Hot Rods Drug Home: East Coast T Modified - NH

(Edited to amend title, formerly "DRUG HOME: EAST COAST T MODIFIED BUILT W/ WWII JEEP PARTS?! -NH")

So, this weekend I went up into NH to buy what I thought was just an average, abandoned T project pile of parts. It turned out to be what I think was a late 40's to early 50's built T modified. And the workmanship is impressive. Look at the welds on this thing; even with as eaten up as the sheet metal is, the thing is still solid. I'm not sure if the pictures will show some of the dime stacks or not. The way it's built is very clever. It looks to me that it was built by an ironworker. Lots of angle iron, plate, & sturdy welds.

Unfortunately the front end was lopped off but as I understand it, the frame was reversed and the rear crossmember was somehow used up front. (That radiator shell is mine, I just put it on there to dress it up a little while it sits in my driveway).

Does anybody recognize this car from the Northeast from the 50's or 60's?

Thoughts are it may have been made on a military base.



The rear end is a 4.56 Dana 23, which I believe was only used during the wartime years in military Willys MB & Ford GPW Jeeps. The firewall recesses look like they would fit the Willys L134 Go Devil flat 4 too. The springs are from the T front end just cut in half

I've gotta make multiple posts here just to get all the pictures in.



I'm trying to make sense of what looks like a cradle style engine mount though since I don't know how those engines mount.




GMC Delco Master Cylinder from the looks of it. It's mated to a swing pedal setup behind the dash.


Relocated the stock T brake lever. Looks to have been tied to the parking brake cables at either end.



Not sure what trans would fit to that.


Here's some of the Channeling:

 

The 4-link quarter elliptic rear suspension is pretty interesting. Judging from the tires, I have no doubt this car was driven, if not on the street, at least on a strip or street racing.

Looks like a GM swing pedal setup but I don't really know. I also don't have any idea how this thing was steered.

The front bones are mounted with angle iron that has half inch bar welded to it and then they ran a taper through it from what I can tell. They are bolted on.

I dropped the plate on the rear; the gears look pretty good. The impurities in the old oil seem to have helped the oil cling to things back there. I swiped a little off and saw clean metal. I poured it all back in there when I was done.

 

Cool old find. What are your plans for it?

 

For right now, I'm trying to see if anyone knows anything about the history on the car. So I'm going to ping some locals here to see if anybody knows anything or anybody that might know: @mike bowling @caddywhacked @wheeldog57 @onekoolkat1950 @pitman @'54Caddy @Pete @37 Millrat @BobPer @CrazyUncleHarry @general gow @JVK54

I've gotta finish my ongoing build first. BUT, I'm torn on what to do with this one. I have enough parts and tools to deal with the body issues, NBD there, however, DIRECTION is an issue.

I've got 3 other T frames and two 265 SBC's right now. This car looks to have had a flat-4 though. SO do I track down a Go-Devil and restore this car to what I think it was OR do I make it my own and potentially lose some of its character, clever fab work and history?

Restoring it means I need a running Go-Devil and trans as well as new Jeep rear brakes. Which I don't have.

Dropping the 265 SBC in with a Powerglide or a GM 3-speed from @BOSTONCAMARO 's pile means I need to do something creative with boxing the frame (I've got some ideas) and may need to cut out the unique crossmembers in this car to pull it off. Going this route I might put the open drive 47 Ford truck rear end I've got out back and beef up the 4-link setup with some bent rods I have and stronger torque arms as well as possibly wider springs. Which I have most of on-hand.

The front end I'm going to try to restore to what I think it may have been. I'm not sure I can figure out how to run the rear crossmember as a front crossmember but I CAN run an inverted front crossmember with a suicide perch or overslung spring. Since the front of the frame is already cut this should just be a matter of getting a front section square, reinforced, and welded in properly.

 

Seems the correct transmission, IF this car was built with a WWII Jeep donor, would have been a T-84.

Were there other transmissions that were relatively easy to adapt to an L-134?

 

Pat, What you got there is known round these pahts as a Doodlebug.
Might be a GrandSporte Model? (Channeled the std N.E. rust depth!)

I'd ask cad-lasalle. He knows his history in roundy-round stuff.
That, and early powerplants.
(Yep, an early rod or mod.)

 

The rear looks like a leaf link, quarter elips and control arms. The tranny mount may have been for a jeep 3 speed, even the military jeeps came in 2WD during the war. They did use Jeep ambulances during the war and even after Korea, they were like a sedan delivery and used the same basic drivetrain only with no transfer case.

It would be nothing to use a rear cross member in the front and that would have lowered it considerable.

Here is a pic of the go devil, it had side mounts and would have used a cradle mount.

 

@pitman it's not a doodlebug,for sure. It's short because the front was cut off before I got it. It's channeled and the rear is quarter elliptic.

