Great work! It seems those tail light housings are just plain off. We did a 56 at my last job and it had the same issues. None of the aftermarket parts we got fit worth a snot on that car!
Printable View
Great work! It seems those tail light housings are just plain off. We did a 56 at my last job and it had the same issues. None of the aftermarket parts we got fit worth a snot on that car!
I love your attention to detail. I have been following this for a long time. Can I bring my build to you when you get thru with this one. Ha ha
by watching your build I am hoping to eliminate a lot of mud from my build. Great work. Jonathan
Thanks for the comments guys. Jonathan, Unfortunately I have a waiting list. I've got an insurance job next to fix some Tornado damage..
Well, it's that time of year again, and the local Arby's Wednesday night car shows are in full swing, so we've changed the shop nights from Mon & Wed to Tues & Thurs so that we'd have Wednesday free to stop by the shows. We plan on taking Brad's Fairlane to a couple of the events this year, Arby's is just over a mile away from the shop, so his 4 gallon tank may just make the trip.. :LOL:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...Picture522.jpg
This is one of those cars that you'll feel and hear well before you see it, so it should draw a nice crowd :eek:
Last night's shop progress had me doing more block sanding, and Kyle continued on the rear quarter seam shave. The top weld is about done (except at the edge), other than final bumping and planishing. The weld through the middle of the mounting bracket was dressed out. The final weld seam that travels over to the gate opening will be addressed once the body is on the rotisserie, the planishing is a bit cumbersome working around a corner, so with the car up on it's side it will make the task a bit easier.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202499.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202500.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202501.jpg
The tail light fits much better but some final tweaking will be done after the gap at the top edge is completed..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202502.jpg
Please give Brad 2 thumbs up on the Fairlane.. he probably hears it all the time but that is one sweet ride.
So after all your work to date you then need to put the car on a rotiseree?? (SIC) I think I'm feeling faint...
This shows a more accurate color for Brad's car, the camera I used in the other picture was overwhelmed by the sun's reflection...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...IMG_1954-1.jpg
BTW, here's the build thread on the Fairlane.................
http://www.clubhotrod.com/hot-rod-bu...ane-build.html
Yes on the rotisserie, the bottom of the car is bare and in need of paint, and it's also easier to paint the inside with the car rolled on the side. Then you walk (step) through the side windows or door opening to the shop floor, and the ceiling and floor boards are to either side, easier painting.
Brad's car is awesome! I got the loud sound in my head when you said that's a car you hear before you see it. I love that! :LOL:
I'll have to get a video done when we take it down there..
Well since Kyle has the top weld all the way back to the tail light opening, we checked the top crown and found a low spot by the 90* in the weld seam. We had to change the hoop on the Watervliet but since this one fit in the tail light opening so well, this will make short work of raising the low area..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202506.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202505.jpg
We decided to go ahead and work on the opening a bit more, it was wide in spots as shown here...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202502.jpg
Some "friendly" persuasion...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202509.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202510.jpg
Much better fit....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202512.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202513.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202514.jpg
Got a care package in the mail yesterday, we had the hood hinges rebuilt at Wilson's Antique Car Parts....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202527.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202528.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202529.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202530.jpg
I had talked to a couple dealers about the reproduction hinges and did not hear good things, they indicated they had replaced a few sets due to the gears jumping teeth from being too loose. A member on one of the forums had recommended Wilson's rebuilding service, and I gotta say, this is top notch work. If you're having hood hinge issues, I highly recommend their services..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202531.jpg
Kyle was looking for something else to weld, so on to the dash. Here he's prepping for welding the seam, bumping the panels a bit for better alignment before welding....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202532.jpg
Checking across the gap using a 6" rule...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202533.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202534.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202536.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202537.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202539.jpg
Next on the agenda was to shave the radio holes...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202541.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202543.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202544.jpg
Weld, planish, grind, repeat...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202546.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202547.jpg
Good stuff as always, Thanks for the the Fairlane link, what a great build!!
Rich
Thanks Rich!
Kyle got some more welding done and we noticed the patch he made didn't quite have the same crown as the dash next to it. He had left the patch flat, so the difference was becoming more noticeable the more it was welded.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202549.jpg
So the Watervliet planishing hammer was used to add some crown to the panel, and also to planish some of the weld while we were at it..
