Model A job

[kb426]

Did I miss something? Is that one of those blow apart cars that when it hit's the wall, it goes into pieces???

[idrivejunk]

Did my KB impersonation for a day, thats all.  


 Seriously, Henry must have left a piece out... it was like that Warner Bros cartoon with the giant red hairy monster with sneakers. Bugs or Daffy caught up to it with an electric shaver and woops, gone. All hair!

Its gonna be tough to resist mocking a unibody car with my reconstruction techniques. Y'know, like less tubing and more thick sheetmetal bracing. Now, I want to set me up a nice comfy spot for fixing a part or two at a time (with some sitting) and just get with it. Floor first because theres nothing much to stop me there. Need blasting, epoxy, and parts. Now is the time to decide all the street rod options and commit.

Reckon I'll have to provide other A, B, or C option images of better quality to gather any critique on the chop specs. From anybody. Hopefully the customer likes the mild chop. That operation will happen much later in the game though.

[idrivejunk]

Cleaned up my area this morning. Got A parts organized and tossed remnants of past jobs, basically making space and settling in for another long haul. This afternoon I tackled the rear window panel. Turns out the T strips at the roof seams and the front trunk gutter are spot welded to the panel. All that is off it now and I am addressing damage to the top portion. Sliced the deep nasty goose-egged kink in it and got started english wheeling it back into shape. If I can save this all but the roof insert flange, thats a yard less butt weld on the bill. Worth a shot because I don't recall seeing a replacement rear window panel available. Heck the only part of it thats decent is the chop area.

[kb426]

Should the description say "well used" for this body?

[chris spokes]

looks like it's had a hard life

[idrivejunk]

What would you expect? Its 88. Does appear to have possibly survived a stand-up few rumble seat shenanigans of some sort. I was imagining that damage was from propping a BAR box mag up there during a getaway. Seems like any Model T or A worth it's weight in snot has at least one bullet hole, but this one only had one possible small caliber hole somewhere. On that green 31 I skinned the lid but owner wanted to keep the bullet hole in the shell. Sentimental?

I did the unthinkable yesterday, did not get a pic of the rear window panel top which straightened out fairly well on the engish wheel after welding up the relief cut. Searched for this panel new, closest thing was a $1,600+ 32-4 3 window one so this appears to be a valid pursuit.

[UGLY OLDS]

You replaced the panel with a blue paper towel  :?:  :?:    :?

Bob...

[idrivejunk]

Bob, thats what they call one of them thar fields of azure, see? Y'know like them what holds the stars up. Leastwise the horizon yonder was tough to spot without sky behind it.

It actually worked pretty good throwing those steel balls at the dents with the panel upside down.   Not unlike Skee-Ball but without the prizes and you wore your steel toes, right?







Me and the english wheel pal around lots now although its me who makes up all the jokes. But I also have a couple heavy set friends both named dolly, and they worked together (kind of a favorite combo of mine, a fat heel dolly and a big flat one) to help me bump out a very few spots before the english wheel. Both quarters got wheeled like the window panel, mainly the right... but there isn't even enough hammer work between all 3 so far around the roof, to mention. This gentle wheel job worked so well that at some point I thought to try the quarter on for size, too. Dang if it wasn't just the right height to be do-able although I may have spawned a few new dance moves in the process.







Now, my dear Mr Watsons, I deduce that the right roof side was sliced because the caved-in rear window panel incident pushed the quarter out at the right rear corner of the insert hole. After cutting the weld there and straightening the panel to a point where the overlap at the cut went away, the front tip of the right roof side sticks way out. You gotta shove to get it hooked under this makeshift retaining tab. The driver's side fits comfortably there.



The solution is complex but mainly in the boogered up window panel. The insert flanges are kinda screwing things up but they will not be needed, nor will the window panel / qtr flanges for that matter. Also, both quarters are long relative to the jig now but thats OK. The tail area is one thing but this roof stuff has to be 100% ironed out before doing the roof insert or chop. I almost started on B pillars this morning, but took this path instead. Having the T strips and big dents out, now I am ready to start at the rockers and pan and work upward aligning the body and pinning it in place. All that has to be 100% ironed out before flushing and sui-hiding doors and hinges, or chopping too. I would feel a whole lot better if I had the actual roof insert but made do today with a clamped sheet of 16 gauge as a placeholder. Like the toy model A hot rod at George's chair.



Heres a little adjustable link between side windows that I whipped up at day's end, in keeping with the B pillar thought flow.

[kb426]

Pretty good for a monday!

[idrivejunk]

Pretty good for a monday!

Wow, guys! You heard that, right? Boy thats high praise, considering the source. I'll get all cocky now.

Thank you sir and I certainly appreciate you guys providing not only inspiration and friendly guidance but also handy segway material for me to build on, as one-liner comments upon which I can build more colorful posts. It was a rainy Monday, at that!

[UGLY OLDS]

Lookin' good ...   Looks like the english wheel is pretty handy to correct all those little dents...Seems to  save on a lot of hammer/dolley work ...

Bob..

[chimp koose]

MATT , YOU COULD MAKE A MIRROR OUT OF A CRUMPLED PIECE OF TIN FOIL ! Keep up the good work

[idrivejunk]

Thank you gentlemen, and I hope I've passed the audition.

I am wore smooth today, down to a nub. So this might be a crummy episode or your favorite. Turned out to be a training day, mostly.

Gary was cool enough to give the nod to my idea of fabricating a side panel to cut both door skin and quarter patch from. I have around five hours in this first try and it will probably be scrapped and the idea aborted but the feedback I am getting from those who make panels is that my try is par. It was worth taking a swing at the idea, and while theres a chance we'll continue to pursue fabrication of that, I believe its more likely we will just buy panels... or make short ones.

Before all this started with hey the first parts order is ready to hit send, do I get door skins... I got the quarters (top front corner of body line at door opening) squared in relation to the dash and secured them to the fixture in proper 3D location. Now, here are some large panel english wheel door skin fabrication attempt... pictures for your lesiurely perusal.  Enjoy.







Not sure if that will get me an honorary junior metal shaping merit badge.  :-}

[enjenjo]

That's a * good first try.

[moose]

Are you attempting to wheel the panel solo or with an assistant? If solo that is a large panel to wheel alone and control droop. If with someone are they matching your speed and keeping the panel at the same height?

use the closest radius wheel and light pressure. Takes longer but easier to not over stretch it.