Tube Frame Track T

[meangreen]

Wow, Tea Boy, your T went through quite a transformation. Frankly, I like it a lot better now, but I'm partial to Track-Ts.

I would love to have one of those Daimler V-8s, but they are scarce as hen's teeth on this side of the pond. They look like a miniature Chrysler Hemi and sound like a small-block Chevy. There used to be one that ran in a midget race car here back in the early '80s. When it was wound up you could hear it above all the other 4-cylinder cars. Even if I could find one of those I couldn't afford the parts - scarce and big $$$.

 

[BRUCE DYDA]

Thats the clone I built for Ivo, and I did have the original there to copy dimentions off of.
If you are happy with the design and engineering of the hairpins, thats fine but I would pefer the upper bar straight. My concerns are for the novice readers who see somthing and duplicate by pictures without understanding engineering concepts. You gave strenth by adding mass by going to thicker wall tubing, but explain the reasoning of putting a bend in the upper rod?

 

[meangreen]

I would have loved to see that 4-engine monster run back when it was new (1965?). I was hoping Ivo would bring it to Indianapolis (where I lived then), but NHRA banned 4-wheel drive cars before I got a chance to see it.

The bend in the upper tube of my rear hairpins is there for body clearance. Without that slight bend, the upper bars would be banging against the body on every bump bigger than a marble. The Dave Koorey body came with a channel molded into the bottom (floor) of the body to accommodate the frame and rear radius rods. In order to fit everything without butchering the body and still have acceptable suspension travel I had two choices - (1) raise the rear of the car or (2) make the radius rods fit the application. Raising the car, in my opinion, would upset its overall proportions and attitude and, since I fabricate all my own chassis components anyway, I made the radius rods fit the application.

 

[tea boy]

There is a guy over here who almost got a 7 at the drags before he stopped racing . Put this into youtube ( Russ Carpenter Dragster Fire Up - Wheels Day 2011) . If you look to the right of the dragster you will see the people who suddenly fined out that thay are to close. Russ is the guy with the hat on and Russ is the guy who nose about Daimler v8s . He had a T fore a wile with a Daimler in it

 

[jmr122848]

Bruce, your reputation preceeds you. Wellcome!

 

[BRUCE DYDA]

We all find the need to compensate at one time or another, its just I would have liked to have seen an uprite underneath to help support the bend. I have a serious mental problem an I just dont look at peoples projects looking for faults. My eye scans the object for flow and contenuity, and when the mental picture is smooth and flowing everthing is fine , but when there is an interuption in the flow my eye stops and trys to figure out if there is a reason for it which you have explained.

 

[meangreen]

Well, it's licensed, insured, and on the road. I'm having a little trouble downloading pictures from my camera at the moment, so I'll have to post them later. Driving a fresh build always reveals the "bugs" and I've found a few. First, and this is simple, it drags on every speed bump in town so I need to raise it up about an inch. Second, the rear gear (2.79) is ridiculously high for the 4-banger with 5-speed. I'll be changing that to a 3.55 or 3.80 soon. Third, and this is the biggie, the pedals are too close together. It's drivable, but I don't like it and the fix is going to require major surgery on the floor and tunnel. I'll keep you all posted,.. hopefully with pictures!

 

[EX JUNK]

Glad to see that you have got it on the road. Hopefully I'll get over your way and see it in person.

Jim

 

[meangreen]

None of the local auto parts places carry exhaust tubing in anything longer than 24 inches and nobody had any bends. I could order them and wait a few days, but I'm not a particularly patient person, so I fabricated an exhaust system out of a chain-link fence post and two 2" conduit elbows I found at Lowe's! The fence corner post is 2 3/8 inch inside diameter and the 2" conduit bends are actually about 2 1/4 inch outside diameter, so they fit together easily. I simply cut and welded the bends together (with the short piece of original S-10 pipe left on the engine) so that the pipe comes out under the frame between the front and rear radius rod brackets. Then I welded on the fence post to run out the back under the rear axle. I used a fence post clamp, a conduit clamp, and a bolt to make a Hanger that attaces to the side nerf bar next to the frame. I sprayed the whole assembly with some Krylon heat-proof silver. Here's a pic of the finished pipe. I may angle-cut the end just behind the rear axle, but haven't decided yet, so right now it's full length.

 

[meangreen]

Well, people say to "expect the unexpected"; while driving the roadster one day last week, a crack suddenly appeared in the top left corner of the windshield! I took it off Thursday and took it back to the glass shop for replacement. While the windshield is off, I decided to tackle the floor tunnel/pedal placement problem. First, I removed the shifter boot and lever, the gas pedal assembly, and the battery. I used a combination of a cut-off saw and an air hacksaw to cut the left side of the tunnel down the center, across the top/side and along the floor. I left just a small piece holding at the bottom left corner to help with alignment. After removing a "pie slice" from the top and another from the rear edge, I pushed the front side over about 1 1/2 inches and reattached the cut section with two small pieces of aluminum and pop-rivets. I ground the surfaces to clean and rough them up, backed the gaps underneath with masking tape, and applied 3 layers of glass mat and resin. I let the fiberglass cure overnight and then it was a simple matter of heating and bending the brake pedal over to the rights slightly and reassembling everything. Now the car is much easier to drive.

 

[meangreen]

One other thing I have done recently is finish the air filter opening in the hood. I could have just left an open hole with the chrome air cleaner and half the carburetor sticking out, but I didn't like the unfinished appearance. Also, if this was a real race car from the '40s-'50s, some kind of shield or scoop would have been added to protect the carb from flying dirt clods and/or tire residue. I began by making a cardboard pattern. After duplicating the cardboard pattern in steel (a piece of an old door skin off a wreck), I shaped/rolled it around a piece of pipe, trimmed itfor final fit and welded it in place. After a little molding over the welds with body filler and some sanding, a coat of primer makes it look like it's always been there.

