Hercules
 

So after spending time in Arizona this winter for the first time in 3 yrs, I found it disturbing to not have a rod to drive there - whirring around the Fossil Farm in the golf cart just isn't cutting it anymore....
In the spirit of Bob W, who always has 4 or more projects on the go (My Hero[cl), I decided to dive into another project to take to AZ and keep there.
Starting with the Hercules grille shell from an old welder, I'm going to scratch build a ground scraping ratty pickup along the lines of a late 20's Dodge, Graham or Fargo truck (sorry Bob for ripping off your idea:o)
The front axle is a 40's Chev pu that I pruned all the mounts and barbs off of and drilled for perch bolts like a Ford axle, frame horns were for a stillborn project from a few years ago. Starting with the 'ol soapstone, did a full scale drawing on the floor to get the dimensions sorted out. The plan is to be full fendered with the fenders mounted to the front trailing arms and rear link arms so they will always be close to the tires - we'll see how it works out.....[S
Trying to track down an organ donor right now - 70's Ford 1/2 ton for the 9" diff and a bunch of other components, maybe even engine and trans.
Last pic is a Graham truck I spotted at the Cloud museum in Bard Calif., it really got my gears turning :cool:http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...6&d=1649197766http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...5&d=1649197766http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...7&d=1649197766http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...8&d=1649197766http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...9&d=1649197766http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...0&d=1649197766http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...1&d=1649197766

[P[P[P[P
Torchie

Oooooo. Ahhhhhhh. This is gonna be a good one. [cl

[P[P[P

I like it!!! Watching for sure!

:cool::cool::cool:
[P[P[P

Cool , I'm in as well. [P[P

I,m Watchin![P[P[P[P

I'm in....as you know I have a soft spot for Grahams!

Who's got the popcorn and where's the cooler...[cl

CAVE MAN drawings to full on hot rod.....
 

Nothing to it for the man of many talents.
The gawkers are gathering and we are watching with great interest.[cl[P:cool:

Good luck on the Herk. I know it will be a stunner. I hope to get started on my project by late summer.

Thanks guys! I've already got a bunch of the small chassis parts and more stuff on the way, going to fill my oxy/acet tanks today and start cutting out the side pieces for the rear frame kickup from steel plate, much of the other frame material is in my 'inventory'. This build is kinda what I had in mind when I built the Hennway, but when my wife started picking colors and upholstery swatches, it became a shiny hotrod. :rolleyes:
This one will be a no-bondo, all Rustoleum satin/flat, 'look at the welds' thing that I won't have worry about scratching. Fenders will be fun to make, I was studying some Model T fenders at the Cloud Museum for ideas, they are so simple yet neato....

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...8&d=1649257938

Wow... very kool! Really love the chalk renderings!!! [dr

BoB

cool project! Do I spot a Hemi drawn on the floor...? [P

This is going to be a SWEET project! I can't wait to see what you do with it! I can't decide if I'm more excited for this or the gasser.

You'll start and finish 2 cars in the time it takes me to start working on one. Maybe I'll get the chassis done before you're driving both cars down the road!

What he^ said......[cl[cl[cl

[P[P[P

On Boare
 

Standing by to Stand by [P

Nice! I am skeptical about: ... but time will tell.

Mother nature is the best "Rat Rod Color". If you just got to have paint Rustoleum applied with a brush is a perfect combination.
https://i.ibb.co/ct28MJH/2.jpg

I never realized that your photo was a 29 RPU... Duh... :confused:[S

ZZ, I was in a museum in Yuma that looked a lot like that. [Before you guys get thinking sideways, I was a spectator, not an exhibit].
I'm looking forward to two projects you have going.

Thanks for clearing that up Mac, I was wondering :p[cl

Yeah, I know it's out of character, but I think I can control my shiny paint urges...


Yes, that was likely it, out in the lettuce fields, tons of Model T's and other oldies, antique machinery, mining equipment, etc., a gearhead paradise..., yeah if you move too slow, he might prop you up in one of the cars - you could maybe get a cut of the admission fees :D:D

Didn't get the frame pieces cut out, Praxair was all out of Acetylene bottles till next week :( On a brighter note, I did score an organ donor today, 73 F100 with a 360, 4spd, only 64000 miles on it! Ugly but apparently in good mech condition, it comes home on Saturday. Not your usual powerplant but that's what makes it kool I figger. A few hop up parts and it should get down the road OK.

