Well its titled as a 27, the guy I got it from said he didn't mess with that part of it so I assume its a 27. Either way I'm truckin' on...
Last shots of interior prior to tear down... seat removed, gas tank out... Nasty battery box needs chopped out Tail light needs removed
Rear drum brakes will be blasted and painted... Front drums will also get the blast treatment... Anyone know where I can find finned covers for the front drums? Like what size etc? Chrome/stainless or paintable would be great, like this:
If the grill you change your grill to something straight up and down you will improve the look no end. I just find slanted grills on T's, A's and 32's look very tacked on. Also the tighter you can get the engine and grill back towards the cowl the better it will look. A mate up the road even shortened back his T coupe cowl 3" and set his Ardun hard against it, turned out great. Good luck with the blasting i look forward to seeing this one. -Ryan
I really hate to dog pile on someone but that grille just doesn't do it on that car. It looks too big and laid that far back just makes it look that much more out of place (it just screams RAT). I'll put one more vote in for a T shell or a shortened '32. A shortened '33-'34 truck grille might also work but they have a slightly bulkier look. Stick around and don't get discouraged. There is a tremendous amount of talent, help and knowledge here. Once you get comfortable you'll be glad you stayed. Frank
Cool little car and loose the railroad locomotive cow catcher and put at least a 29 Ford shell they are cheap. Otherwise it is a cool car.
Startin' to chop down that "un-loved" grill... lol (that grill and I have a special history and it must stay damn it! it will stay damn it! ah I'm so confused!!) right side... post chop left side I have at least a 2.5" drop I can still do on the grill, and pick the cowl up to "even it out" I also still need to thin the grill's bulk...
Pennafxu, PLEASE READ THIS! Dude, there's some SCARY looking shit going on in these two pictures. The rear spring hanger/bolt/thingy needs to be built and attached correctly. The front batwing welded to the spring is downright scary too. I don't mean to rain on your parade at all, and please know I respect your ambition. That said, you mentioned your kids earlier in the thread and I've got to remind you that they'll be riding in this... this... this THING. I know you didn't build this to the point it is now, so I'm not going to bag on your work. You certainly want to build a bitchin' car, but PLEASE build it with safety in mind FIRST. If you don't, you just have a "rat rod". That's the worst kind of swear word around here, and if you've been reading, the f-bomb is dropped regularly without anyone batting an eye. If you want to build a HOT ROD you need to stop where you are right now and backtrack. If you're building a RAT ROD, proceed as you are. 1. Pull the body and inspect the chassis. Don't get so excited about having this on the road that you forget about your safety, or that of your children. String the chassis. Is it square? Are there stress cracks? Is it bent in any way shape or form? The chassis is the foundation of the car and you certainly wouldn't build a house on a shitty foundation, would you? Looks like a pretty nice place you have there. 2. Go through the suspension with a fine toothed comb. Just because its there doesn't mean you have to use it. I'm guessing the axles came from a Chevy 1/2 ton pickup. Don't even start working on the body until you have everything sorted out here. You need to rebuild the brakes, replace bearings, bushings, king pins and everything that can wear. 3. Throw those wheels away. Hell, if you are dead set on this type of wheel I have 4 of them I'll GIVE you that are a million times better than that, you just pay shipping. I don't want to read your obituary... or that of your kids! 4. Once you have all of your SAFETY items thoroughly thought out, fixed, and road ready, then (and only then) start on chopping that grill, blasting the body and whatever. For the record, I think the grill sucks too, sorry. SAFETY FIRST MY FRIEND. You have a rat rod, but it CAN be made into a hot rod. Don't confuse the two. Time for a little self-shaming. Wanna know how I learned this? Because I spent countless hours building an OLD '31 A chassis for my Tudor. It had a Jag rear, dropped I beam with ANCIENT 4 bar, stress cracks that I dutifully welded up, etc. It looked pretty good when I was done too! A friend of mine came over and looked at it. This is someone who's opinion on hot rodding I trust emphatically. He looked it over and pointed out all of the good things I'd done... I was pretty proud. Then he showed me a whole bunch of stuff I had missed, although I looked for it. He said, "I know you. You're going to hit the highway running 85 mph with the car full of kids. When is this thing going to give up and send you and the kids off the road to your deaths?" After politely showing me the error of my ways I ordered a new CSRM chassis, pulled the salvageable stuff off the old chassis and took the sawzall to it. I've never had any regrets about doing the right thing. It took me a little longer to get the car on the road but I NEVER worried about something coming apart and enjoyed the hell out of it. It was safe, solid, and handled like a slot car, but still rode great. I built my whole car bass-ackwards just like you're doing. I did EVERYTHING out of order with a gung-ho attitude, just like you. It took me forever to get the car on the road, but once I finally stopped, went back, and did everything right I had a GREAT car. Please take this as constructive criticism. I've been where you are and I see you heading for a train wreck, just like I was.
Honestly with all bias aside, you could drop the grille, raise the cowl, cut 6" out of the grill it wouldn't matter, the portions are just not right. I totally get the attachment thing, I have had them, but you really should step back and reconsider. Your getting some good objective advice here and it's overwhelmingly for a better suited grille. Hope I am not too critical, not intentional if so. You could always keep the grille and replace the car.
Another vote to nix the grill, I like the grill, and the car, just not together. The slanted grill just doesn't work with the T body. Don't mean to pile on, but hang it on the wall since you're attached to it, it'll make a great piece of wall art. A T grill looks great, or something else from that era, like a whippet, olds, etc By the way, It IS great to see someone un-ratting a ratrod. Hopefully that will be the new trend. The body looks like its going to be a handful to fix though, Do you plan to locate some donor pieces or patch panels? Some of that sheetmetal looks too thin from pitting to weld on, at least at my skill level. Good luck, stay at it, and keep the pics coming....And right on about those wheels, the pitting has likely seriously weakened them..
Point very well taken. How do I remove the body? it almost appears welded on? Is there any trick to this with hidden bolts that I am missing? Do I also need to pull the engine also? This thing has a dual transmission, with triple overdrive. I drove it around awhile and it seemed okay when I did, but never got up to highway speed. I am definitely ditching the wheels and anything else that is suspect. The guy's welds appear ok after inspection. They are not the prettiest but have good penetration.
To keep drum brakes working as good as possible, leave the brake drums rusty. Rust dissipates heat very well. Paint is an insulater, meaning it traps heat. Heat is the enemy of brake shoes and causes them to fade. yes rust is not as pretty as paint but if you want to DRIVE the car you want your brakes to work and to last a long time. If you are just gonna LOOK at the car, go ahead and paint them.
When using a grinder, remove or cover nearby stainless (and glass) so that hot sparks dont melt onto the stainless, making a hard to remove mess.
The rat rod dudes have there grills higher than the top of the cowl.Mainly because the body is lower and they have to cover a tall radiator.If you want a cool looking Hot rod I suggest raise the body a little ,a custom made lower profile radiator and the highest point of the grill no higher than the cowl.Section the grill also.It's your car do as you please but you did say you want a nice looking hot rod. Man you have a ton of metal work ahead ,good luck.Involve your kids in the project no matter what age they are,make little things for them to do so they feel part of it.Have them sand parts or hold a wrench for you while you tighten the other end.Make a big deal about it like you really needed there help.They will appreciate the car more when its done and on the road.Hot rodders call this family time.
Sorry for the delay, busy weekend! There should be about 8 bolts directly through the floor screwed into the chassis. Typically you'll have rubber (or wood) blocks between the floor and the chassis. It shouldn't take you long at all to find these. Be very careful lifting the body as the amount of cancer I see may be enough for the body to collapse on itself. Although three big guys could lift it, use 5 or 6. If the engine and trans seem okay you can leave them in place, but don't forget to inspect every piece of mounting hardware associated with both of them. "Good enough" never is! Have a CERTIFIED WELDER check those welds for proper penetration, don't use the "calibrated eyeball" method! I'm betting the professional will tell you they're not safe. Now, what the hell is a dual transmission with three overdrives???
Thanks for the reply! My good friend is a metal worker and certified weldor (he did the railing on my estate). I'll have him peruse the joints sans body. I need to re-cert as I had it back in technical school. By my eye they appeared well. We can shoot plasma on it to be 100% sure for consistency. On the transmission a pictures worth a thousand words! Let me take the body off first and show you! I'll have my friend Johnny help me with lifting the body, he's a real powerhouse... Any ways back to work!
Pennafxu, In regards to your grill choice, the H.A.M.B. members (who happen to be some of the best builders out there!) are trying to send you a message. Some things are just wrong. While i realize the reason people build Hot Rods is to make their vehicle unique, some times, cetain design elements just don't work. I agree with them in this case, and also think a Model T, or sectioned Model A grill or even an early tractor grill would be a better choice for sure. Maybe someone out there could photo shop your T with these grills for you to compare. Here is a pic of my '27 T during the build with a sectioned Model A grill that i picked up at a swap meet.
Good advice Retro, and Bithcin' T!!! Post some pics of it on this thread "Let's see T's with A grille shells", would ya?
Pennafxu; It is still your car. What you got here is an adult peer preasure session. I heard somewhere that Davinci's peers all did their models with smiles and insisted he do the same. Where would he be if he listened to them? Well, he'd still be dead, but where would the value of his stuff be? That being said when it comes to the safety suggestions It is not a matter of esthetics any more. There is genuine concern for you and your family's safety. I took another look and compared your car to the picture of the body I posted. Points made at the time are correct, count the welds on the firewall, your body has been trimmed on the bottom. This reduces the height of your cowl. As for the body welded to the frame? I think that is a probability. The Floor in your car is not original so I doubt it would be attached the same as original. Check for welds between the floor and the frame under the floor, those welds will be the culprit if they are there. Your cutting wheel will deal with them. When someone developes telleportation I'll come give you a hand. Til then. Hang in there!
Ok guys, I wouldn't put that grill on my car either, but I think he gets the point. Pennafxu, I think you should be prepared to take some heat for your grill choice, for the rest of your life. By looking at the pictures, I think you have a lot of structural work ahead of you. I think you're gonna re-do EVERYTHING. PO was a hack for sure. That aluminum seat just doesn't work in your car, I think it would look better in one of mine. Why don't you send it my way for free?
Thank you all for the input! The grill is the least of my worries at this point... well on with the progress... welded on to the frame... lol pedals cut away for body removal Started removing the steering column... HELP!! I'm stuck, this damn thing won't move! am I missing something here?
Hey, nice tarp... don't you think the tarp should be shorter, and i don't think the color really suits the car. Body welded to frame doesn't surprise me in the least. Do you find yourself cussing the guy who built the car originally? I often do. As I'm sure you are aware the steering column is welded. Either cut it or unbolt box from frame and remove the box w/ body. Adam
RULE #4 - Give up on finding a balance between constructive help, and getting flamed by grumpy old bastards on this forum....and I mean that with the utmost respect to the grumpy old bastards here. But there are other websites and forums that can be helpful and whose residents don't consider criticism to be a sport.
You know, I've been pensive. Just think of the good you are doing for budding car enthusiasts checking into this thread. This car is a great lesson on how not to do things we should be thankfull to the Previous Owner for the object lesson and for the lives he is saving by selling this car.
I'm one of those "grumpy old bastards" you speak of......he hasn't been flamed by anyone on this thread! Care to clarify your post?
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