Great stuff, nothing beats working on a hot rod with your Dad, mines no longer around but the time we spent together on my projects were some of the best times I ever had.My son is 22 and we built a rod for him and my daughter is 20 and we are 3/4 way through building her,s.And guess what I,ve got waitng at the back of the shop? yep it,s a 34 / 5 window, for me.
If I'm reading this right...Jesse is a GIRL, so technically you can't be brothers. Great thread, nice pictures on all the progress. Very insperational as well as, informative. You have a nicely outfitted shop, to get all that work done. I want an old Bridgeport! Keep up the teriffic work! Looking forward to more pics. J.T.
Jess, really a nice job on the thread!! I am so excited to see that honey comin together. Those radius rods are awesome, as it all is. So cool to see Malcolm lending a hand, trust me, he is loving it. The dash looks fab. with those black gauges. This build rocks!!-Sololobo
Most of you guys don't know Jess's dad. He can do it all, street rods, drag race and salt flats. He is one of the nicest guys I know and Jess is 1 lucky girl.
great thread, exceptional worksmanship, will be a sweet ride. That nice body sure makes one miss the old days, before we hauled home cars that we wouldn,t have looked at 20 years ago.
Thanks to all for your interest. You guys really know how to make a girl feel welcome. Well, I got some scanning done last night. Here are some photos from around December 2001. Fresh out of the attic: The earliest work we started with was drilling the front axle and tons of sand blasting.
Jess is a GIRL and Malcolm is sooo dreamy Thanks for the update sweetie. Looks like ALOT of progress has been made lately. It would be so cool if you could roll into Austin in it for the Lonestar Roundup in April. In any event, please tell your Dad I said "Hi" and Happy Holiday to you and your whole family.
Great thread Jess! You are a lucky girl to have a hot rodding dad! The wishbone gusset looks great. Did you draw that stuff like the gauge panel and backing plates, did you make a cad file for the bridgeport? Show us a picture of you're Bonneville car too.
Great looking machine. I'm partial to 5 window coupes and yours is a beaut. Can't wait to see it in driving condition. Please continue posting progress.
I can help out there. Just so happens I have a couple of photos of it handy in my PhotoBucket album but perhaps Jess can add more.
Hi there! Will do! Happy holidays to you as well. I'm thinking I'll have to scheme a ride from somebody to go to Texas this year. There's still a ton of work to do yet. The next few weeks will tell. Thanks!
Yep, that's the race car. My dad built it when I was six, so it's been a part of the family since I can remember. Here are some from the salt:
Thanks! I love coupes too. There's a quiet beauty that coupes have. I'm probably totally biased, but I wouldn't want any other type of body.
I'm lucky to have some really good friends who will take measurements and rough ideas and transform them into CAD files for us.
Your coupe looks great Jess! I am really looking forward to seeing it on the road. Don't rule out the Round Up yet, looks like you're really making time now! I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are SO lucky to have your dad there to build this car with you. Please keep us updated on your progress!.
Very nice work on what i'm sure will be badass hotrod when you guy's are done. Thanks for the good pics, keep' em coming! Later Rob
We got the body back on the frame last night. My dad got the mounts moved and everything primered. We spent the rest of the night getting the roof ready for it's fabric.
Great car! Great gal! Makes me want to get off my butt and start on my '33! Or you could build it for me Nice red by the way. Mind sharing the code?
ALRIGHT! We got the roof done on Saturday. Thanks to Malcolm for coming down from Omaha again. It's great listening to you guys talk cars and history. This is Harry. He owns an upholstery shop here in town and agreed to use his awesome skills on the coupe. First, he checked out our work of gluing down three layers of thick mat where the staples hold. Then he layed out some untreated canvas. He stapled the sides first, pulling as he went and left the corners for last. This minimizes puckers. He listened to the sound the canvas made when he slapped down on it with his hand. It sounded like a drum. It looked and sounded okay, so he trimmed the excess canvas with a razor, about an eighth inch from the staples.
Then he rolled out some unrefined cotton. He pointed out the seeds to me. This cotton has layers, which he easily pulled apart to get the thickness he wanted. He layed it on top of the canvas and felt the thickness across the whole top with his hand. He found a low spot and added a little more cotton to that area. He was a real master at work. Instead of cutting the cotton, which would leave a step in the material, he held one side with a flat hand and pulled to tear the material. He worked his way around the car, tearing the cotton to shape. He mentioned that factory cars used this same canvas and cotton and to be weary of upholstery kits that include a cheap foam.
So, with the cotton all ready, he measured the space for the final black material. They layed the black material in place and he began to staple the sides like he did with the canvas. This is Mike. He, Harry, Malcolm and my dad swapped car stories. When Harry was ready to staple the corners, he took out a heat gun to make the material softer and more maliable. Be careful not to heat the material so much that it becomes shiny.
So, with everything stapled, he was ready to trim the black material, just like he trimmed the canvas. He did his final check by looking at it and listening to it. Now, my dad is bending metal railing around the perimeter to attach the finish moulding material. And unfortunately, that's when I had to bail. I bet he finished bending the railing that day. I'll probably be out working with him on New Year's day.
The Jalopy Journal