 

Thanks!

I put a front spring it one of my T rears and it hit the rails but not the peak in the center.

 

A very interesting find with some innovative construction. I've been looking for early 4 link suspensions set ups. I don't want to hear from the PC Mafia. What you have there is very close to what my plans are for my '26 Chevy roadster. I'm using 1/4 eliptics for the parallel bottom links and angled upper links. Does it look like the upper links on yours were triangulated? Attaching so close to the center of the rear end they could have been. The master cylinder is interesting too. It could have been "updated" in a later life. Thank for all the photos. I'm going to follow this. By the way I'm voting for the Jeep engine and trans. And if toy find a T90 with OD you're set.

 

I cannot imagine why anyone would show you any disrespect for using a leaf link, they have been around as long as hot rods have been around. I have even seen some that were 3 links two lower leafs and one top link, even some that the top link was made in a triangle that mounted to two ears on either side of the punkin and meat each other with a single mounting point in the front.

perhaps the guys who learned about hot rodding from someone's book may show you some disrespect but none of us older guys will. Build away and let 'em eat worms if they can't take a joke.

The leaf link was commonly used in the bull ring by the way.

 

I'm going to have to clamp the springs back in and align the rods back to where they were and get a picture. My pictures seem to have not told the story very well. But to answer your question, no, the rods in the center were straight. The outer rods had a bend put in them to reach out a bit. They are all made of what looks to be half inch bar stock. They are just bolted on with 3 washers which I assume were packed with grease and acted as bearings.

 

Thanks Porknbeaner, I did see a discouraging word here somewhere but then I saw another well received build that is exactly what I plan. Just need to get off my butt!
Patmanta, Thanks, This will be cool. I hope you find history.

 

We all do.

I actually built a leaf link for a fellas door slammer in the '90s. he was broke (as most of the people who come to me for answers are) and needed it to hook up. I cut his stock leaf springs and made quarter elips out of them, threw in a preload bolt on each one and set up his top links with adjustment for instant center. It hooked. Someone asked me how I came up with the idea and I told him I saw it on an old f dragster when I was a little kid, which was true.

 

For clarity's sake in trying to ID the engine and transmission combo from this car, here's the Transmission mount / center crossmember:



And here is the Engine Mount / Cradle (I think):



I'll grab measurements when it's nice out (raining today)

 

Actually truth be told we should all build a cradle under our motors, it really stiffens things up.

 

But what I need to know is, what engine would have mounts down there like that, where those very specific set of holes are. I can't find any pictures of the L134 clear enough that I can make sense of the mounting on them and I'm not familiar enough with them to know.

The transmissions look like they had integral tabs and wouldn't have needed the tabs like are on this car.

MYSTERY!

 

Update on history, apparently the last known location of the car before it came to the guy I got it from was Gilmanton, NH, which is spitting distance from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, about an hour from NED, same for Lee, White Mountain, Legion Speedway, and only about 2 hours from Oxford Speedway in Maine.

I've got no real idea how long those tracks have been around or what tracks were around and since gone but it's a start in trying to figure out where this car would have been seen.

 

This is so cool, that it deserves to live on!

I like the rear suspension, and there some cool parts on this thing that really gets me out of my seat.

I would think about running a small four banger and descent manual transmission in it.
The small Chevy 153 or a iron duke would do nicely too.
No need to search to long for a engine your are not even sure if it had.

But I keep following because I would love to see this on the road again!


Not all pics are showing, am I the only one who got that issue

 

Cool Find P.
Very interesting, definitely not a doodlebug or a cut down, too much detail. The cutdown I have had are set up more like tractors with a ruxtell rear bolted directly to the frame, no suspension or need for suspension.

 

pretty neat find. very odd ball but i like it

 

Neat find Pat. If that was a street car from around here, someone will remember it.

 

Have you started welding jet? [emoji6][emoji4]

 

I'd bet $1 that those swing pedals and that master cylinder are Tri-5 Chevy sourced. That might throw a wrench in the late 40's to early 50's build date unless they were swapped out at one time.

Also, it would seem odd to notch the firewall that deep for the very short Jeep 4 cylinder engine, if I had to guess I would think that car held an inline 6 or bigger. Otherwise, why all the engine setback?

Certainly has some unique engineering going on, the rear suspension is interesting.

 

First races at Oxford May 27th 1950 and New England Dragway Sept 11 1966

NHIS opened in 1990 on the site of the old Bryar Motorsports Park which opened in 1965 on the site of a track called "Midway 106 Speedway" or something similar. I watched old coupes and sedans with flatheads and six's run there on a Sat night in mid Sept '64.

Legion in Wentworth NH has been around since the '60's under names of Rumney, Norway Pines, The Pines, Rattlesnake, and big Daddy's.

