Still Making Progress On My T

[Bonehead]

Your rod is looking reaaaaal sweet!!!

How about either bomber nose art or "Don's Hot Rod Shop" on door?

oooh, I like that Idea.

 

[joehalford01]

man, listening to you talk about it gets me excited! i can't wait to hear it run don!

 

[maddog]

Hey Don, I did a little catch up reading tonight and your car is almost done!!!! Your gonna be out cruising around and everybody here is gonna miss you.

I am excited for you. As some others have said, video the first fire up or the first drive or both.

I realy like your car.

 

[bigd4xman]

Love seeing this again!

Don, I'm enjoying catching up on your build again, followed it closely on KB and then caught a few glimpses you son posted over on the HAMB, gotta say it's looking better and better.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks a lot guys for the nice words. I really am getting excited now that it is getting close. I'm more excited that Dan is also getting close, he just has so many hours and hours in his car that it will be fantastic when he puts it in gear for the first time. He has had some custom trucks and a Cal look bug, but he has no idea what a kick it is to ride in an open roadster with the sights and sounds that you get going down the road.

I swear, if I have to prop him up on some sofa cushions and hook up a string for a throttle cable, he is taking this car to Daytona in November.


Don

 

[donsrods]

Got my T pushed out into the sun today for the first time. It was about to rain, but I got a few shots. Now the body comes off for paint and upholstery, and I can start finishing up the plumbing and wiring.

Don

PS: See my "rat rod" Jeep truck in the last picture? I left the tailgate bare metal so it would rust, just to confuse people. lol

 

[24dodge]

looks great Don , I really like that shot from the rear !

 

[Gastrick]

Simply awesome Don. It's got a great stance and proportions from every angle.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys. It was really cool to be able to stand back and see it from a distance today. I was surprised how low and small it looked outside.

I also found an original steel radiator shell on another forum. Dan and I can cut it up to make it fit this radiator hopefully. I didn't like the way the Total Performance one fit, so this will probably solve that problem.

Don

 

[maddog]

That looks great, Don.

NOT A KIT.

 

[donsrods]

That looks great, Don.

NOT A KIT.

Thanks maddog. Yep, I had that license plate on my '27 for 15 years or so, and didn't renew it 7 years ago when I tore it apart for a rebuild. I kept checking every year to see if it was still mine (if you don't renew it for 3 years someone else can jump on it) and just a couple of weeks ago I checked, and someone else now has it. Oh well, I'll have to come up with something else.

Don

 

[tiny1]

Looks great Don!! to bad about the tag thats a bummer

 

[maddog]

Thanks maddog. Yep, I had that license plate on my '27 for 15 years or so, and didn't renew it 7 years ago when I tore it apart for a rebuild. I kept checking every year to see if it was still mine (if you don't renew it for 3 years someone else can jump on it) and just a couple of weeks ago I checked, and someone else now has it. Oh well, I'll have to come up with something else.

Don

Well thats ok. Ya know your suppose to rename a boat ONLY when its out of the water. Good time to pick a new plate, before its launch.

 

[donsrods]

Yeah, I have some time to choose a new name. I think you have to have the car with regular plates for 6 months before you can apply for vanity plates. No big deal, I'll figure out something.

BTW, I am really excited. I found an original steel grille shell. They no longer sell the reproduction ones because the dies broke and are too costly to replace. The only choice now is fiberglass, and I just sold my Total Performance one because it just didn't fit right.

Long story short, a member on the National T Bucket Alliance had one stashed away and sold it to me. This thing is MINT. No rust whatsoever, not even a spot of surface rust. Tonight Dan and I spent about 7 hours cutting it up to make it really fit well, and still have a few more hours left to finish it up. Actually, Dan did all the work, as he is the metal fabricating guy in the family, and I just handed him stuff.

It came out great, and the color has convinced me the whole car is going to be black. Here are some shots of where we left off.

Don

 

[Gastrick]

That's a nice touch with that original shell Don. You guys made it look like it was made for your car from the factory. Looks good in black too.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks Gastrick........we still have some minor work to do on it, but it does fit pretty well, I think.


Boy, do I have some big news. WE FIRED UP MY ENGINE LAST NIGHT !!!! My Son kept egging me on, saying we could get it running if we tried, so we went to the auto parts store and got stuff like spark plugs, fuel line, battery cables, oil, etc. I prelubed the engine and got 65 lbs pressure, which was encouraging.

We started at about 9PM, and by 11 we were ready to turn the key.........well, if it HAD a key.....we just touched wires together. At first it wouldn't fire, no spark. Then I checked and had two wires wrong to the distributor, so I turned those around, and we tried it again. After like one revolution I realized my leg was getting blasted by the open header.......IT WAS RUNNING !! It seems to run fine, and fires up every time, but my starter is hanging up. Dan bought me the Powermaster gear reduction one that is made to crank 18-1 compression engines, so it works fine, but for some reason I have too little clearance between the flexplate and starter gear. Even shimming it doesn't help.

Today I am going to take some measurements and see what is going on. But for all practical purposes the engine is at least running. I am pretty stoked about hearing it.............and yes, I will have to install baffles, it is pretty loud through megaphone exhausts.


Don

 

[joehalford01]

that's great don! the grill looks good but i bet hearing the engine run is the motivation you needed to really start crackin on it. i bet you'll have it driveable by the end of next week if not sooner

 

[donsrods]

Well, today I took a major leap toward getting my T done...........I hauled the body and my Son's body to my friends shop to be prepped and painted. We decided to go with gloss black as he told me if he had to buff the satin finish clear I took him that it would turn out glossy anyways.

Dan also surprised me by staying late at the shop the other night and doing more work on my grille shell. He told me he was just going to hang out, so I left, then he dug in and got it all metal finished. I think he prefers to work alone.

People must have really wondered what was going on when I hauled both bodies to the paint shop today. Kinda looks strange.


Don

 

[24dodge]

I think your son just likes to please his Dad, and I wouldn`t think it looked strange , I probably would have followed you !

 

[Gastrick]

The two T's together on the trailer sort of look like a tourinf T with a pick-up bed. That's great news Don. How long does the painter plan on having the bodies.

The shell work looks outstanding. Is that gonna be black also?