Projects The Geoffrey Skene 1932 Roadster - Full Build by Early V8 Garage

@Dennis Lacy
You have Fantastic fabrication & eye for detail
I have question about the Vented & lighten drums , Does it create a lot of brake dust , & does it reduce the brake stopping force or would it give better stopping force by dust escaping
& heat ?

 

Kinmonts! Wow!

Never seen those hubcaps before, either. They look incredible.

Thanks for all of the time and effort that goes into these build threads, @Dennis Lacy. I used your '32 PU thread heavily when getting my own front end sorted out.

 

Wow, fantastic, and the fine details are amazing! I'm absolutely thrilled.
Regards, Harald

 

Dennis
The quality of your work and the level of detail you have captured in photos is top shelf.
I can look at photos of deuce ch***is' all day long no matter the category of car they are being built for but this one.................man, it's in a league of its own.
You no doubt have been giving the owner progress shots of this work but I'm betting he looked like he had been struck by lightning at first sight of the ***embled ch***is, I know that's how I would have reacted.
I'm really looking forward to continued progress.

 

Great Job...

 

btt

 

What did you do to prevent rust from developing between the X-member's extension legs & the inside of the original frame?

 

Disc brakes and aluminum wheels! Getting fancy over there! Ch***is looks great!

 

These are not drum brakes, the aluminum “drum” is just a hat that spins with the hub. The inside edge of the hat has teeth that engage with and spin a friction disc. The wheel cylinder applies a pressure plate against the disc. They basically work like a clutch. As for brake dust, I’ll find out when it’s road worthy!

Thank you for saying that and that’s awesome that my old truck thread helped you out. Happy to say it’s still on the road and gets daily driven regularly.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for all those kind words. I’ve wanted a project on this level for years and I can’t thank the owner enough for the opportunity. He’s the best! And, yes, he was extremely happy with it in person and showers me with praise which felt awesome!

Same thing Ford did, nothing. I cleaned everything to bright, shiny steel and wiped down with lacquer thinner. By the time it matters I won’t be around anymore.

Street Rod!

 

PART 36

Next step was to build actual motor brackets to pickup the mounts on the water pumps while using the 32 inboard mounts to keep the engine properly located. I got an image in my head of how I basically wanted them to look and started with the p***enger side. Once that side was built and I decided I was happy with the fit and design I built a mirror image for the left. They are made out of 1/8” and the curved flanges started as 1/8 X 1” flat bar trimmed down to 3/4” wide and then shaped cold around a piece of 2.5” aluminum I had laying around.

The motor mount pads are a discovery I made last year and put to use on my 32 Pickup. I was getting frustrated at how fast the typical stock rubber pads deteriorate and collapse and after hunting around the web I came across these kits on Amazon for universal polyurethane pickup cab mount pads. They come in a 2-pack for $30 and are nearly drop-in replacements, they just require the register holes in a stock frame be enlarged slightly and they are only taller than a Ford rubber pad by the thickness of the large gold washer. They’ve been in my truck for a year now and work flawlessly!

The finished mounts bolt in with the shock bolts and raise the engine about 1 - 3/4” over stock.

 

I have been using urethane Tri-five Chevy motor mount cushions in some of my kits for years, they work great and last forever.

 

Incredible work! I'm glad we stopped by GNRS week.

 

PART 37

A while back I had set aside a 1934 pedal set figuring it would make sense seeing as how I put a 34 X into the frame.





Got them broken down and sand blasted. Put new bushings in the pedals and reamed them to fit the new shaft that I made from 7/8” water hardened drill rod.



On the pedal bracket I fully welded the two sleeves that hold the shaft. From Ford these are spot welded and occasionally break off so for peace of mind I made sure they’ll never fail.





Like new! I also dug through my stash and found a nice, original mechanical brake light switch and hardware.





Pedals bolted into their original position on the X. They fit just about perfect. Might need a slight tweak in the end to position the pads just right but as-is looks really good. Pedal pads are 1940’s Mopar.