An 8" radius lower die worked nicely to duplicate the crown:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202550.jpg
Planishing welds...
https://youtu.be/fAnfqtw-C6I
Two holes to go..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202553.jpg
rear view... both sides still need sanding with the roloc, we'll get that once the radio knob holes are done and ready for sanding as well.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202561.jpg
Tailgate is blocking out pretty nice, did have a few low spots to address that still need feathering out....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202556.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202557.jpg
You need to start your own (reality TV) build show! All the current shows would have to bring their game to a new level.
Great idea! But, the producer would ruin it by adding some goofy actors and whole lotta fake drama...
No question about the talent here though!!!
Not to mention that you weren't moving fast enough for idiot TV. Best to stay away from the tv types!Your patience and attention to detail is outstanding.
Maybe a silly question but???? Why all the fill work for the dash? Loosing the seams I can get, but the radio?
Com'on, it's getting 40 series flowmasters on a 383, won't be able to hear a radio anyhow.... :eek:
It's getting either a DIN or 2 DIN, neither of which belong in the dash. We will likely locate some AC vents there to get the cool air on the face... Need to source some good rectangular vents at a U-pull-it..
Finishing up on the radio holes...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202565.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202564.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202583.jpg
Shaving the other seam, here bumping the panels to get a consistent height across the front...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202572.jpg
The upper section would prove to need a bit more persuasion...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202573.jpg
Tool modification...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202575.jpg
A chunk of 3/4 square stock laid in dash void to use as fulcrum...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202576.jpg
Heat applied...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202574.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202577.jpg
Results... before..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202573.jpg
After...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202578.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202579.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202582.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202584.jpg
This view from the back side of weld dot penetration shows Kyle has pretty good consistency in weld dot sizing.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202566.jpg
Today was the Spring Fling car show in Leonardtown so we took the opportunity to do some "window shopping" for vents to fit in the dashboard. With all this nice real estate now:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202583.jpg
.....our plans are for some rectangular AC vents in the radio's original place. I always thought the "up in your face" vents do a better job of keeping you cool than the under dash ones that freeze the knees. So in no particular order, here are some sample vents..
1940 Ford "ashtray replacements" by VA... Although small, thought these may work toward the outside in the same "band" area of the dash...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202586.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202587.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202589.jpg
Grand National...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202590.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202591.jpg
Lower dash vents for a 65 Impala...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202592.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202594.jpg
I like these and the dual parallel deflector vanes over the 55 factory, which is a ball vent with a wide open hole.
These next ones are the ones I'm leaning toward for the dash center as they are an easier install than most of the GM ones of the era. The GM vents have a solid pivot shaft at either end that would require making a saddle and clamp deal to hold it in place. The Fomoco style shown here has the pivot pin on a tab that springs inward for installation/removal, so it requires two simple holes. A much easier fabrication of needed ducting.. if we need to fabricate..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202595.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202596.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202597.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202598.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202599.jpg
This had no AC vents, but was a super clean ride, and still sported the Straight 8 under the hood, so consider this complimentary eye candy!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202601.jpg
More VA pieces, these are nice and compact
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202604.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202605.jpg
I like the rectangular for the center of the dash but worry these round style vents may "clash" with rectangular ones. So the 40's small rectangular may be a good option for the side vents. Thoughts, personal choices, ones we haven't shown (with pictures) are welcome. This build really isn't a billet type, so black and chrome are a preferred option. Thanks in advance for any advice/pointers..
Love the Tomatoe strippped Sarsky and Hutch Gran Torino!
I agree with you, the outer ones on the 40 would work well with either of the rectangular units.
The rounds won't look "right" imo..
FWIW, my 76 Vette has round ones in the bottom corners of the dash and 2 horizontal ones above the center instrument panel, looks fine to me.
My 72 C10 has a horizontal one top center in dash and round ones on each end.
While I agree with the concept of "up in your face" AC vents, the idea of cutting holes of any shape in that newly shaved and smoothed dash would be hard for me....:eek::D
Wasn't that pretty much a standard design feature for Chevrolet/GM through much of the '60's through most of the '70's? Their round, infinite spin, no stops vents were used on the ends of many dashboards, with a variety of vertical or horizontal vents in the center, seems to me? Of course, CRS arises too often......
My 69 chevelle nomad has the rounds and rectangular.
First, thanks to all for their input on dash vents. I'll have to agree that these shoebox cars lend themselves more to curves, but given the long, flat, rectangular mounting surface in the center of the dash, it seemed that two round vents would not begin to fill the void. Thus we were leaning toward the rectangular vents to fill the space. Dana wanted to keep the outside vents round, and mount below in the factory location. So these are the ones decided on, Vintage Air pieces...
for the corner locations.....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202626.jpg
for the center of the dash.......
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202627.jpg
Of course, something told me to keep looking, and as someone had suggested to do the Google image search on "dash vents", I skipped the catalogs this time and looked at installed vents. Then it hit me, how could I have not seen this before.....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202625.jpg
Three wide in the round vents vs. only two did a better job of filling out the dash and would give us matching vents all around. So, with only two round on order (and two rectangular that will likely go back), we plan to see how "tight" these 2-5/8 round bezels look on a 2-3/4 high flat area, and make the final decision from there.. The saga continues..
Now with the dash seams all welded and waiting for gauges to be delivered, the moment I've been dreading. Installing the Rocky Hinge fuel "door". First thing noticed was that some of the holes on the weld-in mounting plate were off by half a hole..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202609.jpg
So Kyle cut out a fresh piece of 14 ga crs to make a new one, a bit oversized to trim later. Used some transfer punches to get the bolt holes lined up a bit better on our version of the weld-in plate..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202606.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202607.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202608.jpg
Attachment screws fitting better already....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202612.jpg
To provide the proper "pressed" countersink, we broke out the tubing flare kit...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202615.jpg
Redneck press...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202614.jpg
Our lower "die" was a 1/2-13 nut, centered over the hole, perimeter marked, and then taped in place before locating this into the press. Hey, it wasn't pretty, but it worked!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202616.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202617.jpg
Some trimming of the hole to provide room for the weld-in mounting plate....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202619.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202618.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202623.jpg
Test fit of the tail light housing showed the opening was a bit wide, especially to the inside towards the tailgate. So some glancing blows with too large a hammer provided a bit of stretch in this inner valley to persuade the panel over to the left, tightening up the opening....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202624.jpg
A bit better here, but more tweaking will be needed on the outside before the mounting plate gets welded in place..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202622.jpg
More excellent work, and excellent photos/explanations of the steps. I especially appreciate your "redneck press" explanation, which gives a very efficient method of getting the job done using items on hand in unique ways. Thanks for that.
I noticed Kyle's weld penetration photo in post #496. I think this young man may have a bright future in auto body work. The combination of youth and experience is very evident in this build. A great teacher and a willing student at work here.
Every time I read through this thread I'm impressed adn amazed - great work and transferring skills to a young man while spending quality time in the garage. I'm sure the conversations include a lot of "life-lessons" as well. You, sir, are an encouragement to all of us dads and granddads!
Glenn
Thanks for the kind words fellas. This weekend we're headed to a metal shaping workshop and plan to use the time to make some pods for the corner AC vents. Should be a good day..
Received a couple of care packages today, first was some of the tailgate hinge trim rings, shown here after Kyle media blasted them. So to all the guys that were watching the ebay auction for these, sorry..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202630.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202631.jpg
Next, we got our AC vent samples in.. Here is the test fit with tape... Only have two of the round ones to show, but if we go with these there will be three in a row here in the center of the dash.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202632.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202633.jpg
Any thoughts on the vents now with them mocked up?
Then Kyle tried his hand at block sanding epoxy on the inside of the hood..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202634.jpg
I'd still vote for the rectangles.... the rounds can work because of the raised "eyebrows" at the top of the dash.. but the rectangles seem to blend into the horizontal lines much better at that part of the dash.
just another opinion.. that and a dollar won't get you much any more!
I would go with the round ones since the air flow can be more easily tailored to ones needs.
Well, since you are asking for "opinions"......you spoiled me by creating that smooth flat surface and now hanging either set of vents in there looks a bit like making the AC register in your home become the focal point of the wall.:eek: :LOL: If I had to choose, I'd go with the round ones because the rectangles just look too 70's for that dash, but what about hiding the vents behind a smooth panel that retracts when you want AC? Hmmm....... you know what they say about opinions....:LOL::LOL::LOL:
Or how about a hidden panel that lifts up exposing the vents when you use them via hydrolics! ;)
Very James Bondish, or if you remember Matt Helm(Dean Martin- he drove wagons in his spy series!)
http://cj3b.info/Photos/MovieFrames/...mbushers12.jpg
Round ones. The square ones look too 1970's-1980's GM cars.
