Projects YARD ART ROADSTER (BUILD THREAD)

What a pain in the butt. Mostly because I don't know what I'm doing. Haha.. I'm sure it will leak.., but the U-joint is installed. Corn head grease is more liquid than regular grease.. The icing bag melted immediately.. The syringe worked the best for filling the U-joint housing. The brakes however continue to fight me. You can see the rub mark on the shoe. I was told this may happen. The fix is grinding the edge of the shoe so it is a bit narrower. The joys of installing hydraulic brakes on a Model A rear axle.

 

Have courage, brother. If it weren’t for small victories, we would have none!

 

Decided to redesign the front-end set up tonight. I split a later wishbone, welded in the bungs, and tried a set of dropped tie rod ends. It still needs more work, but the caster is way better and the steering may be alot simpler now. Also hooked up the oil pressure gage and started to build out the clutch linkage. No way in hell this is making it to NSRA North, but still planning on taking our '53 Chevy 3100.

 

Well winter really slowed down all progress, but then last week I decided to enter the Roadster in the Detroit Autorama in two weeks. This should be interesting. Tackled the tail panel today. It had been hit and was missing a large section. Cut the patch out of a rusty cowl side and welded it in. Attached a simple license plate bracket and cut in the '48 Ford taillights.

 

Made good progress yesterday. The brake shoes are trimmed, mirror is installed, throttle linkage is installed, and started wiring the positive battery cable circuit.

 

I had the brakes done Monday, but the distribution block stripped out. Had to order another one, so today I fixed the brakes and finished the fuel system. Tomorrow I plan on building out the clutch linkage, and by Saturday it could fire. Getting very close.

 

This thing's almost starting to look like a car...

 

I have to admit I gave up on it for a while, but this push to Autorama feels great. It would be so nice to not have to push it into the show. Biggest problem I see is I'm too tall for the car.. My knee has to hang out the open door haha..

 

There are ways to find some legroom in these things. I'm really lucky that at 5'5 or so these cars were basically built for guys with my build.

You can cut out the 'hump' at the bottom of the seat back to gain a few inches. You can also put your seat bottom under where the T floor would normally be to get some head room, since you're sitting on top of an A frame. That makes ingress a bit awkward but there's no graceful way to get in and out of a good hot rod... but adding a dirt track QD collar to your steering wheel helps, I did that to mine with one of these: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Steel-Rim-Style-Quick-Release-Hub-3-4-Inch,2065.html

 

I agree the seat needs to move down a bit. I also feel the wheel needs to come out about 4 to 6 inches. The QD wouldn't work for my application as I plan on using the stock '37 Ford column light switch and horn. Once I get the clutch linkage done, I should be able to adjust the pedals closer to the floor. Cross steer and F2 pedals make fitting into a T a bit harder I think. I bet someone that was 5' 2" and 115 lbs would fit great though haha.

 

The clutch linkage is finished. My dad came over and wired the starting, charging, and ignition circuits. The engine turns over. Still have to fiddle with the shifter before we can fire. Sunday will be mostly rebuilding the steering and cosmetics.

 

Lots of small battles yet to win, but many have be won. Installed new spindles & drop arms, built out the steering links, exhaust is tacked in, battery box is roughed in, my dad roughed in a floor Sunday and I finished the install today. I was also able to fire the engine off starting fluid. One more day and the roadster must be loaded by tomorrow night.

 

Good to see the progress you are making on the Roadster. It's cool you are saving this body others would of cast off. I feel fortunate to have several T Roadsters of solid western metal. Although one of my body's has the door pillar rust like yours, Not impossible to fix, but slot of work. I'm sure you are up to the task. How I plan to repair mine is I have sourced a pair of 27 touring panels at the door jams and will weld them in. "See" pictures, also as for cleaning parts I use a mix of keratin acid and water to get the same results as the expensive commercial rust removers. I have used this method for years in a plastic tank ect, and then wash metal throughly. Just be careful to handle the acid with care its very nasty stuff. The parts in the pictures have been cleaned with it. Then though lay washed with water, and sprayed or wiped with TSP to keep it from rusting, again another cheap product. Keep up the good work I hope this helps. Mike

 

I ment to say MURIATIC acid in my post.

 

Thanks for the advice! I have become very familiar with this little roadster over the past few weeks, and unfortunately this body is just too far gone. I'm going to enjoy this one rusty. I do love a beautiful painted hot rod, but I also love the color of aged Henry iron. There are better Ts out there to spend time and money on to make nice. This one is just for fun.

 

Yes it runs! Yes it drives! Autorama 70 here we come!

 

We made it! The Yard Art Roadster is a little cold blooded, but drove off the trailer and found it's spot just fine. Looking forward to a fun weekend! Spot 304 in the basement if your coming out.

 

This is great.
This is for sure better use than let it stand in the garden and slowly rotting away.

 

It's far from finished, but feels good to bring a fresh build to the Detroit Autorama's 70th anniversary. I really like how it resembles some of the home brewed hot rods of the late 40s and early 50s.

 

Based on its current form, I’m hazarding a guess this is no longer a yard art roadster.

 

Yes, she has been saved from the garden. Haha.

 

Congrats! Well done.

 

Other than a hotel debacle, we had an awesome time at the 70th Detroit Autorama. No awards, but the public's response to the build was overwhelmingly positive. I already have a game plan to to finish the roadster for this summer. It was really cool talking to fellow H.A.M.B.ers that have been following the build. Thankyou for the support and updates are sure to come soon!

 

I took the roadster out for a shake down run today. First real drive through all three gears. It actually drove pretty good. It's kinda peppy like any 95 horse go-kart would be. These little roadsters are so sketchy and so much fun. Still have some things to button up and finish out, but really neat it's not just a pile of parts and a maybe project anymore. Should be a fun summer!

 

man thats a nice looking ride, are you going to install a radiator support rod from the firewall to the rad?
also, can she squeal the tires when you take off quick?

 

I haven't tried to burn rubber. Afraid to brake it. The radiator support bracket broke off the radiator. I'm researching getting the radiator re-cored shorter to run an old cut down Packard hood. This will probably involve adding a support rod. For now though it seems pretty stout just with the upper hose holding it straight.

 

Yep, the radiator hose should hold it just fine…up to 100 MPH anyway!

 

Pretty cool

 

Man that’s cool!

 

I just noticed, you started building this 17 days before i got my '57 ford, how time flies. you also beat me to roadworthy, and i started with a complete car!