Another hobby project for the winter just arrived. Needs attention all the way around. Will have some more fun with this cute Coupe.
Real nice. Can you shop for my next T?
Sure will Erich, but I might turn on ya....
That one looks like a winner. What a great project. Nice to start with one looking so good instead of just a rusty part pile.
Keep us posted of course.
This car has some top issues to resolve and a few dents here and there.
Looks like a cream puff from here.........
How many of us wish that was our garage? I do.....
In the tear down stage. The car was restored before obviously, the top wood had been a problem. The previous restorer did some patch work on the top wood but failed to provide any strength to it. The results are seen here, the top metal could not hold the body shape alone. The weight of the doors actually caused the entire top of the car to tilt backward. This also caused the top to leak and the original top wood to get wet and rot. Note the mix of newer replaced wood and the original black painted wood. Not a good idea to go through all that work and do a patch job.
What is wrong with this picture?
The radiator mount caps must have been a mystery to end up on the hood latches. This meant the radiator had no real attachment to the frame and the springs had no value at all. Interesting !
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There is nothing wrong with the picture. There is a bunch wrong with the way the hood, radiator, and wire loom are put together. This is a good example of how you cannot judge a car's condition only by a few photographs. Someone that would do that, you have to wonder what else is wrong?
Did I miss it? Is the sedan finished? I know you were close.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Hi Wayne, no you haven't missed anything. Ed's Fordor is waiting for the interior kit to be received and then I'll switch over to that car for a while. Ed's car is getting there and he is working on the engine/trans so it won't be much longer. I have to admit I enjoy seeing three t's under the same roof.
How does a car qualify to be a AACA prize winning car? Over the years I have seen many cars with a AACA badge but they appear to be incorrect or poor restorations. Clearly the coupe looked great once but certainly has its issues since restoration. don, you are the man for the repairs. Looks like you have it all under control.
Well thank you Warwick, I'm not to sure about that but I will try to live up to it. I have no clue if that plaque is genuine or not. I have a feeling the repairs to the roof were made in between 1974 and whenever. But, I do like the looks of it. I just got back from picking up some rough cut ash. I called around for a top wood kit and it seems a one or two month wait on it. I'll just make one for about a quarter of the cost. As long as I can find my glasses and can stick my tongue out to one side it should work out.
AACA judges on a 400 point system. Every car starts out at 400 points, then deductions are made for everything the judging team finds wrong. When they get through and tally up the points, if the score falls within 3 certain ranges, the car is eligible for one of three awards: 1st Junior, 2nd Junior, or 3rd Junior, 1st Junior being the highest. If it is the highest scoring car in the category, it gets the award. All other cars in the category within 10 points of the winning car, also get the award. Once you have won 1st Junior, you can try to win a Senior. The cut off score is a little higher than for 1st Junior. The car pictured above doesn't not have it's Senior, only a 1st Junior.
That's good information Hal, thank you. My Fordor was judged at the Old Car Festival but I received no information on the outcome. Do you know how one would find out the results of the judges?
I'm not familiar with the Old Car Festival. It is not an AACA event, is it? I have to admit, AACA is the only judging I have ever submitted a car to except for local shows. For participating in an AACA meet, you must be an AACA member, and preregister for the meet. Awards are given at a banquet later that evening. Of course, you can find out later, if you choose to skip the banquet. They will post it on their web site and print it in their magazine.
Thanks Hal, I'm not sure who does the judging at the OCF.
Here's my way of getting the body square again. This will hold it as I work on the top wood pieces. Then the idea is once the top wood is bolted in place it will hopefully hold its shape. But I'm prepared to do some body/frame shimming also...
Boy, you don't waste any time, this project is moving at warp speed!
Got the Top Wood roughed in and fitted. Now its time to clean it up a bit.
Little Green Coupe ain't green no more...
