Thread: Lethal Weapon, Project A-Bucket

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A new build. I probably should finish my other 2 projects, but I get stalled on one and can switch to another. I was originally gonna build a roadster, 26 or 27, when I ended up with the International cab and built the closed truck. I have seen several roadster pu's that I really like so I thought I'd like to go that route. One super nice one is Itoldyouso's son's elsewhere on the board. Some months back R&C had an uphoulstry article that featured a 26 Dodge RPU and that one in particular lit the fire.

Here it is, most of you have probably seen it.
1011rc_30_o+1926_dodge_brothers_roadster_pickup+front-600.jpg

I liked the lines. The bead down the side. And the smooth sides, no door openings. Also since I have, at best, minimal sheet metal skills. I figured I could build a similar body, using an existing cowl. Well lo and behold a customer gave me a 28, 29 model a cowl. It's in pretty decent condition. Small rustout on both cowl sides at bottom, but easy, even for me, to cut out and repair. The cowl is from a closed car, or truck, but that even works better as there is no char. line at the top of cowl as in the roadster cowl.

So here's what I started with.
my cowl-600.jpg

I got the cowl about 6 months ago and have been puzzling and doing research to come up with a build plan. Right before the holidays, a guy my son works with, told me he had a Cad 500 sitting in his garage that needed a home. I told him I had a corner in the garage with it's name on the space. I hope he comes thru with it. We were talking on the phone and I told him what I was going to put it in. The roadster should weigh 1600#'s top. 500+ foot pounds torque at 3000 rpm's, it would be a Lethal Weapon. So that's what I'll call her. If the cad doesn't happen, I guess I'll just make a Mouse Trap out of it.

And with no opening doors it's like a t-bucket, but an A so it's an A-Bucket. I am drawing more inspiration from a couple of other rpu's. So let's have a look.

I like the way this one sits on top of the frame. And it's do able for me to make a chasis like that

I like your thinking on this one. That last picture really lite my fire also and how I wish I had a set of solid rims and white walls to change onto the "T". I will just have to add those to my "to do when working again list"
Everybody should have aleast one open car to play in,keep the photos etc coming as I will watching over your should on this one.

Well my computer is not coperating, so now I shall continue.

Here is the other one I am drawing from.
0805sr_01_z+ray_allisons_model_a_roadster_pickup+-600.jpg

This body is kind of a cross of the two.

So I scrounged up the dimensions of Henry's 28 roadster pickup from the H.A.M.B. and started to mock it up. I used some cardboard to make the back and sides then put a seat on the floor so I could play with the lenth of the cab. I wanted to make sure I had enough leg room, and did not want to have the steering wheel up thru the floor like a t-bucket. I think I ended up with a streach of 4 to 5 inches over stock. I am not sure exactly as I had no front to back measurment just a diag. from firewall to rear corner of cab. I also got made fun of, the wife comes out and I'm sitting in basically a modified card board box, on a seat with steering wheel in hand. No I wasn't making the vroom vroom noise, at least not while she was in the garage.......

Next I made a patern of the floor on some 5/8 plywood and made a jig to build the body on, and also roll it around. I attached the firewall with some washers and screws. Made the back of cab from the ply leftovers. Then I took some 1/4 ply and made sides and screwed togerher. A little 2x3 for the cab top sides. This should approximate the thickness of the finished side tops. I intend to use 1 1/2 box for the top and bottom rails. I took a scrap bed side top and added it to the back, for a little character, not wanting it to look like a box totally. In my mind I see the bed top rail just below the round on the back of the cab. Here's what it looks like so far.

DSCF3046-600.jpg

Now time to stare at it from different angles, squint and try not to see the wood grain. And of course sit in it and make the noise. My daughter came home from school and ask if it was going to be made of wood. No, but I told her its easier to mess up 12.00 worth of ply than 100.00 metal. And after doing this I see somthing. the sides are about 2 inches too high. Looking at the ply bone and at pics on puter I knew it didn't look quite right, too tall in door area. See, easy to cut down ply, harder to cut and reweld.

Here's another angle, with a seat, will continue later as it is time to take her to school and start work.

DSCF3048-600.jpg

Whiplash, thanks for the intrest. I hope I can pull this off. Building the roadster is not a problem, but I hope I can post an interesting build thread.

