Ron, Thanks! I'll keep posting as I get more pictures.
Ok, so some story time....
The story starts in the 60's with my father building a bucket T. He did a lot of car work/selling/trading/etc. and one day he got a fiberglass T body in trade. He built the frame on his garage floor and started putting it all together. It had a SBC with a 471 blower and a 4 speed trans with a solid rear end (not sure what). He worked part time at a chrome shop, so he got a lot of chrome work done at cost. I've seen a few small (old) pictures of it (he still has one in his wallet:lol
, but nothing more.
I've heard a number of stories though. I guess one day the engine backfired and there went the rotors in the blower. He stripped out the insides, but he left it on with the belt still spinning as a sort of "tunnel ram" just for looks. Another story was about him racing some girls in a pink mustang converible. I guess he was right beside them and lost some traction in gravel and slid into the side of them. He said there was a black streek all along the side of the car!
Well the day came that he decided to buy a house and all his toys had to go, (well all but one, he's still got a 68 vette in the garage). The last he heard, the bucket was in Washington state (we're in central kansas BTW).
So as you can tell growing up I heard a number of stories about this car, and he always enjoys seeing them at car shows. My older brother and I decided it would be a fun car to build, so we started to look for parts.
So the project started with partially finished body in the local craigslist. It was painted and had a floor, windshield and a few other parts. Some things were done pretty good, but other things were hacked up! Although it may have been better to start with a bare shell then this, we decided we just needed to get the ball rolling, so we bought it.
Well it sat for a while. My brother was working on redoing his Harley,
Right
and I'm just trying to finish college, but I get to visit home every once and a while. However we were always on the lookout for parts. We've got a number of SBC parts, and he managed to find a 700r4. I found a 1974 Jag to donate its rearend, and our father bought a dropped spindle I-beam at a local swapmeet. And I bought a Vega steering box at another swapmeet.
Another funny story....we went to an auction and bought a 1924 Model T engine block and then went to another swap meet and bought a 1924 licence tag. We then took our Bill of Sale and information and we now have a title and vintage tag for our 1924 Model T fiberglass body
:lol:.
My brother started putting together an order for some metal for the frame, and the after all the right pieces showed up he started building it. We'd decided on a brass radiator, so we decided to order that, but it had a 6-8 week lead time, so he just used the measurement of it to decide how wide to build the frame. Next he ordered a spring and some clevises so he could start work on the front end. First he made a spring pirch and then started making the "batwings" for the front axle. Next came the radius rods.
He then dug up some old wire wheels and mounted some spare motorcycle tires on them and mounted everything up. The front end was now a roller. Next came the the engine and trans mounts. He used to poly bushings to give a little cushion. After the angle of the trans was determined, the Jaguar rear was next. We liked the look of the radius rods in front so he made some brackets so similiar ones could be used in back. He took the tires off his prostreet 55 and put them on the rear to get an overall idea about how it would look.
Next up was the steering. He first called me up and said he thought the vega box wouldn't work, but then after some careful placement, it looked like it would. The steering is a little different then most as it runs through the left radius rod. He made all of the steering parts and added some "speed holes" to complete the look. It should be all done now, but I havn't been back home to get pictures of it.
We stole a steering column from one of my IH scout 800's (I have many scouts
) and he just told me today it looks like it will be a perfect fit. He's going to redo the bottom end so a different joint can be used, but it should be a nice tiny column with factory turn signials.
I havn't seen it yet, but I guess he just finished mounting an aluminum vette master cylinder and made a pedal from some Model A parts.
So thats where it is today. We've just ordered some spindle mount disk brake Dayton's for the front, they should be in next week I think. I think he's gonna wait to order the rear wheels/tires, but the overall size should be about the same. He just ordered a 6-71 BDS blower today, so that will help finalize placement of the radiator so he'll start making the mounts for it next. Also he ordered an old style 3 fin Enderle bugcatcher that he'll modify so it will fit on top of the carbs as an airfilter. At a later date we hope to convert to EFI, so it will then become the throttle body.
Other then that, we're thinking about aftermarket drilled rotors for the Jag rear and aftermarket calipers on the back side of the rearend . I found a few kits online, but I think he'll just make the parts. A finned aluminum cover will also find its way on there shortly.
Well thats it for now. I should have another update in a month or so. (I'm the only one in the family with a digital camera:lol
Thanks for the interest guys!
