Projects Introducing the Roofus Special

Man, this looks GREAT. NIce job, looking forward to seeing more pics... any plans for paint yet?

 

Too cool! I've been saving a Jag 6cyl and looking for a car to build around in. I thought about putting it in a chevy just to f#*k with the guys who put a sbc in a jag. I love the look of the one seaters. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

I have a set of slightly rusted jag wire wheels. They are off of a 69 E-type You are welcome to them.

 

I just found this and had to suscribe to it so I can find it later. I've been collecting pieces for one for years and love the look you have going.

 

I would love to have them.

 

I like the idea- and it's even traditional... especially if you like Hissos!

 

I did more work on the rear of the body. It took a lot of fitting, but I finally got the tubes ready to weld.







And trimmed the other quarter so that it will fit over the axle.

 

I also played around with the rumble seat idea some more. There is room to do it.

 

Due to the high jag content, we had talked about britsh racing green.

Right now, green isn't doing anything for me.

The Auto Union thread makes me want to paint it silver.

To me, a dark color would make it look sleeker and faster, but this is a low lightweight car that I don't want to be in if its wrecked. Painting it a highly visible color makes a lot of sense. Red maybe?

I still have plenty of time to figure it out.

 

pic swap for the Jag-T posts above:












More work on the rear framework today. I added some diagonals. They hug the body really nice.

 

Played around with sticking a 8 gallon fuel cell in the back (so I could do a 3rd seat). It fits pretty good. If I don't add the seat, I will still have one heck of a trunk back there. Not 100% sure 8 gallons will be enough though.

 

I also added some diagonals to the passenger compartment to help support the rear diagonals. This thing is slowly turning into a battleship.





I also got around to trimming the passenger side door opening.

 

....and played with adding a wheel under the tail.



...and trimed the tail a little more. Not 100% there, but closer. I'm sneaking up on it.

 

I have a little bit more to do to the rear frame. I want to add a second horizontal tube at the very end. It will be lighter weight material than the cop car stuff.

I would have done it this weekend, but I wanted to put more thought into the vertical piece at the very rear. It needs to have a neat way to mount the sheetmetal ...and maybe the ability to mount a "push bar" type bumper.

Anybody have suggestions for making the vertical?


rear (1) by Flipper_1938, on Flickr

 

Sheet metal screws are so prone to rattling loose that some racetracks will fail any car that has them. At least they come in brass and stainless, too.

Are Dzus fasteners just too much work to line up and attach?

 

I was thinking screws because they kinda look like rivets and the quarters could be removed without a whole lot of drama sometime down the road if necessary (like the rear end having to come out).

 

Button Head Cap Screws, with Nylon Lock Nuts, would work fine;
look decent, and not come loose.

 

On this car, some of the fasteners will be blind or at least difficult to get to the backside due to the unibody/ladder frame construction.

I could do welded nuts in most places.

I wonder if the tech guys have a problem with bolts with out locknuts.

 

I realized I forgot a pic. I didn't have room to get full spline engagement, it hits the table. It is just hanging on the threads. The tail doesn't look too long at all (to me at least)

FYI...the tire pictured is a 205/75/15. Not sure exactly what tire I'm going to run. Maybe 700-15 on all 4 corners.

 

This thing is turning out lower and sleeker than I had first imagined. I think the front end sheetmetal needs to be swoopier than the first cars I pictured.

Would a nose kinda like this Alfa be too far of a stretch? a clash of eras/styles?


Alfa-Romeo-308C_1 by Flipper_1938, on Flickr

 

How to get a track nose out of a caddy hood.



slice by Flipper_1938, on Flickr

 

Looks like a butchers chart for cuts location on a side of beef.Detroit has given us a broad pallet of shape to play with.I enjoy this.

 

I cut the caddy hood apart and mocked-up the front end (I'll post pics tomorrow night when I get back home). It really changes the look of the car. I think it is cool.

I also realized the low seat/high & wide dash thing sucks for visibility. I have trouble seeing shit from the present seating position. The cowl is going to be a little lower and a little slimmer.

Overall, I think the car is moving from the late 20's to the late-40's - early 50's sports racer feel.

I also need to figure out how to take a little length out of the nose/cowl...right now it looks to be about a 115-120" wheelbase. The engine may get set-back a little more.

 

Death to the Caddy hood!

 

It doesn't fit as well as I hoped it would. The shapes would do better on a single seater. It's gonna take some pie cuts to make the nose act right and the the back line up with the shape of the main body. I think I can make it work.

 

As long as it is right now, it kinda looks like I'm building a two seat streamliner for Bonneville.

 

Not necessarily a bad thing!

 

If I pushed the "front cap" forward so that the ends of the caddy hood ended where the firewall should be.

It would be very slippery looking...and about a 130-135" wheelbase.

Time for a 180 degree turn in the build?

 

Go with whatever looks best with those wire wheels. Stick with some kind of old racing car idea.

 

I'm diggin it.