My Little Green Roadster project

/BeginBabble

I acquired an engine and transmission that I had no idea what to do with.  Since the little motor was pretty unsophisticated, and would probably never put out more than 150-175 hp, what ever it would go in had to be light.  Due to it's simple light weight structure, the general idea of a T-bucket was decided on.  But I didn't care for the image that T-bucket brought to mind...monster motor, steamroller rear tires, vast quantities of chrome and/or brass, and a little stubby pick-up bed.  Nothing wrong with that if it's your cup of Tea, but in general it's not mine.  I Googled "T-bucket" and started thru the pics.   I quickly ran across a pic of one of the earliest T-buckets...a car that caught my eye when I was a kid...Tweedy Pie.  A car that to me, then and now exuded simple elegance.  

I knew from the beginning this is going to be a long term project...very long term.  This is being done on a disability income, and I refuse to spend unless the necessities and bills are covered.  Sometimes that has meant months between acquisitions.  This would be frustrating if it were not for traits I inherited from my dad...and this is not suck-up ploy to the name of this club...I'm a scrounger and a repurposer.   I enjoy the hunt.  With very few and minor exceptions nothing I've acquired has been new at retail.  Another rule is no purchases or assembly of anything not necessary for determining the design of the frame, unless it was a bargain I could not ignore.  To me, the frame is the core of the project.

I'm a self taught CAD junkie.  I'm by no means an expert, but I draw plans as fanatically as some folks do crossword or Sudoku puzzles...everything from model railroads to entire homes.   As I scrounge a part, I add detail to my plan...and if I don't have detail to add, I play with "what if" variations.

The BIG problems:

My size, and my disabilities.  To put it bluntly, I'm a fat older than my years curmudgeon, with degenerative joint disease and a pinched spinal cord.  

I've had to plan this thing so that I can get in and out, and I'm physically able to drive it...not only now, but trying to anticipate the inevitable progress of my disabilities.  Also, I have to plan so that I can assemble and maintain this thing with very little assistance or hiring out.    Some of this I've worked out...some I'm still working on.

Where I'm at now:

As the acquisition guided plan is now, it's going to be a Tweedy-esque porporned and loosely configured design that a T hot rod historian described as a tribute to an immediate post WW II T-modified that had been updated to compete as a Track Roadster.  In other words a car with an identity crisis...T-bucket/bobtail-T/T-modified/track-roadster. Call it what you like, but the next person will probably call it something else. I call it "the little green roadster".

• Body: Fiberglass '23 T Bucket, unknown mfg., stretched 8" and widened 3-4", Brooklands style wind screens.
  
• Wheelbase: 92" (Tweedy Pie's 84" stretched to accommodate the body)
  
• Engine: GM 60° V6 to be converted to "Old school"...Edelbrock intake, Mallory dual point ignition, and likely some form of zoomie headers
  
• Transmission: Metric 700R4
  
• Rear end: T-Bird Turbo Coupe 8.8" 3.73 Trac Loc
  
• Front suspension: 48" Super Bell tube axle, mono leaf spring located over axle, 4-bar location, and generic adjustable gas shocks
  
• Steering: Shelby GLHS quick ratio manual rack and pinion with an Ididit 28" non-tilt column, and quick release steering wheel
  
• Front Brakes: Discs, specifics to be determined.
  
• Front wheels: Lincoln wire style 15"x6.5"
  
• Rear Suspension: Ford Fox body triangulated 4-link, w Granitelli Motorsports links, Currie 2" Johnny Joints, Pro SM600 shocks, and Slam Specialties SS-5 air bags
  
• Rear Brakes: Generic high performance drilled and ventilated discs.
  
• Rear wheels: Probably 15"x8" steelies with baby Moons and trim rings
  
• Brake master/pedal assembly: Wilwood floor mount pedal, dual compact remote reservoir masters
  

The last year plus, my disabilities have progressed quicker than anticipated.  This past spring I was to the point that I could have hired the frame built...but because of the worsening disabilities, I started dragging my feet.   As it may turn out, maybe it's a good thing.  Though workable, the plan for the car had evolved into a collection of compromises that wasn't what I had envisioned, and was in some areas excessively complicated.  

About 2 months ago, feet still dragging, I decided to set my plans aside, and start over.  Today the new plan is farther along than the original, and I'm liking it much more.  Unfortunately the financial situation means that commissioning the frame will have to wait till the spring.  Meanwhile I'll keep scrounging and playing "What if" games to resolve the unresolved problems.

/EndBabble

Ditch the idea of a Super Bell tube axle. An I Beam style would be better suited for this area. Tube axles do not flex. When you hit a hard chug hole or bump in the road they don't move. That means all preassure is put on your hair pin, bone or heim joints holding it to the frame. The I beam style will help with that some. They will flex taking some of the bumps and bams. If you are not stuck on the tweedy Pie style car you can make something easier to get in and out of. A Roaster Pick Up would do the trick. RPU. You can make a steel 29 to 31 truck and still have the open roof and a drivers side door that works. If you end up in a chair you use the bed to put a fold up chair in. I know a guy up in Ohio that has one and without legs he drives it. 4 speed and all. Rigged up triggers on the shifter for the clutch and simple hand controls. If you want to get into a hot rod there is no reason why you can't. Like I said before I'm willing to bounce ideas. There are many things you can still do to be able to play.

No offense intended here, but it sounds like you are making it a little over complicated. Some of those parts seem like champagne taste on a beer budget, especially when you are stressing a low-buck style build. Any reason for planning on some of those spendy items? A lot more could be done with way less investment and just as much on the return...

There are a few reasons I went with the tube axle.  First and foremost I got it   new in box for a lot less than I'd seen any forged I-beams, and I didn't want a cast I-beam axle.  Second, I'm going with a 4-bar location set-up...axle flex is much less of an issue.   And third, weight...with this little engine and my incredible bulk, anywhere I can safely save a few pounds is a plus.

You struck a chord with the RPU suggestion.  I drooled over a couple of RPU bodies, but in the end the ones I found were around $3k...my stretched and widened T bucket $500.   Actually, if I had the funds and abilities, my dream hot rod would be one of the 1928-34 stretched closed cab pickup bodies, with the frame and bed shortened up to just long enough for rear fenders.

As the plans stand now, the T-bucket body will get an XXXL door cut into the driver side.  On the back, provisions for a hitch will be built into the frame...I have a hitch mounted crank up carrier for my manual wheelchair, and a work in progress mini trailer with ramps and a loading winch for my power chair.

Two of the yet to be resolved problems are gas pedal positioning, and working out the logistics for a hand control for the brakes that does not preclude using the brake pedal in the normal manner (a problem I also need to resolve on my Cougar)

Please feel free to keep the ideas coming. Thanks!

Blue Eyed Devil wrote:No offense intended here, but it sounds like you are making it a little over complicated.  Some of those parts seem like champagne taste on a beer budget, especially when you are stressing a low-buck style build.  Any reason for planning on some of those spendy items?  A lot more could be done with way less investment and just as much on the return...

No offence taken...different points of view welcome.

For the most part the reason was that they were not so spendy.   Almost everything on that list I've gotten for a fraction of new retail price.   They are the result of scouring ebay, salvage yards, garage sales, other forums I'm on, friends of friends, etc.  Some of it's good condition used, some other folks project left-overs, some clearance items, etc.

Please give me any cost cutting suggestions you have...If it's not something I already have, and there is no prevailing reason otherwise, I'm game.

I do not pretend to be an expert on any of this.  But I'm trying to soak up all I can.

If you can find a good deal then grab it. I thought the list was empty and you were trying to fill it. Shopping around and snatching up deals is a good way to save money.

Right now my bigger ticket wish list is:

[list]
[*]Frame
[*]Transmission crossmember
[*]Radiator
[*]Front spindles, steering arms & brakes
[*]Rear air suspension bags & schrader valves
[*]Rear rotors and callipers
[*]Rear wheels
[*]Front & rear Tires
[*]Driveshaft

My immediate goal is the frame, which barring an unexpected cash windfall will have to wait till spring.

Right now my big point of question is the positioning of the R&P steering.  The R&P tie rod bellows are going to have to pass through sleeved 3" ID holes centered top to bottom in the 4" tall frame rails.  The centerline of the rack has to be inline front to back with the tie rod end attachment points on the steering arms.

What I don't know is if I should set the position of the rack, and plan on having custom steering arms made, or get a set of Pete & Jakes #1107S steering arms, and use them to dictate the rack position.

Now that winter is loosening it's grip, I figure it's time for an update.

For me personally, the last few months have been cruel.  My mobility issues have progressed to the point  can no longer drive a conventionally pedaled car.  My hip and somewhat my knee will no longer allow me to make the up and over movement to go from gas to brake...at least on our 2 conventional cars that I'm able to get in and out of.  Fortunately the discovery was made before getting off our property, and the only casualties were the front bumper cover on the LeSabre, and a small decorative garden fence post.  

Because of above, removing the work-in-progress handicap aids on my Cougar are in progress.  When it's back to normal it will be for sale.

On the better news side, my wife got her new Urban Assault Vehicle.
It's designed to be handicap friendly as far as carrying a wheelchair passenger, but we do not know yet if I'll be able to get behind the wheel, or if it will be useable for me if I get there.  Another good point is that it appears to be more friendly to having hand controls put in.



All of this has had a major impact on my project.  

First off, to be honest, it has reinforced my doubt in being able to get these piles of parts to something driveable.  My heart says give it a go...and my wife agrees...so for now I'm going to keep on keeping on, as slow as keeping on may be.

I've decided that I need to rethink the entire nature of the project to simplify it greatly.  The goal of a period correct looking track roadster, as alluring as it may be, is beyond the time I have left in complexity, my meager budget, and to be honest my abilities even back when in my prime.  And anyway, it was far beyond my original plan for this project.   My original plan was to build a simple little Bobtail T, loosely inspired by Tweedy Pie, but built to my tastes.  I've gone back to that plan with the important addition of being built to my needs.

As far as my needs go, that's going to mean hand controls are going to be a necessity, rather than a potential need.  Getting the seating lower than I'd planned on is also going to be a must.  About the only way to do this will be to lower the whole car...something I look forward to. A certain No.1 along with others have me liking the low look.  The hard one is going to be sturdy support points for aid in getting up and out of the car....the wooding usually done on fiberglass T-Bucket bodies just won't cut it.


One other good point over the last months is that I found a pair of wheels for the rear, to go with the pair of Lincoln wires I have for the front.

I'd spent the last 2 or so years looking for period correct wheels that fit my unconventional bolt pattern, and I liked.  Once I decided to scrap the period correct track roadster plans, within days I found these, in the size and bolt pattern I need, with a look that I love.


Where this leaves things now is I'm pretty much starting from scratch with my frame design.  Mainly to get it riding as low as possible, but also to facilitate those support points and hand controls.  I'm still hoping to get the frame plans to the point of being able to  get the frame built this spring/summer.  Unfortunately there's still some hurdles to be crossed between now and then...not the least of which is finding someone relatively local to do the work of welding up the frame and bracketry.