Projects 1927 MoPar Powered Model T Coupe

I also fabricated a setback firewall (it's not the prettiest but it works) to clear the rear of the block and close out the engine bay.

 

The project really picked up speed once I got the firewall and steering figured out. I ended up blasting the whole car apart and did a little work on the engine before finish welding the frame and starting assembly.

I got the green engine from a friend of mine and was told it was low miles and so on...... well it had sat outside for a couple years at a local custom shop that decided they weren't going to use it in anything. that being said it froze a couple times in that period of time and as a result the head had a large crack in it and the block had all the core plugs pushed out of it. so the first thing to do was take the head off and inspect the top end. after getting it opened up i found it has .020 Silvolite pistons in it and the bores were all in good shape, no rust and no vertical scratching! One of the exhaust valves was stuck open to I pulled all the valves out, cleaned them and the guides up then did a quick lap job just to clean any carbon fouling off the seats and faces. in may I picked up a 55 cylinder head that was in good shape and dead straight so A quick blast of the deck surface and combustion chambers then a lick of silver paint. with the top end all figured out I pulled the pan and oil pump off. to my pleasure I found that yes this engine was rebuilt not that long ago. The oil pump drive gear wasn't even polished up on the drive side yet. Score! So I cleaned up the the pan and the block and gave 'em both a couple coats of paint and they were ready fo assembly.

 

With the engine all figured out and the fab work all sorted out. I blasted the car apart and finish welded everything. After a bit of prep and weld dressing it was time for paint and the beginning of final assembly.

 

With the frame mostly dressed out with exception of exhaust and plumbing. I decided to finish out the firewall and paint it.

 

Man on paper this sounds like it could be a mess but dang it if this isn’t shapping up into a really cool hot rod! Thanks for sharing!

 

Lookin good

 

After Plumbing fuel and brake lines and a final fit up of the fuel tank bracket I decided to tackle the exhaust. Not wanting to have the pipe run below the frame rail too much, I got creative. Took a good look at the situation and decided that there was plenty of room in the web of the bellhousing on the passenger side that I could drill an oversized hole and run the exhaust pipe through it and continue it back just under the factory cross member and turn a 90 at the end just past the door in front of the right rear tire. The whole exhaust ended up being roughly 5 feet long with a 12" glass pack muffler.

 

With plumbing and exhaust done it was time to put the body on and start final assembly ahead of electrical. after marrying the body and frame together things picked up speed exponentially. My goal of making it to Goodguys at Puyallup was actually looking attainable. All that was left at this point was wiring and tires.

 

Awesome.

 

Ended up using a generic 12 circuit wiring harness to wire up the car. Came up with a creative way to use the stock Model T ignition and headlight switch for start, run, high and low beam.

I did have some hiccups while wiring the car though. Should have planned ahead better and made provisions to run the wiring through the frame rather than on the bottom of the sub rails on either side of the body. Still things turned out quite nice and clean. With the ignition wiring all done I took it for a quick spin around the parking lot. Talk about a major kick of ambition and pride. Left me grinning ear to ear for hours. Tackled the lighting the following day, headlights, turn signals brakes, and running lights. All the circuits are switched with relays so that there is very little current running through the almost 100 ear old ignition switch on the dash.

 

After a few joy rides around the parking lot at my shop. Flushed with joy and motivation. I took that momentum and finished up the headlight and tail light wiring. With that it was off to the races as they say. Decided to got for a maiden voyage to the local drive in burger joint with my dad for lunch. About 6 blocks down the street from the shop. Lets just say, no success comes without challenge. Sitting at a light about a half a block from the burger joint I looked down to the temp gauge and notice it was over 220ºf , light turned green and I quickly swooped into the parking lot. Parked and looked down at my feet. They were wet. shut it down and walked around. Ended up that the freeze plug behind the started had blown out. So it was parking lot rescue time. Waited for it to cool off. left my dad with the car and caught a ride with my mom back to the shop and auto part store to get some tools, freeze plugs and 3 gallons of water. Needless to say I caught it in time and successfully installed a new freeze plug in the parking lot. Big thanks to my parents what would a guy do without em'?

