Thread: Moving ahead rebuilding my '27 roadster.

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Yep Kurt, I don't think a hot rod is ever really "done." They keep cranking out "stuff" we just have to have.

Just for you Bob I'll make sure there is at least on PURPLE part on the car. (somewhere under the carpeting or something)

I think this might be the year we finally run into each other Brad. We are going to have to plan something so that happens.

I didn't get a whole lot done today because I am held up until the guy who is going to build my center section gets back home. I thought it was today, but his website says the 18th, Tuesday. I'll be on the phone with him first thing Wednesday and get that thing ordered. I'm going to sit down with a speed/rpm calculator tonight and see what ratio I really want. 4:30's are my pick right now, but I want to crunch 4:10 to 4:88 and see what differences those make.

One thing I did do today was put on the SoCal front stabilizer shock. I have never run one but so many people swear by them that I had to try it. They either come in red or chrome and I wanted it to be as unnoticeable as possible, so I sprayed it black and got it mounted. Here are a few pictures. It doesn't stand out as much as I feared.

Most of the day was spent helping Dan do his floor in his RPU. He got the second side cut, all the holes for the rivets drilled, and we rolled the same beads in it that we did on the passenger side. I think it looks pretty cool, too bad carpeting will hide the four days he has in making patterns and finally bending up and cutting the two sides. But at least he will know it is there. Here are some pictures of how the floor came out.

Don

4.30's??!! Don, are you running an overdrive trans? Or are you building this car to just cruise around town?

Dan's metal work looks impeccably neat as usual. You're right, it's almost a shame to hide it under carpeting. His patience and eye for detail are amazing...

Thanks Jim. No, it has no overdrive, I know what you are thinking, 4:30'S or similar might be a little deep. It had 3:70's and they were nice highway gears, but I always felt I could use some lower gears for around town. The 30 inch back tires were the reason, I think. I may regret buying low gears, but I want to try them just to see how much better the launch is. The cam I am going to run doesn't come in until like 2500 rpms, and that is a factor too. If they are too low I'll put the 3:70's back in.

Don

I got a 70 ford pick up that we put power steering in and that thing was all over the place on the interstate, could not hardly keep it in one lane.
Put a stabilizer shock on that and it's about 50% better then it was.
Kurt

Both look like their coming along nicely
the floor is beautiful, I agree it's a shame to hide it.
I would like feedback on the shock once you get it on the road, getting close to starting on my A Sedan and debating the shock against a cross steer rack

nice as always

On the stabilizers, I have seen lots of discussions on various forums about death wobble, and each time lots of people come back and say the stabilizer cured it. I didn't have dw with the 27 except for one brief period, but that cleared up with a toe in change. So Cal says no car has left their shop in 30 years without one installed. I figure it can't hurt. Dan is putting one on his 30 RPU too because he is running 16 inch bias plies and they are notorious for handling issues.

BTW, I did some rpm/gear ratio checks, and at 60 mph here are the various rpms I would be turning:

3.70......................2486
4.10......................2755
4.30......................2890
4.56......................3064
4.88......................3279

I think from that 4.30's will still be my choice.


Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

BTW, I did some rpm/gear ratio checks, and at 60 mph here are the various rpms I would be turning:

3.70......................2486
4.10......................2755
4.30......................2890
4.56......................3064
4.88......................3279

I think from that 4.30's will still be my choice.


Don

Wow that's quite a difference from top to bottom! I guess you have to decide what you will be doing most and adjust from there. I went 3.0 on the truck because to get anywhere from here, it's on the hiway you go!
But for a local cruiser with some burnouts in it's future, that's a whole different story.
On the steering stabilizer where does the other side of it mount to? I can see where you attached it to the steering arm, but is it attached to the frame on the other side?(oops went back and clearly saw the answer in the pic!) I use to run one in my manual steering jeep cj-7, that had a set of 33" tires on it. Boy what a differene that made when you hit a bump or cattle grate, before the stabilizer, the wheel would spin so violently it could break your arm if you held it wrong! Afterwards it's was a lot milder, but still a potential arm breaker!

I also wanted to say a big WOW on Dan's sheetmetal work. Too bad they don't make sheer carpet!

Thanks Steve. Yep, Jeeps have a similar problem with dw from what I understand, especially with big tires.

Don

Dan's floors are looking great, as everything else his done. Your rebuild is looking fine can't wait to see it at the Turkey run.
BradC

Thanks Brad. This year we Florida guys are going to find you once and for all. I suspect you always leave your car at the airport in "short term parking."

I got a hold of my center section guy today and it's going out tomorrow. I decided on 4.30's. It is a trac-loc rear that he modifies to not click on turns and generally behave better. We bought the same unit for my Son Dan's RPU, but he is running 4.00 gears and an automatic transmission.

He is a really super guy to deal with and his warranty begins when you get the car on the road, not when you buy the center section. He is a hot rodder too and if any of you saw an Ardun powered roadster that spun out and did doughnuts at 190 mph at Bonneville this year, that is the car he was involved with.(did you see that one Bob?........it wasn't pink, so maybe you missed it. )

If it should by some stroke of luck show up Friday I can have the 27 up on all fours by the end of the weekend. BTW, Dan posted some pix of his RPU on the HAMB, and in case anyone wanted to see how it looks now, here are a few pictures.

Don

Lookin mighty fine. Can't wait for the videos of the three amigos driving all of their own cars!

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

........... if any of you saw an Ardun powered roadster that spun out and did doughnuts at 190 mph at Bonneville this year, that is the car he was involved with.(did you see that one Bob?........it wasn't pink, so maybe you missed it. )
Don

Matter of fact we did............Sunday afternoon if I remember correctly. Nobody there does pink...........nor do they pretend it's purple...........

Tell Dan he's doing a great job.....

Thanks Steve and Bob. You are right Steve, I can't wait until the three of us can go out for a little drive. I keep telling Dan he has NO idea how that Olds is going to feel when he puts a little gas to it..........he's in for a real treat.

Bob, the other night I was reading one of my car books, Hot Rods of the 50's, and there were two cars in there I was going to shoot pictures of and post just for you. One was a purple deuce coupe that had a pink and white interior, and the other one was a totally pink deuce roadster. Neither was exactly my cup of tea, but they weren't all that bad either. So, you saw that roadster spin out, huh? He said they all took turns driving it and the mechanic was the one who turned the best speed, but was also the guy who spun out at 190. He says next year they are taking three Keith Black alcohol motors and shooting for 300 mph. The three motors are of various sizes and will run different classes. I have got to go to Bonneville some year. From your pictures it looks like you had a great time. Everybody swears by it.

Don

Don - Did you say that the Billetproof drags are Oct. 25th? That's a Sunday. When I go to the Billetproof site, the info on that event says "coming soon". There are no details... Anyway, that same weekend is the Daytona Dream Cruise. It starts Friday night and runs to Sunday. Saturday is the big day, of course. You can check it out here: http://daytonabeachdreamcruise.com/ . That could make for a fun weekend; cruisin' on Saturday, racing on Sunday.