I have done a lot of searching for this set up and have not really come up with a whole lot. A pic from what looks to be from the 70's and a post by kiwikev. I plan on cutting the rails at the back of the cab, boxing the frame in even with the back of the cab and bringing the back half of the rails in to be even width of the bed. (I hope that made sense) There will more than likely be a small kick up or "z" and a small c notch on the rear of the frame. The front of the frame will be pinched as I intend to channel the frame, but no more than 1.5 in. Should I spend the money to buy flat top rails for this project? I had planned on just buying american stamping rails and going from there. I know usually on sedans and coups they shim the front of the body, but since I will be channeling does this make a difference? Any thoughts input or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
It's interesting that there have been so few '28-29 closed cab pickups put on '32 rails over the years, although, there have been tons of roadster pickups done this way. In one of Don Montgomery's old hot rod picture books there is a shot of an un-chopped '29 closed cab on '32 rails, I believe, from about '49 or '50. The truck was a bit crude but I thought it looked pretty cool. I like your ideas for re-working the rear of the frame. When it comes to deciding on a flat or stock swept frame one thing to take into consideration is that whatever the height difference is at the front cross member between the flat and swept rails, the stance will be that much higher with flat rails. So if you are wanting to get it down low with the flat frame you will need to figure out how to make up for those couple of inches. Since you are planning to channel the cab I would think to go ahead and use the swept rails since you will be re-working the sub-rails anyway? At any rate, please do a project thread 'cause I'm sure there would be a bunch of people interested in this.
Seems to me the AS rails would be fine as you will need to narrow the frame anyway if you are planning to channel the body. For me I would start with the rails on some sturdy sawhorses , set the body on top of the rails do some measuring, planning and think it over and go from there. There is just no subs***ute for being able to visualize what you want to do. And, at my age you definitely want it up off the floor.
I am pretty sure I am going to pull the trigger and order the AS rails. I am seriously thinking about making a frame jig to keep things straight and up off the ground. Since I didn't end up getting gas run to my garage before winter hit, my build will wait till spring to begin. I am just making final decisions and creating job security for my ups guy. CADILLACCOFFIN I want the cc version of that truck! (Just a little lower) I somehow have not come across that picture. If you have more info or pics it would be greatly appreciated. Most the pics I have come across are sedan or coup. One of the biggest delimas I have is the age old to chop, or not to chop. The truck I am starting with is super soild and in very good condition. There is one rust hole the size of a dime on the entire body. I am 6'3" so it wouldn't ger hacked to all hell. The most it would get is prob 5 in the fron 4 in the back. I am for sure going to remove the section above the windshield. I will get a build thresd going once things get going. As usual, pics, thoughts and ideas always welcome.
I also added a couple pics to my album. The one is a newspaper clipping I got of the truck from the last owner, the other is how i sits now.
this is all i have, i sent this to a friend actually about 6 months ago and had to refer back to him to see if he still had it. he is building a rpu of this year on a AA frame and a 324 olds backed by an open drive 3 speed and banjo axle.
pugh433, Here is a link to So-Cal Speed Shop's AV8 frame. It is a bit pricey, and takes the work and fun of building your own with American Stamping rails. http://www.est1946.com/a-v8_step_boxed_frame.aspx I post it here so you can read what they did to the rails to fit the 28-29 roadster body, by pinching the front and rear of the rails to fit the narrower 28-29 body. With the pickup cab you'll only need to pinch the front at the firewall. They refer to the Hot Rod Magazine Street Rod Quarterly July 1971. In that magazine HRM covered the Bud Bryan 29 highboy build and the frame mods done for it. See if you can find a copy of that quarterly issue on evilbay or craigslist. Its a great reference. My own copy is buried in a box in the garage and inaccessible for now.
AZAV8, I did look at the so-cal AV8 frame but just couldn't get past that price tag. No doubt you are paying for quality parts as I am running so-cal dropped axle and components up front. I had found some frame specs at wescott's that I have been looking at. I did a search for Bud Bryan and did find some stuff on his AV8 build. A HAMB search had a little from the mag article, but I will have to keep digging. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/[/IMG] This is a pic I think I stole off the HAMB for the ride height I would like to achieve http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/[/IMG]
That bottom picture is the Shadow Rods XL 27 which is a 32 sized 27 body on the 32 frame. The ride height they get there is due to their suspension design which includes the front crossmember steering ,shock mounts etc. They call it the LRHC Low Ride High Caliber. I know because I contacted them for more info and am using some of what they did on my 26 RPU project. That picture is one they sent me on an e-mail and I posted it previously.
