Well it’s been just about a year since the last time I posted an update on my 26 Tudor. I took a break from it for a while so that I could finish my Dad’s 70 Brockway for the spring. Then we decided to rebuild a ’68 Serro Scotty camper trailer which you’ll see in the background of the pics. So the T sat on hold until this past week when I decided it was time to start working on it again. So for the past year the car has sat in the garage with the body channeled over the frame and some dolly wheels holding the back of the car up... There’s a lot of great sedan T builds here on the HAMB and I have been using them for reference over the past year. I was having trouble ‘visualizing’ the final look of the car so I decided to draw it in CAD. So I took a side profile pic and wound up drawing this... Then I wound up drawing the model A frame I had... This was an aftermarket frame set up for coil overs in the rear so I cut the back half off so I could go with the traditional approach of a transverse spring. After I figured out the dimensions of my Z, I put everything together but this time with a 3 1/2" chop. So this is where we are at now... Now that I had the ‘look’ figured out along with some dimensions for the frame pieces, my Dad and I started cutting the 2x4 box with a vintage Racine hydraulic saw I picked up... And here are the pieces I wound up with... Using the Boling Brothers model A pickup build thread for reference, I cut 1/4" gusset plates for the inside of the joints and drilled 3 holes in each box in order to plug weld the gussets to the 2x4 box... The I clamped the gussets in place... And started plug welding... Using a pieces of 2x6x1/4” box at a welding table, I clamped the Z pieces together and finished welding those as well... After both sides were done, I finally pulled the frame out from under the body... More to follow...
Based on my CAD drawings, I knew my wheel base would be 108 1/2" or 5” longer than a stock model A. After taking some measurements, I realized I needed to extend the frame before the start of the Z. So I cut some small Z pieces to use as extensions. I had to replace the 10” frame rails on my Dad’s ‘70 Brockway and we Z cut the frame in a similar manner... I also cut 1/4" gussets for the extensions as well and plug welded those also... And here they are set in place... The frame still tapered out at this point and from this point on I wanted the rails to be parallel. So we angle cut the back side of these as well. Then using my 2x6 as a table, I cut 2 additional pieces of 2x4, both the same length, and tack welded these between my new Z’d pieces. These are only temporary but will keep everything level and parallel... At this point we cut 4 more interior gussets and used a press brake to put a mild bend in the middle. Once we had the proper angle bend, we welded them to the Z’d rear frame section and slid the section into the existing frame... Once we were happy that everything fit, I clamped (2) 8’ sections of the 2x6 box to the underside of the existing frame rail and leveled the frame and clamped everything in place and tack welded everything... Once we were happy with the frame, I dug out the Ford 9” rear I got from my buddy Aj... We’re not sure what the rear came out of, but it’s 58 1/2" wide from flange to flange... More to follow...
Then I spent the following morning cutting all of the misc brackets off of it... And wound up with a lot of spare pieces... Again using the Boling Brothers build thread as reference, I decided to cut 2 pieces of box that I could tack in place to locate the axle. I wanted my rear axle centered on the frame, so I Z’d it 7 1/2" so that the 3” diameter axle would have approx. 4” from the top of the axle to the bottom of the frame. So I used some extra 2x4 box and started with a cardboard pattern... Then we cut the pieces to trail fit them... When the pieces were done we marked the locations of the frame, spring hangers and ladders bar mounts on the rear axle... After everything was marked we set the axle in place... More to follow...
Last year I purchased a set of the Pete and Jake style ladder bars from RJays and dug them out... After taking several hundred measurements, I was able to locate the front crossmember so I drilled holes in the boxed frame and shortened the crossmember just enough so that I could get it in both holes... After that was lined up I tacked both the hangers on the rear and the crossmember in place. Then I moved on to the rear spring hangers... And using a homemade jig with a 3/4" bolt, I located these and tacked them in place as well... Now that I was happy with the rear frame and axle location, I decided to was ready to tear everything down and finish welding the frame. So we pulled the motor and trans out followed by the front axle... With the help of my Dad, we put the frame on it’s side so that I could finish the welding on the Z... More to follow...
After everything was done, we put everything back together! Fortunately everything went right back in place... The we re-installed the pumpkin, axles, backing plates and drums... And using some old rims and snow tires we now have a roller! We also set the mock up Y block back in place along with the T5... In order to make some more room in the garage, I used the 2x6 box and some big truck jack stands and put the body 30” in the air... And then we rolled the chassis back underneath the body. This way I can just roll the frame out when I want to work on it and then put it back. I am waiting for the rear cross member/spring perch to be delivered from Posies this week and then hopefully we can finish up the rear suspension. I am using Posies AJ40NH rear spring and more than likely will have to take a few leaves out of it but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. That’s it for now!
Nice build- simple and straightforward. One question- The engine & trans are kinda low in the chassis. Is that to provide room for your feet and clutch linkage, given the 4" channel?
Thats a damn nice build. Like the little things, and the big too, the two brockway are great! Is there anywhere to see the build of the big trucks? Like the tutorial on the channel! The CAD drawing of the body looks really good, but is it how it looks, or is it because you chop the header, and make a tilt in roof too level it out? Keep at it.
Just Gary... Actually I think the motor sits up higher in the frame than it looks (I think the CAD drawing makes it look lower also...) The T has a short cowl and the top of the carbs is level with the top of the cowl. volvobrynk... I have a similar build thread on the Brockway Message board. For the 1970 E361T here is the link... http://www.brockwaytrucks.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1044 Unfortunatley up until page 8 the old imageshack links are dead. But from pages 9 to 35 everythign is there! Here is the pic I used to create the CAD drawings. So the roofline tilt you mentioned may be just because of the angle I took the pic.
really nice project, Thanks for posting! Very nice work ! Heres my favorite t sedan for so me inspiration
Great build.Just about done{upholstry} with my 27 t sedan.Got picked for a Fab 5 award at Pimlico in October.There is a photo in the new Street Rodder.By the way I have a spare set of wheels I was going to use 16x4 40 ford.They look great on the car but I went for the new Rocket solids.Have you decided on paint color?
frdsuperduty... I was just leaving the Brockway truck museum in Cortland NY this past August when this 34 Chevy pulled in parking lot. I jumped out of the truck to take a pic and talk the owner. I was interested in the color on the fenders and he wasn't sure of the exact name but he felt it was a stock color. So I looked it up and it's called Scarab Green. They used on in 34 Chevy's and 36 Cadillacs...
you have done an excellent job explaining everything. great build thread. thanks for taking the time to post it all. it's helped me.
Hey, great project! I know what you mean about restoring trucks...I restored my grandfathers 1957 B61 Mack...collected parts for years, and hid the little stuff under the bed, till my wife figured out what it was!....trucks and hotrods go together well! It takes time, but is worth it...great legacy with kids included! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for everyone’s comments... Here is a brief update on the “T”... Now that the frame was done for the most part I decided to get the body ready to set back on the frame. So I needed to notch the rear quarter for the rear axle... I realized my spring hanger was going to be an issue so I marked several places to cut but then decided to start with a simple hole... Then I moved onto the inside of the body and cut out the notch for the rear in the framework I installed for the channel... After both sides were done, I added another 1”x1” piece between the channel framework and drilled out the remaining existing floor crossmember... Then my Dad and I started lowering to body back over the frame, a few click of the jack stands at a time... And here it is finally on! And we were both happy to see it on the frame and take a good hard look at it !!! After taking a few pics I took a look at the rear spring hangers. You can see here my issue... Before I set the body back on, I realized I had the spring hangers too far apart. The Posies paperwork listed 44” center to center for their AJ40NH spring and I was at 44 1/2", so I knew I would have to move them inboard regardless... More to follow...
I also received the rear crossmember from Posies and mocked up the rear spring as well. I took a handful of measurements and wound up removing the top #1 and #3 leaves. I’m sure I’ll have to make a change but this is a good starting point for now... I also removed the rear again and cut the tack welds to move the spring hangers inboard . After I had them in the right position I tacked everything back in place along with the gussets... I also trimmed the back half pieces of the ladder bar hangers to re-fit them to the axle... And then I welded them on the axle and squared off the ‘joints’... So hopefully tonight I’ll be able to do the final welding of all the brackets and reinstall the rear. Over the weekend our plans are to install the rear cross member along with the spring. Then I hope to figure out how to brace the back of the body make room for the spring hangers... That’s it for now!
Good idea strapping the axle casing to the stands. They can tend to be a bit unstable due to not having much weight to hold them in place. Lots of good work practices being shown and methodical approach. Mart.
Thanks for everyone’s comments, I appreciate them... Well not too much to post but I have made some progress this past week. When we last left off I has all the brackets tacked on to the rear, so on Friday night I was able to finish all the welding... Unfortunately it looks like this rear spent some time at the bottom of the ocean and is pretty pitted, but it was given to me and is the correct width so I will make it work... After we finished the rear, I wanted to installed the rear Pete & Jakes crossmember. So I removed the temporary 2x4 temporary crossmember and drilled the holes for the tube... Then we cut the new crossmember to length, just like the front ladderbar crossmember. I cut it so that I could slide it all the way in one hole and them insert it into the other hole. By doing this, it extends into the 2x4 at least 1” on both sides... Then we installed the rear crossmember and set the welded rear back in place... I quickly realized that by removing the temp rear crossmember, things were no longer square. It was also becoming very difficult to true everything up with body on the car so I decided the only way to do it correctly was to pull the body back off. Besides, any job worth doing is worth doing correctly! Then we leveled the frame off side to side and front to back. Then with the help of the (2) 2x4 temp crossmembers, some 3” x 1/4" angle and a handful of C clamps, I was able to re-square the frame... Then we centered the crossmember side to side and leveled the spring perch pad to the frame and finally we tacked the new crossmember in place... So hopefully tonight I can finish welding it in. I am going to make some gussets for the bottom of the crossmember and I’ll grab some pics of those as well. Once that is done, I am going to figure out what shocks I need for the rear and tack the brackets to the rear. I have done a ton of research here on the HAMB about the angle of the shocks and I’ve read everything from 5 to 20 degrees of angle. So I still need to figure that out...
Great build, looks like your dad is enjoying the build as well. Congrats on getting another T sedan on the road. Post pictures on the paint job when you get it done.
I am going to be running a similar engine/transmission set up. I am curious what pressure plate/clutch disc/flywheel, etc. you will be using.
Sorry guys, I have been finishing up a '68 Serro Scotty camper that my Dad and I are restoring. Hope to have it in Syracuse for the East Coast Show in July. Then we'll be back on the T...
Just noticed you are very local to me. Keep up the good work! We need more guys with hotrods to break up the boring car show scene around the area!
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