Hot Rods 29 RPU- "Street/Strip" B/SR Build - Marty Strode

That Willys spent a few years in a local wrecking yard. While it was in their shop they built a frame for it that , now that I think about it, reminds me of a down sized monster truck. Out of square tubing. The scrub line was way below the bottom of the car body. And the front tires were hanging ( mostly) outside of the front fenders. This was around the late 70's....rumor is it hasn't changed

 

Many survive but there's no guarantee it's a positive survival...That said there's been some admirable resurrections to earlier times for these old pavement pounders...

 

The discussion over cats, Louie is only 3, can hardly wait until he is old enough to drive !

 

They might think they are going on a date, but she is Louie's sister.

 

They're giving you that "don't even think of sitting here" look.

 

No incest in the animal world?

 

I actually like/prefer cats, like dogs also have both but had to make earlier wise a$& remarks. No quail here but grow lots sunflowers for yellow finch. Can not take my cat for a ride goes crazy only trip is to vets. Love your build make a pass before winter.

 

I'd say they're both waiting to make passes in it!

 

A pic with a couple of those skunk you have up there in the cockpit might make for a fun shot. Borderline Christmas Card material…

 

Moi? But, @AmishMike started it .

 

Yup.....the passenger is a spitting image of our KoKo....RIP gone since 2016. Was in Iowa last weekend at my brother's shop. Four kittens showed up in the old cattle shed. He is trying to adopt them out. The little black one and the tiger one looked up at me with that "please take me home look". It was tough not to put them both in the truck !

 

I got the rear roll bar struts tacked in today, and tomorrow I will bend up the 1-1/4" tube that spans the bar, 3" below the shoulder height, to mount the harness.

 

I'm hoping I get to see you and your RPU at Firebird's Oldies but Goodies in June!

 

We will see, I have only heard good things about that racetrack !

 

Do you have any tricks for precidely locating the holes in the bed cover where the roll bar struts pass through? I have had problems locating a tight fitting hole to the bars. The holes usually end up bigger than I like.
Is there a foot welded to the bottom of the strut or does it telescope into the frame pads?

 

That’s not my department, @bskustoms will take care of that, won’t you Sam !

 

Eagerly awaiting the results...

 

I missed your question about the rear struts mounting. They have plates welded to the bottoms, the pictures are back on page 33.

 

Yup. I know that's how the NHRA wants them. So either there would need to be a hole in the cover big enough to pass the mounting plate thru, maybe with escutcheon covers or there would have to be (zippered?) slots in the cover from the holes to the edges. I have also run into this problem when running the tubes back in a closed car where they would have to pass thru a seat back panel going into the trunk. I've seen some jobs done so precisely that there was no gap between the panel and the bars. Not easy to do, especially if the bars are both angled and canted inward or outward.

I wonder why circle track organizations permit telescoping mounts, especially when the likelihood of gettng tangled up is somewhat higher than a drag racing situation.

 

I laid out and bent the cross bar behind the seats today. I used 1-1/4, .120 wall tube, rules state it needs to be level to 4" below the driver's shoulders. This one should come out around 2" below mine. Now, when someone comes by, to hold the other end, I will tack it on.

 

Nice! I've probably missed it previously, but that washer trick is the cats pajamas.

 

Dave, I save the blanks when I hole saw, have many sizes and they come in real handy for laying out lots of things. And I forgot to mention, when hole sawing the ends, don't cut all the way through, for safety sake. I finish the cuts with a Sawsall.

 

Marty -- Are you really that tall?
Stan

 

@Dean Lowe also wonders why the bar is that tall. The NHRA rules require 3” above the helmet, and the helmets are thicker these days. I don’t like it but I built it to race.

 

Well, I keep those slugs as well. But never thought about using them like that. Usually they end up being turned into something, just not a layout tool. Guess you can teach old dogs new tricks.

And great tip on the recip saw. I use one of those heavy duty fishmouthing devices, and it works great up to the last little bit. Then if not careful, oops break out another hole saw, because there's going to be some teeth missing. You've just saved me some money.

I guess I spent too much time behind a desk the last 30 plus years...

 

We never had to deal with the 3" rule Marty.

 

I know, it makes it impossible to build an era correct car/truck (topless) but it will have to do. If I did tip it over, it’s probably safer.

 

...may it always point up and tilt back and back down again only, for ever and ever...

 

Yeah, Marty! No greasy side up!

 

I rigged up some blocks and tacked the cross bar in place, a couple inches under my shoulders. Now to fab the throttle pedal and hook up the linkage.