I got slightly off track with the inspiration, so I should tell my thoughts on the build. I'm gonna try for a late 50's early 60's look. Steelies, probably no hub caps, Tall and skinny on the tires like the green dodge. After sitting in the cab again, it needs to set on the frame, no channel. I don't want to sit on the floor, nor do I want to sit too high. I would like the door tops just below my armpit when seated. I gotta hang my arm out when driving. This will be a more traditional build, but I am no pureist. Probably a suicide ft end, or semi suicide. Spring behind axle, radius rods or hairpins, ft and rear. I've got a 47 ford truck axle and spindles. I'll mount the same as my International. In fact got the mounts from Noxious Customs today.

I think model a style bed, I like the rounded bed bottoms in those. I'd like to do a model a grill shell, just because I already have a deuce on the other truck, but it's hard to beat a cut down 32 shell. If I do the 32 I think I will make the insert, so it wont look like the other one. Stock type windshield, chopped and layed back some. I may use the closed car posts and move them in some like the roadster posts. I like the bed cover on the dodge, but I want a removable one, maybe just a snap on toneau cover. I want to be able to use this a a truck some. Light duty stuff for work or chasing parts.

Drum brakes all around. I might have a line on some buick finned drums and a set of 12 backing plates. If not I found some chevy finned drums for 11 inch brakes. I'm gonna get a pair for the international. The pilot hole is slightly smaller, but I can turn the hub down easily. I want a dual master cyl on firewall. I'm gonna use the 60's chevy truck unit. I'll be running an auto, th350 but will use one cyl for front and one for rear. I used to make a ballance bar setup for twin master cylinders for our race car, set up so you can adjust and set the brake bias.

Probably make up a set of lakes style headers, Noxious has header flanges for the cad motor, and just pick up a kit from speedway. I think there was a vendor at the Lonestar Roundup that had fabricated log manifolds for the cad motor. Sure would look sweet with 6 carbs sitting on top that motor. Edlebrock makes an alum intake but a single 4 just won't look right. Could use that manifold and run 2 big rochester 2bbls. We used to have to run those and you can get 600 cfm out of some of those. Thats why they changed the rules and made us run the holly 350 2 bbl.

I guess that about sums it up so far. I realized I had no pic showing the back roll on the cab, so will probably cut down the sides an 1 1/2 to 2 inches this weekend and shoot anothe couple of pics. May round up the bits and pieces I have and throw that in too.

For those interested in this, please feel free to comment, and sugest on both the build and the thread. I've wanted to do this since I read Jim's about a year ago. I don't think I can do it as well as he did, but that's a mark to at least shoot for.

Now go out in the garage and burn some steel..........

Looks very interesting

Originally Posted by roadster32

Looks very interesting

I hope so. Considering the exceptional work you do my best will not even come close to what you discard after deaming it a failure. Every time I check your thread I am amazed. And if you ever decide you don't need the talent in the tip of your pinkie, well send it abroad, I sure could use it.......

Obviously, I am going to like your new project, I love RPU's. Sounds like you have a good plan going and the plywood mocked up version looks about right. What I like about these is that there is a whole lot more room than the T's I am used to, both legwise and also in interior height and width.

You mention the one Dan built (thank you ) the first version he did was based on little more than you have there. He did cut down a 29 Murray Fordor, but only ended up using the cowl and two front doors and he fabricated the rest. That is the body I am using now on my new project.

I am anxious to see your progress updates, this will be a fun project to watch. BTW, if you need any ideas, I have some pictures from when he did his, and he has a ton of them I can get from him.

Don

Originally Posted by dlotraf33

I hope so. Considering the exceptional work you do my best will not even come close to what you discard after deaming it a failure. Every time I check your thread I am amazed. And if you ever decide you don't need the talent in the tip of your pinkie, well send it abroad, I sure could use it.......

Good catch on the sides being too high for good proportion. That's the beauty of mocking up before committing to the final product.

