History Grandpas el mirage roadster recreation p.r.c

Wyatt he even gave me the sprayer he used to primer the car...
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It amazes me, that I still see cars at El Mirage I never see anywhere else. I always feel privileged to pull on the lakebed.

 

Now that is a spray gun......I remember using one like that to spray primer on my hood and deck lid on my 49 Merc after nose & deck shave job back about 1957. Never did get that car painted.

 

I totally understand iv only been there twice and most all the cars iv never seen. This time I talked to a lot of people about what they were running and I got to say they all wanted to talk about it. No cold shoulders there. Hell iv asked guys at the la roadster show about their cars and they are to busy talking about how much money they have in it then what the car is about. That's why I always love to ask how long it took them to build it. And it's usually the same answer oh well I didn't build it I bought it like this. At el mirage they all build their own cars it's great. I can only wonder way it's not packed. There was only about 25 people at the starting line watching. It's the best if your not into big crowds. I'm hooked and it's my new thing to do during the season. I will one day build a car to go racing. I just need about a year or two of going out there to figure it all out. Then it's build time. I really see a flathead or 4 banger car in my head. Records are reasonable and can be beat on the cheaper end of trying for 200 mph. See you there next season

 

Build a car for land speed racing and ElMo because you want to have FUN . . . if you're ever fortunate enough to achieve a record, consider it a big bonus. In truth, it is a difficult task to build a safe and competitive race car - and ElMo is no different. Yes, there are a few "soft" records (usually for car, engine, induction, fuel combinations that most don't want to run), but for most categories, it is damn hard. It is even harder at Bonneville - cause you have to make two passes. Do it cause you love it and enjoy the people/culture . . . everything else is icing on the cake.

 

Count us in on that cruise. I have never been north of Arlington, TX at the GOOD-GUYS run in my hotrod. Will be so much fun with all you guys. Gary

 

Damn, Bruce. You have two sets of History from two generations to enjoy. Doesn't get much better than that. Gary

 

Hell - I might be up for that . . . wouldn't that be a kick in the ass! I might need a "small trailer" to carry all the parts that I might need to replace along the way! Ha!

 

Starter and trans should be good for awhile at least. What next, radiator, steering box, rear end, oh no[emoji79], did I just jinx you Dale?
Make that a small towable shop.


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I think I would be looking at a two hour minimum drive just to get to rt66. I better build Hubba Hubba very well just to meet up with you guys.
Now that I no longer drive the big rigs, I hardly can imagine driving the whole thing, let alone making it back. It is a hot rodder bucket list'r though. I better get busy livin or get busy dyin.


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I would have to do some checking Wyatt, but I am thinking Ok. would be the closest it comes to me and that would be about a 6 hour drive for me. But I sure would do it to hook up with everyone listed. Nothing better than a bunch of friends running down the road together in hot rods.....

 

Just think what grandpa would think of all his fans showing up in every state we cross. Might have to hire a film crew for are historic journey....

 

Anybody know jay Leno... I bet he would be on board

 

Assuming your talking about 66 I think Joplin and spring field would also be pretty close to the same distance just different directions. They are both 2.5/3 hours from KC

 

Historic Route 66= 2,451 miles


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Great thread - enjoying the journey. But, sorry to be an arse, but the wheel cylinders are in backwards - the big end should be towards the front. The pipe should enter from the rear.
I made the same mistake myself. It certainly makes a neater installation with the pipe going in from the front though.

The rule for early ford brakes is big end of cylinder and long shoe to the front.

Mart.

 

Boy Bruce if I didn't know any better I would swear you were talking to my Dad. Those are exactly the same words I got from my Dad. This conversation brought back a flood of memories. Everything he said is just how my Dad would tell us. Right down to the switch to turn off the lights!! How funny to hear your Grandfather say the same things. But considering they obviously hung in the same circle, it makes sense. Dad lived right off Colorado Blvd. on Backus Street. So needless to say he was always making a "hasty" retreat to the house in the dark. As you know the picture of your Gramps car in the driveway is at Dad's house on Backus. Here's some "useless" information for some of you HAMBERS out there. Some will know, and some may not. The Colorado Blvd. that we speak of is the same one the world famous Rose Parade goes down every New Year's Day. I like others have said, think you should get all the info you can from your Grandfather while you can. It's one of the biggest mistake I have made in my life. I did not do it when I could. Now I have to rely on memory. And we all know that fades in time. This is priceless info that should be preserved and shared. Just as I did with my thread. Glad things are moving along on the car, and you are able to get Gramps out to El Mirage. Tell your Grandfather hello for me and take care. Hope to see you soon. Mike

 

Thanks mart. Iv seen lots of rearends done the same way at the hotrod shows I go to. Iv asked guys that done it this way and they all say they can tell no different. Even had an old timer that I know real well say he always thought they worked better that way. Kind of like a garden hose the smaller the hole the more pressure. I will give them a go like that and if I can't stop then I will just go faster.... You Gotta to crawl before you walk.....

