Ron Pope Motorsports                California Custom Roadsters               

"Black Dahlia"

As of now, 33" here. Did I win?
 
Does anyone make a 13", 4 spoke, no holes steering wheel? I've looked a lot and have yet to find one. I made a 13" and a 15" round template to check for fit and honestly, a 15" steering wheel just seems too big. So, if I can't find a 13", 4 spoke, I'll settle for a 13", 3 spoke.
 
Does anyone make a 13", 4 spoke, no holes steering wheel? I've looked a lot and have yet to find one. I made a 13" and a 15" round template to check for fit and honestly, a 15" steering wheel just seems too big. So, if I can't find a 13", 4 spoke, I'll settle for a 13", 3 spoke.
Here's my wheel: Famosa - BUDNIK It has 4 spokes and comes in two sizes.
 
Well, I found a 4 spoke in the style I want, but it has holes in the spokes. 13.5" and a fairly shallow dish at 1.75". The more I look at it, the more I like it. And, of course, the price is right.;)
GRT-570.jpg

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/grt-570
 
Well, nothing to do today, so my mind wandered to what I had planned, when I first started my build. This is from my first post.

"A T Bucket with a slightly nostalgic feel and as much HP as I can afford. On that note, a few things I have planned may seem like over-kill, but it's because I don't want to find a bad ass motor and not have a strong platform to handle it. Next, wish bones in the front instead of radius rods and ladder bars for the rear. Ron's got some great ideas for a set, but I'll let him introduce them.

The body will be a stretch design. My first T Bucket took a few road trips to get used to, interior wise. This time, I want to sit a little lower and/or have some more leg room. Interior color will be red.

Wheels and tires, I'm not sure yet. My wallet is saying chrome reverse, but my heart wants something more El Mirage inspired. We'll see what happens. No wide white walls, this isn't a custom.... it's a Hot Rod."

So far, I think I stuck to it pretty good. I changed my mind on Ron's ladder bars and in hide sight, I should have went with them. They are a great design, but when I switched from a "competition style" build, to more of a cruiser, I passed on them. And as things go, I have changed back to a slight "competition style", so Ron's ladder bars are still on my list of things to do in the future.

Next, the red interior. I always liked black cars with red interiors. Period. But when I truly embraced the idea of an all black car, I nixed that red idea. Again, switching to a slightly "competition style" look is what made me do the interior in all black. But now that I know how to do the interior and panels, switching to a red interior could be done in a weekend. As far as the interior panels go, I did a crap load of researching on T Bucket interiors. WAAAAY to much, actually, but I had a vision and just couldn't put a finger on it. But when I saw a few pics of a road race car and an interior with snaps to hold the panels, the S/S screws would be my version of a "purpose built" interior. See, IMO, Hot Rods don't have posh panels and seats. Just what's needed to go down the track/road. The idea was to take stuff off the car, not add to it. So, my panels are as close as I can get to no panels at all. And my seat? Old age creeping in (my back) dictated a need for good support. Rotten Leonards side brackets gave me that "competition style", I keep mentioning. But I still would have liked separate seats and that's still a possibility, but way down the road.

I stayed true to my desire for a stretched body and I'm so glad I did. The CCR body was never a second thought. I didn't originally want a door, but Diane at CCR "talked" me into it.;) A HUGE thanks to Diane, "Resinator" and the crew at CCR. This body is so good, I probably won't even paint it. And that's not out of lack of funds. It's because of the way I treated my old T Bucket. I never once worried about getting a chip or scratch. Never. When I climbed in, I did so without worrying if my shoes scuffed the body. I drove my old T Bucket just about every day and I'll do the same with this one. "Black Dahlia" ain't a damn show car!:D

Wheels and tires? Well, I still like chrome reversed wheels and a "dry lakes" style wheel (smooth) is always cool. But when I stumbled on those all black Cragar's, there was no other wheel that would work. They aren't what I consider a "dry lakes" look, but they grabbed me hard and at about $69 each, that was a done deal. Originally, I didn't want trim rings because I didn't think they'd go with a competition look. But I yielded to Exjunk and Gerry's thoughts on them and I'm glad I did. They are just the amount of flash an all black car needed.

And that's it. Nothing else going on, except trying to fix my daily driver. Anybody know anything about computer codes or something like that, on transmissions in a 2006 Ford Taurus? So, now I'm going to go sit in my car for a while and figure out my next step. I honestly don't have an idea..... yet.;)
 
Thanks, Fred. You are giving us all such an entertaining look at a 'bucket build, and we are all grateful. I have no doubt the power train will take shape in similar fashion. Onward and upward!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Anybody know anything about computer codes or something like that, on transmissions in a 2006 Ford Taurus? So, now I'm going to go sit in my car for a while and figure out my next step. I honestly don't have an idea..... yet.;)

I work at a trans shop, part time. What codes do you have. Is ita 5 or 6 speed, and please don't say a Powershift (DTC450)
 
I work at a trans shop, part time. What codes do you have. Is ita 5 or 6 speed, and please don't say a Powershift (DTC450)

Right now, I don't have the codes. But it's an automatic with over drive. It's an AX4N. My land lord, who's a mechanic, has limited knowledge of computer codes, so he's going to have a friend of his hook it up. But my land lord is charging me $1,200 for what he's done so far and I'm ready to just junk the **** thing. I'll sell it for whatever I can get, pay off my land lord and look for another work car. I'm cool with taking the bus to work. Done it before, no problem. Right now, it's an unwanted, expensive distraction.

I paid $2,000 for it, 2 years ago and got my moneys worth. Maybe it's time to walk away.:(
 
Take the roadster this work. Don’t you live close? Get a motorcycle rain suit just like n case and enjoy your trip.

You're trying to be funny.... right?
 

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