Life is cyclical. When I was a kid, my siblings and I would open up our Christmas presents as soon as we could wake up our parents. Big sis Melinda would get dolls and clothes, which would happily occupy her for the duration of the holiday. My brother, Kevin, and I received sports equipment and a bunch of automobilia-plastic models, die-cast collectibles, H.O. and 1/24-scale slot cars. We'd either play football or cars throughout the holidays. The only exception would be if snow blanketed the ground. Then, we'd race each other and our buddies down the largest slopes in Atlanta or along the first fairway of the neighborhood golf course in Rockville, Maryland, where we spent some of our childhood. If the roads were iced over, Dad would lace on his hockey skates and tour the neighborhood like a speed skater training for the Olympics. Otherwise, he'd be right there with us.
Now that the Smith men are big kids, we still spend the Christmas holidays playing with cars. By tempting Kevin with the notion of working on the '34 Ford roadster pickup in our warm, Southern California garage, Dad and I convinced him to fly out from his home in Detroit for Christmas. We wanted to properly fit the Steve's Auto Restorations Real Steel '34 Ford roadster pickup body on the SAC Hot Rod Products-crafted all-independent Kugel Komponents suspension chassis.
In the January '07 issue of KIT CAR ("The Mating Season," pg. 64), we successfully installed the Smeding Performance/McLeod/Tremec TKO-600 engine/trans powertrain into the SAC chassis, and placed the SAR body on the first-class foundation. However, the TKO-600 trans was 4 inches too long to fit within the opening of the cab's floorpan. Some cutting and massaging, 'er tailoring was in order.
We spent the last day of Kevin's visit with the roadster pickup's first fitting. Though it was an unseasonable 40 degrees with high winds blowing outside the SoCal Smith shop, we fueled ourselves with a couple of Starbucks, and gave the DreamSmith '34 Ford roadster pickup a custom fit. Imagine how miserable Kevin would have been had he stayed in frigid Detroit and missed out on playing with cars during Christmas? Let's all say Bah, Humbug to that, and see if the Smith men had fun in the garage. HO! HO! HO!
A few years have passed since...
A few years have passed since the Smith men first turned wrenches together (see editorial). Dad, brother Kevin, and I performed a first fitting with the DreamSmith '34 Ford roadster pickup. Read on to find out how tailor-made this 555hp hot rod is.
With the body sitting pretty...
With the body sitting pretty on the all-independent Kugel Komponents suspension chassis, we're ready to do the next project on the DreamSmith '34 Ford roadster pickup. See how we did by reading to the finish.
When we first put the Steve's...
When we first put the Steve's Auto Restorations '34 Ford roadster pickup body on the SAC Hot Rod Products chassis, we realized the Tremec TKO-600 transmission was too long to fit within the opening for the transmission in the cab floor. By placing the shifter where it goes on the TKO-600 trans, Kevin began to mark cut lines on the floor.
We put Kevin to work in the...
We put Kevin to work in the garage anytime he visits us from Detroit. He navigated his way along the cut lines of the pickup floor with a Bosch jigsaw, once we'd placed the body on 4x4s atop the SAC chassis.
Dad convinced us that if we...
Dad convinced us that if we didn't cut the floor even with the to-be-modified transmission cover, two catchall shelves would accumulate mud and water from the road beneath the truck. Father knows best; Kevin commenced drawing new cut lines in the floorpan.
Notice we've taped closed...
Notice we've taped closed the Tremec TKO-600 shifter opening with duct tape. Also, Kevin wore goofy looking safety glasses. Metal shavings are the last thing you want in your transmission or your eyes.
He removed the sheetmetal...
He removed the sheetmetal with the Bosch jigsaw.
By following a reinforcement...
By following a reinforcement ridge in the cab floor, he finished the cut line.
Once my little brother was...
Once my little brother was done with the cutting, Sr. Smith filed the cut edges smooth with a metal hand file.
Wielding the metal file, Dad...
Wielding the metal file, Dad smoothed the cut edges.
We used paint thinner to take...
We used paint thinner to take off the old gasket material after removing the duct tape from the TKO-600 shift plate platform.
Upon aligning the SAR '34...
Upon aligning the SAR '34 Ford roadster pickup body on the SAC frame, we learned how well constructed both the chassis and the body are. All we had to do to achieve correct body-to-frame fitment was to enlarge the inside of all six of the inside cab body-mounting holes. Kevin marked the holes with a Sharpie and a magic marker.