And I wonder why I never get my RC's out anyomore

[demon]

too busy making bad automotive decisions...

I am going to save this beauty from the crusher tomorrow.





Rat rod anyone?

[demon]

What a day. I need more sake. I can't thank my good friend Chris enough for his help today.

First we rolled this shell of a Saturn SC1 down my driveway and onto the trailer with the help of the Samurai. This part was easy and fun, and pretty comical if i do say so myself.



Then it went to a scrap yard. After a bit of crudely applied manpower, it rolled gracefully off the trailer. Ok so the (unlocked) steering spun at just the right moment and made it fall down in the middle of my U-Haul car hauler. No worries though, a nice guy in a front-loader turned forklift-from-hell picked it up so I could pull the wheels and H&R spring/KYB Strut combo out with the car at chest height.



Then we were off across the boarder into "Council-Tucky" (Council Bluffs, Iowa) to pickup lunch and then my new truck. That's when the real fun began.

Getting Inside my new truck:

^me reaching up through the non-existent floor to jimmy the ancient door latch open^

Turns out, the steering wheel just spun without turning the front wheels. You see, the steering box was frozen solid, AND stripped. So the front wheels rolled very nicely, pointed about 20 degrees to the left...I am really lucky this thing was sitting near my new place of employment and I was able to borrow the forklift, it being a Saturday and all. We ended up picking up the ass end with the forklift and guiding the front wheels up the ramp that way. Essentially we steered the thing by swinging the forklift side to side. Yea that was fun. Once the front tires were in the stops, lining up the rear end over the trailer was easy.

Once we got it home and up into position on my rather steep driveway:




This was my first attempt at backing the trailer up my driveway, I got it perfect the 3rd try...

Problem: How do we get this thing off the trailer? It needed to roll uphill and the steering was locked. Out came the sawzall. A few minutes and one severed, vintage pitman arm later, half the problem was solved. Gee, how am I going to push this thing uphill? Oh yea, I have a Samurai, its almost as useful as a forklift!



Sure am glad I installed that factory brush guard.



One little tug with the trusty Suzuki and a bit of human breaking power later, and it was off the trailer and into its new home.



Oddly enough, this thing takes up less room than a 94 sc1. Its nearly identical in overall length, but its about 7/8ths the width. Has not even been in my possession one day and its already on a jack stand, freaking flat vintage tire.

[cobra]

Looks like a great project!

[cooter]

that is gonna be a %&$*%in rat rod

[Rock Spyder]

Look like a fun project if you need help let us know. I can find parts for you. What did you give to get it and what would you sell it for?
Tom

[demon]

Thanks guys.

Help, yea I'm going to need it. Parts I can usually find, unless is the "I know a guy" type thing, those are always good finds. This is definitely NOT going to get restored. Its getting rat rodded out, so its not like I'm looking for 30s ford parts exclusively.

As for what I gave to get it? Well not much more than clearing out that shell of a car I planned on eventually turning into a track only car with some nasty motor swap. I actually made (a little) money off the situation...What will I sell it for? um nothing, definitely NOT for sale. A find like this is once in a lifetime. I won't give it up.

[cooter]

flat black with red rims and baby moon hub caps with a train horn

[Rock Spyder]

No train horns. let me know if you want to chop it will talk to chris my brother between the two of us should be able to bang it out in a weekend or so.

I have a buddy in chicago with a 348 complete motor you can have for free if you come get it.
He is cousingrandpa here on the site. its been sittin in his shed oiled for about 15 + years.

[demon]

Chop? yes please! no sectioning or channeling though. I want it to still 'sit' on the frame rails like the truck it is. I need a new frame first though. Well, I need to get the body off first. Then I can confirm that this one is beyond repair. Oh and I agree, no train horns, not my style.

348? That sounds unusual, guess its the precursor to the 409 (thanks google!). Hmmm Chicago...

Not to refuse the offer, I am a long way from making a definate power plant decision. To tell the truth, I was kind of thinking of using either the GM LL8 (inline-6) or LLR (inline-5) engines. A) because it would stand out as NOT having a gm 350, and it would make the engine bay asymmetrical, a plus for a ratrod.

I REALLY want EFI, 2 carb'ed vehicles is enough. That being said, there is nothing stopping me from creating my own system or modifying one of the conversions already out there.

[cooter]

alot of people use chevy s-10 frames either 2wd or 4wd parts are so much easier to find

[demon]

There's a thought. I would like to keep the frame itself original if I could. Cross bracing can be added and I can box it too. Again, depends a lot on what I find when the cab and bed come off.

[Rock Spyder]

The old 30's frames are soft however Fatman makes a frame I beam style weld in support and stiffener that is cheap and works great for the easy way of doing things. Or Speedway makes a boxing plate for the 28-31 ford frames for around 600 or so I think if I remember correctly.
and Best of all they are in Lincoln.
Tom

[demon]

...the gears are definitely turning...

[Rock Spyder]

Cool any help that I can be let me know, as for frames the ford ranger would be an easier choice to keep it ford if you go that route. and you could always put a V10 in just for kicks.
Tom

[demon]

haha, I want to stay away from the big 8+cyl motors. 99% of the time there is no need for even 3/4 of the power available. It ends up being a waste.

IF I can keep the frame, I will use it. I work at a machine/fabrication shop now, so I can make my own boxing plates and cross members pretty easily.

[cobra]

ohhhhhh if you work at something like that... how much would it cost for you to make me a step notch for my ram and some a-arms

[demon]

Oh I don't know, 5k? That's not much info to give me any idea what I'm actually looking at. If its out there already, its prob cheaper than can be made 'custom' realistically. I can help you design it for beer money, but the fab part isn't as simple.