Eager to hear this engine take it's first breath!
Printable View
Eager to hear this engine take it's first breath!
Me too, Steve. Maybe it won't be long now...
Here's a picture of the manifold after grinding the welds and applying a coat of high-heat silver. The camera's flash makes it look like bright aluminum in the picture, but it is actually a flat, dull silver that looks like unpolished aluminum. The second pic is the manifold bolted on the engine with the carb sitting in place. I need to get the carburetor rebuilt and get a manifold gasket to make it "real". Then all I have to do is run some fuel lines, hook up the pump, plumb the radiator, wire the distributor, replace the spark plugs, etc, etc...
Neat lookin' intake Jim~!!!! Good seeing that you're back on the roadster and getting it finished up!
X2! Can't wait to see it in operation! Curious how it works!
X3 Jim since I started reading the coupe build , you are still at it with a neat Track T .
Thanks, guys. I'm anxious to see how this thing works, too. I expect with that big open plenum that low-end response from idle may be sluggish, but it should be OK at cruising speed and up. I remember seeing lots of log manifolds on flatheads back in '58 - '62 and some of them were apparently pretty good performers. At least this thing should get me running; if it's crappy I'll build another one later configured differently.
I cut a hole in the hood for carb clearance.:eek: Right now it's trimmed pretty close to the carburetor and the air cleaner has to be removed to open the hood, but I doubt I'll leave it this way. When I get back to this I think I will make a scoop or bubble to cover all of this or maybe a short reverse scoop that sort of blends the hood into the air cleaner. I guess I'll have to do some sketching to see which way I like it.:rolleyes:
I like it as is
I've been working on everything else recently and the roadster has been catching all the cast-off wrappings, left-over parts, empty boxes, etc.:HMMM: Today I decided I would clean out the mess. After sorting all the parts from the trash and putting things in their appropriate places, I decided this would be an opportune time to mount the seats. About a week ago I picked up 4 small T-hinges just for this purpose.
Some time ago I did a preliminary fitting of these Kirkey aluminum seats. in order to get them back and low enough I had to cut holes in the drive shaft tunnel. No problem here as there is plenty of room underneath. I'll glass the holes shut when I'm done with the seats. Mounting was a pretty simple proceedure. I attached the hinges to the lower lip of the seats with large-head 3/16 steel shank pop-rivets. Next, I set the seats in place, drilled the seat riser, and attached the hinges to the riser with 1/4-20 pan-head machine screws, washers, and nuts. The seats are hinged so I can tilt them forward and access the space below. I still need to make spacers for the bottom to rest on, but I want to make the seat-belt mounts first.
Since Club Hotrod changed the programming I can never get the damn pictures to load in the order I want them, so hopefully you all can figure out what's going on in the pictures below. The first one should be last and the last one should be second... oh, never mind!:mad:
Thanks, Firebird, but doesn't that lonely little air cleaner look kind of anemic? Maybe if there was two of them...:rolleyes:
two would be nice, but it looks good as it sits, Jim. How are the seats for comfort?
Lots of good work! Takes a lot of planning and fitting to get everything fit in a small car!
Well, time will tell. It may have to go with one little aircleaner and no more modifications to the hood for a while. I have an English wheel, though, and I could make a nice bubble to cover it all...:3dSMILE:
Ain't it the truth, Dave! It's been a fight all the way to get 3 pedals in that diminutive foot well. For sure I won't be driving this thing with work boots on! Also, the space between the steering wheel, shifter, and seat side is so limited that I may have to go to a smaller diameter steering wheel in order to move my right foot from the gas to the brake!:HMMM: I've been tempted more than once to trash the 4-banger & 5-speed in favor of a small-block and automatic, but I'm bull-headed... so far...:whacked:
Jim,
How did you mount the seat hinges to the riser? Any concern with them ripping out with an impact, or the hinges ripping from the seats? Just kibitzing - saw them and the thought popped into my head.
Stovens - the seats are quite comfortable. A lot of T-buckets have a high seating position and that's OK for a "fad-T", but not for a pseudo-racecar. Therefore, I put the seats as low as I could get them. Also, I have ridden in some hotrods where you feel like you could slide right off the seat, especially when the brakes are applied suddenly.:eek: These lean back some, maybe 15 degrees or so. When you climb in this thing, you sit IN the seats, not ON them, so you feel pretty secure. If you are familiar with late-model stock cars - the seating position is similar to those.