Angry, Did you pinch the rear or do the rails stick out further than your bed sides? Blue One, Great looking build you have going on there. Your work is very impressive. I have been thinking about running a spring behind set up and have read mixed reviews. From what I gather, the closer to the yokes the better? I think I like looks of the longer wishbones vs splitting and using the stock ones I have now. I may go with the set that speedway carries since they already have a 1/4-20 roid in them. Your pics on your build have answered a lot of questions I had.
i used the blueprints from above and a cowl to make sure the pinch was right at the rear the bed covers the frame
Thanks, glad I could help. My axle is about 4" ahead of the spring mounts which will keep flexing down and allow me room to tuck the panhard bar in there behind the axle too. I'll post more as I get further along ,let me know if you need anything else.
I used the So-Cal A-V8 narrowed frame, but left the rear of the rails un-bobbed. That's a pic of it when I had planned on chopping it. It's a coupe cowl and doors and custom cab corners made shorter. Since then I've decided not to chop it at all, and I'm in the process of essentially un-chopping the cab corners. I also mounted the body forward on the rails, so I could use a stock length 29 hood...it also allowed the fender beads on my box to line up perfectly with the rear tires....no modifications made to the box sides....31 wide bed with a 32 tailgate. It might be misleading looking at mine if you're gonna mount a stock body to it....but mine overhangs the So-Cal frame on both sides down the body, similar to a 32-34 pickup...I like the look. These pics were taken very early on, and some fine adjustments have been made since. I did need to use a custom made rad from Walker to get the perfect hood alignment and lines...shortened a bit because I channeled the pickup slightly and because of the kickup in the front of the 32 rails. I'm also going to modify the lower cowl panels to make them flow with the 32 frame reveal. Best of luck, Steve W.
I would not chop it by much, if you do. It is already a really small cab. Taking out the header above the windshield and cutting the doors, quarter and rear panels down about 4" works pretty well. It takes care of a "visual issue" that has always bothered me a little about the '28-'29 closed cab pickups. The top of the windshield gl*** and the tops of the door gl*** do not line up, like most other Fords of that era, or later. This was the way it was on the Model T, who's parts bins donated a fair quan***y of parts to the '28-'29 closed cab pickup. Might not mean much to some, but I think that they look more "correct" with the gl*** lining up.
Don't know if this was in response to my post, but my truck won't be chopped at all now. And the issue with the big header and stuff doesn't apply to mine, because it's made with a coupe cowl and doors...I wanted to make a custom pickup, one of the reasons being what you talked about with the visual lines. I'm not a big fan of the closed cab doors either...I personally find the door beads to be a little dainty looking. Another thing that I've done to keep the roof and header profile more subtle was to roll a piece of 1x1 square tubing to match the arch of the top of the header. Then I welded it on there, out in front of the header so the top of the rolled tube and the top of the header panel are flush. My visor will be mounted up below that. It'll look a bit like this roof from Boyd's coupe...only a little higher at the back and then sloping down towards the header!
I was leaning toward just removing the header and choping that distance first as it would be easier to take more out later than to have gone too far. I am already very concerned about the size of the cab but as you mentioned the gl*** not lining up does look strange. Dubzilla- Boyds coup is what I had in mind for the visor as well. The 28-29 visors are kind of ****y looking and huge. I plan on getting the ute roadster roof. You may have seen the thread I started trying to track one down. The edges have a nice radius and already overhang the windshield a little which would create a very similar look to boyds coupe. (man I hate that quarter window) You pretty much have your truck close to the direction I plan to go with mine. Do you have pics of your roller before you added the body or bed? I am in the process of buying my front end and will be ordering my frame rails in march. I wish I had the money to buy the so-cal frame but the price is a tad steep for me. [/I Triming the lower cowl will help the flow of the cab with the frame. I think This would look nice on your truck [/IMG]
Have a look at the size difference between the closed cab pickup visor and the p***enger car visor, from the same years. The p***enger car visor is more like the Boyd car, in appearance. The CC/PU visor is indeed huge.
Yeah man, I'm actually gonna trim that cowl panel on a bit of a radius to better match up with the reveal. I don't think I have pics of the bare roller.....I'm a professional photographer by day...so I don't take many pics of my own stuff! lol The So-Cal frame was steep, and shipping killed me...but I just said **** it and did it. The truck that I'm building is my dream hotrod pickup and I'm not likely to buy another frame like that. My next build will be a 29 roadster on a stock frame...and I can handle the boxing and mods on that one. That visor on Boyd's coupe is a 30/31, or a close version of one...I'm using an aftermarket 30/31 visor...I need to modify it a bit and do some metal work around the header to make it all look nice and seamless. Are you using a stock pickup cab? And that roadster ute top is steel right?
