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Here Dave Paddle's 27T arrives at the shop. It is an original steel body with a turtle deck and an after market frame from Horton Street Rods. We will install the dropped front axle and hang the rear axle with the Viper coil over shocks supplied by the owner.
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That's the owner Dave Paddle on the left and Gary leaning on the frame as it sits on the surface table for the suspension installation.
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This is an 8.8 inch rear out of a late model Mustang with disc brakes, necessary to whoa the monster motor we plan to install. Those are Dodge Viper coil over shocks bought cheap at a flea market. We made all the 4 bars and mounts here in the shop as this frame was designed to use an original cross mount leaf spring.
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Here we are setting up the front axle ride height and the engine location. In case you don't recognize it yet it is the famous HEMI. This is a 59 truck engine we located and rebuilt for Dave.
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In this photo you can see the 4 bar setup and the motor mounts for the hemi. Red anodized aluminum bars from a local stock car parts supplier were a perfect fit for this project. |
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This is a Vega manual steering box with custom mounts. Many after market parts are available to mount this box in any application.
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We have set the chassis on the ground to check out its stance. The hemi was removed to make it easier [make that lighter] to lift off the set up table. |
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The motor and body are set on temporarily to check fit. You may notice the huge hole where the firewall was removed to get around that gigantic motor.
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We rolled it outside so we could stand back and get a good idea of the ride height. The original viper rear springs have already been changed to lower the rear, but the lack of weight makes it still sit tall.
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We may still lower the windshield height and the rims are just temporary. The big & little tires will stay.
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Dave has other neat rides in his garage including this low dollar 31 Model A.
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| Here is
the finished 27 T with its Hemi engine. This update spans from
winter of 04 in the previous photos to summer of 05. On the road
and fast enough to scare me and I’m FEARLESS! Dave completed the
car at home with some help from friends. |
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| If this
picture doesn’t turn your crank then you’re not a serious car
guy. This is a 1959, 354 cubic inch Hemi. Two 4 barrel carbs and
a 4 speed and not much else. Creature comforts were kept to a
minimum as this is a serious rat rod. |
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| Wheelie
bars were added more for looks than function. This car is so
light in the back that they are not really needed. The taillight
details are hard to see, but there is a devil’s face cast in the
lenses and the 2 blue dots on each light are his eyes. |
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| As I
said this is a rat rod. The seats were made in my shop of
aluminum, to look like World War 2 airplane seats. Only one is
installed so far. The steering wheel is an aluminum sprint car
piece bought from a local supplier. Under the wheel is one of
the Hemi’s original rods used to hold a small speedo. It was
bent and could not be straightened. |
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| Here we
have the owner Dave, on the left with his friend/apprentice
Chris looking on. They are repairing a small oil leak. A late
model Chrysler 4 speed was mated to the original bell housing
and flywheel thanks to the help of a fine machinist and now
friend, Hans Orth. No aftermarket parts were available to mate
these pieces when we started this project. Thanks Hans. |
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| A real
variety of parts were used to complete this ride. A 1927 Pontiac
grill, 1959 Hemi, 1927 Model T body, stock car 4 link parts,
shop made rear suspension and too many other parts to remember. |
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Now that this
project is finished, Dave is talking about building a front
engine dragster to go nostalgia racing. Here he is trying the
new chassis on for size and seat location. [Just kidding Dianne]
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