 

Mike it's good to hear from you. Yea grandpa and your dad and a few other guys in the Pasadena roadster club might have all installed the light switches around the same time. You know when one club member had a good thought everyone else must of copied and that's what made them a strong club. Always thinking ahead of the cops as grandpa says. They knew the cops could never run them down as cop cars were slow snails but also if you could disappear into the dark night that's even better. We will have to hook up again next time I'm down. We can go out to lunch with grandpa. I would also like to take the car to the same driveway as your dad's when it's all done and see if they will let us take pictures of it In The driveway. That would be really cool as it would of been there around 67 years ago.

 

Ok here's an update the steering column and side shift is all done. Works bitchin shift like a dream. I had to reinvent the way it works. I took apart 2 columns to make the shifting part work. I needed two of the top shift arms on the bottom of the column because they are the longer of the two. So the bottom "short arm" has a pressed on sleeve. I needed them both to be long to clear the brake pedal. So I Un pressed the sleeve and pressed it on one of the longer arms. Also had to do some heating and bending to get them just right. I bet I had the column in and out 6-7 times to get it just right. I also had to grind sand and smooth the back lower corner of the head to make all the shift stuff on the bottom of the column work good. As you can see I also had to bend the hell out of the brake pedal to make it all work with the shift rods and shift levers on the column. When the wood floor is in you will never be able to tell. So don't tell nobody Why am I doing all this you may be asking, because I don't want any welds on my brake system. Henry fords forging is the best and it can be heated up and bent over and over if you let it cool right. So no welds just all forged parts. Even used grandpas tools to do the job.

 

Here's more pics.

 

I could of just used a 39 trans with this pedal box and bought a master cylinder kit from early v8 garage but that wasn't available in 1947 when my grandpa did it so I had to do it like he did. He said he had to figure it all out to make it work and I wanted to do that just like he had to. Just as if I was back in 1947. It's kinda important to me to think on the same lines as he did back almost 70 years ago. Now time to finish the brake master cylinder set up. Oh yea I'm almost done with this as I started working on the idea a few weeks back. Just got to drill some holes and find some bolts in my pig sty. Come to think of it a 39 pedal box with the master cylinder on it would be real nice too. Or is it 38 that the master cylinder bolts to the pedal box. It's been along time since I worked at the hotrod shop but I do remember these things just not the exact year.

 

Hey Bruce - love that you're staying true to the dream - and not just taking short cuts (because they are just that). Who cares if it takes a few weeks longer - when in the end, you'll have the result you were aiming for. This is one of those lessons I only wish I knew when I was very young . . . the result will ALWAYS make you happy that you invested a bit more into it!

Keep me posted, can't wait to hear it run again and see it go down the road. A buddy and I just managed to get my 42 Merc engine back in the 32 - have all the mounts bolted in, anti-chatter rods, headers, etc. - all in. Tomorrow night it will be the intake and fuel systems, then water . . . then ready to fire it again. Even though this engine has been run before, I'm like a little kid - can't wait to hear it again! LOL

 

I said I would!

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Well one thing I like to do on the kustoms I have built is to reverse the shifter. I guess it's just the problem I have when I build a car. I don't want it to look like any of yours. Reverse shift patterned 32 roadster. Will it be a quicker shifter...
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Hey dale, Didn't you say it would take twice as long and three times the money. Lol I see what you are talking about. Iv gotten lucky on the money side but not the time side. I hear you on getting your car back up and running. I'm just sitting in mine making motor sounds and playing with the brakes. It's been raining since about noon so that put me back today but I'm still cranking on her. Should be soon for test drive. I will keep y'all posted.

 

Reading all your plans for a trip to Bonneville, reminds me of the documentary by Atomic Hotrods, "Road to Bonneville", where the Rolling Bones drive their cars across country to get there. Neat film.
Still a cool thread, keep it up!

 

I'm need to check out this film you talk about .

 

Bruce, Check out the film Three Mile by Atomic also, as it has some footage shot in my shop as the Bones were on the way to the salt.
Roadster is coming along great. I like the shifter on the left side...Cool dude....
Glad to hear you are feeling better also....Keep doing what ya are doing..