Rspears - The seat hinges are just bolted through the riser with fender washers on the back side. The riser is made from 3/4 inch thick white spruce and it is fiberglassed into the body; it's very rigid. Hopefully I'll never hit anything, but if I do the seat belts should stop the driver and/or passenger and the seats from ripping loose. This car will be equipped with 5-way harnesses; the shoulder and crotch straps are optional, but I'm a firm believer in seat belts (A few trips into the concrete walls on a race track will make a believer of anyone:HMMM:).
Jim,Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Robinson
I knew you'd have it covered, but seeing those strap hinges bolted to a wooden riser kind of jumped out at me. Reinforcing the back side is the key, but the 5-way harness will indeed absorb most of the shock so the seats will only be dealing with vertical forces, and some side G-forces as you power through turns!! Thanks for the reply.
Jim the reason I asked was related to an Adirondak chair I made vs. two we bought. The one I made was from a plan, that has a curve under the seat planks that you sit in as you said above. It is very comfortable even without a pad. The two we bought have flat seats, that you sit on as stated. I never really used them until recently we we repainted the house and put them on the front porch. They look good, but are like sitting on a pile of bricks. I even bought seat pads, thinking that would help, but they still are uncomfortable. I think I'll take the seat planks off, and cut a curve into them, which hopefully will change the angle of forces to the butt and lower back! :)
Ah, Steve, I am very familiar with Adirondak chairs. That was one of my student's favorite projects when I was still teaching. A few years ago I pirated some plans of two different styles of chairs off the internet, combined the features I liked from both, made a set of patterns, and we made dozens of them.:D Since I retired I have been making a few chairs and selling them to friends and neighbors. People comment on how comfortable they are, even after sitting in them for extended periods. I believe it is because of the contoured bottoms. These Kirkey seats are similarly shaped in the bottom, so I should be able to get by with very little padding in the upholstery.:cool:
Not much to show here. I've been busy on the roadster, but didn't bother with a bunch of pictures. I have been doing the mundane tasks of running brake and fuel lines. It's pretty standard stuff and didn't involve a lot of fabrication, so I didn't think it warranted a bunch of photos. Besides, it's tough to take pictures lying on your back under the car...:rolleyes: The good news is, the roadster now has working brakes and, except for some pieces of flexible fuel line and a few hose clamps, it has a fuel system.:D I also cleaned up the carburetor (see below) and tested it - it seems to be working fine. (I guess I'll find out when I try to start the engine.:HMMM:)
Looks good Jim, going to be a sweet little cruizer!!!!!!!
OK, I've made a little progress recently. As stated above, I plumbed the fuel system from the tank to the carb. I mounted the electric fuel pump right next to the fuel cell. It should work OK here, but I've never used this type of pump before, so I guess we'll see...:rolleyes: I patched up the slots in the tunnel that I had to cut for seat fitment. I used masking tape and cardboard to make forms underneath and then laid in 3 layers of glass mat & resin on the top side. When it was cured, I removed the tape and carboard underneath and shot the bottom side with rubberized undercoating.:cool:
Next, I massaged the body a little (mostly the hood fit and alignment) and put it all in primer. There are still some pinholes and blemishes in the fiberglass that need attention and I will get to those eventually. Right now I just wanted it all one color and I will undoubtedly drive it this way for a while before I paint it. I have installed the bumpers, side nerf bars, windshield frame, and headlights. I still need to fabricate the dash panel and a new, longer shift lever. I rolled it outside yesterday for some pictures. This is the first time it's been all together and out in the light of day in a long time. Seeing it this way has me excited again!:D
Lookin' very good, Jim! I predict that once you get that first few shakedown drives done painting will shift farther back on the "To Do" list - at least that's what happened with me.... That's going to be a lot of fun to play around with!
Looks great Jim! If we turn the calender back a few years, she'd be ready for a Saturday Night at East Bay or Volusia!~!!!
WOW, Jim. Glad to see that you are back into it again! Looking great. Someday maybe I can come down and have a ride in it with you. Perley
Looks great Jim. Like the nerf bars and grill insert/skull. Still thinking red/white combo?
