Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[johnboy]

Yep, I've been waiting for updates too. I bet JR is getting ready for "back to school."


I just noticed something funny. JR and I both joined the tubing for our underdash roll bars in exactly the same way.


Don

Over the winter months I used to go out and assist the local builders by doing the welding of the galvanised pipe in new cowsheds. That was the way I, and everybody else I knew did it. I suppose when you're doing it all the time you forget that not everybody knows that trick. But it is easy, and ensures that the pipe is always aligned.

[J. Robinson]

Many of us who have been playing with hotrods and race cars for years already know this trick, but it may be helpful to someone reading this...

Frequently, when building a car, we use steering components from newer model vehicles. In doing so, we encounter pittman arms that are positioned incorrectly. OK, so take it off and reposition it, right?

Not so fast! If you look at the splines you will find that there are some irregular teeth that only allow the pittman arm to be installed on the shaft in one of four positions. What if none of those positions is compatible to your application? You need to find a custom made pittman arm, right? Nah, just a few minutes with a hacksaw and a file and you can put the pittman arm back on the shaft in any position you like.

Over the years, I have performed this trick on GM, Ford, and Toyota steering boxes. The shaft and hole diameters are different, but the process is the same. First, clamp the pittman arm in a vise. Next, remove the blade from the hacksaw frame, put it through the hole in the pittman arm, and reinstall it in the hacksaw frame. Now, simply cut the wide teeth in two, working the saw just slightly deeper than the neighboring teeth. After cutting all four of the wide teeth, remove the hacksaw and round off the "new" teeth slightly with a small rattail or half-round file. (I highlighted the "new" teeth with a red Sharpie so they are visible in the last picture.) The pittman arm will now go back on the shaft in any position.

[Itoldyouso]

I had to do the same thing on mine, used a stock Corvair arm. Then my Son ordered a Speedway one for his T bucket, and it has teeth all the way around, so it can index anywhere. Oh well, I needed practice with a hacksaw anyway.

Good tip though.

Don

[J. Robinson]

OK. It's been a while since I posted anything new on my roadster build. Aside from going back to work two weeks early for a (mostly useless) training seminar, I have been helping my son thrash on his project. Like Don and his boys, we are trying to get my son's sedan ready for Daytona. Also, while doing all these other things, I have been mentally working out how to work myself out of the proverbial "corner I painted myself into"...

I decided early on that I wanted to put cowl-mounted steering in this car because that was common on the track roadsters of the 40's and early 50's. If this was a steel body I could just weld in some appropriate bracketry and bracing, bolt in a compatible (and expensive) race car type steering box and be done with it. I am using a fiberglass body, however, and I am also using a $40 Ford Ranger steering box I picked up at the local salvage yard. The problems here are (1) the steering box needs to be adequately supported, not by the fiberglass body, but by some sort of structure that bolts directly to the frame and (2) the output shaft on the steering box will need to be extended so that it passes outside the body.

In this installment I finally tackled the steering box mounting problem. In previous posts I already formed the tube (front hoop) that fits immediately behind the firewall and mounted the pedals to it.

I began making the steering box mount by cutting and shaping a piece of 1/4 inch steel plate. After drilling the necessary holes to match the steering box, I welded a 7/16 jam nut to the underside of each hole and then drilled out the threads. These form the needed spacers so that the box will bolt up. (The steering box is not flat on the mounting side and must be spaced away from the mounting plate.)

With the pedal assembly propped in place in the car, I started mocking up the steering box. Using a combination of blocks, wood shims, clamps, etc, I kept trial fitting and measuring until I arrived at what I believe is the correct angle and location. Then I transferred the whole shebang out on the floor and mocked it up again using the same measurements and angles. After heating and bending the mount plate three different times, I finally arrived at a useable angle (almost 90 degrees) and welded it to the front hoop with two pieces of 1/4 x 2 flat stock. Notice that I positioned the flat stock so that the bolts holding the pedals are accessible.

