3k-One Year-30's Ford-Rat Rod Build Thread

[Wolfco]

a couple pics. steering wheel ....i am adding the tilt wheel shock, this will be a sweet feature.

The cardboard pattern is for the transmission tunnel, i made a flat patten then cut it out of 16 ga steel and bent it into shape, a bit of hammering with the rubber mallet and some weld/grind and there it is..

[stovens]

Wolfco
your project is really coming along. Nice job on the tunnel and floor pans. Are the pans braced underneith in front or is the metal stiff enough not to need any beads. I have old patch panels in mine and the passenger side has no beads. Everytime I step in there I feel it sag a bit. So I'm looking to make some panels and have a friend roll a few beads to stiffen it up.
I also like the tilt wheel with your old steering wheel. You seem undaunted to dive in and adapt old stuff, cut and reweld, etc. Very inspirational. Keep it up, Steve.

[Wolfco]

You are correct, i dont have any "beads" or coined areas in the floor for support, but i dont think i need it.

I used 16 ga steel, and the 1x1 tubing is spaced close together. The largest unsupported area is UNDER the seat, and there is very little area to actually apply weight to the floor when you get in the car.....it is so low you kinda crawl in there anyways.

I'm glad you liked the use of odd materials for my project, it keeps the cost down and makes for good conversation!

Jeff

[Wolfco]

I made a battery box pan/tray to hold the battery and we welded it into the corner of the Ford box. There is a 1x1 tubing underneath the pan for added support. My friend Adam is helping on this particular event. We are trading some labor and beers-he is also building a Rat rod...a 40's Chevy pickup. thanks for the help Adam.

[Wolfco]

OK, so i am building a Rat rod right? OPEN exhaust? a few feet of water pipe and make my own open headers? ....too easy, too loud, too much following the rat rod crowd....my theory is that you build the car the way YOU want it...dont follow everyone and copy every RAT rod out there!

That is what is so fun about this hobby...make it the way YOU want to.

That rant was my justification for putting exhaust on this car. I have an old set of SBC ramhorn exhaust manifolds that i have been saving since 1991 for a project....never had a project to use them on ...until now! so use 'em right?

SO i bought 2 lengths of exhaust 2" pipe for 20.00 each...i say to the exhaust dude.,.."whats the tax?" ...he says "just give me $40"...so $40 it is...then i buy 2 elbows for $7.59 each....so $55 bucks for exhaust. I drilled 2 holes in the rear bumper and there is NO bends in the exhaust-just 2" straight out the back!! hopefully it will "cackle" and snap and be nice and loud out the rear of the car...and quiet (a bit quieter) in the cab.

I used about 2" of the old exhaust flanges and donuts, welded to the elbows and then straight back. The reciever hitch in the rear bumper is so I can get a floor jack under the car....there is no other way to get under this car, as it LAYS FRAME AND BODY.....

[ScooterCO]

Might want to think about a heat shield under the seat area as you built that down on to the exhaust.
This is looking good!
You are right.... it is what you want it to be...........

[marco]

Like the way your going so far.YOUR WAY Great build and Keep up the good work.

[Wolfco]

thanks for the advice ScooterCO...the exhaust may get hot under the seat. THe 2" exhaust is approx 1.5" from the bottom of the seat area. I was thinking of a heat shield to prevent heat transfer...this is done in the oem world and works great on wood stoves in MInnesota!! If you put a piece of sheetmetal between the woodstove and the wall, the sheetmetal will get smoking hot, and the wall will be just a bit warm...great idea, i think i will add that to the "to do" list. thanks!

JEff

[J. Robinson]

Hi Jeff.

I don't know how I have missed this build thread up until now... DUH! Anyway, lots of nice work here. I like homebuilt stuff done with ingenuity and inventiveness. I haven't had time to read the whole thread in detail; I just scanned your entries. That firewall is beautiful... Did you give up on the cowl steering? In my roadster build I used the steering box from a 1985 Ford Ranger (they already work the right way and don't have to be reversed) and built an extension for the sector shaft to get the pittman arm outside the body.

Your bellcrank assembly on the front end is really cool. The use of the old pistons on top of the bags is pure genius. Keep up the good work!

Oh yeah, you can wrap the pipes under the floor with header wrap, too. That greatly reduces heat transfer. And for making sparks when you "pancake" the frame on the ground, try to find some scrap magnesium or titanium. Both make an abundance of bright white fire when they contact the road...

[Wolfco]

I like the idea of wrapping the exhaust with the fiberglass cloth wrap. I built a chopper a few years ago and bought a 50 ft x 2" wide roll of that stuff...and have some left over. I never thought about using it for this car! it would be great to wrap the exhaust directly under the cab and seat area to keep the heat from cooking the floor. I live in MN so it doesnt get very hot up here..but on those nice summer days it can hit 90 degrees or better.....thanks for the tip!

[Wolfco]

I mounted a couple of Fleet Farm shocks...they were $17 bucks each...i took some measurements on compressed and extended lenghts and found this set of shocks. Stroke is about 6 3/4" inch on the shocks and i need around 6 3/8"...so i mounted them so they have full travel and wont limit suspension travel. I disassembled the car so i can paint the frame...Yes..paint....it is a rat rod but i cant seem to allow myself to let new steel just get rusty! It only took about 1 hour to disassemble the car....there is no wiring yet so it was just front and rear suspension and pulling the engine.

[Wolfco]

Sonofa...!!!!!!

I was grinding some welds and had the bare frame on 2 sawhorses yesterday. I needed to remove a brace and cut a weld....the frame dropped off the saw horse and the rear bumper (2x4" steel tubing) dropped onto my left foot. I saw stars!!! It was a foolish mistake and my workboots are NOT steel toe....
I went into the house and took a pain killer....and watched tv, had a few glasses of wine and off to sleep. Today i woke up and the toes were still sore, so i went to get x rays---confirmed 3 broken toes. cleanly snapped like 3 little twigs.
I was about out of welding gas so i went and exchanged the argon bottle.....might rest up for a day and then get back to welding...I have 2 weeks off for the holidays but need to go at this so i dont prolong the breakage....darn it. I plan to get a nice pair of steel toe boots this week. It wont happen again.

[stovens]

Ouch!

[ted dehaan]

it'l feel better when it stops hurting. sorry but thats what I use to my daughter when she was little. always made her laugh and feel better...ted

[Jack60]

Just got to read your build, your doing a great job. I hope to do one someday, got two other projects first and I'm not getting any younger.
Take care of those toes and keep up the good work..