Projects Fear Commitment? It's Bed Time! Tin work in progress...

previous installments: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=195022&showall=1

Ok, so I'm running out of shit to talk about on the chassis and I'm in real danger of being exposed for the post whore that I am. There I said it. In any case, I had a monumental moment today. I rolled Tejas Connection out into the light of day. Yep, that's right I named it. I am cheesy AND a post whore. But even better, I ROLLED IT OUT TODAY!!!!

Four wheels with real rubber tires! So what if I have no steering?! I was finally able to take a few steps back and see what's going on here. I had to pull a few leaves from the spring to get it down in front a bit. I got me a fancy grill shell and now I just need to photo-chop a bed on there and i can glimpse the future.

Here's a few angles...




I'm not thrilled with how long the nose is, so I'm considering back dating it to a '37 grill and hood. I am not building a Ra%^& Errr , R!@# ^&od... My vision is a modestly finished, stripped down, semi streamlined, hotrod. Had I been on the salt or at an early drag strip in say... 1958, this is what i might have built. I have thought of closing in the nose in the style of the Chrisman Coupe, maybe with a simple louvered grill cut into the sheetmetal, maybe some very brief fenders on the back, ala Willy's Pickup Gasser... I can't quite put it into words, but I can see it. I would welcome constructive criticism, but be nice. I generally think polls are for pussies, but I could use some fresh ideas.

Stay tuned, Steering and brakes are up next, then I will be forced into some tin work, like it or not.

 

The stance looks great, and the wheels have got to be a perfect choice. But it will prolly over heat with that grille. As for the front hood, grille, and the rest. You might want to wait until you get an idea of the look with the bed on. I agree a 37 hood and grille is always a good look On cars and trucks. all in all I think you are nailing it...John

 

Thanks. A local buddy is confirming my thoughts, also.
I think I'll go ahead and put a shorter nose on it, maybe a '37 Chevy grill or something obscure that has an earlier style to it. I love the art-deco trucks, but they are very front heavy.
Here's my experiment with proportions. I think a bed slightly longer than the frame will work OK. The nose is still a couple of inches too high, as well. I'll need to mock up the front end with the motor in it, so that will help.




Ryan's post yesterday on the JJ about "slop ups & shot rods" got me think back about my planning. This drawing is almost 3 years old. How am I doing?

 

IMO the long nose would look pretty good if there was a way to 'angle section' the cab to bring the nose to a rake. Get the nose raked down and then do up your lakes nose> That might have been possible while doing the chop?

 

I know exactly what you mean. The problem is the round back of the roof. It rolls from the top center, all the way to the back glass without a change in radius. Sloping the chop would have meant a break at some point in that curve. I didn't see pulling it off. The competition coupes using mid '30s bodies are usually extreme chops. I might have, may still, make it shorter, but then I could get pushed into sectioning the sides. For the way I plan to drive this, I don't see it being practical. Maybe if it was race only. I have left all the tin tacked for now, though. I realize some tuning may be in order as it comes together. I really like the lakes nose idea. I just wasn't sure what to call it.

Thanks for the input.

 

Here's a little teaser of what's in store for the weekend...






More this weekend...

 

Hey Scotty how are things going?The trucks coming along well.I gotta second on those wheels they look great.It may be the angle on the pics but it looks to me like the top of the cowl and the body line have to angle downward a little more.Maybe an inch or so out of the front cab mount.You would have to rake the bed the same.I think it would take some of the distance from the top of the frame to the top of the hood out and make the longer hood look better and you would lose a minimum of cab space.

 

Can you drop the front of the cab at the mounts [ 1''] ? Then let the hood drop in front to match. My .02 other than that i like it. I'm wanting to build something similar in style for drag strip.

 

LOL. I think I need to go sand bag the frame. It's not going to be this high when done. what you see is 1 or 2 degrees nose up on an empty spring. Once loaded, it will come down to 2 or 3 degrees nose down, about 3 inches. I may tune it a bit with the thickness of the wood blocks at the cab mounts, but the rear of the cab is 90* to the chassis now. I don't want it to look broken at the firewall, though, so no plans to rake the beltline in relation to the chassis. I'll pull the front down with a ratchet strap and take another pic this weekend.
I did get a call about a '37 nose the other day. If that pans out, It will resolve my problem with the length of this one.

Keep on with the feedback. It makes me consider things I might miss.

 

Like I told him, I could'nt help but draw this truck - only took a few minutes anyway... You sure can do a lot of body mods for cheap with a pencil or a pen!

Scotty has some ideas to ponder here... forgive the poor quality - no scanner here, just a camera

I like a '37 pass. car grill on one of these - anybody got one he can get from you?

 

Bob, Those efen rock! I'll have to stare for a while. I've got a few friends to council me tonight. You can be sure my plan will be affected.

Thanks!

