The prices of real '30s steel Ford bodies long ago moved into a realm that's a bit steep for most garage builders, and that's a shame considering those cars are the basis from which hot rodding grew. We routinely hear from guys who say they'd love to just build a basic roadster, but they can't justify the prices that vintage, and even aftermarket, bodies and frames are bringing. And the attention that's focused on high-dollar cars has made it easy to develop the mindset that car building is a rich man's game. But, for those of you sick of cars awash in a sea of billet and fiberglass costing as much as your first home, there is still an alternative -- and we don't mean driving around a rust-bucket beater that's an endless money pit, though we've been there too.
When it comes to big-dollar rods, Richard Riddell has seen it all. As an experienced chassis builder who's worked on everything from SEMA show cars to race cars to a contender for the Ridler award, Richard knows the untold fortunes routinely thrown into those cars. Eventually, he became jaded after walking past the umpteenth one in a row at any given car show. His firsthand experience with cars that come together out of 100 percent reproduction parts served only to steel his desire to build something cool that didn't require cashing in a trust fund.
In general, Richard feels the current trends are doing an injustice to the hobby by giving a lot of people the wrong ideas about how a car has to be built, and that's keeping a lot of the next generation of car guys away from classic iron because they have the impression they'll never be able to afford to build something nice. "You don't have to go out and compete with those hundred-thousand-dollar cars to have a good time. That's not what it's about. We always went out and scrounged around for parts, that's just how you did it back then." Richard wanted to give a little back to the hobby by building a car that would show young guys they can get still get involved in hot rodding; all it takes is a little scrounging. Fortunately for Richard, scrounging around is something he's particularly adept at. He and his wife regularly spend weekends trolling back roads and farm country looking for those elusive hidden treasures. It was on one of these expeditions that Richard stumbled across the carcass of what would become the basis for his homage to the spirit of traditional hot rodding.
A clapped-out, rusty '25 Dodge Bros. touring car wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but it only took a few moments of inspection for Richard to see the potential it held for building something unique. Since the Dodge only lightened his wallet a few hundred bucks, Richard had plenty of room left in his budget to throw some scarce and pricey vintage hardware at it if he wanted. Instead, he stuck to his plan to not only build a hot rod reminiscent of how they used to be built, but also to actually build it the way they were built before there were mail-order catalogs and premade speed parts. This isn't another rat rod or "traditional" rod emulation, but it is built the way those cars originally were built: using what you had.
Probably the most surprising and intriguing part of Richard's roadster is how much of the body and chassis were built using the original 1925 Dodge parts. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a store-bought part anywhere. With no kits and no instructions, Richard relied on ingenuity using literally what was laying around. If what he needed wasn't among the stacks of spare parts around the shop, he returned to scrounging at swap meets or in some cases simply fabricated the part out of raw stock. The eclectic cluster of vintage gauges in the dash is completely arranged from 5- and 10-dollar swap meet scores.
Even if the original drivetrain had been intact, it never would have sufficed. This is a hot rod after all, so a V-8 was in order. Never a fan of cross-bred cars, Richard kept everything Dodge and dropped in a '67 440 and a TorqueFlite left over from another project instead of the typical small-block Chevy transplant.
Of course if you're going to be using nearly all stock parts for your rod, some unique challenges arise. This was not going to be any resto job, so Richard had to devise a way to put the Dodge together with some style. While he had the Dodge in pieces, determining what was usable, it occurred to him how simple it would be to flip the frame and suspension and go underslung. For Richard, it was really just a matter of being different, and it also provided an easy way to get the car low to the ground.
The idea of an underslung chassis isn't anything new; it's been around as long as the car itself. Back in the early days of the automotive industry, there were no rules about how cars should be constructed; everything was try-and-see. Barely out of the horseless carriage days, automakers began to experiment with chassis designs, trying to improve ride and handling.
The underslung frame, made most famous by the American Motor Corp. (1906-1913), was an innovative idea that sought to lower the center of gravity of the cars by inverting the suspension and axle to above the frame. Had Dodge built a sports roadster in the teens and '20s, it's possible it would have gone this route. The flipped frame dramatically lowered the car's ride height, and big-inch wheels were used by the factory to achieve the desired ground clearance. That's actually the main reason Richard chose to modify and reuse the Dodge's original 20-inch wheels. In the case of the American Underslung roadster, massive 40-inch wheels were required. Yes, 40 inches. Be patient, there should be some chrome ones available for your Escalade soon. Luckily in Richard's case, the 20-inch Dodge steelies were just enough.
By now you've certainly noticed that the parts list is pretty thin on this car, and we'll bet you're pondering how you could throw something similar together in your own garage. Since we're touting the simplicity and budget on this car, we know what you really want to know is "what did all of this cost?" Richard reports that his total investment to date, including the original purchase price of the car, is about $5,700 and 11 months of his spare time. And you can be sure that when Richard pulls up next to those big-checkbook billet boys, he's the one getting all the attention. Maybe it's time to put down those catalogs and get back to cruising old back roads and perusing early-morning swap meets with your little red wagon behind you. Who knows what you'll find.
Powertrain Engine: A bone-stock but freshened-up '67 Dodge 440 with a mild cam and an Edelbrock carb sums up the simple powerplant.Power: The horsepower has never been verified, but there's enough to make the lightweight car fun to drive.Transmission: A rebuilt, but essentially stock, Chrysler 727 TorqueFlite features a custom tailshaft fabricated by Richard and mated to a driveshaft that's a little less than 2 feet long.Rearend: The third member was pirated from a '30 Chrysler Imperial.
Style Body: A rusty '25 Dodge touring car body was the starting point -- at least the front half of one. The grille shell is unchanged, but the stock hood was stretched 4 inches and louvered.Paint: Classic-looking French vanilla and celery colors were sprayed by Richard in his shop.Interior: This is about as basic as it gets. Richard cut all the plywood for the floors and formed the aluminum panels for the doors, foot, and quarter sections, as well as the center panel that houses the ignition switch and starter button. The seats are simple plywood bases with foam and upholstery done by a local shop. An eclectic group of low-buck, swap-meet gauges fills the dash.
Chassis Frame: The stock '25 Dodge frame was shortened to a 110-inch wheelbase and flipped over to go underslung.Suspension: Inverted '25 Dodge leaf springs hold a slightly modified '25 Dodge axle in the front. The rear also utilizes stock '25 Dodge springs located above the axle.Brakes: Drums of the era were 14-inch, stamped-steel units (rather than the cast used later) and faded quickly when they warmed up, so Richard relented and purchased a basic set of calipers from Wilwood (the only new parts on the car). The rotors were custom-made by a local shop. Front brakes are in the plans, eventually.Wheels: '25 Dodge steelies with modified outer rims measure 20 inches on all four corners.Tires: The Denman 720s give the roadster just the right vintage look, but with acceptable driveability.
Posted by: robertrobertharboure0270205.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.motortrend.com/features/25-dodge-roadster/
