Cotton Werksmans' Ardun-powered T

What a awesome post!

Joel

 

Here's a front view on that one. Gotta love it when the door tops are knee-high!

 

Excellent pics Goober. Post more if you have 'em!

 

A little bit newer than Cotton's, but from the same era and also from Chicagoland is this low-slung T built by Don Kendall, powered by a big block Mopar, no less.

 

Nice car, lots of innovation there. Can anyone explain the x - bracing at the rear of the frame? is it attached to the quick change?
Actually the wide white letter tyres look good in this case.
Mart.

 

The x-bracing you refer to on the rear of Cotton's car is part of his home-brewed independent rear suspension. From the Dec. '68 Rod & Custom feature on the car: "Frankland (quick change) center section houses a homemade spool driven by Ford 4.11:1 gears (an infinite number of final drive ratios are available, though at present Cotton runs with a "blank-out" q.c. set with a resulting 4.11 final drive). Side plates are turned from Ford axle housings, united with Buick U-joints and torque tubes (enclosing modified Pontiac axles) then to Olds hub-carriers . Coil-wrapped shocks are adjustable Armstrongs from an Indy machine. It sounds complex, and it is, but the car rides and handles even better than the theory behind it. The big Goodyears stay planted, and despite the explosive acceleration of the mighty Ardun (300 hp), there's little wheelspin. Instant, straightline GO!"

And by the way, further to earlier speculation-- "(Asian) Characters on (fuel)tank are owner's name: Cotton."

P.S. The ch***is was built from chalk lines on a garage floor and total car cost was said to be $1650!

 

1.Cotton built a 27T on a 32 frame and it was in" The Rodders Digest" magazine a few months back. I believe this is the "T" that was sold and taken apart!
2.The black "T" with flames was built by Bob knaack...Cotton's friend. It is now owned by a guy named Greg Hall, in Michigan. Bob now drives a yellow 23T. It was parked outside the gate at the 100 Car Pile-up 2004, because it has Alum. wheels!!! It is a cool car...... Q.C., mini supercharger, 5 spd. trans inside the ****pit, and from what I've heard this last winter, switched from a SBC to a flat head!

 

Another cool T from that 70's era is Iowan Dan Holck's, which featured a quick-change and supposedly owner-built fibergl*** body -- to say nothing of the great looking flathead (I believe the blower was a later addition).

 

Yep. S***ch said that lettering is his name. The sign painter was given a transparency to work from and ended up painting it b*** ackwards. A mirror image.

Still looks like H E MI T to me.

Dan's red T is awesome too! I've got some more pics around here somewhere I'll dig up. In the mean time, here's another pic of S***ch's car...

 

Still can't open that friggin' Starphoto page to pull out the rest of the info on Bob Knaacks Mod! DAMN....

The MODIFIEDs of the 40's and 50's didn't just die and then get resurrected by the nostalgia crowd did they?
People like Cotton and Bob Knaack and the others kept them alive... These late era misfits have DNA that offers a direct link back to the dust and dirt of MUROC...their primal scream uninterrupted by the p***age of time.

HOT ROD's...

 

Love to see 'em. Here's one of Dan's from the rear.

 

Is that from a magazine? What issue?

 

Not a mag. Believe just a photo from something like Street Rod Nats years ago.

However, the book "Hot Rods" by Kevin Elliott has a couple nice pics (without the blower). It's one of those small, fat books with 500+ pics.

 

Here's another cool low T. This guy is from the Chicago area also if I remember correctly.

 

Thanks Goober, I saw the x-bracing and the coilovers, and couldn't work out what was going on. I didn't realise it had a home made independant setup. Looks like a swing axle deal going on there.
Very interesting.
Mart.

 

Got them...

 

This one?

 

Excellent pics! Anyone know what issue of Popular Hot Rodding that is?

 

Can't remember...but Tom Senter wrote the article. When did he finish up with Pop-rodding? That should narrow it down...

Heres a couple more shots of the Knaack car from American Rodder mag.
Dain Gingerelli(sp) did the photography.

 

The blue 23T was built by Lion's hot rod shop in McHenry, Ill.
I don't have Lion's Phone # handy, but they used to advertise in some of the rod mags a few years ago. Jim and his son Matt are HARD CORE hot rodders!

Jim is good friends with Cotton and Bob Knaack.

 

Small world. I met him at the NTBA big show in Omaha last year. Didn't realize that's who that was. Nice guy. They sure sell a nice '27 RPU body (gl***).

 

Goober...I love the look of that T you posted with the "85 HP" license plate but in either picture I don't see any radius rods on the rear. Maybe just the angle of the pics?

 

It doesn't have any! The rear spring, the rear shocks and the torque tube and that's it! Nothing else is holding the rear end in place! I stopped at his place in Davenport several years ago and he told me all about it. He is a very interesting guy, and a real HOTRODDER. He also started up his straight 6 powered early 40's Chevy that he has won many "pipe rapping" contests with. It actually hurt my ears! The tail pipes go back to the rear bumper and then go foreward to the rear axle then back to the the bumper again (extra long tail pipes, like on a school bus was his theory).It sure worked!

 

Hello all,

I'm new to HAMB but not to hot rodding. I was told to go to this site as there were some nice things said about me and my Father on here. My name is Matt Werksman, I am Cottons son. I have a small shop and work out of my garage, just like my Dad does. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about my Dad. He's hard to track down at times and I know people are wondering what he has been up to.

Brief run down on his last 35 years: He is still alive (73) and still building hot rods. His interests have become more "traditional" over the years but he still has a wild side. He and I just finished up an "old school" 32 5 window for him to use as his "driver". Pretty accurate except for the C-4 trans and gl*** body. It will be up for sale on Ebay this week as he has decided to actually start work on his next project. He is building another car very similar to his old Yellow Ardun powered T from the late 60's early 70's. It won't be exactly the same, but the "feel" will be there.

The car that you are all refering to that was "chopped-up" and parted out was NOT the old Ardun powered Yellow car. It was infact a 27 roadster he built just a few years back.

More later....

 

Matt, Welcome to the HAMB, thanks for the update on your dad. I never got to see the Ardun T but read just everything ever published on it. Did the V8-60 set every get rebuilt and installed in anything?

 

Welcome aboard Matt!

Great to hear your dad is doing well and still up to no good!!!
He was one of the guys who kept right on HOT RODDING when street rods were getting all the attention.
Very cool.
This isn't the first thread about your dads work either...

All the best to both of you!

 

What am I missing? I see no pictures, no red X, no nothing? Help me I'm frustrated, as I can only see the pics on page 2 & 3

 

Welcome Matt. I guess I'm guilty for starting this latest post about your Dad.
We were both ***ociate members of the LA Roadster club years ago. I had
not heard anything about him until reading an article about the Ardun powered
27' T he built. I am trying to renew old friendships while we all can. I have
talked to him about a visit the last time he was busy helping a engine builder
as I remember. I have always been impressed with your Dad's ability. Tell him
I will try again, maybe I can meet you too. Bob Gorby

 

The pics were lost during the server change a while back. I'll try to post them back up later if you'd like.

 

This was the most fun ever!!!!!!!!!!