Shade Tree Hot Rod

[hot ford coupe]

Yeah, I can see it in there. That'll look good being toted behind.

[Don Garrett]

Time for a quick mock-up to eyeball calibrate the ride height, wheel base and all that...most of all to get the nose down attitude I'm looking for. Making paper patterns for the floor boards, cross members etc, at the same time.



I had intended to use a steel rim in the the rear and the 5 spoke (gray centers) on the front but after squinting at it for a while I think I'll make a 10 or 12 spoke for the front. The 5 spoke looks a bit "heavy" on the front and I want to show off a little more of the drilled disc brake rotors.

[Don Garrett]

Here's what I'm using to do the front spoke wheels.
I save old presription bottles etc. as I've found that they fit in R/M tires and save me from chasing around trying to find tubing to fit. I'll cut a section from it to do that part of the rim & use hobby shop tubing for the spokes.

[Deuces-wild]

Mmmm...... Very interesting..

[hot ford coupe]

Now that's a good way to do that. You gave me a good idea.

[Don Garrett]

Thought about bending up some bomber seats out of thin aluminum for this shade tree hot rod....nah! Decided on on some Hi-tech racing seats instead.

[robjos32]

Great idea Don, it will look cool when finished.

[Rick]

Hey Don

I sure hope your grand daughter dosen't catch you stealing from her doll house stuff!!

[3.Star]

Hello Don,

these seats are coool looking, and the Jag engine makes them rock..rocking chairs...yeah

cheers michael

[Don Garrett]

Hey Don

I sure hope your grand daughter dosen't catch you stealing from her doll house stuff!!

Ha, ha.....she made me buy my own, but I took her to the Hobby Shop with me.....I didn't want to be wandering around the doll house section by myself.

[Don Garrett]

Hello Don,

these seats are coool looking, and the Jag engine makes them rock..rocking chairs...yeah

cheers michael

They won't rock Michael, but they will swivel, may even have them swivel out as the door opens.

[Don Garrett]

Mocking up the coil sprung QC rear....... guess I'll have to make a pan hard bar, spring cups & either split bones or long traction bars. Think I'll go with a couple of scratch built Brooklyn bridges.

[Deuces-wild]

Yeah! The ladder bars sound cool....

[Don Garrett]

Parts for biggies are where you find 'em. Sure there's a lot more available than there used to but that takes coins that are tougher to come come these days and half the enjoyment of building (at least for me) is making parts from dumpster finds.
I needed some cups for the coil springs....my tubing, parts box stash etc. were of no help and I didn't want to chase around looking for tubing in a size that would fit the coils springs....I cannibalized them from an old HP printer that was destined for the trash bin.

I had a half dozen old Koni-noor drafting pens, from another life, that are of no further use to me. I kept them simply because (as my wife says)I'm an incurable pack rat. I'll be using the pen caps to make the spring cups.



It removed the metal pocket clip and cut a section from the end of the cap.



I took 4 caps and a little sanding to get the job done, as a plus the inside of the caps are threaded so I was able to "screw" the spring into the cap section. A small dab of JB Weld will hold the spring firmly in place. In other words it'll keep the rear assembly from falling out if the car is lifted off it's wheels. I'll also put a "stop" in the shocks for a little added security. Yes....it will be working suspension.



So there you have it...tapered spring cups...no hours of tedious work and best of all...no cost.

[Don Garrett]

Went to the mail box yesterday and........SURF'S UP!
I wanted a surf board to toss in this build.......you guessed it... TDR has one in resin . It was mastered by Steve Warden, he did a great job getting the curves and overall shape looking sweet!
It's a BIG board, close to 18" long, perfect for this build.

I grabbed this pic from TDR 's eBay ad.



Here's a link to the ad if anyone wants one.
1/8th Scale Resin Surfboard - eBay (item 300437006408 end time Aug-11-10 14:50:19 PDT)