This 1928 Ford Roadster was built by Pat Fraser, Part 2
By Pat Fraser
Betcha you thought I'd given up on this project - surprise, I didn't. Since the last writing quite a bit has been done as the photo shows. One gigantic step was getting the suspension installed on the Brookville frame that I bought along with the body. I hunted around and went with a complete kit that has with Pete and Jakes short shocks and their four bar system. The front axle is a Super Bell four inch dropped beam model and the spring is by Posies-a Super Slide. There are 11-inch disc brakes.
The rear end has All American coilovers, and is located by a four bars suspension. The back end sits on an eight-inch Ford rear end that Bill Hinshaw sold me. The bad news is that it needs new drum brakes. Rear drums will be fine with such a light car that has front disks. The good news is that it has a 3.0 ratio, not fast off the line but should get somewhere in the vicinity of 931 1/2 miles per gallon. The other good news is that it was right here in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, so I didn't have to run all over the planet looking for one. Yet another bit of good news is that Bill threw in some junk wheels and tires, good enough for the car to get around on until it's roadworthy.
Incidentally, I may have left you with the impression that I'm doing the mechanical work on the car. Not so. The finished car must be safe, and everything must be done right. My mechanical ability is about that of a two year old. That, coupled with some physical issues, precludes my doing anything but grunt work on the roadster. Fortunately a member of the ColoRODans, Bryce Wollbrink, came to my rescue. He operates one of the premier shops around, Bryce's Street Rods in nearby Erie. Bryce is one of an almost extinct breed ... He and his crew builds rods, they also restore street machines, antique cars and do great paint work. In his spare time Bryce scratch builds and restores pedal cars. His metal work is great. I watched him build a cowl and fender for a 1912 Chalmers using only faint 90 year old drawings as a guide. Try that at your home shop, Buddy!! (Hey Bryce, is that a great plug or what??)
At the same time that the car grew wheels and all that other important rolling stuff, I bought a Chevy small block engine. It's basically stock except that it is .30 over, has flat top pistons, and a mild cam. It is newly rebuilt, never run. I think with headers, a good carb, and tuned intake that the roadster will have plenty of road thrills for an old duffer like myself. Frugal fellow that I am, a great swap meet find was a Model A center cross member transmission mount for $5. It almost fit, Bryce made it work. Before the engine went in there were a few other items that were needed. Motor mounts I bought locally. I listened to friends and then ordered what was essentially a custom built radiator from U.S. Radiator for well under $400. A bargain. Really. At another swap meet I bought a beautiful bright pink Vega steering box that is supposed to be new. Yes, it really was PINK. It's not pink anymore. Who says swap meets aren't the best?
I needed a transmission to go in with the engine. For years I'd lusted after a car with three pedals, I knew REAL hot rods did not use slush boxes. Whoops!! Yet another error in my litany of conceptual errors. An installed manual transmission in my car would run about three times what the automatic cost. Look around at a rod show to see how many cars you see with a stick transmission, pretty rare, huh. Maybe my next car will have stick, I simply can't afford it now. From the ColoRODans' good friend in Broomfield, Leonard Vasquez, I got a newly rebuilt GM turbo 350 transmission. He sold it to me for a very reasonable price, giving me the ColoRODans' discount.
I wish that my roadster was close to being finished but it's not even close. Perhaps with another 57 years and $228,000 I'll actually be able to drive it. This sums it up for now folks, parts and money; money and parts; labor and money; money and labor; parts and labor and money ... You get the idea.
July 2007- The roadster was featured on the annual ColoRODans Rod Festival artwork along with Harold Aldridge.
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