Yeah, I agree Larry. Lights a little lower will be good. Mine include the shock mounts, so didn't have much choice, unless I made some other kind of mount. I love that grill shell----------And the arrow is COOOOL. Perley
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Yeah, I agree Larry. Lights a little lower will be good. Mine include the shock mounts, so didn't have much choice, unless I made some other kind of mount. I love that grill shell----------And the arrow is COOOOL. Perley
Thanks Perley,
The shell is two door window frames welded together and bent in an angle. Still have to build the shroud around it .
The arrow is a image of my old unit patch from Nam. There's also a sword that will go in the middle of that when finished. II Field Forces. That the whole theme of this build. A salute to my old unit. B-battery, 5/42 Artty.
Larry
Got a little work done on the grille shell this afternoon. Still need to get the wire mesh for the background and it will be ready for a few coats of primer.:D
I think it turned out pretty good for a couple of door window frames welded together.:toocool: Whatcha think??:confused:
You already know from my previous post that I'm not a big fan of rack & pinion steering mounted on straight axles:HMMM:, but I gotta say I really like that grille shell. Making that from a couple of window frames is one of the coolest ideas I've seen yet.:3dSMILE::3dSMILE:
Yeah though I am not a big fan of fiberglass, shiney paint or chrome, I kinda like the grille shell too;):D:LOL:
Have a great day friend:)
Wow, OK Larry. Great job. :) I love the grille shell too. Do you have any pictures of building it, what you started with and all that? That's too nice to keep secret! :LOL:
Got a couple Perley. Dont know how much one can learn from them but I will post them anyway.
I will try to explane how I build it. First I use the two door window frames from my 46 Ford cab being I am going to build a roadster from it. I seen this done on another site where someone had done this and thought this would be a big time money saver.
So after cutting the frames off I trimmed the frames by removing the inside section off the frame using only the outside parts. I laid them out on the floor and start moving them around till I came up with some kind of design I like and to my surprise it almost copied the shape of my old unit patch from Nam. ....Light went off......:LOL: Perfect being this truck when finish will be a tribute to my old unit. OD Green and Flat Black.
Tacked the two together and then cut and bent where they met in the middle till I had the angle I wanted and made sure the frame would cover the radiator.
Welded those parts together when I was satisfied with the shape.
Cut out a cardboard templete to fit the shape, made sure it fitted around the R&P, cleared the frame rails and then transferred it to the metal. I used 24 gauge steel and rolled some beads in it to stiften it a bit.
Ground it all smooth with a flap wheel and da-dah.....Grille shell!!!:toocool: The arrow and sword are the insignia from my old patch. I will fill in behind them with some type of wire mesh.
Hope I made this where others could follow it. :confused:
I know some of the pic's are the second posting of the same ones but these are in order. Anyway here all the photos I have of the build. Enjoy.
Larry
Looks good Rat!!! Way better then using some store bought thing that looks like everybody else's!!! Well done!
Ohmigawd Larry. Genius! Great imagination. :3dSMILE: How come I could never come up with something like that? Now if I do, you'll say I copied your work------------**) But that's OK, cuz that will give my Friend J.R. a break. haahaaa. I've stole most of his secrets now! Thanks again Jim. Great going Larry. :)
Hey Perley, copy all you want. This wasn't my idea in the first place, guess ya could say I took it from another also. Just did my own twist on it**)
That's what so good about these forums, people sharing ideas with others and building things from scratch so to speak.
We all have a God given gift called imagination so lets use it to it full advantage.
It doesnt really matter who comes up with an idea, do your own thing with it and see what you can come up with. You may be surprised at some of your own results. I was. :3dSMILE:
At first I didnt really care for the grille :mad: but the more I played with it in the end I liked how it came out.:)
Have fun, aint that what it's all about anyway?
Larry
PS: shot some primer on it and WOW!!!!:D
Good view Larry. Yes, it's all about having fun, to be sure! :D Sometimes it is difficult for me to 'think outside the box', that's one of the best things about J.R. helping me, he's GREAT at imageering! If I see it, I may be able to do it, but I can't see it in my mind, usually! Yes, the Good Lord gave us all something usable. All have different skills. Fighting, or Marching--heeeheee:eek: I tried starting my 6, but no luck so far. First I think the timing was not quite right, then I got it closer (I think) but not right still. Then the battery went south. It weren't any good anyways. Sitting too long without charging, out in the garage where it was cold all last winter. Tried another today and same story! :CRY: :mad: So looks like a new battery in our future. If I ever get some work again. Darn, retirement/disability don't pay so good at all. BUT, it pays my house payment, thank the Lord. Perley
True, retirement/disability isnt much of an income but look at the bright side my friend, its sure more than alot are getting. My income pays my house payment and the light bill.
I sold all my woodworking equipment to build this car. So far I have only spent around 300 out of pocket on it.
Ssssshhhhhhh, dont tell the wife ......hehehheeh
Update:
Grille shell is in primer for the time being but still need to make some kind of background, screen or something, havent decided yet.
Got my radius rods on Thursday and started mounting them Friday night. Finished up the mounts today and got them tacks in place. A member from another site walked me though the set up of the rods, thanks Fuzz.
Anyway here's a couple of pic's.
Hope ya enjoy.
