'29 Chevy RPU from junk

[old28]

Got to go along with the others, the tank & trunk look right at home. [cl
That front end is a work of art. [

 

[Skip]

The front springs are different and have a bit less arch than the first ones. Made new rear spring mounts. The engine has been raised 2" cuz it was too close to the ground. The trans crossmember is fabbed and tacked in place. The trans and rear end line up good so there should be no driveshaft problems.
The large aluminum tank you can see in the background was a Craigslist find. Looks too big however.
I like the vintage oval tank too, corpo. Just don't know if it will fit this build.
The body is channeled 4" in front and 2" in back for a little forward tilt. Made body mounts. Cut out the firewall for bell housing clearance.

This is getting to be hard work for an old man.

The "up-side-down" front spring setup must be OK, or a pro like you wouldn't be using it, but it messes with my head mechanically speaking. Seems that the weight is moving the spring in the opposite direction of what it was designed for. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

It does look cool in an offbeat sort of way. I kinda' like that.

 

[Torchie]

Looks Great. [cl
I am digging the underslung front end.
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[bob w]

I bought this Jag hood ornament off of Craigslist for 20 bucks today. It'll be the only classy part on the car.

Yes Skip, the frame moves away from the spring/axle when it hits a bump. That's why the spring is restacked.

 

[Skip]

I bought this Jag hood ornament off of Craigslist for 20 bucks today. It'll be the only classy part on the car.

Yes Skip, the frame moves away from the spring/axle when it hits a bump. That's why the spring is restacked.

Nice kitty cat.

I'll look at the spring pics again. Thanks.

OK. I didn't really see the restacking, even though you said it. Now I do. Thanks again.

 

[jfg455]

I like it! [P[P

 

[Bonehead]

[cl looking great!

 

[bob w]

Thank you everyone. I've been bumbling along on the project on these cold dark days.

1. Using the header from my dragster when I had the slant six in it. Looks like it will be a one door with the mufflers running down the side.
2. Waiting for u-bolts then these spring plates can be finished. Will work as the upper shock mount too.
3. Had to widen the headers cuz the dragster was narrow and this thing isn't.
4. Using a Chevy truck combo brake and clutch master cylinder. The pedal arms and bracket are semi-finished.
5. The top of the body didn't look right so I cut it down to 1/2" above the reveal. Welded 16ga square tubing all around. Now working on the back panel after cutting the quarter panels loose and repositioning them. Now the doors open and close freely. Except for the driver's door.

 

[sc5080]

Really liking the look of those pipes Bob. Very "racy".

 

[earthman]

Je Ne Sais Quoi! This thing is hitting every button. The proportions are perfection. What wheels will you use Bob? (they will be extremely critical...but no pressure)

 

[smallfoot]

What steering box are you using there Bob?

 

[bob w]

A couple questions to answer: The steering box is an Econoline. I've used one before. Only problem is the pitman arm has to be reclocked. Tonight I merged the Plymouth pitman arm that came with the tube axle with the top part of the Econoline pitman arm. The Econoline arm is too short resulting in very slow steering. All welds are reinforced.

I plan on using 16" steel wheels off an early Mopar. The rears are left over from the '40 Plymouth pickup I had. Have to find a pair for the front. The roadster needs tall tires because the frame is so low. Tires will be skinny.

 

[Skip]

A couple questions to answer: The steering box is an Econoline. I've used one before. Only problem is the pitman arm has to be reclocked. Tonight I merged the Plymouth pitman arm that came with the tube axle with the top part of the Econoline pitman arm. The Econoline arm is too short resulting in very slow steering. All welds are reinforced.

I plan on using 16" steel wheels off an early Mopar. The rears are left over from the '40 Plymouth pickup I had. Have to find a pair for the front. The roadster needs tall tires because the frame is so low. Tires will be skinny.

More details on the pitman arm redesign would be greatly appreciated, if you please good Sir. I have an Econoline column that I would like to use on my next project. I assume the reclocking is due to moving it from the front to behind the axle. Correct?

Thanks, Skip

 

[bob w]

Skip, I'm using the Econoline box with the drag link to the driver's side wheel. When the box is mounted with the steering shaft pointed at the angle of the steering column the pitman arm is horizontal and it needs to be pointed down. It has splines about 1/4 of the pitman arm and shaft so they have to be ground out of the arm so it can be repositioned. Fear not, the arm is a pinch clamp style with a cross bolt that cuts into the sector shaft. With a die grinder I cut a new path for the cross bolt. On my Chrysler Tub I also put two set screws in and dimpled the sector shaft so they would seat in little pockets. It worked for years on the Tub so should work on this car too.

Earthman, and anyone else, I'm open to suggestions on wheels/tires.

 

[old28]

Builder Bob, you know I am an old school hot rod guy that loves Big and little narrow Firestones around 165x15 & 185x15 on painted 41/2 or 5" steel wheels with some small Chevy hub capes like the early Ford V8 style.[cl

But it ain't my build so build it like you want it, I know it will look great as all your builds have.

If you get to far behind and need some help with the Bullet maybe a road trip to pick it up and bring it out to the coast to get that big 300"er ready for your spring race season. We would have to make a few test runs just to make sure she is in top shape. Ya I'm dreaming.

 

[Skip]

Thank you, Bob W. It is not nearly as complicated as I feared.

 

[bob w]

Installed the front shocks today. They are for a '49 Plymouth front and are about the shortest shocks available (from Rockauto).
I had in my stack of stuff a part of a windshield frame with long stanchions attached. Wanted to retain the tilt feature and the frame was too narrow. I widened it, made two failed top bars for it (where the blue tape is) and cut the stanchions down to size. Then I went to the Thursday night old hot rodders B.S. session.

 

[Torchie]

Looks great bob. [cl
I will have to file away those 49 Plymouth shorty shocks for future reference as most parts places need a car/brand of some sort when it comes to getting shocks.
The only place I have to go to BS about hot rods with old timers is here....
Torchie

 

[bob w]

Headlice

Oops, I mean headlights. I found a little Chevy chevron stamping on the reflectors so I assume they are Chevy lights. Not that is matters. A $20.00 swap meet find. I'll put halogen conversions in them cuz I can't hardly see to drive at night anymore. They've got really cool faceted reflectors in them.

 

[Bamamav]

The lights fit the build well!

Question for you bob w, it looks like the headers stick way out since you extended them, are you going to put some kind of brace underneath them to keep them from flexing and breaking off the flange? It looks like a lot of unsupported weight there, but it might not be as heavy as it looks.