Projects A Speedster Comes Out of the Weeds—Build Thread

Wow, black with the skirts really looks nice! Makes for a nice contrast with the red wheels and trim rings and gives a nice transition to the blue body color.

 

I think navy blue would be better than black though. I like the 2-tone look.

 

As Stogy said above, whoever re-styled the car in the 50's must have been going for a bigger-car look. That look is totally at odds with what the car was to begin with. I don't believe you owe anything to that fellow or his design ideas.

Mercury Body Co. (and many others) offered speedster and sportster bodies to fit Model T and Chevy chassis, thereby getting rid of the clunky stock bodies to make a lightweight, streamlined car. These conversions were very popular, if the number of extant photographs of them is any indication. Here is a Mercury body on a Ford chassis, photographed in front of the Mercury Body Co. showroom. This shows the style of fenders which Mercury supplied with their body kits.

Here is a restored original Mercury Speedster owned by my friend Mike Bender in Tulsa.


After producing the Speedster bodies for Fords for a couple of years, Mercury began making them for Chevys as well, calling them a "Sportabout", rather than a Speedster. These had full fenders and running boards.. Here is a bit of info about those. Apparently they are quite rare today. This article states that only three are known to exist. Maybe four, now that yours is "out of the weeds"?

DETAILS ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC CAR...
As detailed above, the majority of these bodies were manufactured in small numbers for the Ford Model T. It was not until late in the company’s existence that they began to make these bodies for Chevrolets.
This body is one specifically designed for a Chevrolet and has not been adapted from a Model T body. The main differences between this body, and those made for the Model T, is that this is a full-fendered car making it a “sportabout” rather than a “speedster”. This body was designed specifically for the Chevrolet exterior body parts (hood, fenders, etc.) and includes a single “suicide” door on the passenger side. The car also was also designed specifically for Chevrolet interior features such as gauges, steering, etc. This mercury body sportabout is one of only three known to exist in the world that was originally sold specifically for a Chevrolet Superior Chassis.
Because the 1923 through 1926 4 cylinder Chevys transformed into these Mercury Body Sportabouts and how rare they are explains the reason for inclusion here. It is my understanding that this car was purchased in 1923 at a Chevrolet dealer in Los Angeles and never left the area. This is supported by the fact that the car was complete and in excellent, rust free, condition when purchased from him in 1990.'
'There are very few Mercury Body cars that still exist, the majoirty of which are speedsters made to fit on a Ford Model "T" frame. This Chevrolet Mercury Sportabout is much more rare, one of only three known still to exist that was manufactured to specifcially sold as a Chevy. One of the others in partially restored in the Northwest, and the other was purchased by Chevrolet for their collection several years ago and is stored in a warehouse.
This Chevrolet Mercury Sportabout has underwent a complete body off first class restoration to original condition. This car is mechanically perfect and a great driver.'

Some food for thought, I hope. It's too bad you don't have the original fenders.

 

The outside brackets are the giveaway. http://www.2040-motos.com/Harley-Da...cklehead-panhead-original-paint-sidecar-3362/

 

This is great stuff LTTP, thanks for posting. Very interesting to learn about the Sportabout. Only 3 known? Good grief, that’s cool and also kind of sobering. I was told by an expert that the C in my serial number designates a Chevrolet body, so that’s what I’ve been going on. More research is needed I guess. Incidentally, I think he’s the guy your article refers to with the Sportabout in the Northwest.

I totally get what you’re saying about the light-fender look. It was what I figured I’d do before I tried the other mockups, and I may end up there yet.

At the same time, those light fenders are designed for a tall skinny tire, whereas I’ll be running ‘35 wires and fatter tires. Combine that with the big hood and headlights, and it could be argued that the car in its present state is closer to Sportabout than speedster anyway. With this added “bulk, ” I think it could pull off the look of the sidecar fenders in back, yellow trike fenders in front.

That said, my yellow trike fenders look really similar to the Sportabout fenders in the picture you posted. Which brings us back to the light-fender look, with some smaller fenders in front—but not the cut-down spare tire ring I used in the pictures, which isn’t working for me. Something with style.

Around and around I go! But that’s the fun of it, which is why I posted all of this in the first place, and why I’m enjoying everyone’s feedback.

Finally, I sure hear you when you say too bad the original fenders are gone. Lots of good stuff from this car is gone--I’ve spent years trying to find a suitable windshield, for example. But I made my peace with that long ago. Frankly, I’m grateful for what’s still there—take the deck lid: rather than go to the bother of cutting the lip off when he smoothed the trunk, the original builder could have just as easily thrown it away and used a sheet of steel.

At the end of the day, if it had been more complete or less damaged, the car may never have found me in the first place. So it’s all good as far as I’m concerned.

 

Those period mercury pics show tall aprons like the car came with, any chance those aprons are original?

And I am surprised to find out that there are left hand and right hand sidecar fenders. I'm no expert but I had no idea they existed.

 

HD built left hand sidecars for export to RHD countries

 

I wondered that too, but "my Mercury guy" took a look and said no. Telltale is they appear to be made of galvinized steel. But they're really well done--they have a rolled wire lip along the base. Maybe he used the originals as templates.

