Speedster kit

G

giorgio

Junior Member
I am new on the list. I have a 29 Sport Coupe, and I am embarking on a new project: a Speedster!

I have just acquired what I believe to ne a 1931 frame, engine, ****** and rear... in otehr words a complete running gear with cowl, hood, etc, but nothing else.

I am torn between a sort of minimalist speedster and a complete kit, hich however now runs at $5,000.00 plus.

Any suggestions and advice based on experience will be welcome!
Giorgio
Santa Barbara, CA
 
Well if there was ever an open question this is it. You just did the same as asking a group of artists, "I have a canvas what should I put on it?".

Do you have a lot of experence in metal working?
Do you want a boattail?

If it were me i would start with the kit. You car always add or take away from the kit (kitbasing is what we called it in the modeling world). But that me knowing my limitations.
 
A speedster is just what you make it. Two pieces of ¾" plywood laminated together is what I have used to make the bases on my cars. Use your existing cowl if you like, find two seats (original style out of an old VW Beetle, modern bucket seats, racing seats, etc.) and anchor them and seat belts firmly to the base, and find you a suitable round fuel tank to mount onto the rear deck behind the seats to fill up that area, ...and you are set. My suggestion is to use your creativity instead of your wallet to build this car.
 
Go to a site like Northwest Vintage Speedsters and look and look and look. Make lots of mental notes of the styles and designs that yoou like and dont like. Then use your imagination and build waht fits your personality as well as your budget.
 
My brother and I are going to build a speedster this summer. Our goal is to build it out of all Grandpa's "parts". It will be made out of parts from: Model T, Model A, Chrysler, Durant. Its going to be a fun project!
 
Thank you all for the useful answers. The 5k kit is with fenders, but I am considering fender less to start and perhaps adding them later. I agree on using my creativity, but I do not want the speedster to look like a quilt. The main issue is keeping the original cowl or not. If I do, the original windshield will look terrible, and the add on windshields will only fit the kit cowl. Color? Possibly burgundy red. Thanks again, Giorgio
 
I'm starting down the same path myself. I came across a great deal on a complete long block (barn find) so its rebuilt and bench tested and a couple of weeks ago I hauled back a nice rolling chassis to restore. If you want color and picture ideas just look on ebay now and then. There was a really nice Rootlieb speedster that was just on ebay in red with tan seats. For me, its got to be a bright color, yellow seems very fitting on speedsters, and red is a close second. You also want to think what theme do you want? There are those that are modeled after early race cars with no fenders and boat tails and then you use the Mercer or Stutz open touring car with fenders which is what the Rootlieb portrays.
 
I wanted a racer look, type speedster. I didn't feel that I could afford the speedster kit so I decided to build one from mostly parts that I already had. My running gear is mostly 31. My engine is a slightly souped up november 30 with dual updraft model B carbs, a Winfield grind 3/4 race cam, a 5.9 head and a few other mods. I had a junk cowl that was full of bullet holes and the tank was no good. I cut the cowl down and narrowed the original dash, extended the steering column mount and made a new choke rod holder from a junk brake rod. I used the gas tank off of a Gordon Smith air compressor that I had. The seats are boat seats from Walmart. The paint is Kirker, Mack white that I had left over from the body shop. The floor platform is made from plywood. I made the spare tire mount by cutting down a damaged tudor rear spare mount. I got the trunk from Freds dept store. One guy said it looked like a tractor, it really didn't make a damn to me, I like tractors too!!!
2058414-T600450.jpg
 
Most of the "A"-powered dry lakes racers, hot street machines and the track roadsters of the 30's and 40's were based on stock sheet metal, and are extremely interesting from a historic viewpoint today, as well as being downright exciting. Most of them, of course, were stripped-down roadsters. The sprint cars and 3/4's had special built race bodies, and the Indy-style cars were mostly two-seaters. There were a few Indy-style speedsters, like I build, but not many. So what I'm saying is that if you can find some orig Ford sheet metal to build a strip-down, it may make it easier for you, plus it would be just what was mostly done "in the day", or era correct. Have a look at my website olympic-speedsters.com for some speedster ideas.
 
As you can see in my avatar pic, my car has the Rootlieb kit that the vendors sell without the fender option. I didn't install the kit myself, it was already about 90% complete when I got the car. I added all the lights, instruments, and the windshields. I found the kit to be well constructed, but if I were building a car from scratch I would come up with my own design, probably something with a boat-tail. Some of the advantages of the kit are that all the sheet metal is cut for you, and the supplied hood is longer than stock so you can relocate and lower the steering column to get a racier look. Also you get the gas tank which may be hard to find.

The windshields I constructed out of 1/4" lexan with scratch-built aluminum brackets, and they work perfectly. Just high enough to direct the windstream over my head but are small enough to look racy.
 
Again thanks to all of you for the excellent ideas, pictures and suggestions. I now think that my priority is having a well restored frame and godd mechanical brakes and steering ... and a good, very good engine. As with my current 29 Sport Coup, I prefer to stay mostly with original equipment; and will keep the original engine after an overhaul. I like the idea of being able to see the mechanical linkages and will perhaps install a set of smallish, motorcycle style fenders and steps rather than running boards. But I am along way from all of this.
 
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