Roadster pickup from leftovers.

[hotrod preacher]

ok, so i don't show up for a few days and i return to find don is building another california pro-car --out of "left-overs" at that (high quality left-overs i should say)

i really like the idea of a 60's style, ruff around the edges build...and a little satin red, maybe even some red oxide primer around in a spot or 2, hubcaps...oh yeah!![dr
i just don't know about that rear mounted radiator though...lol[ddev

 

[donsrods]

Yeah, I know Preacher, I keep going back and forth on the rear radiator thing too, but it is the only way I can run my empty shell and Moon tank up front. I think it will also make people wonder in traffic how I cool the car, because they will only see a spinning water pump pulley up front.

The other problem is that if I put a radiator up front it would have to be chopped pretty short so the grille shell can sit at the right height. These Olds engines tend to like lots of radiator capacity and by putting it hidden in the bed I can go huge on radiator dimensions and keep the temps down.

Don

 

[hotrod preacher]

i understand the temp thing....a guy cannot have too big a radiator....but many cars have too small a one-lol

it will look great i'm sure, i just had to mess w/ya [ddev
can't go without questioning these professional california builders ya know....

i would love to age a roadster paint job....wished i lived close enough to drive out and help at least for a day or 2 when it gets to that point...

 

[Old Iron]

Thx for the walk thru on the frame Don, much appreciated [cl
The main reason I asked is your frame is the setup I want to put under the 32 Chevy coupe body, I scored the other day.
I think it's a 32

 

[donsrods]

No, I knew you were just playin' Preacher. Thanks for the offer to help age the paint...........I think that involves chains and hammers, like they age furniture.

Old Iron...........nice score on the coupe, but I think it is earlier than 1932, looks more like a 31 to me or maybe 30. Here is a picture of a 31.

And here is a 32. Look how the visor is gone in 32 and the roof more rounded.

Now that I look at your pictures and the ones I posted, I don't think that front section is from the same year as the rear. The front looks like 31, but the rear is more rounded and has a window behind the door, like the 32. Is it possible the two don't go togther?
Don

 

[Old Iron]

Yep I think your right too. I see the difference and mine is more square over the windshield. So it is a '31 5 window?
A buddy pointed out it was a rumble seat model too, with the foot step being on the passenger fender.
Thanks!!!

Jim

 

[donsrods]

Oh yeah, you are right ,they did make a 5 window in 31, didn't see that when I first looked for pictures.

Don

 

[donsrods]

This afternoon I started digging through my parts stash to see what parts I have, and what I need to order yet. I found most of the front end parts I will need, at least enough to get me up on wheels as a roller.

Then I started clamping the parts in place to see how everything was going to fit. Looks pretty good as far as things ending up like I planned.

Now this week I will start tapping bigger threads into my wishbones to accomodate the angled spring perches I want to use, plus making up a lower spring perch plate so I can bolt the spring in place and get rid of the C clamps. After I make up some wishbone to frame plates I can set it up as a roller then start moving to the rear end. My goal is to have a complete roller by the end of August. We'll see how that goes.

Don

 

[boost_addict]

boost_addict, do the rest of the family keep you busy with projects?

Don

nahh aha i wish, dad drives trucks as in prime movers nd mum just wants a car that drives, brother asks me to help do welding on his go-kart but thats it, my grandpa(pop) gives me stuff though like ive got a 37 2 door chev sedan im ratting, a pontiac laurentian im turning into a lowrider but with bags so i can get it registered (i live in aus).
im also turning a holden hz premier(google it) into a burnout car with a 383 ls1 with 400hp nos

 

[Old Iron]

Nice array of parts, what are they off of ? For when I go to the old salvage yard tomorrow and Friday

 

[donsrods]

Those are leftover aftermarket parts from various projects where we bought them then went with something else instead. My Son Dan will sometimes use a part while he is building a car, but it gets a few scratches on it during the build, and he buys a new one when the time comes to finish the car off. Me, I'm not so fussy and love scratches, so I just gobble those parts up.

The spring is a powder coated Posies spring that Dan and I reshaped to set his rpu lower. But when all the weight was on the car it sat about an inch and a half too low, so I traded him a Posies spring that I had which made the car that much higher. My Sons and I trade back and forth a lot.

The axle was a NOS Ford 34 axle that I found on Ebay. The guy listed it in an usual place, so it got little traffic. I was there when it closed and overbid just to make sure I got it. The wishbones are new Speedway ones that I got a few months ago. I have been looking at them in the catalog for a while and wanted to see how good they looked. I'm very impressed with the quality and the way they do look like old Ford bones split.

The rest is just stuff I have been accumulating for years............you can never have enough parts.

