Hi there! Now it is time to show you some pics of school project rod. I don´t know if someone in somewhere has done this kind of job before, but I think that we are first in Finland working with hot rod. Boys who are in this project are on 9th grade. They have learned many skills before, so they can do almost all by themselves... Part #1 That is how we started. August 2002. Frame is Volvo Duett (STW) 1960. It was almost rustfree after 17 years storage undes trees. You can see that there are leaf springs and front suspension is missing. Engine is Volvo´s 2.0 l and gearbox is 4-speed. Volvo rear end comes with disc brakes. That green thing is our parts car Volvo 144! Our old project car is also in that pic. After few weeks we had done something. We had shorthened frame after some measurements and calculations. No more leafs... Engine and gearbox are gonna be as behind as possible. What kind of front axle or steering? At that moment we had no idea...
the swedish magazine wheels had some schools enter a t-bucket building contest a few years back,that was kind of cool,there was a bunch of shools involved in that contest. I work at the local highschool,and I have some mechanic courses for a select few students,whom need something else on their minds than algebra an hour a week,that´s fun for sure,now we´re rebuilding an old 70´s italjet 50cc motocross bike.
Part # 2 I found that old looking radiator from my junk pile, which is full of treasures like this. But there was no solid front axle. IFS was out of question! I remembered that once I met a chevyman who said that he has "house full of old Chevy parts". I called him and drove three hours to him. And he actually had two old houses full of carparts! He gave, not one, but THREE Chevy 28 axles! They weren´t top quality, but good enough. We decided to build this car as low as possible. So prop shaft goes above X-member of frame, not going through it. But no steering...
That last photo was too dark on my screen to see any detail....so I lightened it up a bit. BTW....looks good !
Part #3 We had to fix Chevy axle. And boys learned how to use lathe. They turned spacers so Volvo bearings could fit Chevy axle. That big nut is also spacer, it just looks better than a turned piece of metal... And... a perfect fit. To get brake caliber into its place was much more harder job to do. We did some drawings too...
Part # 4 Rear suspemsion That´s the way we did it. Part one: Volvo coils cut in half. 5 inch Metal tube and upper Volvo links. Part two: Panhard bar and lower links instead of Volvo parts. (not seen in this pic)
isn't cutting the coils in half is going to make for a stiff ride? woudn't it have been better to Z the frame> good luck on your project. al sisson mosheim tn.-
Part # 5 Oh yes it´s a pick up! Now you can see Panhard bar and there are lower brackets of four-link. Instrument panel comes from an unknown car (can you help us to identify it) and steering parts are 48 Chevy. I had that steering column and gear for my Gasser American, but I donated it to this rod. (I haven´t found another as good as this was, so my project is still without one) We shorthened Volvo´s propshaft, leftover part leans on rear wheel.
Part # 6 We made our own front axle links. Instead of Chevy style front leaf springs we used coils in 5" tube. Ed Roth had almost similar in his "Outlaw"- rod. Panhard bar is to come. Notice that modest gear shifter, no Hurst, no Mr Gasket, just "Mr 6 feet". Instrument panel is attached to a tubular frame.... because in same frame there is place for brake master cylinder and clutch wire. Brake and clutch pedal assembly is welded to it,too. My Chevy steering is now on its place. (Not in my Gasser!) There is a heavy support plate and steering gear is bolted to it with 12 mm bolts.
That's something else. Those kids will learn a lot, but nobody gets it perfect the first time, don't let them get discouraged. Keep us yanks posted. P.S. Have you seen the green 60s style T coupe with the Edsel grille shell, from Finland? I can't remember who's it is, he's a HAMBer.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139309 Here's a little homeland inspiration for your students.
That 27 T Coupe belongs to HAMBer called Teemu (and he is from FINKland, too) Yes, I´ve seen it in a local show. Outstanding car with a lot of right attitude... These old skool rods are booming in FINKland. And thats is good.
We did this School Rod two years in our school, which was built 1967. And you can easily imagine that my classrooms/shops were not in good shape. After ten years of struggle we got money for major rebuild. Total budjet of 700 000 euros (at that time it was 700 000$) gave us totally new and updated classrooms of technical education and natural sciences inside our old schoolhouse! BUT: Our project had to be taken away. So I took it to my Rambler Garage. That is how it looked during evacuation time... It wasn´t driveable, but it had almost every part needed... You can see that there is a piece of floor made of plywood. It gives a hint of bodystructure to come... Plywood... BTW: Now you can see "Mr. 6 Feet"
Part # 10 After six months of hard work, our rod looked like this... Body takes shape. Floor and firewall are made of plywood and rest of the body is pinewood. A lot of parts are under construction. Every one of them are custom made just for this rod by school boys! I am more like an advicer.
Part # 11 After Part # 10 guys worked hard and here you can see some progress. Shock abs are there, handbrake, and rear suspension is completed. We did rebuild those Volvo discbrakes. They were hidden under stupid dustcovers, but not anymore... And red and black paint, ofcourse! After that boys started to work with that wooden body.
how kool, we were just talking this weekend how most of the high schools around here don't even offer a shop class any more.
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