Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[J. Robinson]

Thanks Ken. I may take you up on that offer. We should probably wait until your new roadster is finished; that will give me a little time to obtain a couple of carburetors.

Bob - I don't know if keeping four carbs in sync is within my abilities; two is pushing my luck. I can fabricate things and I know where all the pieces go, but I've never had much tuning ability. However, if we could build a sort of log type manifold, that might be a possibility. Four velocity stacks protruding out the right side sure would look cool...

[J. Robinson]

The engine is back in the frame now. I found out that the 5-speed is not a completely direct replacement for the 4-speed. While the engine & trans were separated, I installed a new clutch, pressure plate, pilot bushing, and throwout bearing; that went well. The 5-speed bolted up to the engine with no problem. The hangup was when I tried to set the assembly into the frame... As it turns out, the trans mount on the 5-speed is almost 2 inches further back! At first I was thinking I was going to have to build a new crossmember. Luckily, after a little trial and error, I discovered that all I needed to do was turn the crossmember around and re-drill the center hole. Whew! That saved a lot of work! Here's a pic of the chassis with engine & trans...

[Ken Thurm]

Just because you have a bunch of carburetors hanging out there it doesn't mean you have to use them all I only use 2 out of the 6 on my truck.
Ken

[shoprat]

Boy Ken,
You let the cat out of the bag on that one!
Ron

[J. Robinson]

Good point, Ken. I guess I know that principle already; my son's sedan has 3 carbs and only uses one. I just never thought about it in relation to this little four-banger... DUH!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. Now I can get back to work on this thing in earnest. March 21st isn't far away...

[OFT]

Looking good JR. You'll need to get crackin' to have done by March 21st. When does school start back up-would think Jan 5.
Did not go back thru thread to check, seems after the paint it will need wiring, plumbing ect. All the "it doesn't show and takes two months too do" small stuff.

You'll be on the road soon, (in the roadster that is).
Earl

[Itoldyouso]

Wow Jim, your T looks soooooooo good in it's red and silver paint. You are really making progress. You've inspired me, time to head to the shop and do some car stuff for a change. You are right, Billetproof is right around the corner.

Don

[J. Robinson]

Earl - Yep, teachers go back to work on the 5th, kids on the 6th. And yes, I am at the point where visible progress is not obvious, but a million little things need to be done...

Don - Thanks. Yes, the thrash has begun. I didn't get much done this week; we've been going places with some friends. Monday we went to Garlits Museum and that place always gives me a little inspiration. I checked with the Sleep Inn next door and they are booked solid for Mar 21st weekend. I need to find someplace else or it'll be another one-day trip. Where are you staying?

OK. It's not monumental progress, but at least it's a step in the right direction... With the help of my son, I stood the body up on its firewall so I could prepare it for reinstallation onto the frame.

With the body in a vertical position, I was able to bond the turtle deck to the body. I accomplished that by removing the six bolts I had holding it in place. After scuffing the bonding area of the body and the lip on the turtle deck with 40-grit, I reinstalled the deck with the bolts left loose. I mixed up a batch of body filler with only a small amount of hardener (so it would harden slowly), squished it between the body & turtle deck with a spreader, and then my son and I tightened the bolts. The last thing was to scrape of the excess filler where it had oozed out. In about 30 minutes the body filler had kicked and the two pieces are now permanently bonded together.

With that done, I used my D/A sander with 80-grit paper to scuff-sand the entire bottom of the body. Then I masked off the appropriate areas and spray-canned it with rubberized undercoating. I like rubberized undercoating for doing the underside of floors because it has a slight texture with a semi-flat lustre. It covers scratches and blemishes and the shiny paint of the frame looks good against it. It also provides some sound deadening qualities. Anyway, the first pic below shows the bottom of the body after sanding and about half of the undercoating applied. The second pic is after the undercoating was applied and masking removed.

After allowing the undercoating to dry for about 30 minutes, my son and I tilted the body back down onto the floor, hooked up the chains and hoisted it up. With him and me holding the body in the appropriate position, my wife rolled the chassis underneath and we set it in place. So far, so good...

[stovens]

It's coming along great! Nice family team work. I've had my truck bed on and off about 30 times, my wife is beyond thrilled to help lift it back on each time!
Keep on posting.

[BradC]

Jim, The color on the frame looks great can't wait to see the finale car.
BradC

[J. Robinson]

Well, things have progressed slowly this week. We're back at school and the beginning of a new term is always hectic, so I haven't made the progress on the roadster that I would have liked. Anyway, these aren't exactly step-by-step shots, but there are a couple of things visible here.

First, the engine-turned aluminum firewall is back in place. Before I installed it, I put two countersunk 10-24 bolts through the firewall and the plywood reinforcement/battery mount inside. The purpose of the bolts is to make sure the plywood can't come loose even if the body filler adhesive lets go. I then installed the aluminum to the fiberglass body using 3-M spray adhesive. I used the adhesive to ensure that the aluminum stays flat & tight and won't ever rattle or squeak. The aluminum angle firewall lip was then installed with steel-shank pop-rivets. (I used all of them now instead of only 4 like back on page 27)

The radiator is now in place with its fan attached. There is about 1/2 inch clearance between the tip of the water pump shaft and the back of the fan motor. I installed the nose and hood sides temporarily so I could make sure that the radiator support is adjusted properly.

Before I installed the exhaust manifold, I removed the heat-riser shroud and the sensor, welded a plug in the hole, and gave it a liberal coating of Krylon high-heat silver paint. My first experience with this paint was on my son's sedan. When we first fired his engine and the carburetor was malfunctioning, the headers got hot enough to glow bright orange. When they cooled off, the paint was undamaged!

Finally, I built a new seat bottom frame in the shop at school. Using the old temporary OSB piece as a pattern, I built a perimeter style frame from a combination of hard maple and yellow pine. This one will get web-strapping woven across the openings before the installation of foam and upholstery.

[Gastrick]

Is that all you did?. Looks like great progress to me. That firewall looks suuuweeeet. It compliments the car well.

[hotroddaddy]

Looking great!! And i must compliment you on that fancy wood work you have going on there! Ive worked with plenty of so called framers through the years that could not pull those angles off, good job! But then again didnt you say you taught woodshop for awhile?

[stovens]

From a wood worker/hobbiest that is very nice work. I've taken my share of furniture apart, and those are some stout nicely framed seats you've got going there. Looks like you dowelled the center piece in and used tongue and groove joints?

[J. Robinson]

Thank you all.

Yes, guilty as charged! I did teach woodworking for a while. Now I teach Construction, so I still have access to the machines. No, Steve, I didn't use any tongue & groove joints; the multiple angle miters just about taxed my abilities to the limit. What looks like dowels in the pictures are actually the counterbore holes for the 2 1/2 inch drywall screws. All joints are glued and screwed.