I don't think that 2" is quite going to get you there though. I'll post up a side view of a roadster body just to give you an idea of how deep you really need to go if you want to recreate the near perfect proportions of Henry's original design. It's what makes the '28/9 so popular even if people don't realize what makes it "look so right". Part of what you're doing here is going to be influenced by how you deal with the windshield. I would encourage you to do some mock up of that too before committing to metal. You don't have to reproduce the actual roadster windshield (though that's easily doable), but some channel material coming off the top of the cowl piece you've got would work too. Personally I would still trim down the base of where the stanchions mount just to visually "lighten" the bulk of the cowl, but it needs to work for you.........thus the suggestion to include w/s mock up at this stage. If doing some channel stock a slight to more aggressive slant back will be more pleasing than the oft mistaken job done of just straight up.

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Obviously, I am going to like your new project, I love RPU's. Sounds like you have a good plan going and the plywood mocked up version looks about right. What I like about these is that there is a whole lot more room than the T's I am used to, both legwise and also in interior height and width.

You mention the one Dan built (thank you ) the first version he did was based on little more than you have there. He did cut down a 29 Murray Fordor, but only ended up using the cowl and two front doors and he fabricated the rest. That is the body I am using now on my new project.

I am anxious to see your progress updates, this will be a fun project to watch. BTW, if you need any ideas, I have some pictures from when he did his, and he has a ton of them I can get from him.

Don

Thanks Don, new ideas are always welcome. And seeing the start of your new project helped me get off my rear and finally started on mine. Will keep following your build as well. Hope yours goes smoothly.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Good catch on the sides being too high for good proportion. That's the beauty of mocking up before committing to the final product.

I don't think that 2" is quite going to get you there though. I'll post up a side view of a roadster body just to give you an idea of how deep you really need to go if you want to recreate the near perfect proportions of Henry's original design. It's what makes the '28/9 so popular even if people don't realize what makes it "look so right". Part of what you're doing here is going to be influenced by how you deal with the windshield. I would encourage you to do some mock up of that too before committing to metal. You don't have to reproduce the actual roadster windshield (though that's easily doable), but some channel material coming off the top of the cowl piece you've got would work too. Personally I would still trim down the base of where the stanchions mount just to visually "lighten" the bulk of the cowl, but it needs to work for you.........thus the suggestion to include w/s mock up at this stage. If doing some channel stock a slight to more aggressive slant back will be more pleasing than the oft mistaken job done of just straight up.

Thats what I was looking at this morning. I intend to move the pillars inward similar to the roadster. I have the closed pillars, he cut them off to ship the cowl and then the deal fell thru and I ended up the lucky recipant of it. I may not lower the sides quite as low as the roadster body, alot will have to do with how I blend in and relocate the pillars. I want them to lean back slightly, but not too agressive. And if you have the roadster handy that you posted the pics of. what is the measurement from door top to the line where the tank seperates from the cowl bottom? That would be a handy piece of info before I cut the ply down. I may not be able to go that low and look right unless I completly rework the piece that wraps over the cowl top below windshield. Looking at several, it looks like the closed cab is taller in this area than the roadster. And I don't want to try to recreate a roadster cowl. As some will tell me it's a poor copy, or bust my chops telling me it isn't a roadster. I think I have the look of the solution in my head, question is will it translate when I start working with the metal. Thanks again Bob

Probably the easiest dimension to transfer would be door hieght at the cowl. That's 24 1/4", which corresponds to the bottom of the stanchion too. But as you say, you don't have to exactly emulate that. The closed car cowl top at the upper portion of that cowl reveal is bulkier than the roadster, that's the part that throws most conversion off. Again, that can be reshaped to look more in unison with whatever new stanchion configuration is done, but the bulk needs to be thinned some visually if not literally.

This angle should give you the best perspective of what I mean.....

Hey dlotraf33, heck you are doing just fine with the written word now and the pictures are excellent size and detailed. Now you will just have to give us your first name or nickname so that we can encourage you.

Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

Hey dlotraf33, heck you are doing just fine with the written word now and the pictures are excellent size and detailed. Now you will just have to give us your first name or nickname so that we can encourage you.

Thanks Whip, I thought of that earlier today. It's Charlie. For those who havent caught on my user name, which started as e-mail, is old fart spelled backwards.............. And thank you all, for the info and words of encouragement.............

Thanks Charlie for that and yes I answer to Whip most of the time but I have been called far worse at times.