`28 RPU project..the hard way

me and fellow hamber (34cpe34w) and his father stopped over to a guy we know's place to check the progress on his RPU project. this guy is not the computer type , but is very handy with metal , as you can see. i took a few pictures so i thought i would share them. all this was done with very little money , a few tools, a corner in his ba*****t ,and some talent.the body started out as a `28 TUDOR body, which he has cut down and much modified. the back panel of the body is hand formed .the first time i saw the body i actually thought it was a real PRU body. the box is not original , it is all hand made. the frame is hand made from peices of 10 gauge welded together. the windsheild frame and posts were made by him too..goes to show what can be done if you put your mind to it and spend some time in the shop


enuff of me talking, here are the pictures:

oh yeah , the last picture is a spint car he is building.it will have a model A engine with a `28 chevy head

 

That is bad *** keep us informed about this project its definitly kickin ***

 

that is way too much talent for just one person. Wish it could be shared. great job.

 

Great post 36 3W,
Maybe this will awaken some new spark in a few of the Hamb'rs now!

 

That is a very nice car!! Please keep us up to date with more pictures and tell us who the owner/builder is. He is very talented.

 

i can't believe this is back to page 26 with only 3 responses...this car is about 98% hand fabricated..with a total investment of the builder so far of $30 for material ..and will be extremely nice car when finished

we could all learn something from this guy..i know i have

 

Do you have any other pictures of the sprint car? It looks very cool too! What is he using for plans for this?

 

the plans are from a 1937 issue of popular mechanics..well, it was in two parts in two issues. he did do a little creative re-engineering.

thanks for your question..i'm glad that low dollar homebuilt hot rods has some interest here

i was begining to think that only negative posts were of any value....i'm sorry that there is no drama or "what's wrong with this"

 

Several years ago I met a guy from Indianapolis that has a shop that restores and builds sprint cars. Until then I'd never really been around them, but after seeing some of his cars/jobs, they have been interesting to me. So whenever I'm in the Indianapolis area, I'll stop in and spend several hours visiting.

If you get a chance, it would be interesting to see more photo's of this car too.

 

Excellent workmanship. Please keep this site updated if possible...

 

I would kill to have those skills and talent. Very nice!

 

Excellent work! Mine could use a little attention too. So many projects, and so little time.

 

Nice looking work, cool to see. Thanks.

 

That is one nice job of fabrication, I wish I had those skills.

 

How does that work, and what are the benefits? I've never heard of using a Chevy head on an A banger before.

 

let's get him computer savy so we can all get some metal working tech, amazing metal craft !!!!

 

WOW!! That is some REALLY nice fabrication. I love it when someone takes castoff partrs and builds something really clever. If this guy is self taught it makes it even more amazing. Please keep us updated on this and the sprint car if at all possible.

Frank

 

thank you all for your kind words. the builder is just getting his first computer, maybe i can get him to join in

as for the `28 chevy head....it's an old time hop up thing , converts the A motor to overhead valve. it don't know much about it , it involves some sort of adapter. there acutually is another guy here thathas done it several times and has this setup in his `29 roadster. maybe i'll try to get over and snap a few pictures

 

I think that there was an article years ago in Secrets of Speed from a guy in the midwest that did his own conversion. I'll try to find it for you. There is a guy in California that sells a conversion with the adaptor and most things that you need. I had thought of during that conversion, but probably won't now.

 

Thanks for sharing the pics of your friends build. He is one hell of a fabricator, and I love the windshield posts...damn.

Neal Jern was the guy out in Cali. The link and his info was from NWVS site. Here is the article I think you are referring too. Also, one of the aftermarket places sells the adapter plate now, you have to find the head from a 28 chev.

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/1205/modelaohv.html

Best,
Ralph

Sacramento Vintage sells the adapter, I got to dig up my catalog

 

wow that is one hell of a fabricator, keep us updated i want to see that when its done

 

oh yeah , the last picture is a spint car he is building.it will have a model A engine with a `28 chevy head[/QUOTE]

Would he keep us updated on the sprint car as well? I tucked away a reprint similiar to his build, but I love to see someone actually doing it. I know both his builds are going to generate a lot of interest.
Ralph

 

Very nice work.----I can relate, built mine from a 31 sedan.---Brian

 

Interesting story, but there was different one in Secrets years ago. I will try to find the article, if anyone's interested. I'm not sure if it could be posted here or not. There may be ways around that.

What's interesting about the Chevy head is it has no combustion chamber, so the adapter is the combustion chamber. That is how you would change the compression ratio in the Ford conversion. In the Chevy motor the pistons don't go all the way to the top of the cylinder.

I picked up one of the heads years ago and had thought about do this conversion. Then several years later Neal Jern started producing a kit, which looks very nice.

 

I second that notion.

 

I'll 3rd that!!! Very talented. I wish that I had that much talent.Keep us informed on the progress. It looks great!

 

fantastic you should get him to do a tech page ...