Bought then built...
Wedon’thaveapictureofthe
completetruck,buthere’sthechassiss
asitcameoverfromtheStates–a
running,drivingstreetrod...Movingtothefrontend,acompletenewFatman
FabricationIFSwasorderedandinstalledbyGary.
Astheframebracketswerewrong,thosehadto
bemodifiedtofit.
FatmanfrontendcamewithQA1shocks(not
installedhere),tubularstainlessA-arms,new
spindles,rackandpinionsteeringand11-inch
venteddiscs.
GarylateraddedaFatmanfrontanti-rollbar
too,modifiedofcourse.Asitsaysinthemainfeature,
Garypreferstojustdochassis
work,buthereheturnedhis
capablehandstoanewfirewall
thatlooselymimicstheoriginal.We’retoldGaryisabitOCDandkeeps
meticulousrecordsoftheworkhedoes.Assuch,
wecantellyouthereare 53 individualpieces, 10
flangesand35ftofTIGweldingintheexhaust
alone.ClampsareMilltekstainless.
That’sauniversalpedal/8-inchboosterand
mastercylinderfromSpeedwayMotors.This2-inchbalancepipeinthe
exhaustisoneofourfavourite
bitsoffabricationworkinthe
wholetruck.
We’retoldGaryhadnevergas
purgedanexhaustbeforewhile
weldingsothoughthe’dgiveita
tryhere,hencethebungsandthe
pipeenteringbottomright.The
ideaistomaketheinsidewelds
assmoothaspossibletolimit
turbulenceandcorrosion.Moresuperbsheetmetalworkinthe
new16-gaugesteelfloorwith¾-inch
beadsandtransmissiontunnel.What
youcan’tseeisthe2x1-inchframe
beneathwithmountingsleeves
weldedintotake^5 / 8 -inchcap-head
boltsthatfixittotheoriginalcab
mountsonthechassis.Thenewlykickedup
rearend,withthenow
37-inchwideFord9-inch
axleandrearsuspension
inplace.Lookhard
andyoucanseethe
diagonaltracklocator
belowtheaxle,too.
Whatyoucan’tsee
isGarymadehisown
boxsectiontoprecisely
mateuptotheoriginal
chassisdimensions.
That’swhatwecall
doingthejobproperly.Adjustablerear
4-barbrackets
madefrom^3 / 16 -
inchplatetacked
inplace.Bars
themselvesare
21-incheyetoeye,
whichGarysays
isagoodlength
foranicedriving
streetcar.Bushes
areurethanefor
simplicityand
becausestreetcar.......witha
MMustangII
IIFSwelded
iincrooked,
ssothe
wwheelbase
wwas1½
iinches
ddifferent
eeachside. GaryLaytondidthechassiswork,
whichstartedwithrestoringthe
originalDodgerails,including
weldingup 187 unwantedholes(!)M i t th f t d lt Ft
AsitsaysinthemainfeatureWe’retoldGaryisabitOCDandkeepsAndnowfinishwelded.
Ifonlywecouldweld
likethis.Checkoutthebeau
crossmemb tifulrear
erGarymadewitha
proploopandexhau
stroutes.Itwasonlyonc
cameo ethepaint
ffthatthetruest
ofthecabbecam ate
eapparent.