[/IMG] [/IMG] I am using a stock cab. I was starting to build a mod. roadster buying parts online and was talking to a guy I work with about it and he told me he thinks his father in law has some old parts by the swamp. To my suprise my this was what I found. The 31 pickup is my favorite hot rod but this truck has grown on me. The only thing missing on the truck was the tailgate. The fenders, wood for the roof, full drive line and told me the banger was running as of last year. I asked him if there was a ***le and what he was asking for it. He told me he had the ***le and had recently had a heart attack and was not able to work on it. He told me as long as I promised I wanted it for myself and not to re-sell it he would give it to me for $500! There is no doubt that this was by far a deal of a lifetime. The frame i am ordering is from thunder road here in ohio. I am buying just the rails pinched and boxed for $1200. Going to use the stock 28 front cross member to save some money and finish the ch***is myself. The whole front end is from so-cal. As far as the roadster ute top, yes it is steel. I also like that it has a drip rail on it. Brookville sells them for $500 but didnt have them in stock at the moment. It is exactly what I want so I think I am going to spare myself the headache and just work some overtime.
Truck looks in good shape man. I think you're making a good call on that steel roof! haha. Believe me, If was anything of a metal shaper, I'd be trying to make one like that to fit my truck. Let's get right into this converstation shall we?!? Maybe hearing about some of my heatache can help spare you some. No hood? Stock length hood? Motor/trans? Steering?
I'm guessing you had some fun fitting your hood? I am not sold one way or the other on the hood. I have been looking at a tri carb set up that I would hate to hide, but it would be nice to have the option to have it on if I wanted. Not sure on the grill either. I am have been kicking around a 30 A grill, but the 28 shell on your truck looks better than I envisioned in my head. I am running limefire headers and they look super tough when running a hood. The motor will be a mild built 5.0 302. Just cant run a sbc, I have one that I was putting in the mod. I was going to build. This truck needs a sbf. Trans will be a c4.(just going to be too tight in the cab to be grabbing gears I think) I might move the grill and rad foward an inch or so and ditch the mechanical fan for an electric (pull) to reduce the amount I have to cut from the fire wall. I saw someone built a shroud around an electric fan that didn't look half bad. I will be using a vega box with cross steering. I really appreciate your help and advice. Anytime you can save from buying things that dont work or keep from doing something wrong or multiple times is huge. Trying to not get overwhelmed by the whole project is tough! I have an overall vision, now it's just taking it from the paper to the steel.
I think you are wise to go with a compact case automatic. Foot space is at a premium when you put a tunnel in. I would not recess the firewall if you can get away with it. Fudge the other dimensions. Move the radiator and engine a little forward, and even the cab a little back to get it in there. You can even ax the lower part of the firewall, and build a flat one, this will get you a little more space in the engine compartment. Here's one I did recently: This got rid of the lip between the upper and lower piece, and the lower part where it kicks forward.
As I said before, I'm running a 351W with a C4 and I mounted my body way forward on the frame so I could use a stock length hood. In my opinion, stretched hoods look goofy on model A's...except for one combination...28/29 roadster on a deuce frame with a 32 grill shell. I can tell you that if you're gonna run a stock hood, you're going to have to recess the firewall for sure. I recessed mine a whole, whole lot...7-8 inches or so...but I'm also running stretched cab corners. That's also the biggest reason why I'm not chopping it now. You got it right when you said lining up the hood and everything was "fun". I started by basically making an educated guess on my custom rad height, mounted it with the shell and made my measurements backwards from there. Then I sat the body over the frame loosely and made all my adjustments before attaching the body to a subframe that I made out of 1x1x1/8 square tubing. If you're looking for a way to make your life a little easier, and going a little lighter on the wallet...I'd suggest using one of those small mustang rads that guys use. That would give you all kinds of adjustment options, and when you get it in the final position, just make some nice mounts to hold it at the right height and angle. Then put that motor/trans in the frame with your headers on there, get the motor as close as you can to the front, then sit the body on and slide it up until you're happy with the fit in relation to the headers. The last exhaust port (closest to the body) is back pretty far on the motor, and you might even have to neatly notch the cowl panel to get the body ahead to where you want it. It's the kind of build that will guide itself and necessity will take priority and lead the way as you go. Just gotta know where to start, and like I said, I started at the rad and moved back. Even if you decide to go no hood, I think you should line up the body with the grille shell as if there's an imaginary hood on there. If you did want to run a hood, I'd only do it if it only had to be stretched 3 inches MAX...HAHA. If it would have to be more than 3 inches, I'd just leave it without the hood. I also wouldn't like the look of moving the rad and grill shell forward...In my opinion that looks goofy as well. And definately use a 28-29 shell....looks super bad*** and I wouldn't change mine for the world. Vega's gonna be the way to go...especially with your motor choice, you should have no issues at all making the connection from the firewall to your box. Might have to use more than two steering joints and a support bearing...but that's no biggie That might be enough to chew on for now! haha. Don't get overwhelmed, just take your time and be methodical. Let us know when the frame shows up!!
You're lucky you can buy a roadster ute cab roof for $500. At present our $ is equal to yours and those rooves are made here in Oz, and they want $660 for them on ebay here in Oz. What a joke! Michael
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