 

What a beautiful ch***is.

 

Great work, Looks awesome in photos but even better in person.

 

Thank you! Glad you stopped by to see it.

 

Woah... that's a work of art.

 

Awesome work, Dennis! I wish I had your patience for the details you show so well. Very professional execution.

Al Hook

 

Thank you! Very kind of you to say.

Thank you! Sometimes my patience is forced but I just keep the end goal in mind.

 

Amazing! Very impressive work. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride.

 

Amazing work...Everything you are doing is incredible..

 

Thank you both!

 

PART 38

The next step is to build a combination master cylinder and rear suspension mount bracket. After much thinking and imagining I realized that I could incorporate the basic engineering of the 1933/1934 master cylinder bracket kit that we sell. The kit bracket is made from a combination of 1/8”, 3/16” and 1/4” material and has a single rear facing gusset to counteract the thrusting force put on the bracket when operating the master cylinder.

I designed a new bracket made entirely from 1/4” material, fit a rearward gusset on both sides and made heavier duty tabs on the gussets. The bell crank, bell crank hangers, adjustable pull rod and pushrod are all taken directly from our kit. The bracket is not finished but at this point the master cylinder is fully functional with 30 years of proven engineering.

 

PART 39

The center hole in the face of the bracket accommodates a bushing set used on 1970’s/1980’s Ford F150 Pickups and Broncos with twin I-beam, split wishbone front suspension. This will allow the rear radius rods to be tied together into a wishbone with a central pivot like the front. This idea was recommended by friends Peter Eastwood and Derek Bower when they were visiting the shop a while back. Pete explained that this setup is what Jim Jacobs used on his infamous yellow 34 Coupe. If this is good for P-Wood and Jake then it’s definitely good for me! It was highly recommended that I find an NOS, USA made bushing kit and I found a mint Moog kit from the 80’s on eBay.






To further brace the bracket for the thrust forces from the suspension I needed to build forward bracing. I started by making a flange from 1/4 X 1” flat bar to match the curve of the back edge of the transmission saddle. I did this in my press using the same pushing tool I made to re-arc spring leaves.



The idea is then to make plates that extend forward to the flange.



The flange was drilled and then the saddle match drilled and bolted tight.



Before adding the forward braces I needed to install a 1 - 7/8” OD X 1 - 5/8” ID X 3/8” sleeve to the backside of the bracket to fully support the bushing set.



The forward braces were made from 1/4 X 3” flat bar and tacked in place. The bracket was then put in place so the flange could be marked for alignment.





The forward braces and flange are fully welded and then test fit and bolted tight. In this process I decided to remove the outer parts of the flange as they really don’t do much.

 

PART 40

I also realized a way of supporting the transmission needed to occupy the same general area. I wanted to utilize another pair of the polyurethane mount bushings I used for the motor mounts. My first thought was to build a pair of pods and hang them off the inside of the X member legs but the master cylinder pull rod is in the way. Then I realized I could add pods to the sides of the master cylinder / rear wishbone bracket so I created a pair in similar fashion to the motor mounts I had previously made and tacked them on. I also added a 1/4 X 3 X 3 piece to tie the tops of the previously added forward braces together at the top. It’s one hell of a bracket but it covers all 3 major needs of master cylinder, rear wishbone and trans mount.

This is where I ended up before locking up for the weekend. Next will be to fully weld the pods on and then create a bracket that bolts to the trans and sits on the mounts.

 

PART 41

Finished welding the transmission pods to the frame bracket and gave the whole thing a final detail. This is, probably, the most elaborate apparatus I’ve ever made and when bolted in place not only does it serve 3 vital functions, it stiffens the center of the X significantly.

 

Man what a tank! Looks great

 

What great fab work!

 

This is an awesome build. I love this kind of build thread with lots of pictures and explanations of the work being done. It’s a how to build.
Thank you for taking the time to show how to properly build a 32 frame.
Robert

 

Just checking in on the amazing progress. Dennis, I'm glad to call you a friend. You are doing great, keep going.