 

[EX JUNK]

None of the local auto parts places carry exhaust tubing in anything longer than 24 inches and nobody had any bends. I could order them and wait a few days, but I'm not a particularly patient person, so I fabricated an exhaust system out of a chain-link fence post and two 2" conduit elbows I found at Lowe's! The fence corner post is 2 3/8 inch inside diameter and the 2" conduit bends are actually about 2 1/4 inch outside diameter, so they fit together easily. I simply cut and welded the bends together (with the short piece of original S-10 pipe left on the engine) so that the pipe comes out under the frame between the front and rear radius rod brackets. Then I welded on the fence post to run out the back under the rear axle. I used a fence post clamp, a conduit clamp, and a bolt to make a Hanger that attaces to the side nerf bar next to the frame. I sprayed the whole assembly with some Krylon heat-proof silver. Here's a pic of the finished pipe. I may angle-cut the end just behind the rear axle, but haven't decided yet, so right now it's full length.

View attachment 8380

Great thinking outside the box and great workmanship. My hat's off to you!

Jim

 

[EX JUNK]

Well, people say to "expect the unexpected"; while driving the roadster one day last week, a crack suddenly appeared in the top left corner of the windshield! I took it off Thursday and took it back to the glass shop for replacement. While the windshield is off, I decided to tackle the floor tunnel/pedal placement problem. First, I removed the shifter boot and lever, the gas pedal assembly, and the battery. I used a combination of a cut-off saw and an air hacksaw to cut the left side of the tunnel down the center, across the top/side and along the floor. I left just a small piece holding at the bottom left corner to help with alignment. After removing a "pie slice" from the top and another from the rear edge, I pushed the front side over about 1 1/2 inches and reattached the cut section with two small pieces of aluminum and pop-rivets. I ground the surfaces to clean and rough them up, backed the gaps underneath with masking tape, and applied 3 layers of glass mat and resin. I let the fiberglass cure overnight and then it was a simple matter of heating and bending the brake pedal over to the rights slightly and reassembling everything. Now the car is much easier to drive.
View attachment 8381 View attachment 8382

These are the things that you find need "tweeking" after the shake down runs. You did a very nice, clean fix.

Jim

 

[EX JUNK]

One other thing I have done recently is finish the air filter opening in the hood. I could have just left an open hole with the chrome air cleaner and half the carburetor sticking out, but I didn't like the unfinished appearance. Also, if this was a real race car from the '40s-'50s, some kind of shield or scoop would have been added to protect the carb from flying dirt clods and/or tire residue. I began by making a cardboard pattern. After duplicating the cardboard pattern in steel (a piece of an old door skin off a wreck), I shaped/rolled it around a piece of pipe, trimmed itfor final fit and welded it in place. After a little molding over the welds with body filler and some sanding, a coat of primer makes it look like it's always been there.

View attachment 8383 View attachment 8384 View attachment 8385

Another great piece of work and your reasoning behind doing it was very sound. Us old guys can remember those old dirt cars.

Jim

 

[meangreen]

Thanks, Jim. Being an old school hot rodder, I subscribe to the principle of "take what you have and make it into what you need", hence the conduit/fence post exhaust. The hood modification is something I had been considering for some time. I just didn't like the way the whole side of the carburetor was exposed. I looked in my Roaring Roadsters books and saw a lot of different configurations. Some of those old cars were pretty crude by today's standards, but innovative for their day; some had shields around the carbs ands some didn't. What I ended up with is kind of a hybrid cross-breed of a simple shield and the reverse scoop of a later era.

 

[EX JUNK]

Thanks, Jim. Being an old school hot rodder, I subscribe to the principle of "take what you have and make it into what you need", hence the conduit/fence post exhaust. The hood modification is something I had been considering for some time. I just didn't like the way the whole side of the carburetor was exposed. I looked in my Roaring Roadsters books and saw a lot of different configurations. Some of those old cars were pretty crude by today's standards, but innovative for their day; some had shields around the carbs ands some didn't. What I ended up with is kind of a hybrid cross-breed of a simple shield and the reverse scoop of a later era.

You did good my friend!

Jim

 

[Bennett]

One other thing I have done recently is finish the air filter opening in the hood. I could have just left an open hole with the chrome air cleaner and half the carburetor sticking out, but I didn't like the unfinished appearance. Also, if this was a real race car from the '40s-'50s, some kind of shield or scoop would have been added to protect the carb from flying dirt clods and/or tire residue. I began by making a cardboard pattern. After duplicating the cardboard pattern in steel (a piece of an old door skin off a wreck), I shaped/rolled it around a piece of pipe, trimmed itfor final fit and welded it in place. After a little molding over the welds with body filler and some sanding, a coat of primer makes it look like it's always been there.

View attachment 8383 View attachment 8384 View attachment 8385

meangreen, I love the look of this deflector in the hood. Fantastic craftsmanship! Shows your abilities.

 

[meangreen]

Thanks, Bennett. It's only my opinion, but I think it looks even better in person! Of course my opinion is completely unbiased... Here's a different view:

 

[meangreen]

I fabricated an insert for the turtle deck to make it a usable trunk. It's not huge, but there's enough room in there for a small tool bag, a tire plug kit and pump, and maybe a couple of jackets or rain coats.

 

[guilld]

Carry two roll up tool bags in the 32. It is amazing how many tools you can get in there when you eliminate the air.