Model A job

[idrivejunk]

Thank you sir.  3M 1991 3" reinforced weld grinding wheel on unguarded cutoff tool then a 4" plain cutoff wheel on guarded tool (thats the one which, wielded with care, did the tough part slick). Then a 36 grit 3" twist lock disc backed up with a cutoff wheel under it. Then a flat cheapo hand file, then 2" 36 grit twist lock, a stiff 4" twisted wire wheel, worn 3" maroon Roloc ScotchBrite disc, then 40 grit yellow Norton and 80 grit white 3M PSA discs on a 6" composite DA sander. And then I doubled up a maroon scuff pad and held it under the DA, helps snuff reflections in pics.

The 4" skinny wheel after the 3" fat wheel was the key.

All those things played a part but the 4" was the thing that had the reach, with fender installed. A carbide burr bit might have been my first choice but I can't seem to own one for long, I drop them. I did top side grinding with the fenders in place however, and the 4" wheel at just the correct angle suprised me pleasantly. As yet, no hammer work required.

[idrivejunk]

By the way I still think of wood work at mention of belt sanders. They gained popularity in bodywork after my option to get new tools fizzled. Never had one in my hand.

Anyhow, I know you guys won't mind me showing some backside. ( I did the topside grinding first thing for freshest hands and eyes. My criteria underneath was just to trim off excess and take it down to something cleanable and corrosion protectable that will bury in anticipated coatings.

[chimp koose]

Henry should have done the tail lights like that from say one . Jeez that looks finished

[jaybee]

Great modification. It l00ks factory and modern at the same time.

[idrivejunk]

These are from today, left side, inside. I feel a flashback coming on though...

[idrivejunk]

CK and jaybee, lets trip back a couple years to see the concept evolve. It did so alongside Mustang tail lights. :oops:

Maybe I became frustrated and stopped posting here for a time around then, hence the filename on this top pic. I recall a dispute concerning the references being used.



That was named "screweveryone" and now illustrates an attitude I call walking razor blade.  Thats when I know I'm right so I go ahead while everyone else has the option to step left or right or be cleaved in twain.  

Not so evil, just determined to convey an idea that until this week, no adequate reference existed for. Oh, how I tried. Then came the day I reached the point of just doing one.

Maybe thats not on this thread but it was a long strange trip. :? Still, this may be one of my least fragmented threads.















This job has supported a lot of IDJ flow. It built me up in ways but also had me hovering at the brink of madness. Oh gosh, no vacations hurts a guy in his prime SO bad.    

Nevertheless, (deep inhale, long exhale) the A will always speak for itself and need few excuses. The hood sides are leaning against a nearby wall beckoning.

You may remember those as a point of excitement then confusion, as I do, and I am hesitant to interfere since the idea established and unanimously liked was simply ignored and discarded once the job went out back. Enough reflection though now, probably too much but there you go. Filling in some backside info on the lamps is what I came for.  Time flies.

[jaybee]

You're shown us a lot of interesting ideas over time, a remarkable volume of creative thinking. Undoubtedly there are a lot of good ideas unused on this car, because you can't incorporate them all in one car. Unfortunately unless one's name is something like Foose, Kindig, Moal, Ring, or Fenical it's rare to get to build a car exactly the way you want it for someone else. The A looks fantastic. If you were making all the calls I'm sure it would look outstanding but a good bit different.

People can get too opinionated for comfort when given the opportunity to offer an opinion. I recall when this place was brand new we discussed an A pickup which was featured in multiple issues of Street Rodder. The car was out there, very wild and artistic. Some people offered some unkind opinions and it turned out one of the Knights was a personal friend of the builder. Some feelings were hurt. I confess I was one of those who expressed pretty plainly what I didn't like about someone else's labor of love, and I wasn't too proud of it afterward.

[idrivejunk]

Lucid techno stuff here now...

I don't know if you can make this first pic out and sure don't anticipate any remembrance of how I modified things relevant to bobbed fender mounting. But its a start.



What you're looking at there is inside the left tub. Theres a row of bolts partially hidden behind what I call the tire slicers.  

They are, now pay attention, 90° strips with a 3/4" down flange curved with shrinker jaws and with an up step on the inner edge perforated with plug weld holes.

The down flange was left tall for the jaws to bite and the step edge with holes was for top-optional welding or medium option level screws. They were simply tossed back to me with a flat I'm not using these, no matter what effort I made to explain.

Three of the bolt holes in the long row on the fenders are holes, the rest are slots. Easier adjustment and installation. The ex-slicers act as overglorified washers indeed, but the bends provide support for more consistent gap and resistance to distortion of the delicate panels due to excess torquing. Tight rear fender gaps were a priority all along. In addition, the added clamping force or spreading thereof makes the fenders stay put.

Swap over to the right side but this is ready to hang a fender, with most of the bolts in-



Note here the pinched mount point which results from not using the tire slicers and hanging the fender with one super tight bolt then manhandling the running board-



So the edges both got hacked off except I left the bends. Tub screw holes got welded shut and now it is just a slightly stiffened 18ga washer strip. That I want body bolts on, as mostly shown-





If you can make out whats going on in the pics, you'll see. I planned to trim it always but wanted to leave what I could. No deal, but now bolt heads would rub first in theory, plus the tail light will be on the street before that happens...

But you can see how having that strip in place gives one some mercy in adjusting the final gaps in that theres something to bump on which affects that but isn't a glory panel.

Plus the bodyman approves of lifting the body by the rear fender bottoms, its that chunk. Quite the hard little unit that I,DJ built.

