Projects Giant speedster project

Fenders

It's the 1923 cavalcade of fenders! I like those first cycle/pontoon fenders but I'm not sure they fit the Seagrave's style. They'd be hard for me to make too unless I used lots of bondo. I like the others too. I especially like the pointy Mercedes fenders. Jay's fenders would be easy, as well as the great Leslie's. Another vote?

Jerry
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Jerry,

Jay's fenders would look great & would be easy to make. Too bad you are not closer - I have the rollers & tools to do the wire edges.

The running board boxes are cute. There is a teens RR touring around here that was built for some royalty in India. It has such boxes that are fitted with big game rifles.

Another thought. --- Some 28 AA Ford trucks had 20" wire wheels. It would take some adaptor plates but would give you a lower car with wires & tires that are easier to get than the 24" ones on it.

Jack.

 

Jack,
I'd sure like to have some real wire wheels but who can afford them? I've got some big aluminum discs planned with brass knockoffs. We'll see how that turns out.

Muffler

This morning I cut out a piece of 18 gauge for a muffler, rolled it into a tube then started fiddling with the pipes. That took the rest of the day. You see I have to remove the galvanizing from the pipes before I can weld them. The best way I know to do that is to dip them in muratic acid, a messy smelly job. Despite the mess the pipes came out clean as a chitlin (chitterling to you non-Southerners) I forgot to take a picture of the boiling bubbling cauldron. Tomorrow I tack everything together--if I get that far. There's a lot of cutting and fitting of pipes into the muffler before the actual welding.

Jerry
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The Blitzen Benz exhaust is just what I was thinking of with a long pipe out the back.

The fenders on pictures 3, 6 and 7 are perfect.

 

Muffler

Cutting off the header pipes perfectly horizontal posed a problem until I remembered an old water trick. I submerged the pipes in a tub of water then misted some spray paint around the surface. After scooping off the excess paint left on the water I lowered the tub and BEHOLD: a perfectly horizontal line. But when I cut on the dotted line and rehung the pipes I discovered my muffler was a little too big--well a lot too big. Back to the roll.

Jerry
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I tried like hell to get to the shop but went instead to the doc to have him x-ray my knee. The result--I need a cat scan. I can't sleep when I don't make progress on the speedster. Tomorrow!

Jerry
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Back on the muffler

First, just for the heck of it, I tried a piece of 4 inch pipe as a muffler. It didn't look good so I rolled up something bigger--about 6 inches in diameter. But when I positioned the new muffler in place my pipes didn't co-operate. The fit has to be pretty good or there will be gobs of ugly welds. I played with different methods but wasn't satisfied with the result. Not to worry yet, I've still got a few more tricks up my sleeve.

Jerry
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Hay Jerry...what the hell did ya do to your knee? That sounds like a bad thing. Hope it all turns out good.

Six inch sounds about right if those head pipes are around two inch it will look great. Love your trick with the water and spray paint.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. The knee just started hurting around January and just got worse and worse until it was all swollen and I couldn't walk. Then I started taking something called Catflam and it started getting better. The doc couldn't see anything obvious so cat scan. After I spend a bunch of money the whole thing will probably go away and I'll never know what it was.

Jerry

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Got grouchy knees myself...fell on them too many times in my clumsy youth, (and old age too). Heal up buddy...it's a lot more fun when you are building stuff than when you are sitting around wishing you were building stuff.

 

Amazing Cool build .

 

i have had trouble with my knees as well, a lot of years in factories walking all day on cement floors, got to the point i couldnt walk, turned out i have calcium deposits mixed in with the tendons on both knees and they won't operate, that is just one problem, i also have a touch of arthertis in both knees, they used to get all swelled up, i am supposed to wear braces on both legs but i don't, leaving my last job helped alot, now i dance tango 3 or 4 nights a week and my knees seem fine, your car is looking great.

 

Exhaust<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

Back on the exhaust. I get antsy when I've been working on something too long. I figure just do it! If it looks like hell, I can change it later. So I got the pipes as close as I could then made holes in the muffler, fit and bent and ground. After that I put the whole thing back on the car and tacked it together. I'm not the greatest welder so I'll only post a picture of my best weld. If anyone asks I'll tell them it was gas welded back in 1923. Still more fitting and welding to go but the hard part is over. Of course, the muffler needs some guts as well.

