Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[Hot Rod Nick]

Congratulations on the successful maiden voyage!

[J. Robinson]

Thanks for the well-wishes, guys. Yes, the grin is still on my face when I look at the pics or the car.

Steve - The builder of that #23 car and I have similar tastes. We're using the same noses, grilles, and windshield frames and we both have two rows of louvers on the hood sides. He really captured the look of the "California style" track-Ts of the late '40s and early '50s. nice car!

I did another update on expenditures so far. I spent another $97.05 on switches, wire, connectors, zip-ties and materials to complete the wiring. I had to replace the turn signal unit in the steering column for $59.35. I spent $4.61 on nuts & bolts, $19.07 for a clutch slave cylinder, and $127.00 for a new battery. The grand total now comes to $4232.89.

I still need to have glass put in the windshield frame, buy some rear tires and the paint, and of course there are a few other small items (horn & relay, rear deck hinges, etc.) that I'll need. It appears that I will exceed my goal of $4500, but maybe not by too much.

[34_40]

Congrats Mr. Robinson! That first ride is always a special time and good to hear yours was a smooth one!

[J. Robinson]

I have been a bit slow to report recently. I've had trouble downloading photos to my old computer; it seems that a while back the computer and my camera refused to "talk" to each other any more. No big deal, I just used my laptop then for picture transfers, but it suddenly died one night without warning. A few days later I bought a new laptop and... Have any of you experienced Windows 8? I'm having to re-learn everything!

I have the T licensed, insured, and have been driving it for a few weeks now. It's going to be a fun car when I get all the "bugs" worked out. To begin with, the pedals are too close together. It's drivable, but I don't like it, so I'm going to do some surgery on the tunnel so I can spread the pedals apart. The other thing is the gear ratio. The 8 inch Ford rear has a 2.79 gear and it's just too high for a 4-banger with 5-speed. I rarely get above 3rd gear, so a lower gear is definitely necessary.

I will post some pics shortly of the deck lid installation and exhaust pipe fabrication. I have finally figured out how to download and resize them. Now I just need to figure out how to get them to upload to this site.

[Dave Severson]

Sounds kewl Jim! Waiting for the pics! Always fun to get the new toy out for some cruizin'!!!!!

[oldrodder43]

Can't wait Jim. Been a long time since I saw that little thing.

[J. Robinson]

Well, I have figured it out for now. This old computer won't talk to my camera, but it will read a flash drive. My new laptop will download from the camera, but won't up load to this site, so... I put the pics on the laptop and resize them, transfer them to a flash drive, then load 'em into this computer and upload to the site. Sheesh! What a pain, but here we go

Since I completed the wiring and cooling systems a while back, I have been knocking other things off the punch list. I had glass put in the windshield frame about 3 weeks ago just before I bought the license plates. I installed a horn inside the nose and put a catch-can on the radiator.

Way back when I started this project I said I would show everything, right or wrong, warts and all. One of the pics below (which uploaded out of order as usual) show the hinges I made for the deck lid which didn't work. The other pics show the hinges I ended up with and the deck lid installed. Those hinges are "disappearing hinges" from the cabinet hardware section at Lowe's (Sure wish I had looked there first!). The pic with the lid open also shows part of the reinforcement I put around the opening. I used pressure-treated wood (2 x 4 ripped to 1 1/2 x 1 1/4) that I screwed and glued in place with body filler. After the body filler hardened, I removed the screws, countersunk the holes, reinstalled the screws with all-purpose glue on the threads, and then filled over the screws with more body filler. A little sanding and a fresh shot of primer and it looks like it's always been that way.

[stovens]

looking very nice. Thanks for the update.

[ScooterCO]

Jim, thanks for keeping us in the loop.
All the little things will keep a body busy!

[J. Robinson]

During my first couple of test-drives I was running this thing with no exhaust system. All it had was the original manifold and about 6 inches of exhaust pipe that had been cut with a torch. Actually, the manifold doesn't look too bad; it's a welded tube assembly that looks like a header, but the short pipe was not acceptable. Aside from being too loud to keep the neighbors and local constabulary happy, it backfired repeatedly whenever shifting or decelerating. The solution, of course, was to put a longer pipe on it which gets the sound behind the passenger compartment, mellows it just a bit, and eliminates the backfiring.

