Thread: Roadster pickup getting closer

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Don,
All parents want their kids to have it easier and better. If you have a close relationship it makes it even better. I do not feel you can tell them or others enough. So no, you do not say that too often.

My son is in his early-mid 40's and due to distance (he lives in another country due to his job) I have not been able to see him very often in the last 10 years. He is into Vesba's (sp?). At least it still has a motor and wheel's.

Earl

You are right Earl. I hope your Son gets Stateside in the near future so you guys can see a lot more of each other.

Today was almost a wash for us working on Dan's car. We went to the shop early this afternoon with all these plans of what we were going to get done, and after we were there for about an hour a really bad thunder storm came up and the power went out.........and stayed out! The power company said they would have it back on by 8 PM, so we went home and went back about 8:15 expecting the lights to be on, but it was still dark.

Called them again and they said by 9 PM it would be fixed, and at 9:15 the power got restored. So it cut into our day a little, but we still worked from then until about 4:30 AM, and did get some stuff accomplished.

We bent up and mounted the driveshaft tunnel. We used 22 gauge for it because the 18 gauge we are using for the rest of the floor is really hard to bend, and not needed on that part. Instead of welding it in, Dan is using button head allen bolts that will look like rivets when installed. He is not going to run any upholstery in the car, wanting it to look as bare bones as possible. The rivets will give it a somewhat industrial look we think. Even the transmission tunnel, which will be welded in, will have the same button head bolts to tie it in, as will the entire floor.

After we got the driveshaft tunnel done we started forming the shape of the transmission tunnel. Because his car is so low and the engine a little high, a lot of the transmission encroaches on the cockpit. We are making the tunnel as small as possible, but it will still take up more room than normal. It is what it is though, and nothing can be done about it.

Tomorrow we are going to continue shaping the transmission tunnel, and maybe even be able to start skinning it with sheet metal. Here are some pictures from today's progress.

Don

Looks nice and clean to me. Are you thinking of recessed footwells to give you back a little room? Hank

The tunnel came out very slick. I like the idea of bolting it on, so if you need to get back in there later on, it's not a big deal. Gives you some on top space to run wires and lines, later on if you want! I'm actually thinking of something similar over my brake booster, for access to adjust the brake linkage arms, since they are buried in the booster housing, making it imposible to get a wrench at them.

Thanks guys.

Jim, Sorry, I missed your post. Yeah, Dan did consider the remote reservoir, but it would have to be mounted too high to be above the m/c. There is actually a few inches above the top of the m/c so with a little twisting around he should be able to add fluid if ever needed.

Hank, actually, there is still a lot of foot room there, especially compared to my T or to the first body he had on this one. The 30-31 body seems deeper in the front than the '29, also wider for sure.

Steve, that is what we thought about bolting in the majority of the floor. With seam sealer underneath it should be watertight, but removable if ever needed for maintenance.

Getting ready to head back over there and continue building the transmission tunnel. It's raining and overcast here today and the shop should be nice and cool, so working in the afternoon should be tolerable.

Don

How's the new stray doing?

He/she is very scared of people. All I know is I put out food and when I check back a little while later it's gone. Hope it's not that dumb Possum eating it. I put it up on the trailer so pretty much only a cat can get up on there, Possums aren't climbers for the most part........but that one did get up on there the one time.

Probably a good thing the cat is wary of people, might give it a better chance of surviving out there.

Don

Don,
Did you and Dan drill/tap the mounting holes for screws? Or, will someone need to slide under to hold wrench on nuts from under P/U?

Also on 3K build post 3146 pp210-Ha, I really did read 218pp- did Dan use a Posies 1/4 eliptic spring?. I can see how the two bolts with plate limits spring up travel-how did he use what appears to be a spring bolt that in picture hits or rests on frame? Is this used also for setting spring?

The set-up J. Robinson on his track T thread is the mounting I've seen (pp9 post 126). Dan's set-up is worth considering. Thinking of going with the 1/4 set-up instead of the '40 front spring on rear on the project '27 of mine.