Jerry

 

Don't need no guts...just a big pipe the same diameter to the back of the car and it will sound great!

 

You are going to build a hanger for that...right?
I would hate for that to crack and fall off.
You are almost there.

 

X2 on the straight pipe all the way back with no baffles. It's really cool to see it running and driving.

Brian

 

No guts, no glory. I won't put much in there, just a pipe with some holes in it. I'll make the end bolt on too, that way if it's too quiet I can rip everything out. I've got a big hanger planned too. There'll be too much vibration in those long pipes.

Jerry

 

Your project is coming along great. Like you said you can always change it. really nice work.

Todd

 

Jerry,

If you have ever followed a big truck in Mexico you will have seen straight pipes right to the back with a damper just like a wood stove at the very back. There is a wire to the cab so the driver can close it when going through towns to take some of the bark out of the exhaust. Down there the "cool" starts to wear thin after following one of those for 50 miles crawling through the mountains though. I don't think you would have that problem!

Will the front cap of your muffler have started life as a fire extinguisher?

Jack

 

When thinking about fenders they really should match the body. From what Im seeing of your body plans fenders can work but running boards may look very out of place. I might think of a fabric "fender" stretched between two posts would give a crude yet authentic styling in addition to being easy and removeable. I would also favor a step instead of a full running board

 

I think that the right fenders/running boards be a big help.

Jerry, as always, the car looks great, but the proportion of the body vs wheels is off a bit (those wheels are HUGE). If you spend some time mocking the fenders and boards (and with your talent and eye, I know you'll be successful), I'm sure that they will tie the top and bottom half of the car!

 

If possible I may try going the route on the wheels of WWI planes, a nice simple disc with a hole cut in it. If you go with a flared fender and running boards definatly bring the front fender below the running board. As an idea try the thought of plywood fenders bending thin plywood to get the shape then laminating 2 pieces together to get the desired thickness. Varnish and then take a nice piece of brass and run it around the edge to give a finished look and disguise the plywood.

 

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All good fender ideas! I'm not sure about anything about fenders except I think the rear ought to have an upturn. The simpler the better. Eventually, when I can scrape up about 2K I'll buy some new 24" tires. They have a lower profile than what's on it now.

Muffler

After making a flat front plate for the muffler--I'm going to put a cone over it--I spent the rest of the day trying to layout a pattern for a cone for the rear--6 & 3/8" on one end and 3" on the other. I left my layout book at home and the problem was making the cone come out right. I finally figured it out. The next problem is how to attach the exhaust pipe. Bolt on flange? Pipe to pipe with some sort of bolt tightening bandaid? I sure not going to weld everything together. Have to go back and look at pictures. Sorry, I forgot my camera.

Jerry

 

Maybe make a flat band clamp that wraps around the pipe and uses two bolts. There are modern ones made out of stainless but you could easily build your own out of steel. Use square nuts for a vintage look. In cross section the clamps I am trying to describe look like the Greek letter omega (ohms symbol). The edges can be wrapped around steel stock for strength.

 

i know it sounds really strange but a connecting rod makes a pretty good looking hanger when used with a band around the pipe, or even just a bolt welded to the pipe then monted where the wrist pin would be and the other end bolted to the frame. if i can find a pic of one i have seen i will post it

 

I had one of those in mind. Probably less prone to breaking from vibration too.

Jerry

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Just had a thought. How about two cones--one on the muffler, the other on the pipe. The cone on the pipe slides over the cone on the muffler and they are held in place by three strong springs. That lets everything move. Leakage just adds to the fun.

Jerry
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Sounds good, but that rear pipe needs to be at least 4" to fit with the size of the vehicle.

 

Muffler

The way things are going I'll have more time in this muffler than I do in the engine. Just kidding. I know the welds are not so pretty but welding this sheet metal is tough. You've got to keep going or you'll burn through. Good thing it'll be painted flat black. Mainly the muffler is done except for attaching it to the exhaust pipes. Oh yeah, and I have to attach the cone on the front. And oh yeah, I have to build the system that mounts it to the chassis. And I'll also have to...

Jerry
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