Don

 

[boost_addict]

very true, with the 37 chev, 318 mopar with truck box and guess where from, grandpa

 

[Old Iron]

I kinda figured that's where they came from Thx

Jim

 

[Gregster]

Nice !

 

[BigIrish]

Looking great! There is a problem though - it is making me want to build another car!

As far as the empty front shell goes - could you fill in the emptyness with some expanded metal or stainless mesh or something? You could cut it to fit around your tank...might help the look.

Or...get an old Model A radiator, chop it & cut out a place for your tank and use that to fill your shell. That will really get people scratching thier heads, wondering how you got that to work.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys.

Some guys did fill the empty shell on drag cars with panels, some with cartoon charactors and stuff like that, but the ones I always liked were just empty. I had an Austin Bantam altered years ago and it had an empty T shell with the Moon tank partially under it, and that is what I am trying to duplicate. Plus, I think it will give me another 1/10th in the quarter.

Here is the look I am after........

And my personal favorite..............

 

[Old Iron]

Thanks guys.

Some guys did fill the empty shell on drag cars with panels, some with cartoon charactors and stuff like that, but the ones I always liked were just empty. I had an Austin Bantam altered years ago and it had an empty T shell with the Moon tank partially under it, and that is what I am trying to duplicate. Plus, I think it will give me another 1/10th in the quarter.

Here is the look I am after........

And my personal favorite..............

Well Don, I think you're already goin in the wrong direction.
All three of the pics have tubular front axles and you have an I-beam axle, so as it goes with your son and you, you'll have to give your axle to me for my ride and find a tubular for yours

Jim

 

[donsrods]

Haha, if you look at that last picture, I actually had a tube axle under it at one time in it's mockup state. I thought it looked a little too new for the early 50's ish look I am shooting for, so I sold it and decided to go with the I beam one.

Today I had 3 goals in mind to complete.

1) Make the plate that goes under the spring and bolt the spring in place.

2) Drill and tap the wishones to increase the thread size from 1/2 to 5/8 inch so I can use my angled spring perches to realign the spring to the wishbones.

3) Build the frame mounts to put the rear of the wishbones to the frame and get those welded on.

I actually only got the first two done. I found out we had the proper 3/8 fine thread tap, but didn't have a 37/64 drill bit that it takes, so I had to drive to a local steel supply house/industrial tool place to pick up one. It was a nice day, so I took my 27. It was filthy from sitting in the shop uncovered, so I just hosed it down and am going to have to give it a proper cleaning tomorrow.

While I was at the steel supplier I picked up some 3/8 flat plate to build the wishbone mounts out of. Luckily they had two nice small pieces in their drop area, so I was able to carry them home in the roadster.

Drilling the wishbones was a cinch, tapping threads was NOT a cinch. The ends of the wishbones are forged steel evidently, and it took about an hour each side to tap them. Even with lots of antiseize as cutting oil we had to tap a little bit, then stop and clean out the shavings. But they came out fine and the new angled perches screwed right in.

We mounted the front spring to the wishbones, and that is where Dan suggested we should put the Olds engine, transmission, and body onto the frame to see where it settles down to. I told him I already did the calculations, but he felt the only way to really dial the correct caster in was to load it, then set the caster. So we made temporary wishbone mounts and clamped them to the frame and bolted the wishbones to them, just so the wishbones will stay in place when the weight gets put on the frame.

At that point the 96 degree temp in the shop had gotten to us, so we wrapped it up until tomorrow. One change that I may make is not to use the S10 rear I was going to use. A good friend on another forum had given me an 8 incher out of his 65 Ranchero a while back, and I gave it to my Son Don when I sold him the 46 Tudor. But the S10 was just a little narrower than I would like, and the Ranchero rear is 3 inches wider at 57 inches WMS to WMS. My rear wheels have a dual Ford/Chevy pattern, so it will be no problem to switch. I asked Don, and he said he is probably going to have a 9 incher made up to the exact width he needs, when the time comes, so he gave the 8 incher back to me.

That is where we ended up tonight. Here is a picture of the lower spring plate I made up.

And here are the perches that I had to tap new threads into the wishbones for:

And here are all the parts bolted in place. This is not the final ride height , I figure it will settle down 3 inches or so when the engine and body are on.

Don

 

[zzrodder]

Nice work on the spring perches. Yer gonna need a big huffer on that Olds to get that Wild Willie Borsch look...

 

[donsrods]

Hehe, yeah, I guess so, and probably a 90% mix in the tank too. Willie had more guts than me, that's for sure. Someone commented to him one time that they thought he was trying to look cool, driving that thing with one hand. He said , "Cool nothing, I was hanging on for dear life! "

Don