I began by looking for some exhaust tubing. None of the local auto parts stores carry any long straight sections; all they have is 2 ft. pieces in stock. If you want 6 or 8 ft. sections you have to order them and wait overnight. If you want bends, they also have to be ordered and wait 2 to 4 days depending on which store you get them from. I didn't want to wait, so I went in search of alternative materials. At my local Lowe's I found some 90 degree bends in the electrical conduit section. The 2 inch stuff actually measures about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Next, I went to the chain-link fence section and found a corner post that measures 2 3/8 inches. The conduit bend fits nicely inside the fence post. All this stuff is thinwall tubing, galvanized inside and out, and it's considerably cheaper than exhaust tubing! I came home with a fence post and two conduit elbows. Also, in the fence section I found a clamp that fits perfectly around the pipe (post) to use for a hanger.

I attempted to upload some pictures, but for some reason the "Manage Attachments" window won't open. I don't know if the problem is with my computer or with this site. I'll try again later...

[Dave Severson]

During my first couple of test-drives I was running this thing with no exhaust system. All it had was the original manifold and about 6 inches of exhaust pipe that had been cut with a torch. Actually, the manifold doesn't look too bad; it's a welded tube assembly that looks like a header, but the short pipe was not acceptable. Aside from being too loud to keep the neighbors and local constabulary happy, it backfired repeatedly whenever shifting or decelerating. The solution, of course, was to put a longer pipe on it which gets the sound behind the passenger compartment, mellows it just a bit, and eliminates the backfiring.

I began by looking for some exhaust tubing. None of the local auto parts stores carry any long straight sections; all they have is 2 ft. pieces in stock. If you want 6 or 8 ft. sections you have to order them and wait overnight. If you want bends, they also have to be ordered and wait 2 to 4 days depending on which store you get them from. I didn't want to wait, so I went in search of alternative materials. At my local Lowe's I found some 90 degree bends in the electrical conduit section. The 2 inch stuff actually measures about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Next, I went to the chain-link fence section and found a corner post that measures 2 3/8 inches. The conduit bend fits nicely inside the fence post. All this stuff is thinwall tubing, galvanized inside and out, and it's considerably cheaper than exhaust tubing! I came home with a fence post and two conduit elbows. Also, in the fence section I found a clamp that fits perfectly around the pipe (post) to use for a hanger.

I attempted to upload some pictures, but for some reason the "Manage Attachments" window won't open. I don't know if the problem is with my computer or with this site. I'll try again later...

Supporting the fine old Hot Rod tradition of take what you got and build what you want!!!! Well done, Jim! Improvising seems to have almost become one of the lost arts of Hot Rodding!!!!!!

[rspears]

EMT conduit and a fence post! Gotta love it! May have to shop Lowe's & Home Depot next time I'm working on exhaust.

[J. Robinson]

OK, the site seems to be working, so let's try again. Here are pictures of the conduit elbows (already partially cut & welded) and fence post I got from Lowe's and the finished exhaust pipe.

[J. Robinson]

While I was driving one day last week, my windshield suddenly developed a crack in the upper left corner! I took it off to have the glass replaced, so while it's out of the way I decided this would be a good time to modify the tunnel and reposition the pedals. I removed the gas pedal assembly, shifter lever & boot, and the battery. I cut the tunnel using a combination of cut-off saw and a power hacksaw. After removing a pie slice from the top of the tunnel and grinding the areas to clean and rough them up, I reattached it with a couple of small aluminum strips and pop-rivets, backed the gaps with masking tape, and applied three layers of glass mat and resin. (Of course the pictures are out of order as usual.) All that was necessary then was to heat and bend the brake pedal where I want it and reassemble everything. It's a lot easier to drive now.

[Whiplash23T]

Obviously mufflers ain't required in Florida ? Excellent idea for the use of materials too.