[J. Robinson]

With the front hoop /pedals /steering box assembly propped in position in the body, it was an extended episode of "trial and error" to get the secondary hoop bent to fit correctly. I started by welding a scrap of steel to one end of some 1" tubing, ramming it full of damp sand, welding another scrap over the other end, and putting a pair of 90 degree bends in it. I spaced the bends so that the top of this piece is wide enough to just fit under the top of the dasboard /cowl area.

Next, I cut the ends off, knocked the sand out, and then trimmed the "legs" off to the appropriate length. I positioned this piece so it is tilted forward slightly; it follows the slight slope of the dash panel in the body. I also had to put a slight bend at the midpoint of the "legs" so they conform better to the contour of the body sides. I wrestled this piece in and out of the body, tweaking and trimming, at least a dozen times until I was finally satisfied with the fit.

Finally, I made a bolt-together bracket to attach this secondary hoop to the steering box mount. If I just welded everything together permanently outside the car, it wouldn't fit under the cowl. Also, if I could somehow successfully weld it together in position in the body, I wouldn't be able to remove it for future service /repair /modification. I fabricated the bracket from two pieces of 1 1/2 x 1/4 angle, 3 inches long. One piece had about 3/4" trimmed off one side so it could fit to the steering box mount plate without hitting the box. Both pieces were drilled and I used two grade five 7/16 14 x 1" bolts and nuts with the nuts tack-welded to the upper piece (because they are not accessible with a wrench inside the body). The last picture helps to clarify my description of this bracket (I hope).

Later, after I have fab'd the bottom flanges and bolted everything down, I will glass the secondary hoop to the inside of the body. The front hoop /pedal /steering box assembly will still be removable.

[bluestang67]

Great to see you at it again Jim , So the sons A is coming along also . You must be going in the Green Machine huh. Sounds like at least your going . I am following this 3 pedal and keeping ideas .

[J. Robinson]

Yeah, he's making some good progress now. The engine is going together and is almost ready to be installed in the car. I have attached a more recent pic of him with it. The wheels were borrowed from my coupe for the picture and he rested his arm on the roof so it is obvious how low the thing sits. He says he intends to drive it for a year or so and then chop it. Time will tell.

Unless Chip Foose and the "Overhaulin" crew show up to finish my roadster, I'll be driving my coupe (or my truck if I need to bring something large home). I might make the Spring run to Daytona with the roadster, but even that is probably pretty ambitious...

[Itoldyouso]

Don't you just hate it when life's obligations get in the way of building your car? The nerve of it all !!! As I saw the school buses going past me the other day it occurred to me that you would now be back at the grind (but not the "car" kind of grind).

Still seems like you and the boy are making progress though. Doesn't look like he is too awful far off,


Don

[J. Robinson]

Yeah, really! I just get going good on a project and that evil place where they keep my paychecks wants me to show up and entertain a bunch of teenagers every day! What gall!!

Yes, he's shooting for the Turkey Run and has a good chance of making it... if he doesn't run out of money. He still has to install the engine & trans, fire it up and run in the cam, make a drive shaft, get glass installed in the windshield frame and do all the wiring. Of course there is that long punch-list of little things like throttle & shifter linkage, belts & hoses, bolt down the seats, etc... Is this what is called "crunch time"?

[J. Robinson]

I left off with the under-dash assembly not yet mounted in the car.Of course, I had trial-fit it several times while fabricating the various pieces, but now the next step was to get the thing solidly mounted inside the body. To do that, it needed "feet" that would bolt directly to the frame.

I fabricated the "feet" for the front hoop from 1/4" x 2" angle and the "feet for the rear hoop from 1/4" x 2" flat stock. After welding these pieces onto their respective locations, I reassembled the whole thing inside the body again so I could mark the locations on the floorpan. Next, I disassembled and removed it so I could cut the necessary holes in the floorpan. At this point, I also cut holes over the rear kick-up so I could make accommodations for the bolt-in roll bar (yet to be fabricated).

After marking the locations on the frame (through the holes) I removed the body from the frame, fabricated the "pads", welded them in place, and drilled & tapped them with 3/8 - 24 threads. I left the roll bar pads un-drilled for now.

