model T rat rod build up by a newbie. suggestions wanted

a little back ground first. i have a shop in so cal for 5 years building minitrucks and lift kit suspensions. ive had my eye on building a rat for a few years. bought a clean, clean 26 t body in calif. a few weeks ago. i want to put my "minitruck style" in a rat rod. i'll post pics as i build this car. questions and suggestions are great. tell me whats goos and what youd do differently. this is a learning experience for me as its the first ground up rod ive done. plans are a chevy 350 w/turbo 350 and ford 9" in rear on bags flat body on the floor, og 21" wheels in front and 16" in rear. o lets start this. heres start of the frame and front end mounts. i'll post body later

 

I'd put gusseting plates over the joints where you Z'd the frame, and stop using the term "rat rod" so loosely, it's a term that rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

 

Just what does 'minitruck style' mean when applied to a model T? What's on your mind, and maybe people have some input?

 

Frame looks bitchen but, i notice the center section rides the ground when the spring is at full extension. when you add the 700 lbs of 350/350 its gonna drag hard, just bags in the back might not raise it high enough. tell me if im missing something.

 

Where's fuckin GERM?

 

Mini truck? Rat Rod?? UGH! Fuck off the bags and use an A model spring, re-work that front so its guts wont drag all the way down the road dump the boat anchor (350) and drop in a flathead.
You asked.
Doc.

 

I would think with "minitruck style" you'd go with a Toyota 4 banger
Git rid of that 350 and go with a flatty

 

Sounds to me like you should be at ruffrods.com In case you had'nt realised, we're about traditional rods and customs. Talk of minitrucks, and 350/350/9 will get peoples backs up pretty quick around here. I suggest you spend some time reading the past 70 or 80 pages
Sheesh ........

 

The way you mounted that front-end just gave a whole new meaning to the term 'bump-steer'.

Keep working, you're going far beyond the science and art of rat-mini-truck-T-bucketing. You're proving Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

.

 

Fuck, I near spat beer all over my computer. Funny shit dude.

 

Whats the name of your mini truck shop?

 

I just had a good look at the front end on that and look where the tie rod is!! Hit a small bump and that chassis will be sitting on the tie rod, no steering. Shit have a real good re-think of that saet up, its gonna kill you.
At least reverse the tie rod arms so they go in front of the axle!
Doc.

 

but I guess the talk about mustangII, volare', camaro subframes is ok. I guess I must have missed those swaps back in the sixties.Most here seem to use the 9", but I guess they don't talk about it much. And how about volvo steering for shoebox fords. As far as the 350/350 goes (or any sbc/auto) it's cheap, plentiful, and seems a bit traditional. Back in the day, most of us longed for that new ohv chevy, and parked our asses a the local boneyard for the first one to come in. Tradition is only as traditional as it is remembered by the generation doing the remembering.

 

wow so many comments in 1 night. the steering isnt started yet. i just mounted the beam. gussets are cut just not welded. i'll have some more pics in a few days. im using a sbc cause i have one in the garage for free. flat head would be great though. i'll start looking aroung. what trans do you use on them? thanks

 

usually the trans that's rusted to it....

 

Geez, little harsh on the guy...

Frame looks like a good start, small blocks are not the 'ideal' setup for a traditional rod, but they are very affordable and can be put together very well, very strong for very little cash, and still look decent.

We all start somewhere, I agree with the statement not to use the term "rat rod" around here to often.

Keep working hard, put the car together, LEARN, enjoy, sell that bitch, get some cash together and get the car, the powerplant and setup you yearn for.

Take care and good luck,
Mike K.

 

There's a lot of people spouting horse shit on the HAMB today!!! The small block chev V8 has been around for over 50 years now. Thats longer than most of these guys have been around. If the flathead was such a shit hot engine, why did 95 percent of hotrodders switch to small block chevs as soon as they became available. Flatheads are a sweet motor, but they are expensive to build, if they break down on a road trip, you can kiss your ass good-bye trying to get replacement parts, and yes---I've driven flathead equipped hot-rods. These "super traditional motors" in any but the wildest modified state (which just makes them overheat) wouldn't pull a sick whore off a piss pot.

 

HAHAHA I miss his insight on posts like this.......

 

? where's the guy that says flatties run 12's all the time. what is your definition of being fast enough? but i agree they are expensive to rebuild, but the stupidest thing to me is that for 3 months i've been looking for an old 350 engine and they are asking way more than running flathead engines with all their parts including carbs, pans, etc... so i went with the 51 flatty.

 

It is virtually impossible to find a flathead engine in a wrecking yard in Ontario now. There are still a few "barn finds" around, but by and large, flatheads have become ultra rare here. And yes, your right---350 small blocks are getting thinned out pretty damn good also. When I built the roadster pickup, I put in a pukey old 305 with about a zillion miles on it. My way of thinking was that if I do want to upgrade to a 350 at a later date, at least all the external dimensions, mounts, etcetera are identical---and any parts counter carries replacement parts if ya (shudder) break down. The old 305 certainly is no screamer either, but it starts good, runs good, and was cheap (paid $200 for the whole damn car, driven to my house---1985 Pontiac.) I do like to see a rod with a flathead in it, and if nostalgia is your main kick, thats great. I use my rod as a daily driver from May to October, and a lot of the driving is downtown "idle a lot" type driving. The last flathead I owned was in a pristine 54 Ford 2 door, in about 1968. It was a great car, and I bought it as a low mileage "stored in shed by old lady" car---30,000 miles on it. It ran great, but different times I was shut down by Volkswagens at "street-light drags". My opinion of 12 second flatheads is "yeah, maybe in a shorty rail with a blower, milled heads, and nitrous".

 

Lot of jerks on here it seems. Nothing wrong with SBC's. They are a great engine. I wouldn't bag it, use a model a rear spring instead.

 

Well said..

CC

 

Snot went flying when I read that. Thats f'n funny.

 

wow, some of you guys were a little harsh on him.....

i see nothing wrong with a 350/350 combo....

 

I gotta ask what do you mean by minitruck style in a rat rod. Not in any way trying to bag on you but here in Spokane 95 percent of the mini trucks are every bit as styless as the ricers, and most are cobbled together pieces of shit. Your not going to glue a bunch of fiberglass panels on a T body are you?

 

Will you sbc boys go have a a Coke, and a smile, and a blow job if you can find one. Bassman wasn't busting on sbc's, he was talking about the whole boring fucking combo.

You chevy boys have it pretty fucking cheap and easy. Take a potshot or two and be happy about it.

Since when is a 350 chevy a sacred cow? Their common and boring, if that's your choice, suck it up.

Think about the shit us other guys get everywhere we go;
"Pontiacs blow up if you race them"
"Still a flathead? I have a cousin with a 350 for sale, want his number?"
"Cool car, it needs a Big block though."

.

 

i think this is going to be a cool build keep us updated if not here on another board

 

Man, you guys are getting a little tense about this engine thing. I say use what's under the bench. Speaking of under the bench, I have a 1.9 liter Opel engine with a polished aluminum ribber valve cover and a pair of dellorto 48mm side drafts hanging off the side, it's going to be pretty mean in a modified if I ever get to it.
On another note, yeah, I'd stay away from the bags on a bucket, the Z you have going on looks radical enough for now. And don't let anyone discourage you, the important part is that you're doing it.

SBC's are traditional.... just my $0.02

 

Today? Spouting shit has been a HAMB tradition for some time now. Where've you been. Use what you've got, isn't that what this hobby is all about? Everyone is so caught up with using the ultra-traditional setups, they are losing touch with the reasons those setups became popular in the first place. Fuckin posers...