Larry
I gotta hand it to ya, That's some real ingenuity! I'm impressed.:D... That's gonna be a great looking Truck when you get it done. Just goes to prove, If you want something bad enough, there's always a way to get it, money or no money!..CR
Gall Darned CRat. I better hit the throttle, you're gaining on me for sure! haahaaa. Going great. I like it. Perley
Thanks guys for the kind words. Means alot to me.
This whole build has been a great learning experience for me.:HMMM: Mostly I have learned what doesnt work.....:LOL:
Larry
This whole build has been a great learning experience for me.:HMMM: Mostly I have learned what doesnt work.....:LOL:
Larry[/QUOTE]
Those are the lessons that stick with us the longest !:LOL:.........CR
Those are the lessons that stick with us the longest !:LOL:.........CR[/QUOTE]
Heck, if you don't try all the bad ideas first, how would you ever know which ideas work??????:LOL::LOL: If you ever meet a guy who tells you all his ideas work out great the first time.......you just met one of the world's biggest liars!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:
sound like a good build, however l would leave to top on and just chop it as it gets real cold at night and if ya are gonna drive it a lot the top comes in ral handy, l know from experance,,,and YES safety first,,, later
Thanks Skull.
Keeping the top on is almost an impossibility on this cab. It has as much or more rust in it as the floor had.:eek:
Roadster PU is in store for this one to save alot of headache and metal work.:cool:
Some where down the road I may build a removable top for it but for now the wife has always wanted a convertable...:LOL:
Dave: so true, so true...:LOL:
Finished up the grille shell this morning and wanted to post a couple of final pic's of it.
I used some 1/4"square, 24 gage, screen wire for the back ground. First cutting it to oversize and securing it to the shell with wire ties. Then I trimmed and crimped it around the inner lip to secure it and checking often to make sure everything stays in line. A couple of coats of flat black primer and da-dah, a grille shell for around 15 bucks.
Larry
Looks great Larry. Wanna do one for mine? haahaaa. Perley
Looks great!!! Goes to show not everything has to be some store bought bolt on goodie!!!! Neat, clean, and functional! Meets all the criteria to be a Hot Rod!
:3dSMILE:I woke up this weekend with a sudden urge to cut metal. I was having evil thoughts as I walked to the garage. I was somehow going to get that top of the old gal if it killed me.
We fought and fought :mad: but she didnt want to give in :CRY: but all of a sudden she must have had a change of heart and then she finally gave in :o and wa-lah, she's toppist and not bad looking for an old gal.:LOL::LOL:
What yall think???
Thanks
Larry
AWWWWWRR Larry, now you've gone and done it. :CRY: And she was such a purty little thing with her head on! :HMMM: Actually, not bad! Durn, whatcha gonna do when it rains, or don't it ever rain down there? Me--I'd be shoveling snow outta her! Well, that one step put you several days ahead of me---------:whacked: haaahaa. Perley
:LOL: Oh yes Perley, it rains a plenty down here. Matter of fact we just had 3 inches and the ground feels like a spounge.:LOL:
Shes got a good garage to set in when it rains. But I did put some drain hole in the floor just in case and of course to let the wash water out.:rolleyes:
I need an update on your build ol'bud, whatcha got going on there???
NEED PIC"S!!!:D
Later buddy,
Larry
Nice job on the choptop and the grill. Lookin good.
Looking great man!!! I don't know if this really fits with your rat rod look or not ( wich I am a huge fan of.:D), but what about making a "convertable" style roof, and the covering be a OD green canvas, to go along with your theme. Then, less rain and snow will get in, a huge plus where I live,LOL! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the comments guys. :)
I am thinking about a removable canvas top down the road but not at this time.
One suggestion I had from another site was to cut the top of the windshield post and run straight glass across it.:HMMM: Not too sure about that one.:confused:
Larry
I like it with the slanted windsheild, its different. :)
Got started capping the rear part of the cab tonight. Here's a couple of pic's.:3dSMILE:
Hopefully I can get the windshield boxs in this weekend if I don't run out of welding gas first.:(
Larry
Looks good Larry, and what day other then Saturday would a guy run out of welding gas???????:LOL::LOL::LOL:
It's looking great. You're on a roll keep it up and you'll be done in no time! :cool:
Finished up capping the rear section of the cab and started on the windshield post today. Had to rebuild one and will have to do some repairs on the other.:eek:
I know I started out building a rat rod but with all the fixing and cutting and rebuilding the body it's turning into a hot rod instead it seems. But thats ok too.:3dSMILE: I guess its all the years of doing body work that has me fixinig rust and replacing metal in it. Some habits are hard to break....:LOL:
Anyway here's a couple more pic's of the progress.
Larry
ps: I did score some more gas Dave......:) 200lbs in the other tank didnt go far today.
Dog-Gone Larry, if you really wanna do body work, come up here! I got some on the Essex to do! Looking great buddy. Perley
Would love to Perley but thats just a little far to drive on the weekends:D
And with gas being the prices it is, well you know...........:3dSMILE:
Larry
A refresher on some patch work. Nasty rust in window/dash area before and after.
Started capping the windshield frame also. The joggle (step) in the end of the piece is to accept the next piece of metal making a smoother transition.
Larry
Good looking roadster. Will you have it at the auto fair at Charlotte speedway in the spring?