Thread: 1948 Thames

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Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Old Coyote's is a gorgeous machine, but I wonder how the engine breathes?

If you are referring to the intake, it breathes quite well. The custom shroud, which was built by Alan Shadwick in Auckland, New Zealand, "breathes" through the front two and rear two velocity stacks, the center four are blocked off for attachment to the carburetor. The shroud also contains a K&N filter in the base so we don't have to worry about debris. It also runs quite cool considering the tight confines of the engine compartment. The radiator is a three row aluminum unit built by Griffin Inc. in South Carolina. The electric fan is in the front of the radiator and is triggered by a thermostatic switch, it comes on when the engine reaches 185 degrees and shuts off at 175 degrees. The opening in the hood for the velocity stacks helps exit hot air from the engine compartment and there is a custom aluminum chute that seals the front of the radiator from turbulence and helps direct air through the radiator when the car is moving. I had the car out last week in 55-60 degree temperatures and the engine ran at 170 the whole time.

Originally Posted by 34_40

Ever get the chance to use the wheelie bars?

Yes sir, a couple of times by accident ...... was not pleasant as this is a street rod chassis, not a drag race chassis.

Do you have any straight-on frontal shots where I could see the angle of the upper control arm as compared to the lower control arm? It looks to me like the ball joint end of the upper arm is extremely low compared to the lower, but it may just be the photo. Extended length upper ball joints are made by many manufacturers to allow the outer joint to be taller so that the tire is not mushed over in a turn.

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Originally Posted by techinspector1

Do you have any straight-on frontal shots where I could see the angle of the upper control arm as compared to the lower control arm? It looks to me like the ball joint end of the upper arm is extremely low compared to the lower, but it may just be the photo. Extended length upper ball joints are made by many manufacturers to allow the outer joint to be taller so that the tire is not mushed over in a turn.

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I'm sorry sir, I don't have a straight on shot ..... this is about as close as I have. Maybe it will give you a better angle.

Originally Posted by DennyW

Found these 2 Willie's Pie Wagons


Attachment 71138



Attachment 71139




http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jjksbK6vR2...rags-5-web.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e5/b9...b029f33b3c.jpg

The white one, notice the flatty

I think I see what happened, you have bolted the upper control arms too high in relation to the frame. What will happen with this arrangement is that in a left turn, the right front tire will lay over and scuff the pavement on the sidewall of the tire instead of remaining with the tread squarely on the pavement. In a right turn, the left front tire will mush under and lay the sidewall of the tire down on the pavement.

Judging by the photos, either the crossbar connection at the bolts should be about 4 inches lower or the upper control arm ball joint should be about 4 inches higher.

You won't like the bumpsteer that results either. Here's the correct geometry......
https://plus.google.com/share?url=ht.../images/zQyfgr
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Timmy is a sweet ride. Looks like way too much fun to keep clean!

Tech:

Its a Fatman setup, their setup mounts the crossmember higher in the frame to allow a lower ride without the lowered spindles(they say it saves $$$) angle in pics of lower arms then makes this view a little mis leading-----they typically use a 3* frame angle drop which is pretty standard for drive line angles/drop

Originally Posted by techinspector1

I think I see what happened, you have bolted the upper control arms too high in relation to the frame. What will happen with this arrangement is that in a left turn, the right front tire will lay over and scuff the pavement on the sidewall of the tire instead of remaining with the tread squarely on the pavement. In a right turn, the left front tire will mush under and lay the sidewall of the tire down on the pavement.

Judging by the photos, either the crossbar connection at the bolts should be about 4 inches lower or the upper control arm ball joint should be about 4 inches higher.

You won't like the bumpsteer that results either. Here's the correct geometry......
https://plus.google.com/share?url=ht.../images/zQyfgr
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If Fatman built that chassis, I can't imagine they didn't set it up right. To me, it doesn't look like there is any other way for him to bolt on the upper control arms. It would require cutting the top hat area and moving it down. Or am I off base here?

On edit, Jerry answered it. Nice info there Jerry.
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It is a Fatman chassis ...... nearly eight years old ...... I have neither seen nor experienced the situation that Techinspector described ....... have the same set of Michelin radials on the car as when the construction pictures were taken ..... with no unusual wearing ....... we did change the front 317# springs (4-cylinder Pinto) to 375# springs (8-cylinder Mustang II) to stiffen the front and raise the body height, as we were getting a little rubbing on the fiberglass nose with the softer springs ....... note the ride height difference in the two pictures below ....... the heavier springs also gave us a better ride and handling ..... plus raising the nose a little gave me a little better vision through the windshield (although I still have to lean forward to look up and see a traffic light if I am the first car in line at the intersection) ..... I have absolutely no complaints with the Fatman chassis.

317 # springs



375 # springs

That is still just a drop dead gorgeous Thames! When I was a teenage gear head, one of my "heroes" around here locally had a Thames gasser that he drag raced, your car brings back a lot of memories! Best part is yours is such a "streetable" car which must make it a blast to take on a cruise! Thanks for keeping us updated on this really first class ride!

What a beautiful car! I like it with the front end raised a bit. It gives it a little more of a gasser look.

I do agree with Techinspector that that those control arm angles produce a really poor camber curve, however on a car that mainly drives in a straight line and does low speed cornering, the camber curve does not much matter. Fatman is probably counting on that. Most of his cars are never going to see any significant amount of high speed cornering.

Great to see an update on the old panel and hear that you've been enjoying it the last several years!!!

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For johnboy ........ here are some pictures of the tilt nose and Timmy's interior ...... like you said, snug but not totally uncomfortable ........ the seats came from a Factory Five Cobra replica and all of the upholstery was stitched by Tim Scarlett in Mocksville, NC