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

Very thoughtful. Looks great.

 

Wow, that ch***is is beautiful, so much meticulous, loving attention to detail;
it’s unique.
It belongs in the Museum of Modern Art for everyone to see, I love it.
The dashboard and instruments are absolutely stunning.
Best regards, Harald.

 

Love the extreme detail on the ch***is, great that you do***ented it so well so everyone can see it before it’s hidden under the body. I agree it needs to be on display or at least a picture of it wall sized. Amazing work.

 

Thank you, ALL, so very much!

 

PART 62

With the gauge layout locked in it was time to figure out how to mount them as they are designed to be installed from behind like early Ford gauges.

I decided to build a backing plate system that would attach to the dash and have the necessary tabs and screws for the gauges. A template was made from some s**** 18 gauge sheet. It turned out nice enough to use but is just too flimsy. I also had a 4’ strip of hot roll 16 gauge left over from some shearing I had done, which is nice and sturdy but, at 4” wide wasnt wide enough. So I decided to weld two pieces together.

I started by just tacking in 3 spots then drew the gauge holes and center punched for the hole saw, that way I would only weld between holes.



After welding the piece was a bit “sprung” but I went ahead and cut the 4 holes thinking they would relieve enough tension to flatten the plate again, and thankfully I was right! It was trimmed to shape and test fit with the gauges. Just a little finessing of the holes and the gauges fit like a glove.







After a lot of staring at it I came up with a design for a set of upper tabs made from more 16 gauge with #10-32 nuts welded to them. The tabs themselves were welded to the dash mounting nut cages that are spot welded to the dash from Brookville. That way I wasn’t welding directly to the dash sheet metal. The gauge panel was then drilled to match.











The lower mounting was much easier to design. A set of L-tabs were made and then welded to the gauge plate. The lower dash rail was drilled to match and counter sunk #10-32 screws installed.















The gauge panel finish mounted.



Next will be installing tabs and studs to secure the gauges to the panel. I started doing this but didn’t quite finish before locking up for the weekend so the next installment will have to wait until next week.

 

I really like the details and effort you are putting forth to create a well thought out vehicle.

 

More amazing work! You da man!

 

Pure Poetry.

 

Awesome details......................also inspiring and educational

 

PART 63

Now, to finish getting the gauges mounted. For the tachometer and speedometer I made six 5/8” wide tabs with #10-32 nuts tacked to them from more of the same 16 gauge material.





The tabs were then welded to plate. For the outer gauges drilled 4 corresponding holes in the plate, inserted #12-24 screws (sand blasted to remove zinc plating), welded them to the plate at the base of the threads and then ground the heads off the backside. I also added two tabs to hold light sockets, one common between the tach & speedo (they are too close together to leave their original, individual sockets) and the other for the temp/fuel gauge which had no socket attached.









The finished gauge mounting system. Not only are the gauges well secured, the dash itself is also substantially stronger now with the mounting plate tying the top and bottom edges together. And don’t mind the fasteners. I used what I could scrounge up around the shop. Theses will all be new stainless, slotted screws in the end. There will be NO Philips screws on this car.

 

PART 64

At this time it’s necessary to install the body. I need to install the dashboard so that I can fit a column tube and column drop, locking in the final angle of the steering shaft and gear. I will then be able to (finally!) drill the 3 steering gear mounting holes in the frame rail and secure the gear. Then, I’ll (finally!) be able to install a pitman arm and drag link.

A couple of days ago I dug the body out of storage. First time it’s seen the light of day in almost 3 years!



Before installing the body I needed to do some prep work. I trimmed and fit the body-to-frame webbing. Even though it’s on about 1/16” thick, I want all dimensions accounted for. I made a 1/2” hole punch for the body hole locations and a 11/16” punch for the rivets to poke through.













I also needed to trim a hole in the trunk for the rear cross member to poke through which ended up being 14” X 4-1/2”.





Ready to install!

 

PART 65

Yesterday was a damn good day! After several years of off and on work building the ch***is for the Geoff Skene 32 Roadster I got to see what it’s going to look like as a whole car. As proud as I am of the ch***is and as neat as it looks, I had no idea what until I saw it yesterday what the car would actually be. I spent the last hour of the day staring at it from every angle. What a way to end the work week and Geoff seems very happy. My biggest concern was the location of the wheels & tires in the wheel wells considering the heavily modified rear cross member and suspension. What a relief to see they are right where they should be! Also note that the engine & trans are out so the front will come down and I left the rear spring eyes stock until I saw the car together. I’m going to pull the main leaf and have it reversed. I think that inch will have the tire diameter a uniform gap to the body bead and then it will be perfect.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your build and taking the time to post . Especially being in the business is awesome thats you take time to post your details . The do***entation and the process, you post the information and your details are inspiring especially the quality of build.
This is old school HAMB learning

 

Very cool! Cant wait to see it with all the weight on/in it and the spring changes you mentioned!

 

Wouah quel talent j'adore

 

Unbelievable, so beautiful and well done.

 

I’d love to see this exceptional build detailed to the max, and entered into the AMBR compe***ion

you’ve done an amazing job on it Dennis

 

Simply amazing! I just sat down and read through the entire thread. That parking brake mechanism is awesome. The dashboard is beautiful. And I love the Streamline wheels, especially the Evod-machined, one-off front wheels! You are turning out one mighty fine piece of machinery, Dennis!

 

Thank you! Very kind of you to say. Some of the ideas I’ve used on this project have been inspired by others work I’ve seen over the years. I hope sharing my work might help others with their projects.

I can’t either! I need to hurry up and get the steering set so that I can reinstall the engine and trans.

Merci beaucoup!

Thank you!

The owner and I have actually had a half-serious conversation on that topic but it remains to be seen. That’s a big commitment for both of us! Either way, the car is going to be finished to a high degree of quality.

Thanks for taking the time to read through the whole thread. The owner knows his parts and history and has sent me an incredible collection of components to put together. He really is a dream client! With as many 32 Roadsters that are out there it’s harder and harder to build one that stands out in a crowd.

 

Sounds so familiar from me building my 32 Ford sedan with only slotted screws and the ******* 12-24 screws used on the car.

 

PART 66

After having fun with the body mock up it was back to work. With the body on I was able to install the dashboard (Brookville dash went right into the original body, thankfully!) so that I could make a steering column tube and fit the column drop allowing the steering gear clocking to be finalized and the mounting bolt holes drilled in the frame.

The column drop Geoff sent out some time ago is this beautifully restored 1935/1936 1-ton truck unit that has also been modified to match up to a 1932 dashboard.



I built a new column tube using 1-1/2” OD seamless chromoly tube. It’s wall thickness is .091”, which is about 2-1/2 times thicker than stock early Ford tubes. The ends were machined 1.425” ID to match a stock tube so that the bottom end would fit onto the steering gear and the top end would accept a replacement steering shaft bushing. The bottom also got a vertical slit, I pulled an original clamp & hardware out of my steering parts bins and cleaned them up.











With the column tube in place I slid the drop on and made alignment marks on the dash for the two mounting holes.





After drilling the two holes in the lower dash rail I slotted them left and right with a file to provide some wiggle room in case the angle of the steering box changed any after being bolted in tight. It also turned out one of them landed on the left screw hole for the gauge mounting panel.





With the column drop bolted to the dash!





The next step was to mark and drill the frame for the 3 steering gear mounting holes. Remember how I slotted the holes in the dash? Good thing I did because after bolting the gear up tight it shifted the column to the left a little!





I then removed the column tube & drop and took the gear out of the car. The column tube got a 3/4” hole for the lock bolt to p*** through and I installed an original lock striker on the steering shaft. This requires two 1/4” holes for the set screws.







After that it was all put back together. The car now has a fully mounted steering gear & column and functional lock!

 

Love it!

 

PART 67

With the steering gear finally bolted to the frame I was able to clean up and install an original 1932 pitman arm and make the drag link. The pitman arm require using a triangle file to cut splines through the 4 registration flats allowing it to be clocked 1 spline at a time. Even still, I had to heat and slightly tweak the arm to be perfectly vertical at the neutral position.

The tube was made from seamless chromoly and used end housing that are like 1928-1934 but have male threads like a 1935-1948 tie rod end. The early look with the benefit of a stiffer, larger diameter tube. A pair of original tie rod clamps & hardware were pulled from a parts bin and cleaned up. (We have another pair of end housings so I’m going to make a matching tie rod.) I also found a set of nice, original steering gear mounting bolts in my parts so they were cleaned up and installed with proper castle nuts. The triangle plate was used on 1933/1934 and I thought it was a nice looking added detail.

(The end housings came from Matt Bryan or “hazecity36” on Instagram.)

 

PART 68

With the steering gear mounting done I could go ahead and put the engine & trans back in. I was eager to see the stance with full weight on the front. I also reinstalled the ebrake handle & linkage and grabbed the old seat cushions that came with the car and just set them in there for a more complete look. I may or may not have sat in it and made motor noises…

 

Amazing build thanks for sharing

 

The best build of the Century !! Geoffrey Got French 81's and French alu oil pan from me when I lived in France.Not sure if he is or will use them on this car.Please say Hello to your Dad who I have known for a long time.Thanks,Sheldon.

 

It's perfect, so well thought out! You must spend most your sleeping hours either awake or dreaming about the next installment procedure. Oh, and everyone sits in an unfinished car and makes motor noises, it's a right of p***age, whether you are nine or ninety! 60 Special

 

Fantastic workmanship and results. A work of superb craftsmanship that you should be extremely proud of!

 

Thank you for taking a moment to comment!

There are a trio of 81’s on this engine, not sure if that’s them? What makes the French versions different? I have the pan and it will be getting installed. Ask me how excited I am to undo a perfectly sealed steal pan to change it, LOL!

Thanks so much! I do spend a considerable amount of time planning. Sometimes in bed at night. Depends what show the wife has us watching, LOL!

Thank you!

 

Lovely Work Dennis, so subtle but an awful lot of work and thinking time.