UPDATE: RIDE HEIGHT

Well we're getting closer to having a bonafide roller. This shot reflects the rear ride height we're shooting for. Marty will be hanging the Ford 9" rear and setting up the Posies quarter elliptical springs soon.

THE RAKE

Marty called me over to see the front end ride height under load and to look at the rear ride height. After weighing our options, we settled on the rear ride height demonstrated in this shot, which will give a nice rake to the car once it's all together.

ENGINE DEBATE: 327 vs. 283

I'm presently weighing two options for the roadster's engine. I have a balanced and blueprinted, roller-cammed 327 that is way overbuilt for my 29 which will likely weight all of 2300 lbs. The second option is a completely rebuilt '61 283 corvette engine built to stock specs, which is rated at 245 hp. Either way, it'll be dressed out in period goodies, the transmission will be a Muncie M20 4-speed and a 9" Detroit Locker with 3.50 gears will bring up the rear.

LONG TIME SINCE LAST BLOG

Long time no blog. Marty and I have been busy. The fine folks at Brooksville were nice enough to send me a set of doors as well as a new trunk lid to add to my Brookville rear quarters . Marty had the body tacked together in no time.

Drew and I dragged the cowl and all the original body parts home and media blasted the pieces until we were looking at fresh metal. It was a lot of work, but nobody said eradicating rust was an easy job. No more toothpaste green panels. We used Rustoleum brownish red primer to match the Brookville pieces and I'm happy to report that it's beginning to look like a car again.

The wheels and tires are from AKH and Coker.
The next time you see shots of the front end, it'lll have a 327 sitting between the rails/
Here's a shot before we lifted the body onto the frame. Marty's busting his butt to get the doors and jambs aligned
Here's a clean shot of the frame. Note the 9" with rear wheels and tires in the background.

MORE PARTS AND INSPIRATION

Got my drop axle from So Cal Speed Shop/L.A. today. Tomorrow I deliver the part to Marty along with the front end parts so he can start mock-up. The next big shipment will be the rest of the body panels from Brookville. I've begun the search for potential painters and have had a couple of very interesting conversations with people whose work I admire. More on that later.

WHAT'S THE PLAN?

The new Mad Fabricators DVD is great. Between the chat I had with Piero before the Round Up, watching MFS 5.5. and the show itself, I couldn't be more inspired. The body's back with Marty South who's doing the metal fab. Here's a sneak preview: Lowboy, windshield deep chopped and laid back. 15" X 8.5" Torq thrusts on the back with 30" WW Hurst Cheaters, Chrome 16's in front with white walls; frame and firewall painted pearl white, body in lime greeen with silver or gold base. 327 with 3-2's, block and accessory brackets painted oldsmobile gold, polished intake with cad plated carbs and rear facing chrome scoops; 4- Speed Muncie; 9" Ford Detroit Locker with 3.50 gears, gauges TBD; interior TBD. Cowl steering using a 64 mopar aluminum box. Suicide style drilled drop axle with 40's Ford front brakes with drilled backing plates and 45-fin Buick drums. Adjustable elliptical rear springs. I'm thinking a sixties show/hot rod vibe. With the majority of parts being mid sixties, candy or metalflake paint seems like the right call.

So there's your sneak peak.

MORE PARTS PROCURED

Called the folks at Posie's and ordered an adjustable eliptical spring kit for the rear suspension of the 29. Also spoke to the people at Brookville to get more information on their body parts. Tomorrow I'm gonna make a big order, including both doors, a deck lid, and the part that goes above the deck lid. Ouch. I figure I'll take the pain now and save unnecessary bodywork and fabrication costs. Plus, I'll have a nice parts pile of usable prices to sell or trade for other stuff I need. By getting all new reproduction parts, Marty can get on with fabricating the windshield, the rear of the frame, the motor mounts, and setting up the interior. He's got a lot of boxing-in to on the interior, strengthening the structure around the inner firewall and cowl in preparation for the the cowl steering and routing the clutch and brake pedal.