Roger - Thanks. Yeah, I drove my coupe for a year and a couple of months before I painted it. I may not have painted it when I did, but I was in a hurry to get it done so I could drive it to Indiana for my old hotrod club reunion.:rolleyes:
Dave - We'd have to turn the clock back a long way. I think the last roadster race was run in Florida in about 1951 or '52. It sure would be fun if we could go back in time and see them run.:HMMM:
Perley!! - It sure is good to hear from you; it's been quite a while. Did you make any progress on the Essex this past summer? I expect cold weather is keeping you out of the garage now, right? Ride in it?? You get down here, man, you can DRIVE it.:D
Steve - Yep, eventually. I'm still thinking Ford Wimbledon White with Red scallops and gold leaf lettering. The red will be the same metallic red I used on the frame and engine.:cool:
Go back and see them run? Heck no! I'd want to go back and race with them!:LOL::LOL:
I stand corrected, Dave. I would much rather drive than watch any day:3dSMILE:. Check out this cool old video of racing roadsters from southern Cal in late '40s:D:D:
[Hot Rods, Southern California, 1940s] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
I've seen that one Jim, but still enjoy watching it!!! Some great old cars, for sure! Especially the #54 car time trialing, that was one of my car numbers back in the days of racing Super Mods! My Dad raced roadsters for a couple years, then when Midget racing moved into this part of the country he raced them until he had 3 of us boys all racing go-karts, then he unselfishly gave that up and put the efforts and $$$$ into our karts! Sure is a gorgeous old track, though! Big, wide half mile, very little banking and afternoon dry-slick racing at it's best!!!
Thanks for putting it up again!!!!
Great video. Too bad that the technology of the day didn't include sound....it would have been fantastic to hear those cars. Safety was also minimal, it looks like some of the roll bars were made of 1" conduit. I'm sure they wouldn't have been much help in a rollover.:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Robinson
.
Jim thanks for the video. Very cool to see the old hot rods on a dirt track, simplicity at it's best ompared to today mass of technology! Amazing to watch them slide around the turns, and eat mouthfulls of dirt, with just goggles and what looks like a modern day construction helmet! I think your track style T is right on with the spirit of those old video races. Nice job!
I'm glad you all enjoyed the video. I wish I could find more... Jim Rathmann was the only one that I recognized. He won Indy in 1960 and later, after he quit racing, owned a big Chevy-Cadillac dealership here in Melbourne, FL until he retired. He just passed away about a year ago at age 83.:(
I have both of Don Radbruch's "Roaring Roadster" books about the era. They are jammed with pictures grouped by states - very interesting stuff. Although they ran all over the country, California, Indiana, and Pennsylvania were the big hotbeds of roadster racing back then; cars were state-of-the-art for the time. The same is true of Sprint Car racing today. I was born (in Indiana) in 1948, about the time that video was filmed. By the time my parents started taking me to the races (about age 5) the roadsters were all gone. They had already been replaced by Sprint Cars and Midgets. Therefore, I never got to see the racing roadsters in action.:mad:
I have tried to keep the overall look of this car pretty true to the old track roadsters, hence the bumpers and side nerfs, but under the skin it's a bit more modern.:3dSMILE:
IT RUNS!! Hooray!:D:D I finally got all the induction and ignition pieces in place and put "fire in the hole" today. I have been screwing around with the carburetor for a couple of weeks. First, when I hooked up the electric fuel pump I had a virtual "waterfall" of gasoline pouring into the intake. That was last week.:( Two carburetors later and a change of needle valve & seat assembly I finally got a combination that works. I eyeballed the distributor timing, hotwired it, and "kicked" the starter with a screwdriver. It fired immediately. I didn't keep it running long because I don't have the cooling system hooked up yet, but it won't be long now until I do the "test drive around the neighborhood".:cool:
Yippeeeee! The first fire up is always a great day!!!!!!
Way to go Jim!
Good deal! That's the stuff that puts the grin on your face for a few days!
Did you use the log manifold you were making?
Yes. Didn't have it running long enough to find out anything about throttle response, etc, but it at least works.:D
Jim we all have faith in you on this one. Time and again on here you've rose to the challenge with creativity and hometown enginuity. Heck it's why I love reading your posts!