I got around to starting the winters speedster project this weekend. I had to build and lower the steering column and firewall, before I can start re-wooding the original body I found at Chickasha last year. . I plan on leaving all the patina I can on the parts. It is a low firewall car and can use either a wood or steel firewall. The original wood one that came with the body was almost gone and I had a low steel firewall, so that was my choice. I had bought one of the lowering castings from Langs years ago in preparation to build a speedster with 25 plus years of collected parts. The firewall took a lot of re-work. It was a damaged one I had and was full of "extra holes", so I do not feel bad about using it. It took a lot of playing around with the placement of the column to come up with the proper location. After hours of moving and checking over and over. It became apparent that the lower left hole of the "casting" was supposed to be in the same location as the top hole in the left firewall bracket. I wish they had added that little bit of info with the part..... Then figuring out the "cuts" in the firewall, was "fun" I finally had to almost destroy a "junk" firewall to final get the cuts figured out, so I could cut the "low steel" one I wanted to use. Its good I keep all those parts that others throw away. (see the really bad junk does come in handy). After the figuring was over, it went pretty quick. I did not like the remaining "half moon" of the original steering opening showing the aluminum bracket at the top. So I took it all apart again and welded in a "half moon" patch. I like it better now. Ill show pictures of both (with and without the half moon patch). Then I had to make a wedge for the bottom of the steering column. I also fond out the regular car lower steering bracket did not work well. But a TT lower steering bracket works perfect. The TT bracket will still utilize the front original hole in the frame. The TT bracket only required me to drill a new rear hole in the frame. . With everything in place and located with the front lower bracket hole I made a paper template, and laid out the new wedge. Everything is bolted up and works good and nothing is in a bind. I think I will have to bend the pitman arm a very little bit to get it back into a vertical position, but that is about it as far as changed steering geometry. After everything was bolted up I sat the body on the frame. It appears everything is going to line up very well. I also made a lid for the coil box. Im going to be running a front plate mag, so I do not need the coils. I still have to make a board for the front of the coil box to cover the holes and mount the hinge, but the pics show the idea I have for using the coil box as a "glove box, hiddey hole. Everything still needs finished, and the temporary bolts removed, but its a start. This is the first installment in what may be many, before the winter is done ...
Donnie: You have a unique way of handing steering wheel setback and frame spacer. I like the way you think. I set here looking at the pictures and wonder if the frame with the engine block may be balanced a little better on that pipe rack? It looks like it may tip over toward the front. Just saying! Do you plan on using a different steering box? I used a Vega box on mine and it felt like power steering.
Neat stuff! Keep updating this thread.
Fred. The engine is only a block, head, and crankcase, for mock up purposes. . There is a box sitting just in front of the rear cross member that is hard to see. It has about 200 lbs of steel in it to hold down the rear end of the frame I plan on using nothing but period correct type of items on this speedster. So a vega box is not an option on this one ... But I bet the steering on yours is great.
I thought Prussian Blue was only good for putting under the drawer pulls on your co-workers tool chests. Never thought about using it for layout dye.
Walter, Lip Stick in various colors is also good for layout dye. and your co-workers will have something to wonder about, "why do you have all the lip stick in your tool chest".
Using lip stick for layout dye sound like an expensive, and likely embarrassing, way to avoid having to buy a $4 bottle of Dykem!