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

Wow man, absolutely inspiring in every way! The front sweep, motor mount, drilled front crossmember, stance etc etc, all look great! I REALLY need to force myself to lots of seat time to learn to use my tig, seeing your work makes me want to be able to do that so bad.

Can't wait for more updates

Dan

 

Brian, what size clevis (p/n source) did you use on your ladders? I like the look of those.
Thanks man

 

I used 5/8" thread clevises with a 3/8" slot and hole from Speedway.

I sometimes question the quality of (some of) Speedway's parts, but I have the same clevises on my Coupe and they are holding up just fine. The chrome ones cost a little more, but they're pretty nice.

 

what diameter filler and tungsten are you using?


looks great!

 

3/32 tungsten, and usually 1/16" ER70S2 filler.

 

beautiful welds.............

 

WoW waht sano work esp the welds....Ill be keepin an eye on this one. Fantastic work man, keep the updates comin as you make progress !!

I gots to teach myself TIG....arc and mig are OK but TIG welds like that are the shit !!

Rat

 

thanks man!

 

Hello, chassis looks great, I was hoping you could go into a little more detail on the wishbone/tie-rod combination? Wondering if you cut the bolt flange of off the model a tie-rod, inserted the remaining into the split wishbone, and then welded solid? Also iterested in how you plan to mount to the frame, possibly a weld-in/bolt-in model a steering ball mounted on a flange? I have seen this set-up in some of the old books, and always thought it looked great, but always wondered about any safety issues? Thankyou for your time, Jeff

 

Very nice work
I love the attention to detail

 

That is pretty much exactly what I did. I didn't take pictures of it unfortunately.

I made a fixture to clamp the wishbone and tie rod end into to keep them straight with each other on the top and outside when welding. The wishbone is tapered, and the tie-rod end is barrel-shaped. So to make it look like it had always been one piece, I continued the taper of the wishbone with the outside face of the tie-rod, since that is the part you can see when it's on the car. The inside face where the tie-rod ball mounts has a bit of a 'dogleg' as a result.

If you look at the bottom photo below, that last paragraph might make more sense.

Here's some shots of the wishbone hangers. Bob Wilson machined a couple of tapered bungs with a shoulder for me, and I welded them to a piece of 1/2" plate after I cut it to shape. The bungs accept bolt-on Model A tie-rod balls.

The bung is on the upper right in this photo...





Plates cut and edges finished, bungs welded in on both front and back...



I now have them tacked onto the frame. They won't get fully welded until the body and complete motor are back in the car to make sure that they don't need to be moved.



That's it....should be as safe and strong as any other split wishbone.

 

Horrible. Just horrible.



You goin' to Cali next weekend?

hc
www.monstrosityfoto.com

 

Holy Crap! Nice work on a worthy project. Can't wait to see the progress!

 

Killer metal work man, you're a true craftsman and the car looks great!

 

Nice!! Really Nice!!

 

So what transmission is it???
Michael

 

Brian, love your project. Very inspirational. I have to build one car properly before I die!

 

Bass, a creative masterpiece of engineering. Very beautiful. I wish i could weld like that.

 

You make it look so easy. Good work

 

How do you like the S2 compared to the T series?

Beautiful work, on this and the coupe.

 

Great work!! Love seeing progress posts. Tells me that I am a slacker!! (or that I have too many other things going on to get my sorry a$$ out in the garage....)

 

To be honest, I've never tried the T series. What's the difference?

Pretty much every welder I know that uses a TIG, uses the ER70S2 rod on mild steel. I know of several that use it on chrome moly as well.

I like the ER70S2...I've never really had a problem with it.

 

Thanks. I was wondering as the local welding suplier I have looked at (there are a couple and I have only looked at one) only had the T in stock (I don't know what the difference is, yet).

 

My plates are not parallel to the wishbone, and they aren't quite parallel to the frame either. I end up setting them perpendicular to the front and rear crossmembers. Why? Well, that's just what looked right to me I guess. I have them just about bottomed out at their rearward most angle, but not to where they can bind.

This is one of those areas where there's more than one right way to skin a cat.

Putting them parallel to the wishbone would give you the most movement in every direction that a tie-rod end would move. But if you think about it, the wishbone should not be moving front to back. The tie-rod end should only swivel to allow the wishbone to move in an up/down arc, and also allow for a minor amount of 'twisting' action. That's why urethane bushings should work just as well for split wishbones.

Of course this all my personal experience and opinion, your mileage may vary.

 

that is some very nice work..... if you get a chance, as a moto head i'd love to see a shot of that bike thats against the wall in the background.....not to change the subject as that roadster is difinitely badass, im just curious as i was noticing how cool all the stuff on your shop wall is......cheers, Sean

 

nice ...verry nice!!!!

 

Very nice. I havent had my computer for almost 2 months so I have only heard about this. Pictures are better than being told about it . Again very nice !!!

 

Awesome work!!

 

Here's some more progress pics...hope you guys aren't sick of looking at pictures of this thing yet.

Bending F-1 shock mounts...



Shock mounts polished, Model A headlight bar cut down and polished...



I used a stock Model A headlight bar for the cross bar, and made the top bar from tubing. Headlights are original King Bees...



After getting everything tacked in place, I pulled it off the car for welding. I made a simple fixture out of some scrap tube so it wouldn't move around during welding or grinding...



After blending the welds...



All one piece now...



I wanted sort of a combination nerf bar, headlight bar, and shock mount. There will be a Nerf bar on the rear of the car that will match it.



I had to add tabs to the inside of the wishbones to mount the bottom of the shocks, since I mounted them behind the axle.



After gusseting and blending the welds...



Shocks back on...