The Roofus Special

BigIrish said:

Very cool. Judging from the load on that F250, you're going to need one helluva frame to support it, not to mention hold up to that kind of twist.

That would be a show-stopper for sure though.

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Engine weighs 2200 lbs or so.

I've been thinking about building something along the lines of this. It has a BIG motor in it.

Wow, that's more lbs than I thought.

Way ahead of the game here, but one thing about that Blastolene car they said really sucked was the that the cooling fans are updraft not down like on a VW. So they suck in cool air from the sides, blast hot air out the top of the engine, right over the windsheild and into your face (hence the 'roasted alive' comment).

I wonder if you could reverse the cooling fans to fix that? Seems fairly straightforward, unless they are gear-driven.

BigIrish said:

Wow, that's more lbs than I thought.

Way ahead of the game here, but one thing about that Blastolene car they said really sucked was the that the cooling fans are updraft not down like on a VW. So they suck in cool air from the sides, blast hot air out the top of the engine, right over the windsheild and into your face (hence the 'roasted alive' comment).

I wonder if you could reverse the cooling fans to fix that? Seems fairly straightforward, unless they are gear-driven.

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They are gear driven.

Since I wouldn't be builing a 50 ton vehicle, I could probably get away with a lot less air movement/cooling capacity.

Flipper_1938 said:

Ebay! ....had to drive to Rochester, NY to pick it up though.

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awesome!!!

Anybody think I need to ditch the Jag motor and put the 1790 in Roofus?

Does it run ??? That basic engine is still in use today. Used in the M88 series Recovery vehicle. The only thing better & even cooler would have been the gas version. 1450 hp for the Continental version & 1500 for the Chrysler. Used to be able to blip the throttle & get a 6' flame out the back thru mufflers !!!

BruceR&C said:

Does it run ??? That basic engine is still in use today. Used in the M88 series Recovery vehicle. The only thing better & even cooler would have been the gas version. 1450 hp for the Continental version & 1500 for the Chrysler. Used to be able to blip the throttle & get a 6' flame out the back thru mufflers !!!

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Mine is a gas version.

I need carbs and plug wires for mine. It was a depot rebuild and is fresh and complete otherwise.

....and I was joking about sticking it in roofus.

Picked up a pair of 16x4 space saver spares at pull-a-part on Saturday.

The plan is to cut the centers out and convert the outers to be used for use with the wire wheels. I will be converting my 15x5.5 wheels to 16x4.

Going to play with forming the dimples for the spoke nipples using a press. Not sure if I will need to add heat or form it cold.

If it works, these will be the front wheels. I want skinny 18's for the rear wheels.

Flipper_1938 said:

Engine weighs 2200 lbs or so.

I've been thinking about building something along the lines of this. It has a BIG motor in it.

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Wow, you probably need a fire suit to drive that baby. I'll bet it gets really hot in the drivers seat. Awesome looking ride. Your car's looking great BTW; I've been following it since day 1.

Just found this pic. I think I may like this style nose better than the track nose.

Im with you on that one, i think the flat nose looks better, keep it up man...

I agree i like that nose better also, have you ever thought of using 4 inch motorcycle wheels? You can get 4x16's.

I came to the realization that I need to work out some of the function details before I get too much farther with the form. I need to figure out the mechanics of the front half of the car.

I slid the back end of the car back a couple of feet so that I would have room on the table for the motor. I ended up making a saw horse out of a suzuki samurai roll bar.

Turns out the XK transmission won't work with the bellhousing that I have, front bearing retainer and seal are way different. I ****ed away a good bit of time trying to figure out if I could swap input shafts....I finally accepted defeat and decided to use the OD trans.

Good news is that I found a new clutch and pressure plate when I pulled the trans.

Bad news is that the engine needs to move rearward a couple of inches to make everything fit in a 100" wheelbase.

Break out the sawsall!





I laid the stock jag front suspension on the table to see what 100" looked like. Don't worry, only spindles, hubs and brakes will be used.

At least it doesn't look like height will be an issue. Looks good.

rainman said:

At least it doesn't look like height will be an issue. Looks good.

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Actually, motor height is an issue. The front of the motor is in the way of my imaginary hood line.

Right now there is a tube that goes under the sump in the oil pan, I am going to re-arrange the framework so that I have a hole for the sump/belhousing to fit in and lower the motor a little more. That jag motor is a tall son of a bitch for a little car.

Glad to see the roofus is alive and well; how many bell housing bolts does that Jag engine have??

falconvan said:

Glad to see the roofus is alive and well; how many bell housing bolts does that Jag engine have??

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I don't know about the alive and well part, it is almost at a "start over" point. When I was doing the rear suspension, I moved the rear axle back a few inches cause it was convienient for fitting the rear end. I could use those inches on the front end now. At 100" wheelbase, the front end looks a little too thick and stubby.

My plan for the fix is to narrow the firewall a couple of inches and taper the body a little more....try and get back to the proportions and flow that it needs to have.

flipper, man you gotta be an artist at heart- the way you talk of proportions, flow and so forth.... i'm glad to see there are more people out there concerned about looking GOOD- not just looking "RAT-ICAL" and i think that's a good thing

keep up the chin...it'll be worth it in the end

hotrod preacher said:

flipper, man you gotta be an artist at heart- the way you talk of i'm glad to see there are more people out there concerned about looking GOOD- not just looking "RAT-ICAL" and i think that's a good thing

keep up the chin...it'll be worth it in the end

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I'd like to think I have a decent eye for forms.

Compare my truck to one that was at the Nats. Both are Chevy flatbeds with the same wheelbase and basic ride height. The green ones is finished out nicer than mine, but mine has been tweeked (proportions, flow and so forth....) to my sense of what a hot rod flatbed should be.

Shortening and raising the bed, losing the running boards, and filling the wheelwells made all the difference in the world (to me)