With the body back in place, I bolted everything back together (again! ) to verify fit. Along the way, I made some blocks to fit under the rear "feet". When everything is finalized the last time, I am going to glue the rear hoop and blocks into the body permanently.

[J. Robinson]

At this point I am taking a break from the cowl-mounted steering to do something a bit more visually rewarding. I'll get back to extending the pittman arm shaft shortly, but right now I'm tired of working upside-down under the cowl. Since I have already welded the "pads" on the frame for the roll bar, I have elected to do it next.

I began by capping one end of the tubing, ramming it full of damp sand, and capping the other end. Past experience with the bender has shown me that it leaves dimples in the tubing at both ends of the bend. To eliminate that problem, I made a couple of small "shields" to spread the pressure of the rollers. I made these from a short piece of tubing split down the middle and spread open slightly (I painted them red to show up better in the pics). They are not attached to the tubing or the bender; they are held in place by pressure. The second picture shows them in position during one of the bends. The result is as expected - no dimples.

The third pic shows the final shape of the roll bar after some "trial and error" fitting. The last pic shows the finished roll bar hoop with brackets installed, holes drilled & tapped, and bolted in place. I used 7/16-20 x 1 1/4" grade-8 bolts. When I disassemble the car for finishing, I will box-gusset the brackets on the back side.

[Itoldyouso]

Glad to see you back on the job! You are like me, I have to jump onto something more fun sometimes and leave another chore for a bit.

Even with your little hiatus you are still moving along really well.

Don

[J. Robinson]

Thanks, Don. Yeah, progress is slow, but steady. We are in a crunch to get my son's car running for the Turkey Run and time is growing short...

Anyway, as long as I'm having fun I thought I would move to another visually rewarding project and fabricate the front bumper. I began this operation by making a special bending fixture. I took some scraps of 3/4" plywood and cut them into half-circles. The middle peice has a diameter equal to the spread of the front frame tubes/spring mounts on the car. I cut this piece carefully and worked it on a belt sander to get a nice smooth contour. The outer pieces are 1 1/2" larger. Since they are just guides for the tubing, the outside radius isn't as critical and I just left them "as cut". After all three pieces were cut, I glued and screwed them together in a sort of sandwich. The finished piece looks like half of a big pulley. Finally, I bent and drilled a piece of 1/8" x 3/4" flat stock to make a loop to hold the tubing at one end.

To use this apparatus, I just clamp it in a vise, insert a piece of tubing into the slot under the loop and bend the tubing around the form. After bending about halfway, I slid the tubing further into the form, clamped on a pair of vise-grips to keep it from sliding back, and bent it some more. I made two half-circles. I discovered that the tubing springs back some, so the bends ended up with a shallower radius than intended. To fix this problem I resorted back to my trusty hydraulic bender and deepened the center of each piece slightly.

[J. Robinson]

After some trial and error fitting, I trimmed the two bumper pieces to match each other and to fit the contour of the nose piece. I took a short piece of 3/4" tubing and dressed it down very slightly on a lathe to just fit inside the 1" tubing at the front of the frame horn/spring mounts (If I had not had a lathe available, I could have done this with a grinder). From this I made two "bracket tube" pieces about 4" long. I drilled a 9/32" hole in each of the frame horns and drilled and tapped a 1/4-20 hole in each of the small bracket tubes so that I could slide them in and bolt them in place with 1/2" protruding out.

Next step was to notch and weld the bumper pieces together in the appropriate shape and then weld them onto the the bracket tubes. I may weld up something to insert into the center of the bumper later, but for now I just left it plain.

[Itoldyouso]

That bumper is perfect........it really "makes" the front end of the car. Reminds me of the old Curtis Kraft cars. Are you gonna put your initial in the center?

So you guys are hustling for Turkey Run too? We have about 10 days left in Sept, 31 in Oct, and about 20 in Nov. Wow, it is getting close. Hope you guys make it, just like I hope we do too.

Don