Thanks, Earl

(I have a cat also, darn thing takes my recliner chair and forces me to sit on the hard kicten table chair. Your stray will be trying to take over the shop before you know it LOL)

Earl: No, we are going to use nuts and bolts on that portion. Dan didn't want to tap it since the angle iron is only 1/8 thick and he felt he wouldn't get enough threads in it. What we are going to do is bolt up all the finished/painted stuff with the body off the frame, so access underneath is no problem.

You are right about the Posies springs.........they came with a mount that had a large bolt down through the top that you could crank in or out to raise or lower the car. Dan felt it looked to much like a Prostreet setup, so he built one that was a little more simple and hot roddy. By tightening or loosening the two bolts he can set his ride height. That center bolt you see in the pictures just keeps the leaves from separating. I have never seen one of these up close, but they are actually pretty simple to install and look like they will give a good ride.

As for our buddy the stray, tonight he actually walked into the shop on his own, sort of to tell us he was there and wanted some food! Didn't stay long, and stayed about 10 feet away while I filled his dish. Funny how hunger takes away some of their fear.

This weekend Dan got a bit more done on his tunnel. The stuff he was doing was kind of a one man thing, so I sorted all the bolts in the shop that have gotten messed up through all the builds we have been doing. I found stuff I didn't know we had.

What Dan got done was the skeleton that goes under the sheet metal transmission tunnel. By laying it out first with 3/16 rod bent to shape, it defines the final shape of the tunnel, and gives a strong mounting place to weld the sheet metal to. He only has a little more to go and then we can start skinning it with 18 gauge sheet metal. Here are a few pictures of where he ended up tonight.

Don

Really enjoy following the construction of the tranny tunnel as well as the total build. I soon will be making the tunnel for my 32 and am anxious to follow your approach. Keep the pictures and story coming.

Don, have you gave any thought to 1/4 turn fasteners to hold the tunnel down. That way even exposed they don't look to bad and easy to remove the panel.
BradC

Thanks 32. If we had an English wheel and planishing hammer, we could probably form the tunnel out of one or several pieces, but since we don't, this is the next best way as we see it. Dan did the same thing on the first body (that I inherited ) and it came out pretty well using this method. No one ever sees the underside of the tunnel anyway, so the skeleton showing isn't a problem, and it does add a lot of strength to it.

Brad, we actually did talk about those fasteners, but Dan is using button heads all over the car to fasten down stuff like the stake pockets, rear body section, etc, so he wanted to keep the theme going everywhere in the car. When they are painted body color they will look like rivets pretty much.

Just for comparison, here is the tunnel Dan built the same way in the first body. The main difference is that the first tunnel was much larger because that version was airbagged and was going to sit on the ground when laid out. So the engine had to be mounted a lot higher so the pan would not hit the ground. This new tunnel is much smaller as is the driveshaft tunnel.

Don

Hey Don,

Is there a Harbor Freight store over there? I was in the one in Melbourne, FL a couple of weeks back and they have English Wheels for $279 complete! I was driving my coupe and it wouldn't fit in there or I would have brought one home with me...

Here's a link to their online catalog. It shows the price as $299...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97050

Yeah Jim, we have looked at those in the store. I understand that while they aren't professional quality, they will get the job done.

Before we buy those though we have a couple of other tools on our wish list. One is a true upright metal cutting bandsaw (ours is a horizontal/vertical and is fine, but it would be nice to have one with a thinner blade to cut tighter corners) and the other thing we want is a big sandblast cabinet. Ours is a Harbor Freight and although it is their biggest one, it leaks sand like a sieve. I have caulked and taped up the holes and gaps, but it still leaks, and is too small for big parts.

Oh, and we also want a big belt sander, sort of a commercial unit. We have two 4 inch ones, but we would like something with a 6 inch wide belt on it and lots of HP so it won't bog down. That's the problem with tools, you always see something you don't have that you just want to own for the heck of it. Then there is the paint booth, the water jet, the...............................

Don

Check craigslist for used local stuff, ive found a few good toys lately on there for decent prices. The truck is looking great! Makes me want to start on mine again,