Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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looking good don.

Don, that's coming along really nice. Great job!!!!!

Thanks Mike and Duane. I know I could have built some more stylish lower mounts, but I kind of overengineer things, and didn't want them to shift or break on me. I think when they are painted frame and body color they will blend in better.

I saw the ones pictured below on Ebay, and actually thought of building mine like these, but they just look so flimsy that I decided to err or the side of safety. The other factor is how high they need to be to get me some ground clearance for the oil pan.


Don

Looking very good Don, how are you doing on your budget so far? I am Junkyard Junkie and I beleive you can do it, I'm rootin' for ya!

Well, a few things are going to put me slightly over, like the $ 750.00 worth of slicks and wheels I pirated off of my unfinished '39 to use on the bucket, but I still think I can come in near the $ 3000.00 figure. I have to sit down with my receipts for purchases I have been making and see exactly where I am ( I just haven't taken the time to do that).

It's like every other build out there, it is evolving as I am going along. At one point I was going to use the old radiator I had sitting around, but think I will invest in a good new one rather than do it half way and then have to deal with problems later on. I still think it could be done really cheap if you waited for deals to come along and compromised on some items, like using cheaper tires, but I am also trying to hit a deadline for having the car running in time for Daytona, so I can't waste too much time looking for the parts I need. I also want the final car to be a little nicer that the primered, unupholstered version I first planned on building.

Another change is that we were going to give this car to my one Son when it is done, but we have come to realize he has no interest in this kind of car, he is more of a Mustang 5.0 guy, and just sold his 2003 Mach I so he could free up some money to finish his Capri. The few times he was over at the shop he was very disinterested in the bucket, and my Son Dan commented exactly what I had been thinking, that this is not his cup of tea. So, I will keep it for me, and help him get his Capri done.

Thanks for the encouragement, and I figure even if the cost goes a little over the $ 3000.00 it will still be ok, as I will still not have in it anywhere near the normal amount of money a rod takes to build. Plus, maybe there will be some encouragement and ideas in here for others who may be thinking of building a rod. I know some of the posts are very basic, but for someone who has never done it there may be some insight into how these things go together.


Thanks again guys,


Don

Well, to get out of the rut of taking a nap every night after work, I have decided to drive straight to the shop, instead of going home, and try to get one project on the car done every night. (Once I get home it's all over )

So tonight I finished up the drivers side lower engine mount, and am going to have Dan weld it them both to the frame tomorrow night. I'm actually starting to feel more comfortable with the mig, and this motor mount went a lot better than the other side. I guess the practice is helping, but I am not up to welding things that actually show yet, like the mounts to the frame and the front perch. I'll leave that to someone who knows what he is doing.

I also wanted to get the body back on the frame now that the engine and trans are in the exact final position. I want to see what clearance issues I might have to deal with, and also how it is going to look with the engine mounted as high as it is. To get a pretty close cut on the firewall to clear the bellhousing, I had an old empty turbo 350 case that we use for mockups, and it is the same shape as the stick shift bellhousing, so I used it to scribe a line around the perimeter. This is the area I cut out with a jigsaw with a very fine blade to minimize chipping of the fiberglass.

After I cut out the hole the body went on the frame and engine perfectly, and I finally got to see if I was going to have enough room for a clutch and brake pedal in addition to a throttle. I really want to run this stick set up, so I am going to do everything possible to make it fit. From the initial fitting, I think it will work. There won't be a ton of room, but if I wear the right shoes (tennis shoes) I think my feet will fit with 3 pedals down there.

Here are some pictures of tonights progress. Thanks for looking.


Don

And of course I had to slip my new valve covers on just to see how the engine was going to look sort of in it's final dress. I think I am going to like it.


Don

looks good. it looks like you have abit more room with the stick if you can run the pedals

Thanks Pat. I remember I had an Austin Healey Sprite, and there was about the same amount of foot room, and they got 3 pedals in there, so I think if I make the pedals thin enough they will fit. Good thing I'm only 5' 9" and 170. Us little dudes can sort of squeeze into these tight T's.

Don

yes it looks cool . yes some small pedals should do with a spoon gas pedals and a blast to drive with the stick i would not know about the 170? about 40 over that but get out the shoe horn

I'm also going to modify the Hurst shifter to tuck it tighter and further back on the tailshaft to get it out of my lap. My '27 has one, and the handle is shaped to move the shifter over to the passenger side about 2 inches. I plan to cut and weld this one the same way so the shifter is more in the center of the car.

It's looks like there is going to be room for the steering box and all that stuff. Now that I am almost ready to support the weight of the engine on the mounts, I can finally see how the car is going to settle.


