Another T update: Cliff the paint dude called yesterday and said the car was done! WOW about 7 dyas total and that was my fault as i delayed it a day by not picking the paint color out very quick. Anyway he delivered it to the shop today. I wanted the car to look clean but old and picked this color off a Mequier ( sp ?) wax bottle. The wax bottle looks old and has some red /burgandy trim on it. So thats the plan a beige (almost) tanish color with a black frame and burgandy/old red looking suspension parts to include the rear end etc. The hamb post on the A seats made out of a tent got me thinking as well and i decided to make be a big ( this car has been stretched 10 inches) comfortable bench seat and use a old canvas tent i had stored up stairs for a couple years at the shop. The pictures show the tent laying folded up in the car. i think i have enough material to do the entire interior , the actual seat bottom and back and make me up a top as well. The color looks really great !! Cant wait to start on this project. Thanks HAMB ers for getting the thoughts going!!!! My friend Tuck finished the gas tank extension as well today and brought the tank back. The problem with these tanks is they come with a flat screw in cap that is flush with the tank, this allows the tank to leak all over the tank. On my other car we extended the neck and added a vent. on this one we also extended the neck and will use a t radiator cap with a vent hose ( copper curly line- not installed yet) to act as a vent. What do you guys think about the color combo so far ????
Bubba, that looks extremely cool; dig the color of the body and wheels, and the shots of the floor really show the attention to detail and fitment. flyin-T, thx for the vintage pics. Sweet, guys! Hank
Way cool. I like it how guys who normally love tire shreading, earth shaking power and speed are facinated with skinny tires and a little four banger. That thing is really neat!
bubba, car looks very nice. I notced the disc brakes on the rear. Have you posted any pics of how you did that? A few years back there was a thing on the net floating around by I think, Urb Stair, that may or may not be the guys name, but anyway I'll be damned if I can find it again. He did a similar set up by using rotors out of the speedway catalog from a sprint car set up, machined the rear brake drum on the t rear and then welded the rotors in place after truing it up. Hand made some brackets of the rest. Is this the way you went? Sure would like to see more of what you did, kinda want to go that route on the one I'm gathering parts for now. Last car had the outside brakes and they sucked.
I have to take the rear axle apart again to clean up a few final pieces etc. I will do a entire post on the disc brake conversion step by step. I used Ford Expedition rear disc rotors as they had the proper inside clearance for the early T ( small drum) backing plates. We ( The Tuckster) just redrilled the rotor to the wire whell bolt pattern and made a adapter for the calipers. pretty straight forward. Just a note : Many dont know that havent ever driven a three petal T planetary transmission that the actual brakes are in the transmission. You have a three band trans, one for low gear, a clutch pack for high, a band for reverse and a brake band. The builders today use a kevlar type set of bands and a turbo 400 chevy clutch pack for high. All in all they work very well and stop the car pretty good using the brake bands. In a panic stop you hit the reverse band and the brake bands (stand on both petals ) locking up the 450x21 tires and hang on.
thanks bubba, that does sound straight forward and much better/cleaner/safer than the way I way talking about. Can't wait to see your posts on them. On my last T I ran the kevlar bands too, but have heard more than one horror story about the material tearing up babbit bearings. I had no problem with them though, but this next engine, I'm running wood bands. Still a guy out here in so cal that makes them up. Hey, don't forget post a little about that vertex mag your're running.
Ya, some of the guys in our Indy 500 Model T club still want the wood bands , stating they adjust once in a while and never touch them again. Where the typical kevlar is needing adjustment every 50 miles for the first few drives it seems. I will do the vertex as well , for that i am using the Bosch style front cover. My race "Hillclimb T motor is a Bill Stipes model a camshaft, counterweighted model a crank, some killer rods and buick short skirt pistons with a super light weight transmission ( flywheel is cut down to the triple gears etc) I want this motor to run about 15-20 minutes a year. .rbg :>)
Love this little car more with every update! I think the color was a nice choice. Needs a dark burgandy interior and maybe tastful pinstripe. Maybe paint the wheels the same color as the interior color you end up going with. Of course that's just my opinion.
Thanks, We will see this week what the steering columb looks like in a shade of burgandy and get a better view of the seats covers etc in the tent fabric.
Another short update. I picked a older looking red / burgandy color and shot the steering columb with it to see the contrast. What do think ?? Looks pretty good with the duller yellowish and tan ??? The steering columb is from a very early car as well with the gear reduction box on the frame. ( Its a 4 to 1 unit i rebuilt ) Hand throttle is going to work out very well.
End of year update. Been busy with end of year stuff and business but cant walk past this project without touching it!! I have planned to drive it to the world of wheels car show 2nd weekend of Feb. My engine dudes are slowing me down a bit. I have three T engines in various stages of repair in two states. I mat even resort to using the drive train from my white 25 speester if i have to. Its taxi tested tough and i have driven it three years on tours with no problems what so ever. I did get the carb main meetering adjustments figured out this week and think it is going to work very well and looks pretty cool. Its a antigue burned up right angle drill motor front housing and gears ( 7 to one ratio). Tuck next door tweeked the chain drive gears and every thing fits perfect. The orginal fuel trim location will be used on the stock T dash and i am searching for a cool adjustment knob to make this deal complete. See picture of what i think would work.
Very cool set up on the carbs Bubba, very cool. I check this thread everyday for updates, thanks for the latest. I see the teardrop in the back ground. Up until about 6 years ago I had a '47 Kit, they're still in biz from what I hear. I was pretty nice, torsion bar axle, then fairly new to the world fiberglass fenders. Had the orignal stove, sink and water tank too. The only thing I had to scrounge up was the water fill to the tank. All the skin was in excellent shape, but I did have to repuild the rear door frame, it had rotted around the edges. We were moving and I sold it, what a dummy.
Wow, looks good! Any more progress on that T with the quarter elliptic suspension on the other side of that wall?
Bubba, I love your T I am going to start on my '26 T truck in the spring, do you think the rear end will hold up behind a flathead V8? are the wheels off '28 A? This is my first T so I hope you don't mind all the questions. Are you a member of the VMBC ? Mark.
Yeah, we made some great progress on it over the last week. Got everything cleaned, painted and prepped for what we hope is the final assembly. Also got the bed finished to sample the color. We all love it. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138217
IMO this is the coolest thing to be on the HAMB in awhile. Reason is I bought my first T this past summer. Don't know how I've managed not to own one before now. What I do know is that I've missed out on a whole bunch of fun. Mine is a partially restored (running gear and body done, ready for final paint) '26 roadster. It was in running condition and my wife and I have been having a ball on the backroads around here. It's not quite as fast as my big block Camaro was but it makes up for it with undeniable charm. I'll be anxious to hear any further updates on this build. Frank
A model t club member has a T car with a flathead and a t rear axle. I would suggest using a early ford instead. The T rear axles are ok but to make them right with bearings and stuff you can get by cheaper.I used the t rear based on the Newport Hill Climb rules of T equipment must be used including running gear etc.The Ts have been some of the most fun we have had with cars. A T tour is usually every month and we drive them 125 miles per day or so. Meet somewhere and tour the back roads etc. Find a active club in your area and get into it.It is pretty cool.Ask away i will answer all questions any one has if i can.
not round handle... but still cool. http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Ball-Cran...ryZ25290QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
WOW! That car looks so fast sitting still! It's doing a 130mph and it's not even out of the shop! At least that is what the stickerometer says. HA HA
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