My ProjecTee

[DonnyRay]

More progress photos: Snake's head evolving into a Dragon's head (or Aliens head). Large teeth (or claws) on the cowl.

 

[CheapT]

I know a young man ( he's in his 40's) who drove around in a Volkswagen bug which he referred to as his , " HOOPTIE ". Hooptie may be the equivalent of , "JALOPY".

That's what my son calls his old buick. The hooptie. Not bad though, regal gs w/ supercharger. Runs like a top, looks like heck! Now it's the winter beater hooptie!!

 

[DonnyRay]

I've owned 2 Buicks in the past. A 1938 business coupe & a 1948 roadmaster convertible. The 48 roadmaster was my very first car. I paid $25.00 for it.

 

[Spanky]

The 48 roadmaster was my very first car. I paid $25.00 for it.

Kinda like this?

 

[DonnyRay]

Mine was maroon (bergundy). The interior was loaded with chrome. This is what my 38 Buick looked like (same color).

 

[DonnyRay]

Here you go Spanky:

 

[DonnyRay]

Here's some progress photos of the body insert with the seat insert:

 

[Neshkoro]

Looks good. Is that for a wide body? It looks quite wide.

 

[DonnyRay]

It's a spirit cars body insert & seat insert made for a narrower body. I widened the body along it's outer edges. My "big boy" body is 6 inches wider than the normal sized body. I widened the hardtop about 7 3/4 inches & the doors about 4"s. I chopped the windshield & the hardtop 16"s. I've been a very busy little bee. The area for the seat insert was NOT altered. I love this seat , so , i am going to make it work.

 

[CheapT]

It's a spirit cars body insert & seat insert made for a narrower body. I widened the body along it's outer edges. My "big boy" body is 6 inches wider than the normal sized body. I widened the hardtop about 7 3/4 inches & the doors about 4"s. I chopped the windshield & the hardtop 16"s. I've been a very busy little bee. The area for the seat insert was NOT altered. I love this seat , so , i am going to make it work.

Donny, You split the body and widened it 6" and lengthened it 4"? Sounds almost like what I did. Widened 3" ( because I did the frame before getting the body) and lengthened it 5" because I'm tall. Also lengthened the frame to a 108" wheelbase. Your build is amazing! I love the designs you've incorporated into the glass work. They're a work of art!

 

[DonnyRay]

Hi CheapT ; The body was made that way from Ron Pope Motorsports (in Tennessee). He calls it the " BIG BOY". The hardtop was made by Spirit Cars (in Arkansas) for a narrower T body. So, I had to widen the hardtop 7 3/4"s. I widened the doors because they were too damned narrow. The original windshield was chopped 16"s, So the hardtop was also chopped 16"s. I also shortened the pickup bed 3"s
(20" to a 17" lid & bed). I purchased a 1932 fiberglass hood from Speedway Motors. I lengthened the hood by 6"s. I've been a very busy little BEE. Oh ; I almost forgot , I made my own dashboard too. Thanks for your compliments , i also like what YOU are doing.

 

[DonnyRay]

Photo update : The body insert was purchased from Spirit Cars (made for a narrower t bucket) & a channeled body. I didn't channel my " BIG BOY" body. So , the body insert has about 4 1/2"s also added to it's height .

 

[TheYeti]

DonnyRay,

Was it you that mentioned using a Chevy Cobalt steering rack? If so, can you provide me some dimensions of it please?

Things like: overall width (tie rod to tie rod), mounting hole location and spacing.

Im really considering a rack and pinion cause this mustang box ive got just isnt sitting well with me

 

[DonnyRay]

The cobalt rack has to be shortened. If you have a lathe & a tap & die set , you're in business. Otherwise , you'll need the services of a machine shop.

 

[DonnyRay]

I'm currently repairing a left rear fender of a Dodge ram pickup. It's made of a light yellow colored plastic. I'm using sem plastic adhesion promoter ( 14.8 oz rattle can ). This stuff works on difficult plastics like polypropylene. I've used this stuff in the past on a Honda Acura front bumper cover. That was about 5 years ago. That bumper cover is still together.

 

[DonnyRay]

You clean the area to be repaired , sand the area , spray on the adhesion promoter (wait ten minutes) then patch the area with fiberglass mat & polyester resin. VOILA !!!

 

[fluidfloyd]

The cobalt rack has to be shortened. If you have a lathe & a tap & die set , you're in business. Otherwise , you'll need the services of a machine shop.

Is that rack a front or rear steer? Also curious as to will you mount it directly on the axle. I have been thinking about that if I have steering shaft clearance and can get it to swing up and down as the axle travels with no bump steer. If I don't see a clear path I will look at the Unisteer cross steer unit that pushes the right steering arm. Last option might be a rope and pulley arraignment. I'm sure the state police would like that
Thanks!
George

 

[DonnyRay]

It's a REAR steer set up. It will be mounted to the front cross bar (behind the front cross bar). I've replaced the Cobalt steering rack with a Honda Del Sol rack. The Honda Del Sol rack is shorter than the Cobalt's rack.

 

[DonnyRay]

Both racks are METRIC. I didn't like the Honda's tie rod ends . So , i attached the Cobalt's tie rod ends to the Honda's rack. The Cobalt's mid steering shaft also fit the Honda rack's splined shaft. The Cobalt & Honda steering parts all interchanged.

 

[fluidfloyd]

It's a REAR steer set up. It will be mounted to the front cross bar (behind the front cross bar). I've replaced the Cobalt steering rack with a Honda Del Sol rack. The Honda Del Sol rack is shorter than the Cobalt's rack.

You mentioned when shortening it was just a lathe and tap operation. Are you narrowing the housing mounting widths? Reason I ask is I have a project car I am repairing after a front end crash. Some external threading and my lath isn't capable of doing that. I can get it done several places but I might end up replicating this car several times as it is a road racing machine. One other question. If I understand you correctly, you will be mounting the rack to the front frame cross member. What if any bump steer do you see in your design? Living here in the mountains I really want this to be a very good handling car. Any insight will be appreciated.
Good Luck with your project

George