51 Ford

[idrivejunk]

[kb426]

The hood is looking nice.

[chimp koose]

x2^^^^^^

[idrivejunk]

Thanxx    It was starting to look like I imagined when I left off.

Good news is: Color match just painting panels off was sufficient for the F250, it appears. I was not looking forward to doing a blend teardown of front doors right behind finishing this assembly, had it not.

[idrivejunk]

I hit a snag or two assembling that behemoth. A glassed-shut mount hole and at one top front bedside bolt, bondo blocking hole. Tails were like starting over almost, with locating holes not covered but filled too much. Had tails fit, I'd have finished. Bumper not on (and tailgate can't close, one guess why), about half the right fender bolts and shims to go, and the plastic OE rear shields too. Hope thats it but there are some glaring issues to my eye... but chances are the customer just wanted us for the "necessary evils". I never met 'em.

This issue caught me up the blind side and I shoulda known or the destructions should say... that the diesel and hippy juice caps can't go back like they were. Theres a snap-in rubber edged piece around the necks and then the plastic inner surround piece. Boy that is a fragile affair now, snapping the whole (but all light plastic) gas door assembly onto the bedside. Thin. Nail biter but perseverence prevailed and all is well. No picture of after hacking out a section of the inner surround and pitching the piece around the necks. Might still not allow full fill nozzle penetration, don't know.







I'll serve up a fresh Pontiac meat walkaround next, when the urge strikes. Nothin F1 to tell, other than to state what we all know... Things where you need to keep your place like where I am at, and things where a bit of a zone groove mojo is needed... are best handled in unfragmented sessions. Pushing one's way through amid distractions isn't good enough for the difficult tasks. Finding "the zone" where hands can run wide open and instincts click is about the only way half this stuff can enter the realm of doable for this bodyman.

[idrivejunk]

That ^^^ is done. Heres the Firebird-

[idrivejunk]

Mr. Broom was cleaning that out today. I spent morning finishing the 250 then went back to the 1. That hood just wasn't going to give me a smooth taper line at top and bottom without another cut. Try, I did. Probably for too long before just doing the cut. The top face area in the vent recess thankfully complied but not without a bit of Matticulousness applied.

It all came down to, of course, precisely bumping the area directly over the brace. Lots of spoon wrist twisting, weak-handed dolly I can barely grip mashing, and slapping with no throw room to swing. Hopefully I learned something useful for the other side. Theres a little left to go over here-

[idrivejunk]

Got that thing to a level I think is par with the rest of the hood. Barely, but moving on. It should mud up OK. The top rib was a lake this morning but planishing the welds drained it. I ain't chasing the hump any farther because I do think it is within range of filler, to finish-







Now... deep inhale, shallow exhale... all thats left is to do it again!

Severity a little less perhaps, on the left side. Lessons learned on the right. Can't expect this one to be any easier. Staring down the barrel of it, in head-on view, can't see a difference. But I will make efforts to assure symmetry because in shiny... well it better match.

[kb426]

Just use copy and paste!

[idrivejunk]

Man, I wish I could do that to today! Did not work due to weather and ran a happy paint brush all day instead of angry air tools.

Never fear, here is yesterday afternoon's fodder-







I was trying to show Lake Warpage there.  Same as other side did. But! Doing the top first seems better but I only gotta make one hood so meh. Heres where driver's side left off. I know you like to see a straightedge on stuff.




The "done" side needs an eighth inch of fill and I suspect the other will too. Thats within spec, thank goodness.



Figured I may as well set up a fender to weld a cut made above the headlight-

[idrivejunk]

Posted this within specs on the daily thread but heres the out of spec version. What else would you expect of me on an ice day?



The real deal-



None of the above does the car justice. It was part of the trade for my 69GP. Thats Mystic Teal, GM WA-119B F body only, mid 90s color. With trippindicular pearl all up off in it.    Stock color, unmodified formula. Good color if you like flip-flop in a plain basecoat... and like blue and green mostly green. :mrgreen:

[idrivejunk]

Got this top rib like I want and eyestimated the needed cut at bottom of the tapered section. Checked vs other side and it matched where I had cut there. So I cut this side. Then I took a pattern off the passenger side and compared-



The horizontal panel section almost corrected itself, little or no persuasion needed. But... that ^^^ shiny spot visible below the pattern is ahead of the cut and is just a few inches of mistake. Didn't fit it up well enough right there.

So I cut more and am back in tacks looking like a spittin' image with a sportin' chance-



Still working this too. It just about had to be upside down to do-



Found another 4" or so cut around the corner from that, too. I swear the painting looks better in person without the desk lamp inches away.

[jaybee]

Pontiac Ventura with a shaker hood and circle track wheels...now that's all KINDS of cool.

Time spent getting the hood vents perfect is well spent if anyone is going to look at that truck the way I would. Not that it's the only thing I would look at by far, but I know I'd take a pass all the way around the front end staring at them. Not to be critical, just because it's the sort of detail which demands attention.

[idrivejunk]

It was way cooler than me and the color was cooler than the car. I was much cooler before I started working on old cars and trucks. It was a by-God Sprint with no power nothing and 3 speed and many adventures had. I do miss it.  But it is still around.

I got this side to look like the other. But. Some things stand in the way of really working out the transition lump to my satisfaction. When theres a seal and latch and truck under that and I have welded hood skin to brackets on brace right in that spot... then I'll know more.

[enjenjo]

what happens to any water that get into the scoops?