Speedster Question: Has anyone ever heard of a turtledeck on a speedster?

Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration
Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Speedster Question: Has anyone ever heard of a turtledeck on a speedster?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, December 10, 2012 - 08:20 pm:

Hey guys,

Some time ago I posted that since I cannot currently afford to do the wood work for my touring pick up, I'm making it a speedster for now. It's a parts car, so no worries about killing an original here, and there is NO way I am going to cut or chop anything.

Has anyone ever heard of a speedster that utilizes a roadster or coupe trunk/turtle deck? I would love to find a roadster body some day but no go for now :-(
If anyone has ever heard of such a speedster, probably a home made job, can they tell me about it? Better yet, pictures would be great.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Walt Berdan, Bellevue, WA on Monday, December 10, 2012 - 08:40 pm:

Matthew,

Consider that there were proper speedster bodies and complete cars with aftermarket speedster bodies in the era. Some of these are very nice and deserve proper restoration. Most speedsters in the era though were home built specials - some from plans, some simply from the mind of the builder. Some of these home built cars were also quite nice but many were very primitive and/or crudely done. Body work ran the gamut from metal to fabric to nothing. Drive train options ranged from dead stock to dual overhead cam full race motors.

Speedsters open the doors for personal choices today just as they did back in the day. If you plan to participate in events sponsored by speedster clubs, you should check with those clubs for any restrictions they may have. Some are rather liberal in what you can do, others strictly limit some types of modifications. If you are just building a fun speedster as an interim while the full stock body can come along, then it's all open for you.

Most speedsters do without any of the original main body parts. That said, some folks like fenders, splash aprons and running boards which are all generally considered OK. Some folks will start the body with a stock firewall and possibly part of the cowl and windshield but most don't use much stock sheet metal beyond that. Again, it's really up to you for what looks good to your eye and feels right.

Take a look at http://www.nwvs.org/CarPhotos/CarPhotos.shtml for various styles. NWVS is one of the more liberal clubs, and '34 or older 4 cylinder base is OK and some modern drive train options are acceptable as long as the original 4 cylinder block is retained.

Whatever you choose to do, have fun and stay safe.

Walt


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Wolf on Monday, December 10, 2012 - 08:43 pm:

There is a guy locally that is building Speedster bodies. Seen him at a swap meet a week ago. Never asked the price.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Monday, December 10, 2012 - 09:59 pm:

Here's a home built speedster body using a 1923-25 runabout turtle deck:
turtle
Problem is it was built by a short guy, current owner is too tall to drive it :-(
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/323087.html?1353374293


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By kep NZ on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 01:59 am:

So there used to be a regular poster who had a speedster with a roadster body. Maybe you will find a fibregass body cheap.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Treace, North FL on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 11:21 am:

Runabout bodied speedster


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 12:58 pm:

Thanks for the responses guys. Kep, not a bad idea, but I just will NEVER use repros if I can avoid it. Though it's only a put together car, it is currently all original unmodified T parts. Only repro thing I have is the muffler and gas tank. I know there's bodies out there somewhere, rusting away. I'm sure if I look hard enough i'll find one some day. I actually have the front two body panels for a touring: but the cost of a wood kit is too much for me right now, and I don't have the plans for the wood dimensions. Otherwise i'd make a nice touring pick up. If anybody has complete wood plans for a touring, that "wood" be great (isn't that punny? :-)
Dan, I like that Runabout body speedster! I think I don't want to lower the frame on mine though. I don't know what it is, but I have always liked the high profile of the T.

I get back from college in a few days. I have to send the 4 dip pan of my engine out to we welded and straightened. Then maybe I can get the engine back together before I go back to school in January.


very excited to hear that engine pop into existence,
Matthew


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathan Bright on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 12:59 pm:

this guy likely has the best known speedster on this site and also uses a turtle deck http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/306760.html?1348596947


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 03:45 pm:

Back in the day, that's a new catch phrase, anyway, Back in the day they were called "Soup Jobs" if they had Ford Bodies. Speedsters have no Ford Sheet metal but the radiator shell is O.K while you are looking for or building a good one.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 08:06 pm:

Frank - Is that the same as "Gow Job"?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By kep NZ on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 11:00 pm:

If it inspires you to use a wood saw at all i made my own wood based on however the body pieces fitted best. No plans.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred McDonald on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 11:48 pm:

Here is my attempt at building a Speedster that would have been a dirt track car from the 30's. 1921 Model T Speedster


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 01:28 am:

One of the sad facts in the history of speedsters, whether they were home-badly-built or a nice after-market-bodied car. What didn't end up in the scrap metal drives of WWII, was probably parted out to help restore a "real" antique car. Not all, but most of the hobby in those days did not consider something to be a "real" car unless it resembled what it looked like when it left the factory. There are many bits and pieces of original speedsters rusting away behind someone's garage. Parts are still crawling out of the proverbial woodwork. A great piece of one for my next race car is something I found at a swap meet just a couple years ago.
I am currently working on my speedster number six. Most of them I started with a few pieces of some unknown original speedster. I find enough pieces to fit it all together, and make a few things it needs. Most of the body for my current boat-tail got hauled out of a junk yard outside Marysville Califunny about six years ago. The stuff is still around and some of it is still restorable! As I said in another thread about a week ago, most of my cars, I prefer the word "resurrected".

My usual first advice to someone getting into speedsters, is to figure out what you want. Speedsters are a lot of fun. But they can be restored (?) to something mostly era correct, or something only loosely based on cars built years ago. Model T speedsters have been built in every calender year since 1908 making them pretty much the longest running auto hobby since the automobile. Speedsters today mostly fall into two categories. Those that try to represent the cars built many decades ago. And those that continue the line that started over a hundred years ago of doing "your own thing" with a T.
Unfortunately, some are considered "less acceptable" in some circles. Maybe that matters to you, maybe it doesn't. I think there is room in this hobby for both schools of thought. As for me? I like my cars to look like they were taken out of a vintage photograph. I try to use appropriate materials and methods (often even tools) for the period the car is to represent. I also try to use as many original speedster pieces as I can get. You might be surprised what you can find amongst the rustiest junk at swap meets.
An incomplete or damaged frame is a good place to start. One that you could assemble into a nice speedster without making any changes to the pickup (touring? Either would be good) project you got from I think it was your grandfather(?). I wish I was closer to you. I recently acquired a couple extra frames. One of them used to be a speedster.
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays! W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 02:26 am:

I plan on making the design of the car era/[eriod correct. I want it to look like a blast from the 20's :-) I would love to base it off of old photographs and old bodies. If I could find a speedster body that would be great. That being said, if I could find a roadster body or get wood plans for a touring would also be great. Either way, I want my T to be period correct.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - 07:17 pm:

Matthew,
Two of the best speedster books are the "Fast Ford Handbook" (sometimes titled as "Speed Secrets") and "the Model T Ford in Speed and Sport". Both available from most of the T parts suppliers. "Speed Secrets" is also the name of a series of club magazines for one of the T speedster clubs. They show up on eBad occasionally, but tend to be a bit pricey.
Another great resource for copies of original vintage photos of speedsters was provided to us by forum poster Jay of Northern California. Thank you very much, Jay! He went through a few years of forum postings and copied most of the old photos onto Photobucket accounts. Many of the photos are duplicated because they were posted multiple times, and they are in no particular order because that would be a HUGE project and everyone would have a different idea how it should have been done (been there). The Photobucket accounts are open to the public (Jay's choice) and I highly recommend anyone that enjoys old photos of model Ts spend about ten hours going through them. I have spent at least that much time and enjoyed every minute of it. Again, thank you, Jay.
Something else I did, is copy any photos that were of particular interest to me. I am still sorting them into categories that work for me. With my particular interest in speedsters, I have more than one category for speedsters. I also have categories for '17/'21 runabouts and 1915/'16 because I am beginning to work on a 1915 runabout. There are also categories for camping, earlier Ts, pre Ts, and miscellaneous.
These are on a different Photbucket account, also open to the public. So, if you would like to wander through a couple hundred different photos of speedsters, try this

http://s1073.beta.photobucket.com/user/Tspeedsters/library/

If you would like to spend many more hours looking at great old photos, try the following links through T forum posts;

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/290633.html?1337732603

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/321209.html?1352595554

It's a start.
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays! W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 04:16 am:

Thanks for your work with sorting the photos, Wayne :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathan Bright on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 08:50 am:

This speedster is high off the ground. I always thought id make a replica some day. Huge historical importance. http://www.rmauctions.com/featurecars.cfm?SaleCode=AW07&CarID=r107&fc=0


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 05:04 pm:

Roger,
I guess that means the link worked? It was my pleasure, believe me.
Drive carefully,and enjoy the holidays! W2


Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.
Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration