Projects '29 Model A Roadster Chassis Build...lots of pics.

I managed to get a short break from customer work over the last few weeks, and took advantage of it by using the time to put together the basic chassis for my '29 Roadster.

I had it mocked up for the last few months (while I was working on other stuff) just to make sure I liked the wheelbase and to get a feel of what the ride height should be like. The frame was just a set of rails with the front crossmember pretty much done, and the rear crossmember just tacked in place.

Here's what it looked like as a mock-up before I took it back apart to do the chassis:





This is going to be a late 50's style roadster, and nothing (within reason) will be newer than the '57 Fuelie heads that are going on the 265.

I want this car to have a pretty "severe" rake, so I kicked up the front of the frame.

Well, that and the front frame horns that were on this frame were toast...and they weren't '32 Ford either....



This part of the chassis was done a few months back before mocking it up.






This is an original '32 frame that was almost too far gone to save. It was a lot of work to straighten it back out where it needed it, and getting the tops and bottoms of the rails smoothed out before boxing was a chore.

I didn't take any pictures of boxing the frame, because it looked just like boxing any other '32 frame. Here's a shot of the rear crossmember after being welded in though...





I used a '40 Merc X-member this time. Why? Well, because I found one here on the HAMB Classifieds for a really good deal. '40 Mercurys have a longer X-member than a '40 Ford, so I pie cut the X member at the beginning of the rear legs, and pulled them outward to meet the frame before it kicks up in the rear.

Here's the X-member tacked in place...



Welding it up...



The transition of where the rear crossmember meets the frame ended up working out pretty nicely...



With the frame flipped back over and the X-member welded in, it was time for the motor mount. I considered using an original Hurst mount, but after getting the motor blocked up to where I wanted it, the Hurst mount had the mounting ears too high...



So using the Hurst mount as a template, I made a new mount in a similar fashion...

 

Making the frame side of the mounts...I made some "rivets" to go in the frame mounts. A little 'shout-out' to Ionia Rod Shop (and Henry Ford) there.



I also have the horizontal cross-tube part of the X-member fab'ed and tacked in in this shot...



Finished motor mount...



The '56 265 that's going in this car doesn't have side mounts like the mock-up motor, so a "Hurst-style" saddle mount was a necessity.

On to the ladder bars...



Bob Wilson of Wilson Welding and Machine was gracious enough to run a 5/8 tap into my tubing for my ladder bars, and I can't thank him enough. Bob is a stellar individual and I recommend checking out his line of traditional hot rod brakes.



Attachment point for the front of the ladder bars...



Fitting it to the X-member...



Tacked in place...



Gussets for ladder bars...the hole saws got a work-out. If you look closely, you can see that I decided that 3 holes were better than 2.



My welder doesn't have a 'pulse' setting.



Finished ladder bar...

 

uploading pics...hang on.

 

thats some really clean work, good job

 

Ladder bar brackets finish welded...



The quickie in the pics is an original Halibrand magnesium-case V8. I'm thinking that I'll probably end up switching it out for one of the Rodsville V8 center sections instead however, because they are a little beefier and are made of a better alloy. They're real nice too.

Off the table and on the ground...



The wheels are 16x4s...I'm probably going to switch the rears to 16x4.5s before it's done though.



Here's a better look at the front kick-up...



And a close-up of the wishbone ends. I used Model A tie-rods and welded them to the wishbone. There won't be any adjustment....but if you get them in the right spot on the frame to begin with, why do you need adjustment?



I'm pretty happy with the rake the car's going to have....it'll fit the style of the car really well.



The carb scoops are going to end up being right below the hood line, and the firewall will only have to be trimmed a little bit to clear the Speed Gems bellhousing. By the way, did you figure out what the transmission came out of yet?



That's all for now.

I still have a lot of little detail stuff to do on the chassis, and I'll post an update when I get more done. Thanks for looking!!

 

OMG...Badass Bass!

 

Each one keeps getting better!

 

Damn! crazy clean and cool...nice nice job

 

Amazing work, man....that car is gonna kill me.

 

Better and better every time!! Crazy fabrication skills!! Thanks so much for posting.

 

Very Nice!!! Did you mig or tig the Boxing plates?

Rusty

 

Rad....
Someone on the HAMB is actually BUILDING a hotrod.......

That's BadASS!!

 

You are doing some great work!!!

 

Yeah man, thats how its done, nice job.

 

This thread is printed and saved in my collection, along with Rolf's build. Inspiring and exciting work there! Thanks to you for the info and insight. Like Ryan said, this'll be fun to watch

 

awesome fab work!!!!-i really like the front engine mount

 

loving the stance on that thing, decked just a little.

some downright beautiful/amazing fabwork on it as well.

 

God that is beautiful..... I want to be like you when I grow up

 

Another awesome Bass car for the Tech Archives!! Clean work by the way

 

looking real goooooood

 

amazing work, keep up the great job

 

Nice details man.

 

Show off!


(That thing already rules... and it's not even a car yet!)

 

Is it a GM 3-speed?

 

The rake is very jaunty. Kinda Stroker McGurk-ey.

And your welding is purdy. Looking forward to more pics of progress.

 

Beautiful work as always! I'll have to remember to crawl around on the ground and look at these chassis details when I see this one in person.

 

Dude, those welds look like a robot did them. Nice looking man.

 

Nice Bass! Will you add frame horns to the front?

Love all the nice, clean work!