Thread: Roadster pickup getting closer

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I figured I would start a thread on this build. As most of you know already, my Son Dan has been building his car for the past four years. Along the way it has evolved from one thing to a totally different car.

He started out building a 1929 Murray Ford fordor sedan on a chassis he built himself. Initially it was airbagged and powered by a 455 Olds engine. A couple of years ago he found a very nice tudor body and decided he didn't want to own two sedans, so he cut up the fordor and made a roadster pickup out of it. That car was coming along pretty well and was nearing completion when he decided he didn't like the proportions of it and no longer wanted it to be airbagged, so he cut it up and started over.

The latest variation is built on an entirely new frame with a suicide front end an a 9 inch Ford rear suspended on quarter eliptic springs and four bars. He gave me the bed and louvered tonneau cover to use on my Dodge truck and he bought a new Brookville Model A bed to use instead. A couple of weeks ago he decided to also buy a Brookville 30-31 roadster pickup body because it would be much easier to finish up than the 80 year old body he had been using. Again, I inherited the old body. (I asked him to give me the new body instead, but he said he didn't love me THAT much.)

So, essentially the only thing left from the first two cars is the engine and 350 turbo transmission, everything else is brand new. I am picking up the body at UPS this morning and we plan to start assembling it this week. Thanks to Bob Parmenter I found out Brookville will sell an unassembled body so that is what we bought. That way we not only saved some money but can make sure it is put together with close tolerances.

In preparation for getting the body Dan and I built a wooden platform to assemble it on. We made it totally level and square, and put markings down the exact centerline and crisscrossed every 6 inches. This way when we fasten down the subframe it will be square and true, which should ensure a straight body as well. Here are some pictures of the platform and also some of the car in all of it's configurations. I think this one will finally get done, as there aren't too many more changes he can make to it.

I'll continue posting pictures as we get the body assembled and the car completed.

Picture 1 is the car as a fordor, picture two is the first roadster pickup he built from it, picture 3 is the latest version on the new frame, and pictures 4 and 5 are the platform we built.

Don