Don

Earlier in the week, brickman asked how I was doing on the $ 3 K budget, so I got together my receipts for new stuff, and the amounts I paid for Ebay and other parts and came up with a total. Here is pretty much where I am so far:

Initial purchase of body/frame on Ebay..........................$ 530.00
(frame ended up getting cut up and turned into a table, it was unusable )

New 2 x 3 , 3/16 wall tubing (20 feet)..........................$ 125.00

20 feet of 1 & 3/4 inch DOM tubing for crossmembers.......$ 85.00

Total Performance front spring perch.............................$ 30.00

" " " tubular front crossmember......................................$ 25.00

Model A rear crossmember (Ebay) .................................$ 50.00

Speedway early Ford biscuit engine mounts.....................$ 20.00

Model A rear spring (Ebay)............................................$ 50.00

Speedway rear spring perches, rear spring mounts, and
new front spring .........................................................$ 145.00

Front wishbones (Ebay)................................................$ 100.00

Superbell front axle (Ebay new)......................................$ 190.00

Chevy Blazer rear axle (junk yard)...................................$ 125.00

Early Ford pickup front shock mounts...............................$ 50.00

2 used chrome front shocks (Ebay)..................................$ 20.00

Chevy 3 speed trans (Ebay)...........................................$ 29.99
Shipping on the above ...........................................$ 90.00
(But it included a brand new Hurst shifter )

Chevy bell housing (Ebay)..............................................$ 32.00
(including UPS)

Chevy tranny mount (Advance Auto)...............................$ 5.00

Total Performance smooth perch pins for front axle..............$ 60.00

So, my total so far is........Drum roll please........................$ 1762.00


Now, on top of that, I am going to use the brand new rear slicks and custom made solid wheels I had built for my '39. The wheels and tires cost me
about $ 750.00, so this puts my total so far at $ 2512.00.

What that means is the car is going to go over the $ 3 K figure, HOWEVER, I still consider it to be sucessful so far, because I have deviated from the original plan to go El Cheapo on everything and just turn out an extremely basic rod with all used parts, cheap tires, etc. The direction the car is taking now is that it will be painted, upholstered, have some flash on it, and (hopefully) come in not too far from the original figure. I'm thinking in the neighborhood of $ 5000.00. But it will be riding on brand new tires, have rebuilt brakes and all new suspension, be painted instead of primered, have a simple upholstered interior, and have some chrome goodies on the rebuilt engine.

Could I have finished it for $ 3K? I think I could have, if I didn't have this November deadline to meet, and if I finished it with fewer costly items. But since this car is going to become my primary cruiser until the '39 is done, I want it to be something I am sort of proud to drive.

In any event, I plan to keep building it and posting updates, and will keep track of the money spent. Hey, even if it comes in at $ 5K , you can't get much for that kind of money these days.

By the way, how are the other guys like hambiskit, Sir Speedy, and the others coming on your low buck projects? Haven't heard much from you lately, how about some updates?


Don

My 29 rpu has had to get sidelined. Basement flooded twice during the May -June monsoon we had here,and since then all hell has broken loose, Water heater,pressure tank,furnace,sump pump. I only wish this could be brought in for 3k. Hank

Last night and tonight I went to the shop after work and actually got quite a bit done. The evenings have been cooler, so it's a lot more pleasant to be there.

Last night I tack welded the engine mounts to the frame and finally got the weight of the engine and transmission sitting on the frame, rather than on a bunch of stacked boards. Then I tack welded the front perch on and mounted the spring and axle to it. When I lowered the weight of everything onto the axle and shimmed it to the actual height the kingpins will ride at, the frame settled down to 6 inches of ground clearance. I want the front to sit about 5 inches off the ground, so I figure the final items I bolt on the front will settle it down that additional one inch. My kingpin inclination is right at 5 degrees, and since early Fords are ok between 4 to 7 degrees, this should end up being ok too.

The engine ended up at a 3 degree angle, which is pretty much ideal. It looks like things are starting to fall into place pretty good. Here are some pictures of the front end with the weight of the engine sitting on it, and with the axles blocked to the exact height they will need to be at with 5:60 x 15 cokers on the front. (I measured my '27 for reference)


Don

Tonight my project was to cut the old spring perches off of the Blazer rear axle, and grind in in preparation for the new spring perches. I am going to use a stock Model A rear spring, and it had 8 leaves originally, but I removed 3 of them to make the ride a lot softer and to drop the car down a little. The perches I am going to use came from Speedway and mount the spring about 6 inches aft of the the axle, and drop it down low in the back. I kind of mocked up everything in the rear, and it looks like the ride height will be fine. If it is too low I will add some shim plates to the top of the spring to raise the car up a little. Have to see where it settles when all the weight is on it.

Some more pix.

Don