what an I getting myself into ??? a replica T "speedster" ???

[JBailey]

I'm no expert here but, as others have said why not start with an old frame and make it look good. Ranger frames are not pretty and the front suspensions are bulky. I see it says you're in southern Minnesota, there's a couple ads on Craig list in northern Iowa that might interest you....

http://desmoines.en.craigslist.org/pts/4053396666.html
http://desmoines.en.craigslist.org/pts/4019414796.html

Then I would just look for an old carbureted ranger to steal the driveline out of. That's just my thoughts though.

 

[Magnum]

well I do have this frame, but no title for it ( this one came out of the old farm scrap pile I found the T chassis in ) it has front & rear leaf springs, originally had band brakes & wood spoke wheels, & of course has an I beam front axle... this one also had a draw bar added to it, for use as a farm wagon, had a wood block bolted in place where the drive shaft would have gone to the rear axle

it would probably be a good frame to do up something like the "Pikes Peak" car... but would have to be a longer term project, since I don't have a title for any of the parts I'm collecting... which is the whole idea behind the Ranger, is getting a licensed roller, with a title...

in reality, I should probably do something with one of my Jeeps... my CJ-5 mentioned above, is worth more as parts ( because it's had all the good stuff added to it ) than it is worth as a Jeep... so before I was thinking about this project, I had been thinking about pulling the drivetrain, & switching it over to 2wd & dropping it low, pulling the front end off, & etc...

at least the Jeeps have titles, & were licensed in our name ???

 

[BigIrish]

at least the Jeeps have titles, & were licensed in our name ???

I would think you would get pulled over & hassled if you have a car that looks like 20's racer but the license plate is registered to a modern ranger/jeep. How would you get something like that to pass inspection?

Not sure how the antique plates work in your state, but in TX antique plates require no inspections. I'd pick something old enough to get antique plates.

 

[Magnum]

In MN, with all the salt, probably as high as 5% of all "older" 4WD vehicles, have had a body swap... as long as the chassis is legal to the title... it's not uncommon to see car bodies on Blazers & Broncos, station wagon bodies on 4 X 4 truck chassis... & we don't have inspections on "regular" cars here

... & I'm good buddies with several local LEO's & a several judges & lawyers... so I'd probably be OK, at least locally...

besides... this is why I posted here, with a thread titled "what am I getting myself into" to figure out what best to do...

... I may decide to do something to the CJ-5, keeping the tub, but lowering it, & switching it to 2 WD... the more I look at the "pikes peak" car, the more I like it, & the frame at the base of my scrap pile, might just work for that car... I was surprised how solid it was it's much more solid, than the frame on my 46 Studebaker... maybe it was pulled off the road before salt, & the 46 had several years of salty roads in the winter ??? anyway, the CJ-5 is old enough for collector plates, if I can get it on the road for next summer, I can start funding the rebuild on the Nash, & keep collecting body parts for the "Pikes Peak" replica & it gives me something to use that frame for

 

[Magnum]

so... maybe the "Pikes Peak" tribute car deserves a longer build time than 1 season...

... so looking at Jeep hotrods, these are a couple pics of what I was thinking with my CJ-5 ( as mentioned previously, the CJ-5 has all the "good" parts... & is worth more in parts than as a Jeep, so I'm thinking of transferring all those 4 X 4 parts to our pretty much stock CJ-2A, ) later... down the road

that leaves me the body & frame... a cheaper rusted Chevy pick up could donate some or most of the drive line parts I'd need...

thinking something along these lines maybe taking some traits from all 4

 

[Magnum]

ran across a couple pics of guys using 1/2 leaves in the front, to move the axle out... what do you guys think of this... here is a pic, kinda showing it ( I've seen them with a single 1/2 leaf per side, & this dual 1/2 leaf per side )

hmm... seem the pic I have is protected

 

[JBailey]

Are you talking quarter eliptical? Something like this....


image by ratrodfanbobcat, on Flickr


image by ratrodfanbobcat, on Flickr



image by ratrodfanbobcat, on Flickr

Sorry not the best pics, but it's what I have of my 1/8th scale radio controlled rpu rat build.

 

[Magnum]

yes... seen pics that looked like sawed off half leaf spring packs, & one that had 2 stacked on each side ( I assume kinda acted like a 4 link ) ???

I don't know if these creations would be safe to drive ??? at highway speeds ??? don't know how they'd handle bump steer ???

 

[JBailey]

I'm not sure how safe it'd be , but if hot rods were safe would we like them as much lol. Just kidding of course, here's a build on here with a similar setup..http://www.ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27326

I think if you used an actual 4 link and then leaf spring for quarter elliptical it'd be mush safer, just in case a main leaf snaps you'd still be able to steer and not have the front axle fold under the car.