Threads here on the HAMB about Lee and The Pines [Groveton MA] which along with Hudson, Star and others were around back in the day.

Haven't got anything for certain on White Mountain.

Any sign of where a roll bar might have been bolted or welded in?

Ed

 

That's what I'm hoping for! The car's got some unique fabrication so I'm hoping it rings someone's bell.

Well, the MC cap says "USE G.M.C. BRAKE FLUID" and it's a Delco unit. But I agree, the pedals do look like they might very well be tri-five Chevy. When it's nicer out, I'll get up under the cowl with some light and look at the bracket. Oh & BTW, the brake pedal still works! The clutch pedal is locked up though.



Yeah, the more I look into the Jeep Go-Devil, the less I think it was the power plant, unless this thing was built with it set back from the front axle A LOT for weight distribution purposes.

I am actually starting to wonder about a straight-8 or 6. I took better pictures of the crossmember with a tape measure yesterday. I found it to be offset favoring the weight to the passenger side in the cradle and slightly at the trans. I'm wondering if this was a single seat car and that was done to balance the driver out because I don't think, considering the fabrication and design, that it would have been a sloppy accident.

The MOPAR Slant-6 is a suspect because of its low engine mounts. The MOPAR Flat-6 is also; I found this picture of a P-15 mount bracket:







And here is the measurement from the back of the trans crossmember to the cradle:



The relief in the firewall looks just about centered though:

Thanks, Ed!

No sign of a roll bar, seating, or fuel tank mounts found so far. Those must have been too good to leave on this car and got re-purposed, salvaged, or stolen while it sat.

 

This might be an odd or maybe wrong observation,
But if that cradle holds motor mounts and front cross member is hacket off, those motor mounts sits on the site of the engine. Instant game change

Ford Flathead six, stovebolt six, Hudson and the Plymouth/MOPAR is all bolted to then front of the block/timing cover. And sit over the front crossmember. And thereby making the cradle obsolite.

Just thinking about stuff and doing Google search. So a newer six would be possible, maybe Ford 200 or 300.
But that calls for a different era.

 

OHV Ford 6 mounts are higher, I've got that 300 under my shelf. The Slant 6, like I said above, is a suspect but I'm not going to rule out the Flat 6 yet either.

The cradle could be made from drilled scraps too and not an engine mount at all.

<- angle looks wrong but getting in the neighborhood.

But, it's all academic at the end of the day. I don't own a MOPAR Slant or Flat 6, I don't want to drop my Ford Big 6 300 in it, and I have TWO 265 SBC's that I need to use up or sell ASAP.

SO, THE PLAN comes down to planning the frame repair and build-up to take the stock 165hp SBC and one of 4 transmission choices:

1955 Iron Powergilde (good for center weight ballast, have 2)
60's Aluminum Powerglide (I have 2 of different years)
60's TH 350 (out of a 65' SS car I think)
50's GM 3-speed manual that @BOSTONCAMARO doesn't want.

I have 2 ideas for the frame:

A. weld 1" to 1.25" +/- angle iron along the length of the bottom rail (face-in) and then box with 4" plate along the inside. Should/could probably drill and dimple it for strength and access to the inside of the rail to run wire.

B. Put one of the other T frames under the frame that's there and box with 6" plate as needed.

I'm more a fan of option A with this car because B would kinda un-do the look of the channeling.

 

Possible NH Venue: Ref; Facebook Moultonboro Ice Racing

 

I know you didn't ask specific for my help or advice, but...

.. Can't help my self!:

I would run an spring behind axle with split bones, run this frame, go stout/agricultural/truck style on all matters of frame, run 265 and 3speed, with your rear set up (fixet but as is), and run it bare to the bone! Literally, bomber seats and no cushion or Willys jeep seats like some of the old modified (Dident the Pierson brothers coupe run one also?)

I like what you got their, I like the heavy brackets and angle iron, in the sense it's crude and era perfect!
I would love to see a build with a very "Rigid" frame (less flex), with torched out brackets and stick welds.
And before anybody yell RR after me hear this; for a guy with the right skill set it's possible to cut with a torch with out have slag or barcode edges, with out have something that screams water jet and Riddler finish (think niekampf rod with out files). Just simple solid brackets with no more then one hole or just one swervy edge.
And it should be possible to weld a piece of angle bar or flat stock to a
frame with out it has to look TIG welded or low-flying-albatross-droppings.
It would be refreshingly different and again, era perfect.
FYI I like old tubular crossmember, as far as I recall, Dean Lowe RPU ran Seamless tubing as crossmember a in his Frame modified by Kurtis Kraft.

Did anybody read/understand my weird message about engine mount placement regarding frame length? Or is that just a matter of optic illusion on my eye sight?