Introducing the T-Bagger

[0rg0]

So I grew up working on cars with the old man. Did all kinds of stuff. Lots of muscle cars, 50's boats, customs etc. But never had a real hotrod. I decided it was time. The plan was a '27 T coupe chopped and channeled. I had an Olds 394 big block a 2 coupe bodies, but that was about it. Started collecting parts. I bought a '51 olds for $50, and stripped a bunch of stuff. I also got a '40 4 door Ford for free. It was pretty well stripped, but had a little bit left to offer. I sold one of the bodies for some cash and 30' of 2 x 4 square tubing. And so it begins.View attachment 6026
Cut the pieces to length, and tapered one end to 3"View attachment 6027
Cut off the horns from a model A frame, added a 12" kick in the back, and a 4" sweep up front.View attachment 6028
next up we took the rear crossmember from the '40 Ford and flattened it.

I had a reproduction Model A front crossmember, but before we welded it all together we decided to add a little more strength.
Some fish plates did the trick.
And there you have it. Perimeter frame done.

 

[0rg0]

Here's those first 3 pics.

 

[Keeper]

I can almost hear the Vrooom Vroom sounds...haha

Looking forward to the build.

 

[0rg0]

Around that time I pulled the 394 apart, only to discover how bad it was inside. It was just to expensive for me to rebuild it, so plan B. i'm going with a 327. Now before anybody decides to jump all over me about the the Chevy engine, let me explain. I have a small journal 327 and crank. I have a set of fully rebuilt camel bump. I have a factory 'vette 2 x 4 intake and carbs for it. And pretty much everything else I need already sitting in my garage. I also have a saginaw 4 speed. I think the 327 is a good choice , and it fits the period I'm going for.

I had an old Hurst sbc to flathead adapter plate, so made up some flathead style engine mounts.
After that was done, I starting thinking about the rear end. I had the one out of the '51 Olds.
Added hangers for the rear spring out of the 40.

 

[0rg0]

Up next is the x member. I had cut the one out of the '40, so we began fitting it to the frame.
After that we started on the ladder bars.

 

[0rg0]

So I got a little distracted after that. I think it happens to all of us. I have a 1959 International 1/2 ton pickup, and I decided to put Ford 460 in it and go drag racing. This used up about the next 2 months of my spare time, but was well worth it.
Check it out.

 

[0rg0]

Once I got back to it, a lot of welding needed to be done, so we got busy. I also started thinking about the front end. I had the complete front end from the '40, but I don't like the '40 axle. It's to wide. I looked around and found an original dropped and drilled model A axle with split bones. kept the 40 spindles and backing plates. New reverse eye spring, and all new hardware.
The wishbones had been cut too short, a little repair was needed.

Meanwhile, work continued on getting the x member, and ladder bar mounts right.
Finally got it to the point where it had suspension in it.

 

[iroct]

Must be a city worker job, two working, five watching. He He He . Just funnin Really looks good. Looks like you have a lot of frinds for the heavy lifting

 

[T-Test]

I never get that much help, ever! Nice job!

 

[EX JUNK]

That is some really great work. I'll be looking forward to future installments on this project.

Jim

 

[sstock]

That is some really great work. I'll be looking forward to future installments on this project.

Jim

Yeah, I'm stoked too. Really stout looking frame, great workmanship. Keep the progress pics coming.

 

[Zack]

Coming along real nice. I really like the use of that old X member. Should make the frame solid as a rock.

 

[Telman2]

Great work so far, keep the pictures coming.

 

[Francis Blake]

After I read the rest of the forum I had to come back and go through this again. That is one strong frame you're putting together,and a 327 would be my choice for an engine. Keep up the good work.

 

[0rg0]

Most of the guys in the pics are members of my club. What we do is get together every Wednesday night and rotate who's project we're working on. We have 3 cars in rotation right now. So this one gets some attention every 3 weeks by the group, and I try to get stuff done on the weekends when possible. This is over a year in the works already.

 

[sstock]

Make sure you account for the driveshaft offset going through the X to the 9"

 

[0rg0]

the driveshaft goes over top, but you'll see in upcoming posts that I've removed the center section of the x member. It will be getting a driveshaft loop in there somewhere.

 

[Youngster]

You said you're going to run a 4-speed right? If so you might want to rethink that saddle front engine mount. With it and the tailshaft mount it puts a lot of stress on the front of the bellhousing. Some have been known to crack at the bolt flange of the bell housing. Side mounts will take almost 50 percent of the engine weight away from the trouble spot.

I don't know any other way to put this but your rear spring mounts aren't going to work for you. On a hard hit, the shackles are going to hit the mounts. A few of those and there will be broken something or other. An easy fix would be to fashion a new set of mounts with and 'S' shape to them. You need to have room for that shacke to swing under the mount at bottom travel.

Not trying to be picky about your build, just trying to help.

Too bad the Olds didn't work out for ya. They make a great powerplant for a T-bucket. Not a lot of ponies but gobs of torque. I think you'll be happy with the 327 tho. With stock factory goodies they can be very powerfull and then a 4-speed behind it ... awesome white knuckle maker!



Ron

 

[0rg0]

I'm aware of the bellhousing problem. I have a plan for that. First I'm going to use a scattersheild which is much stronger than a stock bellhousing. I'm also going to add side mounts off the bellhousing to help support the back of the engine.

Interesting point about the rear spring. I have been unsure about the setup back there. Do you have any pics of the better solution ?
I appreciate the comments and suggestions. I hope that anybody spotting a flaw in my design would speak up.

 

[Chief-T]

Your 327 eng is going to be a lot like mine except I used a 78 truck block with 4 bolt mains. My double hump heads have large valves and I used a Lunati Voodoo Cam p/n 60103. Up top I have a Edelbrock Airgap intake with two 500 cfm carbs with progressive linkage. A very strong eng for these light cars ( right at 400hp). I think you'll really like a high revving 327.