Thread: I couldn't build it for $3 K either!

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Well, my 23T project is far enough along to post some pictures.

I've been following Project $3 K. That post got me to sign up. That's going to be a cool ride when it's done

Like Itoldyouso, I thought I could build it really cheap if I built everything I could. But...... I'm at twice that much and it ain't nowhere near finished Oh well, like most projects, this one took on a life of it's own.

I used quarter elliptic front springs and air bags on the rear. It has 4-bars front and rear. I like the look of long bars on the front so these go all the way to the cowl. The steering is a Vega box layed on it's side for side delivery.

It's going to have a 350 Chevy with 3 dueces. I'm shooting for about 300HP. Should be fairly easy to get even with a mild cam. It also has a 700R4.

I used an S10 rear. The gears are 2.75 right now. I picked up another 7.5 rear out of a Camaro with 3.42's and posi. If the axle splines are the same, I'll probably swap out the internals.

Man, I love your car !!! Some really nice touches in it, and it sits right and looks terrific.

Sounds like you got caught up in yours too and just wanted to make it nicer than you originally planned...........same thing here. But even at that, coming in for the kind of bucks you and I are ending up spending is still quite an accomplishment.

Good job, and please post some more photos and info on how you got to this point. I would love to see that, and bet lots of others would too.

Don

Interesting shock levers.

Don

Thanks for the kind words.

I studied a lot of cars on the web and at shows trying to figure out the stance. Even then I had to change a few things about halfway to this point to get it right. My wife says I spend more time looking at it than working on it. But, I'm no artist so I have to build it to see what it's going to look like.

I wish I had taken more pictures while I was building. But. if anyone has any questions I'll try to answer them. I'll try to take more pics in the future.

Here is some more info.

The frame is 2" x 3" x .120 wall tubing. It has a 60 degree kickup in back with 6" rise. The wheelbase is right at 105".

The body is by Russnomore streetrods here in Luziana. They're only about 2 hours from my house. It came with a fiberglass floor, seat insert, pass. door and hinges and a cut down 32 dash. The body has the back cut out in the bed area so that the seats can be moved back. You sit down in this body instead of up high. I had to modify the floor because I raised the trans up higher than they intended. I'm going to add some more bracing too. I'll post pics of the floor mods when I can.

Mike

That's my problem too. I spend more time looking at it than working on it. You know how it goes.......bolt on a new part and sit down to admire it.

Don

Bob

I saw a similar setup on another website and adapted it to my car. Most quarter-elliptic frontends I've seen use friction shocks when they're out in front as far as this one is.

This is really just a hydraulic assisted friction shock.

The arms use delrin or teflon discs for to stabilize them on the frame and provide some friction. Don't know for sure what they're made of because I pulled the material out of the scrap pile at work. I turned a bronze bushing for the arm to turn on. The outside plates are going to get a "tail" welded on so they can be pinned to the frame. That way they won't turn and cause adjustment problems. The axle bolt will get the same treatment.

Mike

You did a really nice job on them, and the holes give a finished look.

About the picture thing, I have always taken pictures of every step because it is fun to look back later and remember doing these things. I also put together a picture album that was condensed, and I would lay it on my seat at shows and cruises. It always amazed me how many people would actually take lots of time and stand there looking at the pictures. Sometimes I would see some guy explaining some of the aspects to the lady with him.

It also keeps my hands clean because I stop working and wash them before handling my camera.


Don

I like the look. It's different for a bucket. You also nailed something many builders miss. The long 4-bars are worth more than looks. Since they're parallel to and about the same length as the drag link, bump steer should be almost non-existant.

Looks great! The shock mount setup is very neat.

Henry

Thanks

I tried to get the drag link and the 4 bars the same. They're not but they're close. I don't remember exactly, but according to my figures, there's only about .015" in length between their arcs with 2.5" travel in one direction.

Mike

Great work on the front end. With that hp, what size of rubber are you planning on burning up?

Rick

I've got 255 70's on it now. You're right about getting it to hook up. I think I'll have to install the posi or else take stock in a tire company!

Even a bone stock 350 should make around 270HP. I can't imagine what it's like to drive one of these things with a blown big block!

Mike

Looking good, that is a very ingenious way to do the front shocks. I too like the stance. Welcome aboard and keep the pics coming.

Well I finally got a chance to work on the T some more. I've been working on the 46 lately. We have a trip planned in it and I had a few things that needed taking care of.

I don't think I'll ever be a prolific poster like Itoldyouso or J Robinson,but I'm going to give it a try. As I take things apart in the future, I'll post pics of the stuff built up to this point.

This time I'm going to show how I built the windshield mounts and posts. I didn't get it completely finished and it looks like it'll be week after next before I can get on it again. This will be a long post for me to start with and may take a couple of nights to get done. I'm going to post in small sections to keep it from being so big.

I started by buying some short windshield posts from Total Performance. I fabbed up a dummy windshield frame from 1/2" pipe so I could see what width frame I needed.

I started with 40.5" since that's the widest commercially available frame. I figured I would just keep shortening it until it fit. Turns out 40.5" was the width I had to have. Trouble is the brackets were nowhere near fitting. The corner of the cowl was hitting the bracket and it didn't fit anywhere else. If these brackets hadn't been chrome, I would have ground them till they fit better. If I did this again, I would buy plain brackets and have them chromed later.

The really big problem was the HUGE 1/2" gap on the driver's side. It turns out that the "accepted" method of fitting these brackets is to build up under them with some kind of filler until they fit. I didn't like that solution and I didn't like the look. It was typical t-bucket. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not what I wanted.

Sooo, I decided to try my hand at building my own brackets. My first attempt didn't look very good either. I had already built a 40.5" windshield frame(I'll post that build later) and the wide frame looked out of proportion to the rest of the cowl. I felt the windshield needed to be narrower. It was about this time I got the idea to build a folding frame like the later Ford roadsters and the older British sports cars. Looks like I'll have a nice set of chrome TP windshield post to sell.

Here' a pic of my first attempt.