tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
Well, my plans for a Speedster have been shelved. At least for a while. Seems the little lady wants something a little more street friendly. As in doors and not feeling like she'll fall out. So, I have got an idea in my head and through a little bit of luck, the wheels are in motion for my next project.
A few days ago, Shawn posted a link that had some pics of one of the coolest roadster pickups I had ever seen. Here is a few shots of it.
My girl saw the pic of the interior and said if mine was like that she'd love it. Well, heck! I'd love it too! I know I could never duplicate this car, but it got me thinking that a version of it (a cheap version) could be done using a T Bucket body. I remembered that Mikey (an NTBA member) had a stretched body that was made by the same manufacturer of mine. I had thought mine was a CCR body, but it is actually a K&S body. It seems they basicaly build the same body, but thicken it. Well, Mikey had sold the body he had, but said he might have other stuff I would need. One of those items turned out to be a Dago axle. It seems the Dago axle has a history going back to the early days of hot rodding. In short, at one time there were no dropped axles that you could just buy, they had to be made. What some did was take a '40 Ford axle, heat the ends and with a hammer, they would bend it to get the drop they wanted. It seems there was a fellow in San Diego who was good at this and the name of the axles he bent got the name Dago after San Diego. Now, this may be one of those urban legend things, but it's what I found when I Goggled it.
So, Mikey not only had a '40 axle, but has the templates to which the bends are formed. Knowing how cool that front axle would look, I told him to consider it sold. He's going to also drill the holes in it. Here is a pic of what one kinda looks like. This pic is of a "Mor drop" (which also has a history around the same time) and is very similar to a Dago axle. Note the bends and hammer marks on the end of the axle to get the drop.
Having got the axle, I set my thoughts on the frame. Once again, Mikey had one. Seems he had made one to fit a stretched K&S body and had extended it to accomidate a pickup bed for a customer who went back on the deal. Yea, kinda weird, but I'm rolling with it. So, it seems I have the frame and axle working and will get pics when I can.
For the front end, I'm going with a disc brake set up from Speedway that should fit the '40 axle. Here's a pic of the kit.
Now, I know if I scrounged around, I could save some good coin on getting all this together. Like I did with Miss behavin', I'll be going a piece at a time and doing reasearch all the while. Now, if some of you guys run accross something that you think I could use, LET ME KNOW! I'm all about saving money and not affraid to clean something up or do a little repair to make something work.
So, the wheels are in motion on my next build. Basicly, it's a 23 T roadster pickup. I plan on a 36" stake bed behind the stretched body. For the interior, I'm going to use bomber seats and do the interior in a light brown. Color plan for the exterior is black. Everything is going to be black. Body and frame. Plans for the engine, as of now, are a straight 4 or six. Tranny, rearend and wheels/tires, to be determined. I'm open to suggestions.
I have the good fortune of being on a great forum site, with really good people. If ANY of you guys have thoughts, advice and opinions on what I'm doing or plan to do, PLEASE chime in! I value your opinions.
Her name is Miss Fortune. I hope she doesn't live up to it.
A few days ago, Shawn posted a link that had some pics of one of the coolest roadster pickups I had ever seen. Here is a few shots of it.
My girl saw the pic of the interior and said if mine was like that she'd love it. Well, heck! I'd love it too! I know I could never duplicate this car, but it got me thinking that a version of it (a cheap version) could be done using a T Bucket body. I remembered that Mikey (an NTBA member) had a stretched body that was made by the same manufacturer of mine. I had thought mine was a CCR body, but it is actually a K&S body. It seems they basicaly build the same body, but thicken it. Well, Mikey had sold the body he had, but said he might have other stuff I would need. One of those items turned out to be a Dago axle. It seems the Dago axle has a history going back to the early days of hot rodding. In short, at one time there were no dropped axles that you could just buy, they had to be made. What some did was take a '40 Ford axle, heat the ends and with a hammer, they would bend it to get the drop they wanted. It seems there was a fellow in San Diego who was good at this and the name of the axles he bent got the name Dago after San Diego. Now, this may be one of those urban legend things, but it's what I found when I Goggled it.
So, Mikey not only had a '40 axle, but has the templates to which the bends are formed. Knowing how cool that front axle would look, I told him to consider it sold. He's going to also drill the holes in it. Here is a pic of what one kinda looks like. This pic is of a "Mor drop" (which also has a history around the same time) and is very similar to a Dago axle. Note the bends and hammer marks on the end of the axle to get the drop.
Having got the axle, I set my thoughts on the frame. Once again, Mikey had one. Seems he had made one to fit a stretched K&S body and had extended it to accomidate a pickup bed for a customer who went back on the deal. Yea, kinda weird, but I'm rolling with it. So, it seems I have the frame and axle working and will get pics when I can.
For the front end, I'm going with a disc brake set up from Speedway that should fit the '40 axle. Here's a pic of the kit.
Now, I know if I scrounged around, I could save some good coin on getting all this together. Like I did with Miss behavin', I'll be going a piece at a time and doing reasearch all the while. Now, if some of you guys run accross something that you think I could use, LET ME KNOW! I'm all about saving money and not affraid to clean something up or do a little repair to make something work.
So, the wheels are in motion on my next build. Basicly, it's a 23 T roadster pickup. I plan on a 36" stake bed behind the stretched body. For the interior, I'm going to use bomber seats and do the interior in a light brown. Color plan for the exterior is black. Everything is going to be black. Body and frame. Plans for the engine, as of now, are a straight 4 or six. Tranny, rearend and wheels/tires, to be determined. I'm open to suggestions.
I have the good fortune of being on a great forum site, with really good people. If ANY of you guys have thoughts, advice and opinions on what I'm doing or plan to do, PLEASE chime in! I value your opinions.
Her name is Miss Fortune. I hope she doesn't live up to it.
