Thanks again for all the good words everybody. I'll have a mini-update soon; I now share an address with at least part of the car.
Keep your good work and parts chasing work going. In some respects, I kinda wish that I had chopped my 29 Tudor after my desires of full fender went away with mandatory body repairs of a $175 initial purchase, plus most of the Model A cars built in the Little Rock area over the past 15 years have been chopped. Chopped with a major body mod is not on the road like a 32 windshield and no visor is not a mod that I remember seeing in the Little Rock area. I know of a car that isn't finished that is built to mimic the Pierson coupe not far from LR. I also met Bob Pierson at Bonneville in 1995. Even after he and his brother setting a record on alky in 1950, 45 years later, he was very involved and had an ear for serious horsepressure. Respect and turn the folks the make the rules on their ear with simple mods that look hidden.
I built a 28 REO Speedwagon P/U that used a 53 Ford F100 steering box set on top of the frame rail. I used 1/4" plate to create the mounting surface then gusseted it to help strengthen it. I made my own fender well headers that had the pipe closest to the box and firewall loop up high enough to make sure that I had clearance and was far enough away that the box was not cooked by the hot pipes. The geometry was nearly perfect as the draglink and the split bones were almost parallel. I have no idea how to post a picture but if you send me a link I will send as many pictures as I can to show you how it came out. The truck was sold with 10,000 miles on it. It went to Bonneville in 2010. It was a one finger car driving down the freeway at 70+ MPH (on bias ply's) but still handled well in the corners for a transverse suspension. Unfortunately I had to replace the roof on my house and garage and the money had to come from somewhere so the truck had to go...
Great build. The work you have done so far is excellent. I am particularly fond of the chop and the 32 windshield. I offer this as an area to investigate; the front mount of the engine and the rear mount of the transmission places a lot of load both weight and torsional load on the bell housing. You may want to add a bell-housing mount similar to the 55 Chevy style. I realize the bell you have does not have the provisions for such a mount, but a mid style block plate/mount count be designed to relive the stress pony, just an idea.
Okay, where were we? Things have been crazy at work and I haven't had much time to work on the car, but there are a few updates. A few weeks ago my folks were kind enough to bring the chassis along with them to Omaha when they came to visit. While we were unloading, my pal Ryan stopped by with his just completed T-sedan. Kind of a big moment for everyone. He and I started our projects at about the same time and have been figuring out how to build hot rods together ever since. Our cars had even been resting together in the same junkyard for years. Now that it's finished it's without a doubt the baddest T-sedan on the planet. In case you missed it, here's his build thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/oldsboy-_t-sedan-build.549465/#post-6086581 I got the chassis stuffed into my two car garage with two other cars already in it. Pretty tight, but at least it's here.
I've been thinking more and more about a clamp to hold the F1 steering box in place above the framerail (thanks @cactus1 and @Tuck for the idea). Here's a doodle of the clamp/pillow block arrangement that will bolt to sleeved holes through the frame. I'm going to make it out of 1" 6061 aluminum. There will be additional bracing to the box/column to keep it from moving. Last night I blew apart my '40 pedal assembly. I stared at it in pieces on the living room floor for about an hour and I think I have a plan to make it function like a '39 assembly with the clutch arm inboard of the X-rail. I'll have more on that later.
Hello Joe.Whadda ya know?Welcome aboard.Good looking build going on there. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
New member trying to reply and also post correctly . Happy Thanksgiving and hope I did this correctly Owner of 31 Model A , getting ready to rat rod. Thanks
Wow, it's been three months since I posted an update. But I have a good excuse... In December our second daughter was born. If I look proud and tired in this picture, it's because I am. With all the baby commotion, progress has been slow, but I have chipped away a little here and there. I picked up some So-Cal shocks and modified some F1 mounts for the front. Sorry for the crappy iphone shot. I also got my headlights ready for paint. They're 38-ish Ford truck lights that I got for way cheap and they came with an ancient "Arrow" sealed beam conversion. The spring clamp/release thinger was rusty junk, so I welded tabs and a nut to the case. Now a 10-32 screw holds the ring to the housing. This all seems like piddly little stuff, but I can usually only work on it in 30 minute bursts, so any progress is better than no progress I guess.
Piddly chit, that is way more then I am about these days. You do what you can when you can and then one day you look around and say, Damn I got a hot rod. when did that happen. ? ?
I also finally settled on an intake. Call me un-original, but after poring over late-50's/early 60's Hot Rod mags I found that damn near everyone was running 3x2 intakes on these early Chevys. I got a good deal on an intake that has some personal history for me, so I couldn't resist. And my pal Ryan scored some staggered-hole 7 fin Corvette valve covers for me. I've always loved these. That last pic was taken way early this morning and I didn't have time to fumble around for lights. You get the idea. We're once again up to speed. I'll try not to stay away for so long this time as the work grinds on between bottles and diaper changes.
Looking good bud. I'll have to try and see it in person this summer. I keep talking about an Omaha/Lincoln trip with just me the 46 and the road to see every one but you know how that goes. Keep on truckin man
Hi LT.Not only got a beautiful baby,BUT a new BOSS.Like my Grand Father used to say"Slow and sure beats the hell out of quick and dead". Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Sheesh. It's been 10 months since I posted here. I seem to recall promising weekly updates at one point. I suck. In my defense, I bought an old house over the summer and have been fixing it up. Combine that with two daughters and a wife in grad school and my plate has been pretty full. But here I am making excuses. Stay tuned, there's more to come.
The young bull and the old bull are standing on a hilltop looking down on the herd when the young bull says "let's run down the hill and tap one or two of them heffers." The old bull replies "let's walk down the hill and tap all of them." Slow and steady gets it done.
Love the project. Yeah, it's just like life to remind us who is in charge! Great work and look forward to seeing the finished project.
Kids mostly lol car was on the cover of one of the speedway mini catalogs not super long ago. Maybe last year? He’s working for speedway building cool stuff.
Thanks for the responses. That's probably one of the coolest Model A builds ever. I have inlaws in Lincoln. With any luck I will meet him next trip.
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