Or useing the idea from R2.. just have a duct under (hidden) below the dash? And leave the dash alone.
Randy, here I'm trying to get this thing done this year, and you want to pile on more work.... :LOL:
Went to a metal shaping workshop this past weekend, and just in case we needed a project to tackle, I took along one of the round vents so I could make some "buckets" as an option for mounting them in the lower outside corners of the dash. To prevent scratching, I covered the chrome with painters tape. As it turned out, we had plenty of other projects going on, and I never got to the vents. Removing the tape when we got home resulted in this:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202651.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202652.jpg
So be forewarned, don't use tape to protect the chrome on the plastic vents from Vintage Air.
Also made a Xerox copy of the vents to be able to lay them out and test a pattern before cutting any holes.
Thanks to all for the input on vent selection. Here is the 5 round pattern that the owner has decided on...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202656.jpg
That can be refoiled and I would be suspect of any others you received as well.
They are just over $10 each, so likely they have a tail light warranty..
Well, the past couple of shop nights we've had some detours and some back up and punts. Where to start..
Started with a test fit of the power antenna the owner had bought, installed somewhat easily and even clears the door hinge when closed by 1/4". But this trim ring on top is just......obnoxious. Anyone use a power antenna that is a bit easier to hide?
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202700.jpg
Next, lets get the VA unit under the dash to see how much room we have to work with on a radio..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202701.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202702.jpg
Doh! We had planned on a single DIN chassis, so it appears the radio will need to be 4" deep, or go back into the dash, or go in a console. She did buy a console with the bucket seats, they all came out of a late model Monte Carlo. Let's give that a go.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202703.jpg
Not much room for installing a single DIN chassis, but even worse the console tapers in at the bottom where the trans tunnel is spreading outward. So it looks like its teeter tottering. Doesn't match the car at all. So this looks like something else to add to the list, perhaps a custom made console is in order..
Since we're not doing too well inside the car, let's shift gears and move to the outside. We had a couple more parts to add to the pile awaiting powder coat. The side baffles of the core support had some hole alignment issues, must be off a 57 or something.... so we'll fill those in and get them re-drilled correctly. Next, we need mounting brackets for the radiator. These were made from some 16 gauge cold rolled steel..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202658.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202659.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202675.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202676.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202677.jpg
We do now have much better clearance around the radiator petcock with the new improved version of the lower baffle..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202678.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202679.jpg
Kyle had learned some Tig welding this past weekend at GatorMeet, from Gator's boy Dakota. Dakota is quite accomplished for his youth, having won the state competition for welding. Here Kyle runs a couple of practice samples to get the machine dialed in... Seems he forgot his long sleeve welding shirt this evening. :)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202684.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202685.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202686.jpg
I had shown him how to tack without using filler, and gave him more aspiration by showing him a no-filler fusion weld. All in due time..
Practice aside, here is the hole filling effort in the baffle panels...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202688.jpg
While Kyle worked on filling the holes, I had directed attention to the condenser and the holes we would need to add to the passenger side baffle prior to powder coat... just as shown in the book..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202662.jpg
....only Murphy had other plans, it appears our condenser was intended for a cross flow radiator...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202668.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202665.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202667.jpg
Hmm..... don't think this is going to work. So to back up and punt, the plan is to make a mounting bracket that will hold this universal condenser to a top flow radiator all while hiding those ugly holes that scream "I'm a universal fit". Then we'll have to get some new hard lines made up that fit correctly.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202664.jpg
Layout of the mounting bracket...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202687.jpg
Don't try this at home, it was done on a closed test track...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202690.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202692.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202694.jpg
The ears inside will be folded inward to use the same bolts on the side of the radiator.. Here we are making the top and bottom folds in the magnetic brake, this design will help to hide all those holes..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202695.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202697.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202699.jpg
....and we'll finish the mounting flanges next time..
If Kyle can master tig welding on sheet metal, the sky is the limit for him. Tig welding sheet metal takes much less filler metal than mig does. This can be a difficult transition to make. A small tungsten and .023 or .031 mig wire may help him here. The back side of the tig weld should look just like your mig photos show with full weld depth. Good progress guys.