Cool choice of donor, ZZ. You work fast!

ZZ, I thought I was the only guy with an FE motor waiting to go in a hotrod.

One day a few years ago, I was slowly walking along in that museum and right in front of that truck where you took the picture, I glanced up through between the two trucks and saw a guy looking at me. I stood there, wide eyed staring at him for a while and he watched me doing it. I ducked back behind the truck and gathered my senses, because that other guy looked just like my neighbour, three or four thousand miles straight north of my present placement. I peaked out from behind the truck again, and he was still watching me. Boy, he looked like my neighbour, Eric. I was embarrassed to be caught staring at this stranger, again. It wasn't more than a couple of minutes later that I thought, what if it really was my neighbour, and not his doppelganger.
I finally went over to the next row and met him. ----- It was Eric.

[cl[cl[cl
A Kozmic Konvergence!!!
Lots of Albertans winter in Yuma, see just as many Alberta plates on vehicles there as I do here in the Okanagan in summer.

ZZ, look for a pair these valve covers for an FE Ford. They will spruce up even a 360. I have an extra set but they were burnt, so will need some tender loving care.

You've got some gold there, or at least you'd think that's what they are judging by the prices people are asking :eek:
And to think this stuff was once tossed aside as oddball junk :(
Going to the Coastal Swap Meet in May, maybe I'll get lucky........

A fun day today, got the donor truck home, 73 F100. A blazing powerhouse, the 'ol reliable 360 FE, it only has 46574 original miles on it, parked since '91 when the guys 84 year old mom last drove it. Set up for a dump box, the 9" rear diff tag says 3.57 gear an the big N means its a nodular iron carrier - so far so good.
Loading was a gong show, the old guy pushed it on with his tractor, I was just about to block the front wheel when he gave it another shove and sent it right off the deck with the trailer jack shoved right up under the rad :eek::mad:
After several failed attempts to jack it up and pull it back, I separated the truck and trailer, he lifted the F100 up with his tractor bucket and pushed it back onto the deck. Success! .... sort of - next thing he did was back up and ram the snow blade on his tractor into the tailgate of my formerly nice truck :eek::mad:
The topper was getting home and it was snowing - perfect!! Unloading went OK, only one old fart doing it, less chances of a screw up.

Well, it does say RAM on the back.[ddd:eek:

Maybe insurance will replace the tailgate?

That Ford body looks solid, you shouldn't have any problem getting rid of the remains after you pluck the running gear.

Ha, Ha, never heard that before...:rolleyes:
Oh yeah, insurance will take care of it. I didn't lose it on the old guy, he felt bad enough as it was - besides, it would have drove a stake in his heart if he knew what I was going to do with his ma's old truck....

That should make a great donor, sucks about the tail gate. You should be able to sell the dump hydraulics pretty easy

I think we've all had days that go like that, but it sure looks good on you ZZ for keeping your @#$% together. It seems the older we get the better our perspective is on things.

Some times that's just how the cookie crumbles.

Man, I have those days more often than not!!

Proof of life!!
You can tell by the fact the fan is a blur that it is actually running[cl
I rubbed the points with sandpaper, scraped the crustys off the electrodes in the distributor cap, hooked up a gas can Roadkill style to the fuel pump to bypass the 30 yr old gas in the tank. Dumped some gas in the carb and she fired right up after 30 yrs of slumber in a field. The accelerator pump is spewing out gas and the crispy plug wires were zapping all over, but it still ran pretty smooth, one ticky rocker shut up after a few revs and it didn't even smoke - a win in my books :)
It will get a make over with a lumpy cam and kit, hi-rise and headers, but for now it's good to know it lives....
http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachm...2&d=1649634688

You have the skills for a tail gate rehab w/o insurance getting involved. Possibly a built in tool storage area or one of those fancy steps...

Good one, ZZ, getting a 'running like a kitten' motor out of a field is excellent.

Great score my man.[cl

This experience brings to mind the conversation about electric powered vehicles - I just couldn't get as excited about flicking the switch on a 50 year old electric motor as I get breathing life into into this 50 year old engine and hearing all the sounds and smells - mechanical porn.....:cool: