fletchersons T project

[choppinczech]

I soooooo wish I could afford one of those!

I know, they're crazy expensive.

I still have some of the stuff I was gathering to make my own. Like this, but all on the inside.

 

[fletcherson]

I think I would bulge it only around the speaker. And put them in the lower front corners.

View attachment 12009

Do you think that three layers of chopped mat

Yup, I'm seriously looking at a Steer Clear box to clear up my foot space.

View attachment 12010

I looked at them. Liked them. I think I could make something with stuff from the barn, lol. I hoard power transfer parts due to a lifetime of working on different machines. Really, it's a pretty simple thing. A pieces of plate, a couple quality bearing blocks, sprockets, chain, some keyed round stock and the universals is about what it would require. You could also play with steering ratios if so desired. There really wouldn't be the need to make it overly heavy on a light car, thin chain, #35 or so and that's likely overkill, but sprockets, etc are common in that size. The only real issue with my car other than wishing the cab was just larger, is the clutch pedal area. It's tight between the narrow part of the cowl and the column, just enough room for a boot, size 13W, lol...

 

[choppinczech]

I make these for different layups.

3 layers of 1.5 oz mat would end up around 1/8". 5 layers around 3/16".

 

[fletcherson]

I started t describe how I attached the dash and questioned the strength of what I used, three layers of chopped mat, staggered an inch, overlapped, to spread the added height. I also attached it to the bracing underneath with bondo, and plan on at least one layer (one application, likely two layers of mat) of chopped glass to the bottom. It feels rock solid. The new dash that I made is thicker than the original. I am learning, but glass is out of my normal wheelhouse, so to speak. I am beginning to enjoy making parts. I understand the addiction. It's clear that you have much more experience with it. Some things just take time and experience to learn and actually do well.

 

[fletcherson]

I know, they're crazy expensive.

I still have some of the stuff I was gathering to make my own. Like this, but all on the inside.

View attachment 12012

I would try to do it so it mounted inside as well. The picture is simpler than I envisioned. It looks like they welded posts to the plate and used bearing bored sprockets rather than my bearing block idea. Less space and cheaper! I used to build custom over sized go carts, and I made my own power transfer gizmo's from whatever I had access to, depending on what components we used for the cart. I liked using the heavy cast iron rear differentials with transmissions from older garden tractors. They were bad ass if you geered them right. Unstoppable! That steering transfer reminds me of many similar inventions. I found that tractor supply type stores and power transmission supply houses are gold mines for pieces and parts. But that was prior to the Internet revolution. You should be able to order just about everything you need on line.

 

[choppinczech]

Some things just take time and experience to learn and actually do well.

Absolutely. Just wait until I start doing my electrical. That's my plight. I'll have so many questions for this forum.

 

[Tjbucket]

I would consider placing it in the lower rear corner of the door panel. I am 5' 11" with a non-stretched body and the ride is not very comfortable.....albeit, very fun, just eating your knees makes for keeping rides short. The steering if placed right will not have much an effect on your comfort as much as pedal placement. My steering for example is right between my feet brake on one side gas on the other......so, steering does not really interfere or effect comfort as much as the pedal placement does. I would really look and perhaps mock up a seat height once upholstered to determine what actually interferes or not.

 

[kcline40]

fletcherson I think the rear of the door would be better to mount the speakers. If the speaker protrudes out from the door its going to eat up valuable space by your brake and gas pedals. No idea if your running a manual trans car, but I wouldn't want my ankles hitting the speaker all the time or be worried about covers for the speakers in the way. I'm assuming you are using a 5" circular speaker. Have you given thought to a different size speaker for the door with a smaller/different footprint. Like a 4X6 rectangular speaker. You could run 4 of those in various places and even run a 1' Tweeter on the dash that would bring the sound up closer to ear level. I would also check into speakers for boats then you don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain.

 

[fletcherson]

fletcherson I think the rear of the door would be better to mount the speakers. If the speaker protrudes out from the door its going to eat up valuable space by your brake and gas pedals. No idea if your running a manual trans car, but I wouldn't want my ankles hitting the speaker all the time or be worried about covers for the speakers in the way. I'm assuming you are using a 5" circular speaker. Have you given thought to a different size speaker for the door with a smaller/different footprint. Like a 4X6 rectangular speaker. You could run 4 of those in various places and even run a 1' Tweeter on the dash that would bring the sound up closer to ear level. I would also check into speakers for boats then you don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain.

You and I think alike. It is a manual shift, and clutch room is at a premium... It only has to bulge about an inch for the slim line speakers, but I think the lower left is the best spot, below the thigh, behind the calf... That's the widest part of the car in the door area also. I also thought of the weather proof speakers and the ones with separate tweeters. I need to go somewhere and see and hear them. Some things just aren't good to buy online, unless you know what they are. With all of the on line options, it's hard to find local actual retailers that stock much anymore.

 

[Tjbucket]

I personally would rather hear my pipes than music........and with the music from the pipes whatever is playing on then radio/CD probably would not be heard. I e;acted to go with no music system/ speakers in my ride but, rather the option of going bluetooth if I have the need.