[idrivejunk]

You're shown us a lot of interesting ideas over time, a remarkable volume of creative thinking. Undoubtedly there are a lot of good ideas unused on this car, because you can't incorporate them all in one car. Unfortunately unless one's name is something like Foose, Kindig, Moal, Ring, or Fenical it's rare to get to build a car exactly the way you want it for someone else. The A looks fantastic. If you were making all the calls I'm sure it would look outstanding but a good bit different.

People can get too opinionated for comfort when given the opportunity to offer an opinion. I recall when this place was brand new we discussed an A pickup which was featured in multiple issues of Street Rodder. The car was out there, very wild and artistic. Some people offered some unkind opinions and it turned out one of the Knights was a personal friend of the builder. Some feelings were hurt. I confess I was one of those who expressed pretty plainly what I didn't like about someone else's labor of love, and I wasn't too proud of it afterward.

Pish-posh. Hey we were simultaneously posting. This place is always kind to me, I just don't always see it. Bad things jump out across the road at ya but you gotta get dirt under your nails to find the goody.

When it comes to ideas, an unbridled assortment first is how my mind works. Whether they stick or not is random to me but I'll always have some logic to them, be it bizarre or purposeful. My ability to sling visuals or concepts allows me better odds on acceptance but really I just want to illustrate what a decider asks to see. I hope to never come across as design coaching but the vehicle in my hands is the one I must be enthusiastic about. It was the same way when it was LeSabres, Yukons, Town Cars, Jettas, Optimas, 7-series, SL600 AMGs and all that jazz.

Them old Fords are just a booger. Made liars outta good body men a hunnert years now. Hustling muscle would probably be too serene now but man, I could do with more of that stuff. Sure enjoy making things now, not so much epic constructions but imaginary pieces regardless of whose imagination. Fixing nasty damage hotspots is also rewarding but I will have to find more comfortable ways as time goes on.

[idrivejunk]

On arguably the best weather day this year    I just went through thirty something pages of this thread to find where the hood side theory previously recently mentioned was shown. August of 19. Easiest to get to on my blog which is indexed by date.

Thought I was going crazy but nope, found em. I may re-submit some to the powers that be. Putting some below but first here is the pic I captioned as "seeing what a tail light would look done up like a 60s Pontiac dash ball vent" or something to that effect. When quoting one's self, does one use quotation marks?  :?



Open "Mustang" hood sides with removable "rain check panel"

















Those mockups were discarded, destroyed, or stored. I handed them to a guy to stash a couple years back.

Overly complex? Did I make it complicated for the sake of complexity? Does 2019's good idea look like poo in 2021? The rain panel would slide into tracks and have a single hidden fastener. And have more rounded contours. I am just relieved that evidence survived.

[kb426]

I don't think it was a bad idea. What I'm aware of is the confined engine space and the dissipation of heat. Without some venting, I think there will be problems on the horizon. The history of street rodding is covered with heating problems. More hp., more heat. If the hood isn't vented, the firewall will be plenty toasty. Just my opinion, not to be considered expert by any means.

[idrivejunk]

Past it. I think you have a very valid point.

Those who agree, please say "Aye".



Next on the ballot, louvers:

Top or side?

:?:  :?:  :?:  Thanks. This thread is pushin six digits on views!    

[idrivejunk]

Louvers be danged, how about a 51 F1 cowl vent near back of hood and hinged at front? Or a Chevelle's cowl induction flapper. For those hot idle periods. How about if the hood sides could be run with the back edge spaced a half inch out from the cowl and seal? When I had these ideas and looked at the car I said out loud everyone will hate this. So maybe theres a nugget in the ore, I dunno. The hood vent or flap could be completely mounted to the cowl flange so the hood would only lack the slot for it. Just picturing it, the F1 cowl vent (or maybe Model B, or other, or custom shape?) keeps it most Fordish and therefore subtle in that respect but obtrusive in scale. The SS hood flapper would lend a more slick, modern look like the gas flap and already be hinged right. Both would be mounted flush in a hood slot.

Anything?  :?:  I don't know that any of the above would be enough but I did read up on louvers and oh my theres like mathematical formulas. I am just looking at the core size, louvers, and engine it came with and thinking it maybe best to just not have hood sides.

My first thought was to use the short panels just above the stock louvered hood sides... to put a row of louvers in. Because it has that fancy 3 way hood latch and hinge setup and the latch bars show below the one piece hood top. These thoughts would go in one ear and right out the other at work, I'm almost certain. But I do believe that day will come when temps rise with the rod in a place of no heat mercy and there needs to be an option. Something good. To help drop the temp.  :?:  

[idrivejunk]

Looks like we are alone in our concern, KB. Hood ideas are pointless here and downright unwelcome at the shop. As someone who drives two of the same car regularly, one with Roots blower, I can say increased IAT is a fact in an engine compartment with fully closed hood but increased engine coolant temp is not. Even in the absence of an intercooler. However some models were equipped with heat extractors in the hood, moving air around each end of the blower. Whats good for the goose is not for the gander, says the infinite wisdom of silence however. I will just watch what is done or isn't and refuse to comment if asked so I fit in better..

I didn't work yesterday due to a health scare. No idea what today will be but since I missed a day it might be another week or two of late model pickup repair with junkyard parts. Yippie!

[kb426]

My choice would be on the side. I'm not a fan of louvers because of moisture in the engine bay. This is assuming that the car will be driven and not a trailer queen. However, I know of several cars that they remove the side panels when traveling. Maybe that is a better option.