Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[J. Robinson]

With the rear bumper constructed, the next logical step is to mount it. I began by propping it up against the rear of the car with a floor jack. I determined that I like it with the bottom bars even with the bottom edge of the deck. After centering it, I marked the location of the ends on the turtle deck and hole-sawed a 1" hole at each end.

The mounts are fabricated from some 3/4" O.D tubing (that has been trued on a lathe) and some 1" O.D. tubing (3/4" I.D.) deburred inside so that they slide together easily. The 3/4" tubing is welded to the ends of the bumper so that it will slide through the holes in the turtle deck.

Next, I drilled a 5/16" hole in each of the mounts and welded a nut on each one to accommodate a set screw or bolt. The mounts were then welded to a piece of 1" angle.

The last pic is the whole bumper / mount assembly before I put it on the car.

[J. Robinson]

As it turns out, the fiberglass turtle deck is just a little out of square. Not visible to the naked eye, the rear of it is shifted almost 3/8" to the right. This makes it necessary to shift the bumper mounts on the frame so that they align with the holes in the body. Having the mounts together as one piece made that relatively easy. I couldn't get a good pic of the mount attached to the frame, but it is simply welded to the rear crossmember.

The pics below show the bumper in place before and after I mounted the '48 Ford taillights. All that remains to finish the bumper is to weld in the mounts for the license plate and add a tag light.

[Gastrick]

I like it J. Robinson. I think those tail lights are a very good choice to go with the bumper too. That bumper really says "Track T" to me.

[Itoldyouso]

I agree. The nerf and tail lights really finish off the back nicely. Give it a finished look.I like the width of the nerf too.

Don

[J. Robinson]

Thanks, guys. After I welded up the bumper, I tried it this way and upside down to see which way it looked best - definitely looks better with the license plate loop hanging down.

[Bob Parmenter]

Jim, if you want to learn how to make things look better upside down ya gotta talk to Severson.

[J. Robinson]

Hmmm... Has Dave been on his head a few times when he was racing or is there some other implication?

[Itoldyouso]

Do you remember "Wrong Way Corrigan?", well, we have our "Upside Down Severson" !!

Rumor has it he does some of his best work upside down.

Don

[brickman]

He can't help it if he is vertically challenged guys, with some up is down and down is up!

The nerf bar looks great with the plate cut down and the tail lights in. Very sweet, starting to look pretty cool all the way around.

[Hotrod46]

It's looking good J.R.

I've always liked the looks of a turtle deck on these cars. Nerf bar looks good too.

Mike

[J. Robinson]

My, how time flies. I've been busy with other things and a whole month has slipped past. Well, my wife is the Drama teacher and I teach construction, so guess who gets to build the sets for all the plays at school... Anyway, her recent musical production of Big River (the story of Huckleberry Finn) was a huge success and now maybe I can get something done here.

I have decided to make some interior side bars to tie the roll bar to the dashboard/steering column support. The purpose is to gain a little bit of side protection and provide additional bracing for the roll bar. I began by cutting a couple of pieces of 1 1/4 in. OD tubing about 45 in. long and then bending them slightly to fit the contour of the body. With a little trial-and-error fitting and trimming, I was able to fit them in place fairly quickly and easily.(Pics below) My intention was to weld these in place and have the whole roll cage assembly be removeable. After tacking these in place, however, I realized that the cage assembly will be trapped by the flange at the top edge of the body!

So.., I have decided that I will permanently attach the cage assembly to the body with a combination of Dynaglass filler and fiberglass matt/resin. The body and cage assembly will then be removeable as a unit. Before I can finish welding the cage and permanently bond the two together, however, I need to make some modifications to the dashboard/steering support...

[Dave Severson]

Hmmm... Has Dave been on his head a few times when he was racing or is there some other implication?

I took some really nasty ones, wingless sprinters will do that for ya!!!! They were just still picking on me cuz I did a lot work on Tom's coupe with the body upside down in the garage.... Sure is a lot easier then sitting on the floor or all bent over trying to get it done... My old body just doesn't do that stuff real well....

The roadster is really coming along great! I think the side support and roll bars are a heck of a good plan.... Nobody ever plans on getting on their head, but stuff does happen...!!!!

[J. Robinson]

I have always wanted to drive a sprint car, preferably on dirt and wingless. All my racing was done in Sportsman and Limited Late Model stock cars, both on asphalt and dirt. I've eaten my share of concrete walls and steel guard rails and been airborne a few times, but always managed to keep the shiny side up. I haven't strapped my butt in a race car in about 4 years, now, but I'd still like to try a sprinter just once. maybe someday I'll scrounge up enough cash to go to one of the "day schools"...

[Itoldyouso]

Hey Jim, wish you and your Boy would have brought your cars to BP. As we all learned, the firm "rules" kinda got bent a little and some cars that they said would not be accepted were accepted. I don't have a problem with that, I'm pretty liberal, but lots of guys like you thought your cars were not going to be accepted because of wheels and stuff like that.

Your Son seemed to enjoy himself anyway, even without his sedan.

Don

[Dave Severson]

I have always wanted to drive a sprint car, preferably on dirt and wingless. All my racing was done in Sportsman and Limited Late Model stock cars, both on asphalt and dirt. I've eaten my share of concrete walls and steel guard rails and been airborne a few times, but always managed to keep the shiny side up. I haven't strapped my butt in a race car in about 4 years, now, but I'd still like to try a sprinter just once. maybe someday I'll scrounge up enough cash to go to one of the "day schools"...

Yup, they're a blast to drive.... 700 horse in a 1600 pound car always is..... I quit just about the time the wings came in, they are a lot safer and handle a lot better with the wing, but it just isn't the same as wingless.... I was never too fussy, managed to crash both types!!!!! I'm hoping to some day run across a late 50's to early 60's vintage sprinter in my price range to do some vintage shows with..... Single hoop roll bar and an Offy engine......... Life don't get no better then that!!!!