 

With the first real hurdle out of the way it was time to start cruising and going to shows. Wound up taking the car to the Demonos CC show at the Buckley Eagles and then cruising out to a family memorial service in Black Diamond in the evening. Right around 95 miles for the first run. Talk about a great day. The weather was great and fortune favored the bold. Armed with enough water freeze plugs, tools and riding on 4 rotten bias ply's I was in for a heck of an adventure. Chasing this thing down the road on tires that are out of round and have flat spots is not for the faint of heart. Had a great time at the car show and won "Best Rat Rod". Not my favorite nomenclature but I appreciate the sentiment and it shows that there are folks out there like me that like stuff that is different from the norm. With the shortage and inflated price of Bias Ply Firestones in the sizes I wanted. I decided to put my order in for Diamondback Auburn Deluxe radial tires the Monday after. ended up going with 5.50-16's in the front and 7.50-16's in the rear.

 

Can’t wait to see your rat rod on the new rubber! - kidding

 

Now, doesn't the terminology 'Rat Rod" applied to your car Just make your Sphincter Twitch?

 

After ordering tires it was time to get going on the wheels. I snagged a set of early ford 16's 2 16x4's and 2 16x4.5's. So it was time to strip and prep them for powder coat. After blasting and welding I sent them off for coating. that was a bummer. The powder coater did a shit job. they came back with smudges, bare spots and powder contamination everywhere. So after some consideration I decided to just prep and paint them. The nice part is that the powder made for a great primer so paint coverage came up nice in only 2 coats. With the wheels all painted up it was time to mount the tires get en on the car and get on the road!

 

Looks great! Curious if it would look cool with
The grill shell painted black also

 

I just went and measured the engine compartment on my T coupe. A Mopar flat six would fit. You are a bad influence.

 

Everyone needs, at least one bad influence in their life

 

I had though about it too. What I would really like is to find a nickle plated shell. I had one but it was really rough and I sold it with the black body.

 

Mission accomplished! Ended up making it to Goodguys Pacific Northwest National. Had a couple loose ends to tie up beforehand though. The radiator still needed an upper support so I fab'd one up quick and I made a quick floor mat to stop some of the hot air coming in through the floor and firewall. I used a $16 exercise mat off Amazon and made the whole floor mat in one piece.

Googuys weekend went off without any challenges. I had a blast each day having quite a few discussions with old timers and young guns alike. Who really liked the fact it was different. Some scoff at the power plant but when they finally look at the whole thing they appreciate it. Also ended up picking up some stripes towards the end off the day on Saturday from Noah Mahoney. He did an awesome job. Some subtle accents on the firewall and a nice simple piece on the deck lid. Turns out the car cruises pretty nice on the freeway (not my favorite with a 104.5" wheelbase). At 65mph the engine is only runnin at 2500rpm. She's a bit twitchy at speed. So a better alignment is due in the near future. That and I need to get the ball rolling on ordering safety glass windows for the piece of mind, since all the windows are still pane glass.

 

After Goodguys I went to the Sumner Main Street Associations car show on main street and won best unfinished! Ended up posted up with @CGkidd I was still in shakedown mode at the time but all things seem to be in good shape.

 

Wow you did a standup job @27 MoPar T and welcome to the Hamb...talk about talented, resourceful and motivated...I dare say, you made it look easy and it's not...glad you or the mill wasn't damaged in the heat blowout...that's hot!

 

Ended up driving and enjoying some cruises and meetups in the car for the remainder of the summer. All together the car has been a dream to scoot around town in. I did however have to change the water pump and flushed the transmission a couple times before finally filling it with 140w to make it shift nice and leak less. I have been working on little things lately. One was the distributor and timing. I was having trouble getting the timing to stay steady. So I pulled it out and took a look at it. Ended up having one of the pivot pins for the mechanical advance weights loose and the springs were loose on the weights. So I staked the pin to tighten it back up in the plate on the shaft and re-installed the springs and squeezed the eyelets to tighten up the springs. Put the whole lot back in the car and fired it up. To my pleasure 22º at 2800 without vacuum and 42º at 14 inhg. No more Pinging driving uphill Hooray!!!

Also finished up an art project that a fellow Hot Rodder who was taken before his time gifted to me 18 years ago. "Chopper" Rich Hozjan Formerly of the Coffins Hot Rod Gang in Seattle. Gave me a really cool clear shift knob that was cast with purple metal flake from the top of his Dodge Coronet "Miss Carriage" and some spray paint tips. Drilled and tapped the base then polished it up on the lathe. Thing turned out pretty slick I think Rich would have been stoked to see it finally in a car. Nothing like paying homage to your buddies and showing off their work!

I also finally installed the a fuel gauge in place of the ammeter. It pained me to holesaw through the 96 year old dash but it had to be done to make the damn thing fit.

 

I have also been musing over putting a hood on the car but will have to either section and stretch the one I have or order one from rootlieb. Their price is steep but their quality is right there with the best around. Ended up at the end of the build running into a snag with the radiator and had to move it forward just over and inch to clear the fan so now the hood's too short. Dang it!
I also need to order a one piece visor from Howels. The car doesn't look "Right" without one.
To Do's going forward are: Window gaskets and have safety glass made. Repair the side glass channels and rebuild the regulators. Replace the door latches or recondition them and possible rebuild the seat frame to make it adjustable. And as money and time permit build a Hi-Po 218 out of the other 3 engines I have laying around. That and find another New Process A21 Dodge Truck Transmission for a backup.


But here's a mock up shot with the hood I have on it. Also here's a picture of the transmission casting numbers if anyone has one that is serviceable let me know I would be interested in talking to you about it



And for good measure here's a sneak peak of whats in store for the engine bay

 

Dayuum, cool stuff Hamber...

 

Thanks! It wasn't without copious amounts of help in the parts department from my buddies @CGkidd and @Dynaflash_8. they both have made the same comments you have. I kept telling them the whole thing was "Seat Of My Pants" and they both replied " Your seat of the pants is pretty damn cool" and "You must have been planning this for a long time" But truthfully I was just taking what I could get for cheap, free or a reasonable prices and putting those things together in the the most visually and mechanically appealing way possible. It has really been a head turner and head scratcher for people everywhere I go and I wouldn't have it any other way. like I've said before I wanted to build something different. I like all the other traditional ford stuff but I like to break the mold with everything I do. It's more fun that way!

 

Looks great glad you’re getting good miles in.

edit: geeze you guys posted four times by the time I replied lol

 

That's a very inspiring story...I'm proud of you and your mentors...

I was going to share your Hotrod in the 'Homogenized' Thread but perhaps it would be better for you to do it...Why should I get likes for it...I see you already know where it is...

The Threads about Hotrods that were ansd are just a little different from the mold so to speak...I'm sure you would find the Thread enlightening but warning it's pretty huge...

Gosh at the rate you pumped that out you you have me wondering what else is that Hotrod mind of yours...But hey your still on this one and living a bit of a dream I'd say...I look forward to your journey with it...

By the Way Hamber @Phil P has a Model a Damn near the same color as your T...

There's a number of Hambers who run them Flathad Mopars...I believe @rusty rocket ran one in his single seat racer...

 

@Stogy I'd share it in the "Tired of Homogenized Hotrods" thread, but I don't have any pics that showcase the engine on the finished car. Most of them have the rad and grille shell in the way. Hopefully the on the next crispy, cold, dry, sunny..... fall day here I can dig the car out and take some better pictures to share.

 

No problems. I share many pics of builds in progress, you can share now, and share often, partial doesn't matter it is what it is...Mopar six and more......Is that a Hamber's Sport Coupe with the checkered firewall? You have some great Budds to hang with...

Oh don't forget to share the link to your Thread when you do...It helps others find your Build Thread if you have one...