Dan, Nice work on the coupe. It appears you made your top wood from scratch? Could you please post or PM me with the following details:
How thick are the edge frames? Does the outside of the edge frame extend outside the body metal or is it flush on the inside of metal channel? How deep is the rabbit in the inside of the wood sill? What is the approximate cross-section of the bows? How much is the crown in the bow, how much rise at the center relative to the top of the wood sill?
Any information is appreciated, Sincerely, jb
Don was there any remains of the original paint? Was it always green? Looks nice.
It is hard to say for sure but while sanding the body I did find this.
It appears to be gunstock blue. This picture is in the sun so it appears brighter than it should.
Boy what a crap picture ! Sorry Mr Jelf~~
Does anyone know if the coupe had weather seals on the doors? These would be on the glass horizontal on the outside for rain..ex: fordor "F" channel.
Clean and lean............
Mmmmmm, later chassis, nailhead and big n littles on painted steelies.....Just kidding :-)
Really enjoy watching you enjoy your hobby. This and Ed's Fordor both.
Any body but me notice the right front spring perch is in backwards? I'd check,but would bet the axle is in backwards.
Do not think it is in backwards.
Purists....sheech!!!!
The body looks so solid, was there any metal repair required?
In those "Clean and Lean" photos all I can say is that your model t wheels are a lot smaller then mine! But I guess you have a lot more fender clearance then I do.
No wait maybe it is backwards.
Don,
When you get done ....
The bill goes to the other Jim ....
The T goes to me ....
He said that is o.k. with him .....
The Other Jim
I think Jack is correct, the right front spring perch is backwards. The boss should be toward the rear of the car.
That may have some effect on the camber and the camber will effect how the car tracks down the road. Just something to check.
Jim
Mark, the body is very solid with the exception of the left rear quarter. Some patches in the floor pans and some dents to hammer out.
The other Jim, until you start to settle up you ain't gonna get no stinkin car !!!
Camber schmamber....who needs camber?
If it steered correctly it wouldn't be a T ~~
Don,It makes them drive a lot Squirly,like going 25-30 in reverse.
Spanking the bottom...
Don, you started this thread saying the coupe was a winter project. Winter better hurry or you'll have your project done before it arrives! Nice work and a neat car...
Thank you Dana, but there is still plenty to do this deep freeze. Plus I still have the Fordor to finish, so I better get a move on~
Don, I know many Ts have behavior issues, but spanking?
Wow, must be windy there. Looks like that puppy blew right over.
Very nice to see all this work progress. Don, thank you very much for showing it all to us. If you were my neighbor, I would be darkening your doorstep every day.
So is the top wood held on by the 4 visible bolts only? What do they bolt into? Any chance of a close up shot of that?
Erich, the four bolts turned into about 10 by the time it was finished. The top had about six originally but I added a few. They won't show when the interior is installed. I wanted the wood to hold the coupe's shape and beefed it up a bit.
These are the top wood bolts, I added the bolts at the front pillar and also added bolts at the lap joints for the rear.
The coupe had wood screws from the rear door opening that wraps around the underside and includes the header. I felt by adding the four forward bolts that it would give it added strength.
Yep, the perches were in backward, but what I found on the perch castle nut was worse. The perch on the passenger side was stripped and the only thing holding the nut on was the cotter pin.
So after 26 plus tons of pressure the perches have been replaced with new ones. The question I have is this car had no castor. The new perches did give it some but a far cry from what is needed. I need to look into the wishbone and see if it is the correct one for a '26.
A beautifully brutal 17 horse power work of art...
A beautifully brutal 17 horse power work of art...
progression...
New and correct spindles, bushings and axle. Correct perches and castle nuts that are actually threaded onto the perches and not just held by the cotter pin.
Is it going back green, or another color?
Seth, the owner can't seem to make his mind up on a color. It may end up the same as it was. I would like to see it at least a different shade of green but its not up to me..
Test fitting everything after installing new body blocks. The blocks needed some major changes to get them to work on the rear of the frame. She seems to be sitting much better now.