 

I'm enjoying the build, I'm an advocate for no fenders.

 

So you went and put one of 4 known Chevy body's on a Ford frame, and hot rodded it! [emoji33] agains my advice [emoji85]

You rock, non the less! [emoji41]
It makes me so happy that it got another lease on life!
And being used and loved is more important, then stock, and all original!

Most importantly you did a good job on saving a car from going back to Mother Nature!!

Respect, and proper work!

 

Merry Christmas everyone! I started this thread a year ago today, and in that time I’ve really enjoyed sharing the story of this car with all of you. Your collective enthusiasm and advice have been a serious motivator.

I’m currently working on the dash and instruments, and will post some pics of my progress later today. Meanwhile, here’s something I’ve been meaning to share for a while.

Some time after I pulled the speedster from out of the weeds, the property was sold. I suspect the upcoming sale may have been a contributing factor to the former owner’s change of heart in agreeing to let it go. Shortly thereafter, my wife and I were walking by and this is what we saw:


The whole place had been scraped clean by a commercial developer for construction of an apartment building. The Porta John in the picture is sitting right about where the speedster was—one “toilet seat” replacing another (if that doesn’t make any sense, refer way back to Post #8).

There’s no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t gotten the car when I did, it would have been bulldozed along with the old house. Rescue ‘em if you can, guys!

 

WOW Great karma to get it bought and out of there before the dozers got at it. Bet the guy on the other side of the fence is "Thrilled" that his long term view will be the side of an apartment block a few feet away.

 

Im gonna go out on a limb here, and suggest that the sidecar fenders were probably purchased new for the project. HD was not as trendy as the company later became, and still is, and replacement service parts were relatively inexpensive. Not too many docs and lawyers riding 65 years ago. Great story, and good work.

 

This post is long and rambling. But hey, it’s Christmas, a time for slowing down. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the extended read.

The story of my instrumentation begins with one of those small hot-rodder miracles. A few years ago my wife and I were at an estate sale, and she stepped outside early while I paid for a couple small things. When I came out, she asked, “Did you see there’s a free pile around the side of the house? Looks like there’s a lot of old metal stuff in it.”

Well, who doesn’t love a free pile? She led me to it, and sure enough, they’d apparently shoved all the crap littering the garage floor aside so people could get in. It was a big mass of wire and steel and junk all wound together. There was already a gal there poking around—turned out to be a local artist looking for sculpture material—so I dove in. I found some good scrap metal, a set of vise grips and an old up-draft carb. Then I spotted this poking up out of the mess:


I carefully unwound the lead, and four feet later found this:


A 2-inch tulip-needle smooth-bezel SW temp gauge. In a free pile! Took it home, boiled some water, and it worked. Cool, I though, more hotrod funds. Thinking no more of it, I put it and the Zenith carb into my Portland Swap Meet box.

Now flash forward about 8 months to when I cut my dash out from that old International cowl.


The dash fit great, looked great, but had one flaw: it had 2-inch holes, and they were very close together, preventing me from enlarging them. This meant the set of late ‘50s SW gauges I’d already set aside were not going to work. Bummer. Then I remembered the free pile gauge. Sure enough, it fit perfect. And the more I looked at it, the more I realized it actually had a better look for this car than what I’d originally planned.

Over time, I scouted up its two brothers, Oil and Amp. Yes, I realize that a 50 lb. oil pressure needle isn’t going to move much on a banger, but it will do until I find a low pressure one.


And also a speedometer:

I never managed to find a matching period SW speedo, but I though this AC had a good look, and the fact that it only goes to 80 mph is appropriate; a 120 speedo on this car would be a hopeless aspiration.

These gauges are not illuminated, which is fine. I won’t be driving much at night. Plus, I added a small Model A dash light (another “find”: came in a cardboard box of junk my brother got in one of his parts package deals). Right before I painted everything I made a minor modification to the dash to accept the light--cut out the old support tab and welded in a new one with larger hole (that's it at the top of the instrument cluster; and for the record we're coming to the end of my backlog of fuzzy photos from my old phone).




Yesterday I installed everything, and it looks pretty good. Here it is, in something approaching
actual focus:




I did encounter one final problem. I’d originally planned to have the keyed ignition to the left of the steering column and the light switch on the right with the gauges. But I got my measurements wrong, and the switch wouldn’t fit—it interferes with the square tube support I built. Swapping it with the push-pull headlight switch did no good, because that switch is even longer.

The solution was this lower-profile toggle switch I got at a military estate sale just a few blocks from our house.


It was an amazing sale, by the way, the estate of a serious collector. There were 2 Jeeps, a transporter, a half-track and an MK 1 tank that was bought by Paul Allen’s museum. I didn’t get any of that, but did come away with a visible pump! It’s a mid-‘20s Wayne, perfect companion to the car. (And no, I paid nowhere near that insane listed price on the tag.)


Back to the switch: It is seriously heavy duty, and actually looks more period than the push-pull I’d planned to use. So now my light toggle is on the left and the keyed ignition is on the right.

On to wiring!

 

That looks really nice. Is that a starter button next to the red light on the bottom???
And what is the red light for???

 

WOW just WOW that could not look any better! Congrats, Gary

 

Thanks. Yes, it's push-button start. It's too cramped for the original foot-start. The small red light is for high beams. If you look at the first pic of the dash held in with vise grips, you'll see there's only one small hole. I added the light for balance.

 

I think the "big Guy Upstairs" wants you to get this build completed he's giving you a lot of good luck.

 

I suddenly realized I had one more component to install before I could begin wiring—the horn! So yesterday I charged up a 6-volt battery so my wife and I could hold an audition. Here’s a look at the performers who answered my Casting Call:

All of these are estate sale finds costing less than $5, with the exception of the black Model A horn (3rd from the left), which I got off the Hamb.

First up: We started from the left with the EA motorcycle horn. He totally muffed his lines—not a peep out of it. $3 down the drain. NEXT!

Second up: I had high hopes for the little chrome-faced motorcycle horn. I thought it would look great mounted under a headlight.



But when the chrome horn read his line—“beep”—it was not the throaty hot-rod voice I was looking for. More like a friendly toot from Audrey Hepburn, zipping around Paris on her Vespa. NEXT!

Third up: black Model A horn.



Well, he gave it his all. Unfortunately, being a Model A horn, his all was essentially the low groan of an annoyed turtle. Never been a fan. NEXT!

Fourth up: Gray Model A horn. And once again, we couldn’t get a word out of it. Maybe he felt the black horn had stolen his line. Why do these guys even show up for the audition? NEXT!

Fifth up: Finally, we had the big, ugly 6-volt Autolite on the right. Cost all of $2, I think. No pedigree to speak of. But then he barked out his lines.



BINGO! We have a winner! That horn has a voice that says, “Get the F#@k Outta My Way!”

So the Autolite will be our marquee performer, at least for now. Maybe someday a classic “ahooga!” horn will show up and steal the show. If anybody’s sitting on a nice one, drop me a PM.

Now, I can move on to wiring.

 

Try Brattons Model A parts. Of course they're here in MD, but should have all the parts to rebuild your A honkers. I disassembled a Dodge ooga horn, cleaned up the motor drive and a little lube, ran 12v through it and scared my neighbor across the street. Just a little motor with a bevel gear rubbing a little tit on a diaphragm. The adjusting screw moved the bevel in or out. Might be rebuildable.

 

The face of that EA horn is too cool to go to waste. Could the face of it be attached to the end of the horn you're going to use? Keep the leaves and sparrows out of there perhaps?

 

I posted this pic unmodded in HRP's thread on vintage stations but I thought of you when I saw it so in no way trying to cloud your vision this is just for fun...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and the family. My horn on the Hotrod could use a little period inspiration as well...it sounds like The Roadrunner...


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...-stations-pre-65.1033288/page-4#post-11830131
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/images-of-vintage-gas-stations-pre-65.1033288/

https://utsalibrariestopshelf.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/z-0967-b-4.jpg
(hi-res link)

Credit to Photographers, Owners ​

 

Thanks for the tip. I’ll look into that after I get the big stuff sorted out. My neighbor across the street could use a good scare.

That is a cool idea. It would take some massaging, becasue the EA face is 5 inches and the Autolite horn outlet is 4 inches. And it would totally piss of my brother, who laid already laid claim to it if I don't use it... although some might call that a bonus...

That picture is flat out AWESOME! Thanks for the Christmas gift. I showed it to my wife and she said, "Wow, that car looks just like yours." I told her, that's becasue it is!

Takes me back to my gas station days. Years ago, working in what was then a Mobil down in Ballard, I found an old neon holiday sign stowed away and forgotten in the back. It was a candle surrouned by a wreath. The young owner, Harold, gave me the OK to get it fixed. We hung it up every year--that was almost 30 years ago. And you know what? Harold's still there today, and still hangs up that sign every Christmas. It's a Spirit station now. Only place around here I know of to get ethanol-free gas.

 

Just installed the horn. Ouboard, just ahead of the cowl. Most guys would hide that ugly thing, but I like it there, for some reason.

 

Clark, you're going to want to put some kind of cover on the front of the horn, or it will fill up/go bad fast!

 

Thanks very much for that. Hadn't occured to me. Still debating underhood location.

 

great thread, keep up the great work !

 

Clark -- Your horn of choice looks like a Model T horn, which would be contemporary with your car. You can get a mounting bracket to mount it to a '26-7 T engine; I think that will work with your Model A. Call and ask about the bolt spacing.

https://www.modeltford.com/item/6437BQ.aspx

The "Ahooga" horns were manually-operated during the Model T era, then electric ones appeared during Model A times. The Model T electric horns had the sound of a sick cow.

 

With your Tag Sale luck I'm sure one of these Python horns will turn up! Best wishes for 2017! Bob

 

Clark its not a speedster but it does have a cycle fender attached in a period photo...posted by @Tweety's Resurrection
Pretty cool thread to boot...have a look
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...rs-kerville-drags.985495/page-4#post-11770249