Ride and Handling

After waiting more than 40 years I am at long last in a position to think seriously about launching my dream of building a rod. First, a little bit of background. In grade school and high school I was a total car fanatic. In college I discoverd sports cars and owned a series of Triumphs, a big Healey and a Fiat Spyder over the years. Always did all of my own maintenance and as a result I am comfortable getting my hands dirty and I know more about Lucas ignition systems than I need to.

I'm thinking about a 32 or possibly 34 coupe, using a repop frame, glass body and small block chevy, IFS with ladder bars and coil overs in the rear. I like the look of chopped and channeled cars and am thinking about a 2.5" chop and a moderate channel of 3". Nothing too original there, but I do plan on doing the majority of the work myself. Once it's finished I plan to drive it. Part of the long range goal is to eventually drive it from NC, where I now live to Irvine, CA where I lived in the 80's.

Now here's my questrion for those of you who have built similar cars. If I pay attention to seat design and placement will it be reasonably comfortable on the road for extended periods of time? Or should I forget the 3" channel? What can I expect in terms of overall handling as compared to say, a Triumph TR6 or similar sports car? Thanks!

Hello Tom ;

Welcome aboard, glad to hear you about to embark into streetrodding, there are several 8 1/2 X11 paperback books out on the market that will help you on your project, one is titled "how to build a bolt together street rod," and there is a brand new one Published by Street Rodder Magazine , titled " A Guide to Building 1933-34 Fords. $19.95 , most good book stores handle these such as Barnes and Noble and Book a Million just go to the Automotive section most range from 12 to 20 $.
There is also a web site that is really good it'll give you all the building discriptions and a load of color pictures. www. Project 34.com . Streets is right about the channeling ,most coupes that are chopped 3 " have an interior height of 40 inches, floor to roof, minus 2 inches for a channel and 4-6 inches for seat height, and minus the headliner thickness. It doesn't leave too awful much , Sit down on the floor and measure floor to the top of your head and then decideabout the channel, and one other thing , it limits your prospective buyers if and when you decide to sell it , one thing for shure Streets wont buy it , from the sound of it he'd be cramped in a tall ' T' . Hope this helps. in addition to the books and that web site this forum is a good place to ask for advice, there's a wealth of knowledge here , some reeeeeal " savy motorheads "

Hey Streets ;

You mentioned in your reply about your coupe and it having an IRS and Jag, which rear did you use ? and are you happy with the ride ? whose ifs did you use, That's the combination I'm using, looking at a Kugal open wheel IFS and I have an 'E' Type rear but it's too narrow for a 32 Coupe it has a 354 gear in it, I'll have to locate another one, and sell this one and I also have a Jag front end too. If you know of anybody ! Which calipers are you running in the Front and Rear ? Power Brakes ? I've also have a Brand New set of Zenith Wire Wheels with Knockoff's in the box , never mounted and a cherry 29 Model ' A ' Tudor Sedan, already stripped and primed. anyone interested ?

Find what you want to build and be sure and sit in the car.

There is a channeled 32 - 3 window over at Moon Eyes in California I looked at this week. I sat in it. I am 5'-10" tall.
Not Good ! Too low, too small. HOWEVER, it looks cool as all get out ! I'm talkin cool here.
Also in this months (Febuary 2004) Street Rodder magazine there is an article on two duece roadsters (page 62) one with fully independant suspension, one with drop axle. The only problem other than suspension I see with their test is that the cars are way different other than that. ie, engines, brakes etc.
But its there to read.
Rod

Rod, Do you recall how much the car you saw at Moon was channeled? I am thinking about only a 2" channel and 3" chop for mine. I would never consider a radical channel for the reasons already discussed on this board. I'm 5' 11" and want to be comfortable in the car. Based on what I've heard here and from others I've talked to I'm beginning to think that it would be best to forego the channeling part of the equation. Chopped & channeled cars do look cool though. I too have been looking at the New Age coupe and have talked to them via email a couple of times. I'll be interested in following your reports on the body you have ordered.

Best wishes for the New Year, Tom

Tom, at 5'11" you're about at a point where distance comfort would rule out most conventional channel jobs (maintaining floor at top of frame rail level). Generally it takes a guy 5'8" or less to be able to pull that off. There are variables such as how you're proportioned (e.g. short legs and long trunk), or what your tolerance for discomfort are. Trying to drive with your heels close to the same level as your butt can be hard on the back and hips.

Since you're on the glass body side of things, take a look at Gibbons, www.gibbonfiberglass.com , they have a design where the floors are dropped below the upper rail level to allow channeling and still have some seating comfort. Not only does this require putting "wells" in the floor pan (the easy part), but also a difference in the center X member of the frame (somewhat more difficult considering strength issues, but doable). Since they're in Darlington SC you might want to do a road trip to check out how they do it. Even if you don't like their product, the ideas can be transferred to others.