An F-1 steering box and unmodified '39 Ford pedal assembly were clamped in to check fit with the rear of the engine and transmission (one of the most difficult areas depending on the width of the engine and the location of the starter). The pedals will work the '39 Ford transmission just as it was originally designed. The more angles added to components like this makes them that much more difficult to work. It saves a lot of work to make it as simple as possible and try to keep factory geometry for the easiest installation.
The radiator was checked to...
The radiator was checked to ensure 1 inch of clearance in front of the fan. We also made sure that the upper and lower radiator necks would connect to the engine without any great difficulty. Most radiator shops can change the location of the necks relatively easily to best suit your application.
A simple front motor mount...
A simple front motor mount for the Red Ram Hemi we are using was fabricated to be used with the motor mounts.
Tubular legs fabricated off...
Tubular legs fabricated off the rear of the center crossmember will greatly help to strengthen the frame that has not been completely boxed.
After all the driveline components...
After all the driveline components were mocked into place, the body was dropped on to check all clearances, like the firewall to the distributor.
The motor mounts will not...
The motor mounts will not be welded into place until all the other components are installed and verified to fit.
The center crossmember legs...
The center crossmember legs were also designed to be used as a mounting point for multiple other transmission combinations, such as a manual GM gearbox, by mounting a saddle crossmember to the attachment tabs welded to the legs.
Simple body mounts were made...
Simple body mounts were made from sections of square tubing cut at a 45-degree angle.
A bracket was cut to solidly...
A bracket was cut to solidly secure the pedal assembly to the chassis.
An adjustable steering column...
An adjustable steering column was made from a piece of threaded stock that could be dialed in until the perfect steering wheel placement was achieved. This will tell you exactly how long you need to make your inner steering shaft and column tube cover.
The original early Ford steering box arms from the factory have four keyways that make it so the steering arm can only be mounted in one downward position. In order to mount the arm straight down no matter how the steering box is finally set in the frame, we filed the keyways in the steering arm with a triangular file so it has matching teeth all the way around the inner diameter. Another way would be to completely file out the keyways, but filing in the matching tooth is much more trick.
A simple seat was made from...
A simple seat was made from a narrowed minivan center seat.
We checked the seat position...
We checked the seat position with some-one the same size as the owner and made sure all the compo-nents, like the-clutch, brake, accelerator, and shifter, were easy to operate.
Comparison of steering arms...
Comparison of steering arms shows the original keyways on the top and the filed one on the bottom with matching teeth around the inner diameter.