The Rouster Indy Roadster

Another project we started not to long ago (November 27 2016) is this AJ Watson styled Indy roadster project. It is closely based on the watson, just widened 4 " in the front, 8" in the rear and stretched 10' in the cockpit to make it a two seater for the street. we are building the full chassis, and body in house. i will keep the typing to a minimum since everyone likes the pics more than reading all my BS lol

day 1 Nov 27 2016. set up the axles at what the customer had requested 96" wheel base, stock to a watson. we ended up stretching it 10" after this point when the customer could see how little room would be in the cock pit at 96"



then things progressed, sorry some of the pics may be a little out of order. i didnt take a ton and they got imported in a weird order.


























and fast forward a couple weeks, didnt take a ton of pics of the process

been finishing up some smaller things on the car, radiator hard lines upper coolant manifold, dash, radiator mounts ect. here are some pics of that progress. the car will be on display at my booth at the Cincinnati Cavalcade of customs this weekend.

the shocks on the front were going to be an issue with the front end area being as busy and close as it was. so i moved the shocks in board and designed bell cranks to run them as a cantilever to tuck them into some open space. everything cycles as it should, no binding, rubbing or hitting. and keeping the lever arms 1:1 the shock dampening rate stays the same





with the drive shaft we also had to get creative. i wanted to keep the open trans look of an original indy roadster. since we are running a T5 and winters rear end i had to come up with something to cover the drive shaft. i decided to mimic a torque tube. it is a 2 piece cover that has a front and rear pivot point. the pivot points are in the center line of the universal in the drive shaft. this allows the cover to travel on the same plane as the drive shaft. we can cycle the suspension fully with no rubbing issues so it should work out well





got the steering box mounted, pitman arm machined and the drag link made. the steering box is an F100 box converted to side steer by Jokerr







made a pedal box assembly, the owner of the car wanted all wilwood parts on the brakes and clutch. we mounted everything on the engine bay side of the fire to mimic a real watson car, and help with leg room. the pedal extions and pads are also meant to mimic watson







then was onto fuel lines, brake lines, oil lines, shifter and other smaller pieces in the cock pit area







designed a fuel tank. had to make a wood buck to shape the pieces to





started roughing out the aluminum





got the final rendering in from the Root Bros.



then sent the body station files to water jet, and got all the buck profile stations cut out. assembly going on well with the buck. the buck looks super long, but over all it is only 17 inches longer tip to tail over a stock 1963 watson car, that is from us stretching the wheel base 10" for comfort as a street car, and the other 7" is to keep the proportions where we widened it to fit 2 seats.

started getting some of the body panels roughed out

















at this stage all the panels need refining and finishing, but they are getting there

a little more progress for the past few days

got the external oil tank shaped, and all welded up







more fine tuning on the tail section pieces, working to get the light lines all squared away and wavy spots worked out



got another low crown panel roughed in, this one is the hood area of the car

a couple more panels roughed in today in between other work in the shop

I've followed your work (on numerous sites) from your humble beginnings, to the master you have become. My hat's off to you and I wish you continued success!

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Dr Crankenstein said:

I've followed your work (on numerous sites) from your humble beginnings, to the master you have become. My hat's off to you and I wish you continued success!

.

Click to expand...

Indeed. [cl [cl [cl
Torchie

Very nice work! [cl[dr

Toad

really sweet work! If I were any closer, I`d come beg for a job as floor sweeper ... for free... lol [cl

As always amazing!!!! Looks as though you have plenty to do ....like
Dutch said...if I was 30yrs younger I'd be putting in a job app....

As usual Mike your work is second to none! You need to set up some bleachers so we could come up and watch you work.

OH to have the skills and the tools. [dr [cl

more panels today, still need to iron out the light lines in a few places

Cool

Neato

Thats a cool ride Mike, nice work.

[clIt's been a pleasure watching you become a master at this work

Damn this is cool!!!!!

another piece to the puzzle