them to proper tie rod ends. Might require purchase of fresh steering arms that didn’t have the taper removed. The standard old Ford taper is 7 degrees.
Thanks, I believe my problems were the front kingpins having tons of vertical slop (40 thousands one one) and the front tie rod was really flimsy. When I upgraded the front I put the tie rod behind the axle and the new rod was much thicker. Don't know if I mentioned it but they had the castor at about 14°, I adjusted it to 7° and with the proper shims in the kingpins It truly drives great now. So far I've had it up to about 80 mph on a good road and it can be driven with one finger. No shakes or shimmy. I did buy a new set of friction shocks and a friend machined them to work and be easily adjusted.
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