Kim is a buddy of mine who lives just up the road and we share a lot of good times back and forth between the shops working on stuff, talking, drinking, bouncing ideas around, drinking, you know...that old chestnut. Here is a pic from the local watering hole alongside one of my OT name sakes and another friends sweet '53 Olds. This was a few years ago and you can see the car in "as adopted" condition. A bit over three years ago he disassembled his driver, a chopped, highboy, 31 coupe to correct a few issues he knew about and a lot of things he didn't... yet (like the 3 bolts holding the body to the frame ). The main goal was to remove the banger and install a running Merc flathead he picked up, but along the way he had to straighten a bent frame, box it, change trans, open drive shaft, rebuilt rear-end, firewall altered, gas tank behind the seat, etc. He bought the car chopped and hot rodded, 10 footer paint job, nice runner but now he is putting his own mark on it and doing a nice job doing it. His car is HAMB friendly even if he isn't "known to us" (as they say in the "family"). This is where I walked in last night, body dangling from the rafters like a side of beef in a Rocky movie, 15 degrees warmer inside than out, music on and bottle of scotch calling my name. Engine hoist is in back and steel L beam bolted under the cowl. That wasn't going to work with just the two of us. So I came up with a solution that worked slick without having to change all of the overhead rigging. We blocked up the body and moved the L iron inside the jambs and secured it with C clamps. We had to install the beam on it's side but it worked perfect! Body now back on it's original foundation and he can start re-assembling his hot rod. There is a lot of planning, engineering and hard work here. I have asked him to join our group and perhaps he will now that I have officially "outed" him. Oh, as to the thread title? "The Business" was proudly hand-lettered on the rear tail panel long before he took ownership. He is planning to remove the panel and hang it on the wall but I think it needs to stay. It is bad luck to change a boats name I hear, I think the same applies to hot rods. We need to work on him. Here is a cool idea he came up with. He reshaped the rear tail lights to "hug" the rear panel. This sucks the lights in against the body rather than flying alongside the car. How cool is that? He plans to paint them to match the body. If he joins us he will no doubt share a multitude of other cool ideas he employed in this refresh. Another big part of the retrofit is new wiring. He built a mock up of the floor and firewall so he could create and tape up a harness. He is using a Coach Control kit (my favorite). Anyhoo, I hope he joins us. His name is Kim and perhaps with our encouragement we can add another hoodlum (and a cool ride) to our roster. He has tons of photos of his progress over the years that many will find informative and helpful. He may even share photos of his 15,000 mile 1950 Ford Custom in original black paint (spectacular!). Come on in Kim, the introduction has been made and the room is waiting.
Nice solution to raising the body @Bandit Billy , well played! Kim has a great shop, I wish I had room for a building like that. The coupe looks good and that taillight treatment is a winner, c’mon Kim, join up.
Great work,,,,,yes,,,,,definitely keep “the business “,,,,,,where it is . It’s a great conversation piece I think ! Billy , It’s obvious you have some influence over this guy,,,,,keep it going . That will be a sweet ride with that flathead in there. I like moving the iron inside and using C clamps,,,,very inventive,,,,,also looked safe as well . I like the 8BA,,,,,,I also see a spare block over by the work bench,,,,,you guys are in this thing . At the least,,,,,keep us updated on the rebuild . Tommy
Yeah, he picked up a spare block. His wife thinks it is a back up block, I think he has a roadster build coming.
This a fantastic build Billy. You and Kim know the deal, Carry on Hot Rod Brothers. I love this stuff. Oh yea! And drink one for me while you guys are coming up with the next move.
Thanks for sharing the Good times @Bandit Billy...regarding the Hotrod, 'Nailed it' comes to mind...even with or without the Banger... It would be nice to see the journey of this Hotrod from its architect...makes me think of a hood on mine... I'll bet he's lurked... It's a great place to carry on with what was the best years in Hotrod/Custom...
Cool, I thought I had a photo or two that I had taken of that car a few years ago just after it was chopped but can't find them.
Okay I finally activated my profile. Special thanks to Bandit Billy for the post. I'll try to post some pictures of the build. Its been a long and steep learning process. I'll try to organize my pictures so that it will show what I've done. Here's the finished frame. it had a bad twist and was nearly broken through near the original battery mount.
You're in like Flint......that's a saying isn't it?...Welcome to The Hamb and DON'T let'em talk you into a Deuce shell on that A Bone...
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