The Rosedale Rocket

Dale;that is going to be bad!!!What part of the country are you in?The chrome Cragars are a PERFECT match! ROY.

I inched a bit closer today, and put the front end down to Mother Earth!
It sits slightly higher in the front for my taste, but its a compromise with the straightaxle. If I do it again, I think a SuperBell wide Model A style, with some custom leaf spring perches welded on. My good friends, The Kennedy Brothers,whom are most known for their work with early Fords, swung by today, and together we came up with a really cool idea to trick out the otherwise mundane looking tube axle with a smaller tube truss on the bottom. I've seen some old photos with this done, as a strengthening measure, and with the idea that Jason came up with, it should set a cool, retro vibe that'll get people talking! I cut down the front bumper, and re-radiused the front fender lip to contour the front tire as well. The Cragars I realize are a matter of taste. Some like, some hate 'em. One thing for sure. They weigh a ton!! Not gonna break any low E.T.'s with this car being a little 289, but at least it'll ride like a dream with the big, long Econoline springs up front!
Dale
By the way Roy, I'm located out on the West Coast, in Southern California.

let,s see some pics of how you mounted your rear spring perches.how many inches forward did the rear move with the chrysler springs?did you leave the inner part of your wheel tubs in place,from the pic looks like you cut the quarter and outer half of the tub and moved it without moving the part against the frame.or did you cut the whole front of the tub and move it with the quarter skin?

just wanted to know what steering box did you use / the comet or did you change it / you said you used the straight axel/ how do you think it would sit with the 4 in drop tks Butch

The rear axle centerline is moved forward approximately three and one half inches, but the wheelhouse is still in its stock location. Hard to describe, but behind the leading edge of the fender, is a pocket of unused space, about six inches. I just sectioned the fender, and re-built a filler piece to take advantage for the larger diameter tires. I also widened the wheeltub by removing the section of steel from the floor portion, in between the framerail, and the ineer wheelhouse edge. If you look into your trunk, you will notice just below the trunk hinge mount, the vertical inner edge of the wheelhouse angles outward towards the outside of the car. I just sliced it, and wedged it so it would taper inside!! I gained an easy inch. The hardest part is getting all the tar out of the pinch weld, so you can properly re-weld it back together. No stitch welds, it needs to be fully welded in my opinion.

Butch, my steering box of choice for most all my builds has been the GM Saginaw steering box. While a bit beefy, its more robust to the smaller Vega box, and is always readily available. I've just started to cut away the inner fender structure, and am looking for the window I need to run the seering linkage, so I'll have some pics of that soon.

Dale

i am thinking of going with the speedway kit / was wondering if i could you use the stock steering box/also thinking about the 4 in drop axel Butch

Originally Posted by butch70462

i am thinking of going with the speedway kit / was wondering if i could you use the stock steering box/also thinking about the 4 in drop axel Butch

You MAY be able to use the stock box, but the angle over to the driver side steering arm will require customization. After fighting all day ripping out the stock steering, if I knew the box was a newer one, I"d attempted it. In the past, I succeeded in using the stock Dodge steering box in my altered wheelbase Dodge Darts. We did one cross steer, and one near steer. Both were fine and a blast to drive! It'll be interesting in the next few days, trying to figure out the steering arrangement on this Comet, though!

Using the four inch drop axle will most likely require you to add some spring rate to raise the car up. But it should work, and look killer to boot!!

tks Butch

Anyupdates coming?

Would the early ford kit on this page work?
Semi-Elliptical Gasser Front End Kits

Originally Posted by SLCK64

Anyupdates coming?

Would the early ford kit on this page work?
Semi-Elliptical Gasser Front End Kits

Should. Also, depends on how high you want the front end, and you may also need to verify the spring perch centers, and ask Speedway if the perch's will impede into the axle bend. Couple little things, but no biggie. As soon as I have a few bucks, I'm going to try to order a drop to see how it fairs with my current set-up. Kinda like a back to back. I'm not super keen on the nose to the moon stance, so if I can level it out with the drop axle, then maybe add a mid-size leaf, I may be golden. . . . The "general" recipe is the same, its the "tweaking" that really sets the cars apart from all the rest of the gassers, altered wheelbase cars, etc..