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Tube Frame Track T

meangreen

Active Member
I started building my track roadster in 2007 and joined this site in 2008. I went "gung ho" for the first couple of years and then let the project lurch to a stop when I started spending all my time building and racing Electrathon cars. Now that I'm retired and have completed the big items on a lengthy "honey-do" list, I'm ready to get back to work on the roadster. Here are a few pics of it as it came together so far. The body is one of the last bodies built by Dave Koorey. It has a 6 inch extended cowl and came with a reinforced floor & tunnel. The nose is a copy of a Speedway Motors nose with a Speedway grille and the hood is home made (steel). The louvers (52 in each hood side) were punched by Ron Ennis in Bargersville, Indiana. Ron took me for my first ride in a hotrod (a T roadster which he still owns and drives) in 1961. There has been a continuous string of hotrods and race cars in my life since then, but this is my first T-bucket.DCP02275.JPGDCP02292.JPGDCP02288.JPGDCP02299.JPGDCP02363.JPG
 
That is one S-W-E-E-T ride!

Jim
 
Thanks, Jim. It should be a pretty cool car if I ever get it finished. There are dozens of photos and step-by-step installments of the build so far here:
http://www.clubhotrod.com/hot-rod-talk/30400-another-build-thread-yep-my-track-style-t.html
I have changed a few things along the way which have slowed my progress. For instance, I have completely changed the interior layout and seats twice which wasted a lot of time. Now I am building a second intake manifold for it. The engine/trans is from a Chevy S-10. I built a manifold for a pair of Stromberg 97s (pic below) , but have now decided to go with a more common single Rochester carb, so the time spent on the first manifold was wasted. Oh well, it's all part of the process...

JR

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Blyndgesser - It's a 2.5 from a 1987 S-10 Chevy with a '92 S-10 five-speed trans. The overwhelming majority of track roadsters from the 1940s ran 4-bangers, so I went with one here. If it turns out that I don't like it, there's room in that engine bay for a small-block Chevy...

JR
 
Well, I've commented on some other folks' threads, but it's been a while since I've updated this one.:rolleyes: I have been busy, though... I built a new intake as mentioned above. Then I plumbed and bled the brakes, so they're working now. I ran all the fuel lines and, as soon as I install the intake and carburetor base gaskets (which I already have), the fuel system will be done. Next I need to change the distributor and then I'll be ready to hot-wire it and attempt to put "fire in the hole".;) Meantime, though, I have massaged the body a little and put everything in primer - I will drive it this way for a while before I paint it. I have mounted the seats, bumpers, nerf bars, headlights, and the windshield frame. I still need to fabricate the dash panel and a new (longer) shifter lever. As soon as I have it running I will get glass put in the windshield and begin the "application for title" process. While that ordeal is going on I will do the wiring, etc. Maybe it won't be long now...:confused:

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Maybe I'll get to see it now that the Titusville Cruise has been moved back into town. Here's hoping.

Jim
 
Wow! that is a great looking track-T. The frame is cool and the I like the choice of engines. Great little motors and parts are dirt cheap. Good stuff!!
 
Thanks for the compliments, guys. Jim, you will definitely see it at some cruise-ins here and at New Smyrna when it's roadworthy.:D

I have both of Don Radbruch's books on the subject (Roaring Roadsters & Roaring Roadsters 2). I've tried to keep the appearance pretty close to the "California style" cars that raced on the west coast and midwest during the latter part of the "racing roadster era". Although all kinds of roadster bodies were used, the popular early choice was the '26 - '27 Ford T on Model A rails with a '32 grille shell. Later, as the cars began to morph into something more closely related to Sprint Cars, the smaller and lighter '22 - '25 T bodies became more popular and the Model A rails gave way to several different combinations including aluminum channel!:rolleyes: At the same time, the Deuce grille shells started to give way to the track noses. There must have been some rule that required a hood because virtually all the pictures in Radbruch's books show the cars with hoods. The popular early engine choice was a Chevy 4-banger with an Oldsmobile head (??o_O ). That gave way eventually to the Ford Flathead V-8. The overall proportions and stance of my car are styled after a very successful car called the "Stockton Spitfire". It used 6-cyl Chrysler power and gave the Ford V-8s fits. It sat very low and had a track nose similar to the one on my car.:thumbsup:

Here is a link to a video of some old roadster racing in southern California (San Diego, I think). Notice all the different car styles. This was filmed around 1948 or '49.:cool:
http://archive.org/details/27EG-28-EG-58_HOTRODS
 
It runs!!:D:D After screwing around with junk carburetors for the last couple of weeks, I finally got one that seems to work OK. The first one was a flood as soon as I turned on the electric fuel pump:thumbsdown: ; the second one had a faulty accelerator pump (squirter):( ; the third one had a slow drip, so I replaced the needle and seat and BINGO!:) Finally, yesterday I was able to put "fire in the hole". I had no idea if the old distributor I was given worked or not, but I hot-wired it, pumped the carb linkage a couple of times, "kicked" the starter solenoid with a screw driver, and the engine fired immediately. I only had it running for a couple of seconds because the cooling system isn't plumbed yet, but this is an encouraging development.:thumbsup:
 
GREAT, that should really help get you excited to get it on the road.

Jim
 
Looking good. Great video too. Gotta love those track roadsters.
 
I realize if I want to keep this thing running for more than 10 seconds the cooling system needs to be functional.:rolleyes: The next logical step, then, is to mount the alternator so I can put a belt on the pump. First, though, I had to make a couple of minor changes. This engine came from a 1987 Chevy S-10; that was the first year for the serpentine belt system and the water pump runs backwards to the engine. First step was to correct that by replacing the pump with the 1986 and earlier version. Next I had to find V-belt pulleys to fit this engine. None of the local salvage yards had an '86 or earlier S-10 with the engine still in place, so I scored a crank pulley off a 1986 Pontiac Fiero. The water pump pulley is one I had in my parts shed. I'm not positive of its origin, but it's probably from a small-block Chevy as I have parts from a few of those in the shed.:D

After sorting out the pump and pulley puzzle, I used a piece of 1 1/2" angle and some flat stock to whip up a bracket that bolts to two unused holes on the lower front driver's side of the block. The adjuster is also a small-block Chevy part that I cut up and welded back together in a usable shape.:thumbsup:

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Next comes some hoses and fittings and I should have this turkey running. A test-drive could happen very soon!:cool:
 
Keep us posted.

Jim
 
Thanks, Francis. The tube frame was a fun and interesting challenge. If you're interested, there is a very detailed build thread on another site. The link is in one of my posts above.:D
 

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