 

[choppedtop]

I gotta have some tunes. After 3 or 4 hundred miles, the pipes get old. Around town they are fine.

 

[fletcherson]

I always have music playing in the shop, the truck, even in the ragtops or the bike, tractor, whatever, I have my iPod.... Kids... So I feel like it just wouldn't seem complete without tunes.

 

[RESINATOR]

Here's what we did for the speaker mount space, we have them in all three of our door types

 

[fletcherson]

It appears that your door is a bit wider (thicker) than I have room for, or at least thicker than what mine are. I presume you have a wider body than what I am working with, and I am putting doors on both sides. I purposely kept the door and jambs as thin as I felt comfortable with the material strength because I have fought space for the clutch pedal and shifter since the beginning. I wish that I could go with a stretched and wider body for comfort, but I would have to scrap most of what I have to make it work due to how my particular car was designed. Basically, everything is centered and literally attached to the cross member, which is forwards of the tail shaft parting line, and the lift bars pivot from it so it would mandate a total chassis and suspension redo. I tried to work a frame stretch into the mix, but it just wasn't feasible. If I started changing lift bar length, and suspension geometry, then I would change the rear suspension and springs. Of course, all of the front and rear suspension parts are chrome, so modifying isnt simple. I thought of simply moving the cross member and related components back and making a different trans mount setup or similar, but with the tapered frame, it complicated other things. There is a good lesson here for guys thinking about building or buying one, but for me it's the ole " hindsight is 20/20" adage... Oh well, it's a hobby, and this project has actually been good for me because it's forced me to get busy and use skills and tools that I havent used in a long time. If I was considering building a new bucket from scratch, I would be very interested in your product. You guys have obviously thought this through. I can tell because I am doing it the hard way and come to very similar "logical" decisions as far as placement of components and bracing, etc... Your pre engineered doors, etc, would make my life much easier.

 

[fletcherson]

Hmm, I thought I had updated this thread over the weekend, oh well. For a quick update, got the cell phone saver trays molded and installed to prevent stuff from slipping under the seat, got the speaker placement figured out, lower rear part of the soon to be doors is the only viable option to avoid competition with my leg. Spent several hours working on the sides of the tub where the door reveals used to be. Wow, it took quite a bit of work to straiten them out. If you are thinking about moving the doors or smoothing the body sides, be prepared to do some serious body file work. I was careful not to distort the tub when I installed the braces and wood for the doors, but there is still a fair amount of distortion. I suppose the curing process may have drawn it in??? Oh well, not too bad, but it is clear that the original mold wasn't true.... No clue who made it in the '70's... I also got the hinges made and intend to cut the doors soon. I will update some pics later.

 

[fletcherson]

I have a question for anyone who has cut doors. I plan on cutting both doors, the floor is very strong and very well bonded to the tub. I reinforced the cowl and the tub in front and rear of the door openings with steel that is bonded to the body and the floor, and bolts to the frame. My question is do you think that I will need to add any more support to the body like steel under the doors, under the floor, or close the rockers in to create channels for strength? I am at the point that it wouldn't be bad to do, but close to the point of no return...

 

[choppinczech]

I would close up the rockers. Not just for more strength, but to keep road grime from gathering in there.

I don't think you can over do reinforcement.

If I still had the opportunity, I'd even bond some steel inside my rockers. Like lengths of Super Strut.

The inside vertical edge of a channeled floor adds a lot of rigidity. Like an I-beam.

 

[fletcherson]

I appreciate your reply, I am leaning towards doing it. I am very particular about things like doors closing correctly, etc, after doing for a living for a while and having my work constantly scrutinized. I don't want to go through all of the work to have the doors rattle of sag, etc... And cutting both sides concerns me even though I made it pretty darned strong, if the frame flexes, the door opening will change. I plan on semi rigid mounting. I have six mounting points that are through steel reinforcements and the floor, but I planned on installing a rubber strip between the frame and floor to isolate vibration and noise, so even though it's only going to be1/4" or less, there is still room for flex, very little, but it doesn't take much to throw a jamb out of alignment. I have several things that mount to the outside of or through the frame, so there are bolt heads, etc. I was looking at it and if I allow about 3/4" on each side between the rocker boxes and the frame, it should be enough to clear. The issue is if I need to service any of it, the body will require lifting. The pic shows some lines where I was brainstorming. I would end up with about 2" x 3" rocker boxes, and if I incorporate some steel reinforcement, I don't know how much more I can do to strengthen it to allow for the doors to function and not overly weaken the body. Man, I wish that I would have looked at the body more closely before adding all of the reinforcement. The sides will require a lot to make them straight. Of course with the door reveals in place, there was no real way to tell, but I could have saved myself some serious work if I had noticed. I made the bracing to fit the tub and not distort, so it's permanent now. Body work time...

 

[2old2fast]

If you only leave 3/4 between frame & rocker box , that will be a bitch to clean ...
dave

 

[choppinczech]

Yea, after seeing your pic, I would definitely add to the sides. If you had no doors, it wouldn't be an issue. Closing it in and creating boxed rails will add a lot of strength.