Thread: I think we see the finish line!

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We've taken a few week break from working on my Son Dan's RPU. We were just a little burned out and he needed a break from all the painting. But this weekend we decided to get the final pieces of the bed painted, and also the top of the cowl. Last night we sprayed 6 pieces and tonight we shot the last 4............well, almost the last 4. He still has his cowl vent to shoot, the 32 grille shell, and the headlights, but that is all small stuff compared to all the stuff we have shot so far.

This weekends batch came out really nice, no runs, no bugs. It was windy so that probably kept the insects away. The plan is for him to polish about 120 stainless steel button head bolts this week and then next weekend we can assemble the bed with those. He isn't going to make it in time for Daytona at Thanksgiving, but he is ok with that, he doesn't want to take the fun out of the final assembly by rushing to make that deadline.

Here are some of the final pieces we shot tonight.

Don

can't wait to see it done

That makes 3 of us, Pastor. It will be nice not to have 100 pieces hanging up and sitting on stuff in the shop. Even the futon that I used to take some short naps on is covered with painted parts, so I have to do my napping at home now.

Don

Looks great Don. I bet you guys are tired of cleaning paint guns, and sanding, not to mention sweating through a ventilator mask all day!
It is nice your enjoying the finish vs/ racing and stressing.

that really looks great don

Thanks Steve and Barb. You're right, Steve, bodywork is a pain. The actual shooting is not so bad, it's getting prepped and the cleanup later. One good thing is that we finally have the cool weather we have been praying for all Summer. That makes it more bearable.

It's nice to see Dan be able to take a financial breather too. In the last month he hasn't had to spend any money on the car because he had already bought all the paint he needed to do all these parts. Prior to that he was spending money like a drunken Sailor........$ 100 here, $ 400 there, etc. Even trips to the hardware store or Home Depot for some small stuff ends up with a $ 50 bag of parts and consumables that you use up in one night. This car building stuff is SOOOOOOOO much fun.

Don

10-4 on the small parts, Don!!!!! Doing the small parts is definitely the worst part of any build, for sure!!!! On the Plymouth, I've got waaaaay more time in cleaning, sanding, and prepping small parts then I will have doing the entire body!!!!! But, as you well know, taking the time to do the small parts is what makes the car so much nicer when it's done....

Any assembly photos yet?

Not yet, Steve, but very soon. Dan and I stayed at the shop until about 3am last night and got the entire bed bolted together. Dan spent the other night polishing about 200 button head bolts that hold it together, and it went together without a hitch. He had overdrilled the holes slightly to allow some wiggle room and it really made a difference.

It's laying upside down right now (that is the way we built it) and Don is coming over to the shop Monday night to help us flip it over and lay it on the frame. It really cleaned up a lot of parts that were hanging and laying around the shop, it's all condensed into one Model A bed now.

Today Dan and I drove about 60 miles north of us to the guys shop who will be doing the 27 interior and also Dans interior and top. We saw a really sharp 32 at a show a while back and it had a perfect interior in it. We got the name of the guy who did it, and he came down to see both cars Thursday. He left sample books so Dan could pick out his top and seat colors. Mine was easy, I'm doing black and white rolled and pleated (black roll around the top of the body and white rolls on the rest) But Dans is a little trickier. He wants to match the Ford Wimbledon White of the firewall, and he did find some Hartz top material and some vinyl for the seats that is close.


I have to deliver my 27 to him on the 6th of November, and he will have it for a week. Dans goes to him right after that, and should be done by Thanksgiving, the guy tells us. I worked on my 27 until about 4 am this morning, have to hustle to have it running before the 6th so I can drive it to his shop.

Don

Wow that is great progress for the both of you. I like the two tone black and white interiors. Very classy but simple and clean at the same time.

I'm on pins & needles Don ....

Paul

Thanks Steve and Paul. We got the bed flipped over and temporarily installed on the rpu frame, with the help of Don the other night. That was the easy part, next we decided to install the stainless steel cowl band on the front of the body. Dan and I had installed it a couple of times before, but that was when the body was in bare metal, now that it is painted Dan was sweating bullets for fear it might scratch the paint going on.

If anyone has ever installed one of these they know it takes a little finessing to get it on straight. You are trying to tighten down the band on basically a funnel shape so it keeps wanting to slide forward, out of place. With the three of us it worked out great, as Don and I could hold it in place while Dan adjusted it until it finally cinched down and stayed straight. We had a cold brew to celebrate getting that thing installed with no scratches.

Yesterday I got 95% of the final little stuff done on my 27 and got it back down on all fours. I filled up the rear end with gear lube, tightened up the brake lines to cure some little leaks that were seeping, installed the exhaust pipes and rear shocks, installed the tach and shifter.

I found out the steering wheel I wanted to use (the old flat four spoke one that I kept from my 23) wouldn't work. It is 15 inches in diameter and when I sat in the drivers seat I had no room for my knees, especially to work the clutch. So I had to go to a 13.5 deep dish wheel that I found at Pep Boys. I am not nuts about it, I liked the flat one a whole lot better, but this one works. I also found out the Zoom clutch is a WHOLE lot stiffer than the original clutch I had ran for years. The old one was a little stiff, but this one is VERY stiff. Should be a lot of fun in stop and go traffic.

Here are a couple of lousy pictures. Took them after a long day, so they are not the best ones I have ever taken, but will give some idea of where we ended up. Today I am going to push the 27 outside and wash some of the grime that has landed on it, and the plan is to drive it to the upholstery shop Saturday. Going to try to take the first trip around the block Friday, when Dan is off work. Tentatively, the plan is for my car to be in the upholstery shop until about 11/15, and when we pick it up we will drop off Dans for seats, carpet, and a top to be made. We are probably going to put Dans body only on my utility trailer and have them do the interior that way. We have NO idea how we are going to pick up the body though, even with our gantry. There is nothing to hook some rope to without scratching it, so we have to work that out in the next week or so.

Don

Don - it has become a real work of art - tho I still have to get used to the flatted black. You and your sons need to be congratulated

Those cowl bands are something else - as they really don't fit as well as I would like. Add the rear hood bracket, a couple of clips, fenders, etc in the way and then you need some extra arms. I used what seemed to be about a half roll of that blue tape for mine and prayed as I 'forgot' (ya know about CRS?) to do a fit up before painting but installed it successfully without scratches.

Thanks Dave. Yep, the satin black is not for every one, but we can't imagine any other shade for this one. It allows the shiny powder coating, stainless bolts, and chrome stuff to come through as the focal points. To us it just says Hot Rod as opposed to Street Rod. (nothing wrong with Street Rods, just not what he wanted for this particular car)

Those cowl bands are a bear to intall. We spent one whole weekend a while back, trying to figure out how to get it put on straight. The original Model A cowl top has 3 bumps in it that hold the band in place, but the Brookville smooth topped one doesn't have them. So we made up 3 special little bolts to accomplish the same thing. But even then the band needed some reforming with hands and a rubber mallet to get it to conform. Once we had it right we tightened it down and let it stay on the body for a long time so it would take the shape and keep it.

Every time we went to a show we would look at other model A's and talk to their owners to get tips on installing it. The final solution ended up being those little clips that go on the sides and hold it from slipping forward. Once we had those in place it became much easier.

Don

Don - Don't take me the wrong way with the paint - I'm just not used to it yet

You can see what I have to hold my cowl band in place on mine. If I wasn't using the cowl lights, the neighborhood kids might have learned a few new words. Oh yeah, I forgot about the rubber hammer and a piece of neoprene I made up to fit mine. Then of course, trying to get that nut on the stud and a wrench behind the firewall leg