My 27 T Build

[mindover]

I have begun building myself a car that I have wanted to build for about thirty years. As the title says its a '27 T but I am building it on a '32 chassis.



I am building a new steel body for it because having looked a few original bodies I came to the conclusion that they are so rotten it would be just as much work to repair as to make new. Not that they are exactly plentiful over here.

In order to build the body I needed a base so I started with the chassis. As I said I am using a model B chassis but I built the chassis to the dimensions of the 27 T body.

I started by building a chassis table. I wont go into details here about this or too much detail about the chassis but it is the basis for the body so a little information is relevant.

More photos soon.

David

[Carbuilder]

David please show the chassis build also its all metal work always looking for chassis ideas for my someday build 36 roadster.

[Metalman Sweden]

Looking forward to follow your build
// Per

[jlrussell4]

I am looking forward to this build too.

[Hotrod1932]

David that is sure a nice foundation your building for your project! There is just something so simple and elegant about the line of that 32 frame rail. Really looking forward to seeing more, thanks for posting it.

[kit]

This should be great!
Thanks for posting.

[mindover]

Thanks guys for the interest and the nice words. Always good to know people are interested.

I started to build this several times over the years, I collected parts for it on a couple of occasions. I had just about everything I needed about sixteen years ago but I ended up selling it because I could not see me ever finishing it with two small children and a wreck of a house that needed my time and money as well as trying to run a small business. Long and short I ended up selling everything and giving up on the idea... Until now, my girls are older (still costing a small fortune with one at university and the other being 15 and all that entails!.) The house is all but done (never finished are they). I know I am not going to live forever which was brought home to me by the death of a friend recently, so I decided it was now or never.

I bought a donor car (more on this later) The car is going to be a traditional hot rod with a flathead engine beam axles etc. Just the way I dreamed of thirty odd years ago when I was a teenager. ( That's how I got into all this stuff!)


My chassis rails leaning up agaist the wall in my workshop


About 18 years ago I had a steel '27 T body in my workshop that belonged to the friend I mentioned earlier who sadly passed away. I was storing it for him and in exchange I got to take some patterns and I made a buck for the turtledeck. I have original 'bun' panels and access to my friends car through his widow. It would have been easier if I had an original body to copy in front of me but I don't so its a case of getting info from here and there as you will see.


I made my jig so that I had set points on the chassis that corresponded with the width of the body at given points like the firewall the front and back of the turtledeck etc. I am using a model A front crossmember. so that set the width at the front.

The chassis is narrower than standard and tapers from rear to front, I then bent it out again at the firewall to meet the model A front crossmember. It also runs parrallel where it will be under the turtledeck.




I want the car to sit as low as is reasonably possible, getting the front down is fairly straightforward but getting the back to sit low on a model B chassis usually means C-ing the chassis ahead of the rear crossmember which I don't think is a great idea on a car with a buggy spring. My answer was to re-shape the rear of the chassis to make it sit 4" higher than standard allowing the rear to be lowered by that much without fouling the axle



The rail in front is stock and the one behind has been reshaped.

David

[larry mullen]

David
Also looking forward to your build , it sounds like you no what you want to accomplish , its just finding the time to get there . also looks like your cramped for floor space like alot of us .
Larry mullen

[kit]

Are those chassis rails just mild steel?

[mindover]

Originally Posted by larry mullen

David
looks like your cramped for floor space like alot of us .
Larry mullen

My workshop is far too small. Space here in the uk costs too much. I may take on a bigger workshop 'cos its not easy working in a cramped space.

David