Bebops 29 roadster

[Don Shillady]

It's been a while since I had any real progress but today I received my Bebops roadster body and I want to share my excitement and to document what Bebops delivers. I have a few pictures which I have reduced in size but I don't know how they will look on the Forum so let me try the first one and see how it goes.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[Don Shillady]

Hey it worked! How much of this stuff can you take? I have too many pictures to take up too much space but generally I am quite pleased with the body. The surface is about 99% slick black gelcoat with a few imperfections that can be smoothed out at the time of a paint job. The only noticeable mold parting lines are down on the front of the splash aprons at the front of the cowl and they can be smoothed out easily. I ordered a rumble lid and outside handles installed. Bebops folks said very few roadsters are ordered with door handles on the outside but I opted for stainless steel '29 repro handles with the bearclaw latches. The only real surprise is that due to the installation of the rumble hinges the drip rail had to be cut out about half way down and around the bottom. I think I can cover this with rubber molding on the inside of the trunk edge. I will show the rumble area where it is not clear to me that the shock towers on the rear of the frame will clear. The Bebops rep. said I may have to cut out the rumble floor for the shock tower mounts since what I ordered was really the "stock body" reproduction. Also as I will show in the firewall area the cutout in the floor is for a 350 Turbo AT but I may have to cut it out a little more since I have the longer 700R4 AT. Overall I am very pleased because the whole unit came ready to place on the frame. I thought I would have to assemble the floor and body, but it came prealigned with steel mounting plates in the floor ready to bolt to the frame. I am also very pleased with what seems to be a pretty stout 1" square tubular framework on the interior and the doors latch with a firm "clunk" and the door seams are pretty good if not perfect.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[Don Shillady]

If DennyW says it's good that's good enough for me! Well I think I will add one or two more pictures since others may wonder what Bebops delivers relative to the steel bodies. One thought I like is that fiberglass does not rust! On the other hand it will burn! Most folks have seen indented firewalls before but in this picture you can see that I will have to notch out the area under the tunnel a bit more for the 700R4.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[Don Shillady]

Just one more picture to show the slight problem with the absence of a drip rail in the lower part of the trunk/rumble lid area. Maybe someone else has solved this problem and can comment. On the other hand, so what if a little water gets into the rear end of the trunk? The fiberglass is not going to rust! Maybe I will even drill a hole in the floor in each corner to let any rain water drip out! Now that I know I have the "stock" spring hump in the rear floor I figure I can use the flat floor under the front seat and put in a stainless tank about 18"x36"x5" and that will give me about 14 gallons capacity and still leave room for a seat above the tank. A tank 18"x36"x6" would allow about 16.8 gallons capacity (using 231 cu. in./gallon).

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[Bob Parmenter]

Pretty exciting day, eh Donald? Progress is cool!

Now it's time to get familiar with the folks at your local automotive paint jobber. You need to wash that puppy down with wax and grease remover to get the mold release off completely........................every square inch, and nook and cranny. Then some 80 grit to open up that gelcoat and park it in the sun for a couple days so it can off gas. If you use a long board you'll get a hint of how much it's going to take to get the surface smooth enough for a good finish. Of course you can probably see some of it in that shiney surface right now.

That rumble seat/drip rail thing is pretty much like the stock setup. You will want drain holes at the low spots on the corners.

[pro70z28]

Looks like it's gettin' closer. Progress is the best motivator to keep at it.

[Don Shillady]

Thanks Bob, DennyW and ProZ28, this Forum is great for me to get valuable advice. I already have a neighbor who has a nearby paint/body shop and he has done repair work for me in the past with excellent results. In addition he paints fiberglass boats so I will keep in touch with him, but really I plan to get the wiring in and the car running before I take it to him. Just day dreaming now but I am coming down to some form of maroon for color. I had a '47 Ford convert in high school which was painted the '47-'48 "Pheasant Red" which was really a dark red. If I can get that in Dupont Acrylic that might be my choice but the neighbor with the body shop has some beautiful color chips with modern metallic maroons and clear coat. I can worry over that while I am working on the wiring!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[Dave Severson]

The body looks good in the pics Don, you'll know for sure when you start blocking it.

[Oldf100fordman]

That's a sweet looking body, Don. Looks like BeBops really delivers. Have fun.

[Bob Parmenter]

Nice thought guys, but catching the water off the drip rail is only half a solution. A lot of water comes off the surface of the deck lid and drops in across the entire width of the bottom of the deck lid opening. Your scheme would help control the collection point if Don wanted to fabricate a "trough" across the floor, below the deck lid opening to try to localize the collection of water for draining.

[Bob Parmenter]

Neat design, and I'm assuming you've got the flange so it mounts right at the opening edge. Unfortunately the edge of the deck lid passes right through that area as it pivots on those big hinges you see in the photo. That's why the "factory" drip rail is completely cut away. And at the bottom of it's arch the lid usually comes within fractions of an inch of the floor pan (not sure on the glass replicas how similar to stock it is). Your design for a "gutter" would work mounted to the floor, but would need to be as wide as room allows as the water tends to "move around" as it falls due to air currents.

Here's a pic of my '33, slightly different body contours, but similar lid fumction/clearance. That silver band is the inner floor. This is with the front edge of the lid up about 3".

[Don Shillady]

Thanks guys, I'm thinking about some ideas along the line of putting a soft deformable rubber gasket along the sides of the lid attached or glued to the body sides and then adding some more deformable rubber along the bottom of the lid so it gets crushed up against the inner part of the lower body when the lid is closed. I am beginning to realize that it will always leak some but with some sort of crushable rubber along the edges I can reduce the leaking enough to be able to wash the car without filling the rear trunk with water. I will have to look around for something like refridgerator gaskets and check out hardware stores. As Tech1 has said on other occasions, just because it doesn't say "car" on a hardware store item it doesn't mean you can't use it on a car. I just finished leafing through my copy of "Model A Ford Service Bulletins" and did not find any reference to the stock gasket but I will check with my Model A restorer neighbor and find out how this is handled on the stock rumble lid. On another question, I assume I have to put masking tape on the fiberglass when I cut out the floor under the tunnel for the 700R4, and anytime I cut or drill the 'glass I need to tape over the spot first to prevent chipping, right?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[Bob Parmenter]

Originally posted by Don Shillady
........anytime I cut or drill the 'glass I need to tape over the spot first to prevent chipping, right?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

It might help on the gelcoat side, but do nothing for the "raw" side. But in reality you're going to do some patching after the cut, so you're going to have to feather back the gelcoat to get your patch to bond.