Hot Rods MY 32 3 WINDOW'S JOURNEY FROM THE BARN TO THE STREET

Over the course of a couple of months of weekends and evenings, it started to really come together. And I'm jumping way ahead and likely out of order with some of these, but the point is, it started to turn into a car:

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The last few weeks of this adventure were a blur. Once it left Darryl's shop, it got kicked around between my place and Robbie's. I did my best to stay on it, sticking with something I call my "two hours a night" rule. You can read or hear about what I mean here:

TWO HOURS A NIGHT – ironandsteele
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Somewhere right around this time I decided I needed to set a goal for completion. I tend to be better at getting things done when there is some accountability or end goal involved. I decided as good a goal as any would be the TROG event in Riverside. At this point, it was about a month away and the car was structurally complete and all of the fabrication portion was over. What remained were the thousand little things that it takes to make a car fire, run, drive and stop.

More to come shortly.

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@ironandsteele, you need to get off your *** and get something done man! Kidding of course, very cool hotrod coming nicely!

 

Ok, somewhere around here, it really became a whirlwind. I bet I had the front end out a half dozen times playing with the height.

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Around this time, it made it's way to the upholstery shop to have a quick seat made and an insert installed. I feel like every time I take a project to my friend that owns it, it's a big panic to get it done immediately so I can make this show or that show, this was no exception. But luckily, he is awesome and always gets it done in time. A great guy and talented.

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A quick wiring job and we had lights.




As I mentioned earlier, this car came to me with no decklid. I ended up with a Brookville one from a friend of mine and promptly punched 216 louvers into it:

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A LOT of things happened in between but eventually I ended up here about a week before TROG with a basically completed car ready to go on a test drive as soon as the Oregon rain (monsoon) let up long enough..

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I was set to leave for Riverside Wednesday morning. On the Sunday before, I was able to get enough (mostly) clear sky to get the car off of the rack, and out for about 35 good/hard miles on it as its first real shakedown run, other than quick trips around the block in between adjustments. It did really well.

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So, I loaded it up and headed to California:



(No, I couldn't be bothered to wash it. Apparently.)

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**** that things so perfect

 

Super *****-n

 

The car sure looked a lot happier in the California sun!


(Mark Jacobs photo)

I didn't take NEARLY enough photos at the event, I was too busy racing and talking to guys I don't get to see often enough. It was a good time. Here are a few random photos.


























(Kleet Norris photo)

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So that's about it. For those of you wondering, I'm not going to paint this car, it's basically done, other than some brake upgrades, a few minor tweaks and eventually a blower. But for now, I'm going to drive the **** out of it and plan to take it to Bonneville this summer.

The reason for not painting it isn't because I'm some patina nerd, it's more practical than that: Even though this body is "nice," it's not perfect by any means, and it would take a SUBSTANTIAL amount of body work to turn it into a nice, painted car. The cost would just be impractical and I'm happy to have one that's rough around the edges enough to be a daily driven car that I don't have to worry too much about. That was the goal all along with this and I think it will fill that role very nicely.

Thanks for reading along. If you guys want, feel free to check out my website and podcast for tons more hot rod and custom car stuff. It's pretty straight forward: Every Tuesday is fresh article and podcast episode. Its all old car related and a lot of the stories I tell come from readers and listeners. It's all free and a lot of fun. Make sure you hit follow/subscribe if you dig it!

Hot rod and custom car history, stories, lifestyle, apparel. – ironandsteele
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Thanks again, here's a couple more shots of the car from when I got back from California a few days ago. Luckily it was sunny when we got back home! Looking forward to driving this thing some more!

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Well, I didn't get to drive it too much before I noticed some fluid being slung all over the p***enger rear quarter, so for now she's a three-legged dog while I order some parts.

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Been there done that on my coupe. The joys of hot rodding!

 

That thing is awesome....

 

This is a nice write up on the car/pic's, also that's a great t-shirt you have.

 

The number 1 reason for paint on a Hot Rod is for rust prevention…beyond that, it’s a matter of personal opinions.

 

Thanks for the nice replies, guys. It's still a work in progress but it's getting there.

ironandsteele.com​

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I got the leaking axle ****oned up.

A couple of months ago on my way back through California, I stopped by the Boling Brothers facility and grabbed one of their front brakes kits. I decided to throw it on as well.



Of course I can't leave anything alone, so I went ahead and drilled "a few" holes in the backing plates to dress them up a little bit. (122 holes each)





I may end up doing a full review on these brakes, but the short version is, I think they work really well and are a definite upgrade.

For now, she's back on the road:

ironandsteele.com​

 

Very cool car! Thanks for taking us along for some of the ride!

 

Very cool coupe. I hope to see it in person at Bonneville.

 

Lookin good

 

Thanks!

Just don't look at it too closely.

Thank you!

ironandsteele.com​

 

Your car has definitely got "the look"! Nice job, man.

 

You have built a *****'n Hot Rod, well done, I love it just the way you have done it.
Enjoy your adventures..

 

Hey, I&S;
"I ended up finding a local woodworker who unbelievably made a driver side B pillar for me by using the p***enger side as a pattern and making a mirror image…… yeah… I got a quick lesson in how much shape and how many things are actually going on in what looks like a simple stick of wood. It was a crazy process but i had no other choice and amazingly, it came out perfectly."

Did you get any pics/recordings of how this guy made the B-pillar for you? Looks like a very nice job.
TIA.
Marcus...

 

Thank you.

Thanks, so far so good.

No, unfortunately I wasn't part of that process. He locked himself in his shop for two days and called me when it was done. I will say I was very impressed with his skills, I really didn't think it would come out so well.

ironandsteele.com​

 

GD it ! I guess I getting the hacksaw out tomorrow and cuttin the top off my 3 window ! Beautiful car , great work

 

wow just found this thread, your car looks awesome, cool story