Model A job

[chimp koose]

From your side shot it looks like the grille shell on the A sits higher than the cowl ? That would be a look you might not want . Maybe the shell is just propped up on something ? I am all eyes when it comes to how you trim out the windshield . I am needing ideas on how to finish it out as mine will be a glue in job as well . I am assuming the fixed position windshield will eliminate a lot of potential wind noise issues .

[idrivejunk]

Yeah I don't have much of an idea where the grill ought to sit. Need to dig out the radiator. But theres no spacers at the moment, to hold the front of the body a little higher like the wood did. You aren't the first to notice.  

I don't know how long until I'll get a smooth hood so this is just me getting a firewall in there to hold things steady as I do the windshield or move to quarters and trunk.

The windshield area is just about sketched out in my head... joggled strips around the glass, looking like a frame... its the outside perimeter I haven't quite decided. :?  :?:    :!:    

[enjenjo]

What's a Gora block :?:

[idrivejunk]

What's a Gora block :?:

Goes under a Gora head.

[idrivejunk]

Heres how I made the joggle. Wish I'd had something a bit smaller in diameter. It was a matter of brake a little, flip, repeat... and on the third or fourth bite, I was able to put the rod in there for a partial effect. Bends don't get real tight on four foot wide 18 ga stuff with this brake. I can adjust it and get one bend a little tighter. But with the molding being used, this radius ought to do. The frame does lay flat on the floor but my woodshield is a little twisted. Not held in there perfect in the pix. Looks like cut n butt to install at least on the sides and bottom.









I gotta be honest now and say there was virtually no checking of anything during that process. Before I cut the corners I checked height of the opening at the ends and it matched. After all the weld n grind, I finally reversed the woodshield. The curve was still good but the ends were slightly asymmetrical. So I may need to cut one corner to perfect it but the molding would probably hide it. You might pick up on that in the pics but all I did was hang it in there wherever the clamps wanted to go so nothing is aligned just right.

How ya like my header stubs? ~:)  All that will have to go through the fender.

[idrivejunk]

Spent the day fussing over the new outer windshield frame and cowl top before tacking them together in the center then screwing the frame back on where I established final position to be. Thats next. Don't feel as though I accomplished much today but what I did get done was critical-



That blue panel from behind the old windshield frame is what the clamp is holding frame to cowl by, its bolted to the cowl now but will be unbolted after tacking then I'll lop off the whole mess of flanges and finish tacking with the assembly on the car. To make the edges meet then fill in the outside corners.



Heres a bug primer shot. Stand by for a Mustang and Ford Truck roof post.

[idrivejunk]

This was how I suggested doing the long seam at the rear of the roof, to avoid disturbing inner structure and minimize additional teardown



The same tactic, or a sleeved joint just above the cab corner seam could be used. The rest is normal roof and I suggested that as long as the cab corners are welded and theres 3 or 4 good plug welds to the drip rail at the front seam, the rest could be bonded. I'd probably weld the drip raills though, and a new windshield is in order so why not the front also...

Of course four guys looked at it and solutions varied widely but I tried to look at it like the boss would  

[idrivejunk]

Thats where I'll ditch the stud, trim the pillar, and make a piece to box the pillar and provide the second layer for that window bed.















The cowl top still has the flange but I don't want to bolt it down to the dash and warp it since I'll probably connect that flange to tubing.

[idrivejunk]

[416Ford]

Matt, what do you do with those crevices/pin holes? I am not a body man only a welder and I have been chasing those crevices and getting to much heat in the areas.

[idrivejunk]

Matt, what do you do with those crevices/pin holes? I am not a body man only a welder and I have been chasing those crevices and getting to much heat in the areas.

There are no holes there. I guarantee light will not pass through my welds. Meaning if a hole is found, I'll gladly eliminate it.. The weld seen above is one shot each, of welding and grinding. No touch ups yet because later opportunities for that will be abundant. Also, a complete absence of such spots is a quality level normally reserved for unpainted parts that are to be plated or polished. Customers are not interested in paying for a polishable panel when filler and paint will do, but a hobbyist is free to pursue their own ideal results.

To avoid the small unground spots, once no light passes through the ungrinded weld, continue welding to fill any spots that look to you as though there may not be enough material. Then grind, both sides if possible, and resume tacking until no light passes through and none of the unground spots need fill. Grind, repeat. To infinity, or the desired level of metal finish is achieved. You are correct, the time to take care of the spots is before you ever grind. Because once you've dressed the weld, metal thickness around it varies and that results in what you are experiencing.

Its my opinion that too much fuss is directed at making barely-there welds and I don't get why. Its like MIG wire is gold or something. Of course if you can fuse the metal with a torch or TIG, you won't have this problem. When you do have it and tiny zaps warp the bejeepers out of your workpiece, try welding from the other side, and keep a wet rag handy. The worst mistake is acting to correct warpage before the entire panel has cooled. Metal that hasn't been excessively worked might set off visual warpage alarns instantly, but never assume it won't return to where it was before the heat.

Also, try a lower metal thickness setting, smaller wire, or being ridiculously short and close together with trigger taps in extra-sensitive areas.

Today I positioned, trimmed, and tacked the roof front panel and revised one end of the cowl top panel's front flange to clear a hood. Then I cut and bent a 4' x 9" piece and clamped it where a wheelwell goes.

[idrivejunk]

This, according to my best reckoning... could work without much work.  I am stoked, can I hear what you think?  :?:

[jaybee]

Man, this thing is really starting to come together. It's going to be a stellar car.

[enjenjo]

This, according to my best reckoning... could work without much work.  I am stoked, can I hear what you think?  :?:

How are you going to allow for frame and motor mount flex? How are you going to facilitate installation?  None of these are stoppers, but they will have to be taken care of to make it work.



You know what a Marman clamp is? They make a leak proof exhaust joint. Invented by Zeppo Marx in the 1930s. It's a reliable connection that can be installed and removed multiple times.

[idrivejunk]

Man, this thing is really starting to come together. It's going to be a stellar car.

I do see glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel but then I remember the roof insert and it seems farther off. Without a doubt, the crew will make it a star. They usually do.... once I finish.  

The job has been a challenge because I find that I have to bring the whole body along in stages, addressing intertwined issues in layers. Kind of like a camera coming into focus slowly. Can't really say "Doors done" or cowl done or trunk done and move on like I am accustomed to in doing repairs. Fab first then repair seems counterintuitive. But I can handle it all as long as the turbo kid doesn't get on my nerves too badly.