 

What a day! I picked up two sheets of 16 ga steel yesterday. It seemed heavy, but the guy loading it said it was right. I asked for 16 ga after reading that it was the thickness used in early trucks. I get over to the shop this morning to use the shear and by buddy says, "that looks awful heavy...". We throw it in the shear..No go. "are you sure this shear can cut 16 ga?", "sposed to. all I ever cut is aluminum" Great. Plasma cutter act one. Bad contact in the gun makes it a real hassle. Get it cut. Now off to another shop to use the 8 ft brake. Same greeting: "that looks awful heavy". We even mic it. Yup, 16 ga. Throw it in the brake... Not gonna happen.... We jack with several tricks to get 2 creases in all this metal I cut up before I fold. Buddy 2 says there are two sheets of 18 ga in the racks, go for it. Plasma cutter act two. Cut one sheet up, try braking the fancy bed rail I wanted with a full square loop like an early Ford. No bueno. Just can't close the last bend far enough and it's still too heavy to close it by hand, so I have to regroup. I wound up falling back to a simpe 3 sided rail and knocked out both sides in under an hour. I have all the drop pieces to make up the header and tailgate tomorrow.
Here's a couple of shots of the bed sides in place. I rolled it out to get a few steps back. I also pulled the front spring down with a ratchet strap. I expect it will still go down a bit more and I have room for the dropped shackels I was planning to use up front. The chassis is dead level now. The body line and the bed rail are even with one another and level with the chassis. I also got a call on the '37 Chevy nose I'm looking for. We'll see how that plays out. All in all, I am liking it, but still some tweaking to do.

 

WOW, I love it! Great job man, you gotta be thrilled to see it come together. I think you made the bed the right length & depth. I personally have never cared for beds bobbed too short. I think the bed length and position of the rear axle is great.

I am happy for you. For what it's worth, the 18 ga will be plenty strong, it will outlive me
It's crazy how much heavier 16 is than 18.............

I helped a ton that you pulled the front down with the strap, good thinking. It's tough to visualize it when its not sitting @ ride height.

Keep up the great work!

Dan

 

Thanks Dan. It's not as finely polished as that one of yours, but that was never the plan. I think the roof has more rake in it than you can see in the first pictures, too. I'll be staring at it for a while today. If i can get the front and rear of the bed made up today, I'll have enough small stuff to work on for a couple of weeks. I off to the shop.

 

I love it when a plan comes together! How's this?








I was finally able to get over to Cam's to finish bending the bed panels on Friday night. I capped both ends of the sub-frame, made simple double break pans for the front and tail gates and got them mocked up. I still need to do details like stake pockets, hinges, beads in the right places and other trim.
Yesterday I made a 900 mile round trip to pick up the new nose from Carl (HAMBer 4950ford) in Oklahoma. Carl connected me with his buddy Leo and we struck a deal. I have a lot of work to do on this piece of 72 year old tin, but they made it worth the drive. Thanks guys!
I'll have to repair many years of home grown fixes and wear, but it's a start. Now the hood will be on my Most Wanted list. I'm on the road all this week, so nothing will get done for a few days, but I'm all fired up now.

 

It's coming along...

 

Hey Stranger! Need to get back down to Houston and hang out some.


What a difference a hood makes! I just did a rough trim so I could get an idea of how the 38 hood might fit. It looks very promising. The reveal line is different on the '37 hood, so it may mke sense to modify what I have.

And a couple of shot looking into the bed.

 

That 37 front end is looking really good. One quick question or observation. How hard would it be to lower the headlights just a little, and turn them into 682c guide style, with the turn signals on top. Just a thought...John

 

I dig the 37 front.. nice work.

 

Super easy. The headlight stands are on a fairly flat surface and only basic reinforcement behind. I like the guide lights, but I'm not sure they are the right ones for this. I do need some parts to use these so I'll be keeping an eye out for a deal.

Thanks for the encouragement, Guys.

 

Your truck is looking killer.

 

Truck looks great. I like how it looks with the cab narrowed. Cool!


Kevin
Ooltewah Speed Shop

 

Looks good! The sketches that Dustyoldbodyman posted looked like they had a nice slope to them that matched the slope on the roof; that might be a good way to transition from the cowl to the nose.

 

Thanks guys. I have a hood on it now, though still some trimming to do. I pulled a string on the body line from front to rear. The cab is slightly low in the back. I expect to add maybe 3/8" to the rear cab bushings. That will point the nose down mybe an inch at the front. It is starting to look like a truck.

Yea, Kevin. I narrowed it after looking at every other take on Rudy's truck I had seen and deciding they looked too short and too wide. I really like the proportions and the overall size of the cab is somewhere between a Model A and a '37 Ford. It has full stretch leg room (I'm 5'10') with about 4" overhead as it sits. I guess it's about 4" wider than a Model A cab, so it still has plenty of shoulder room. It's time to get the cab mounted up and put in seats and a wheel.

 

Damn, I have truck in the garage, not just a pile of parts!

 

Sounds like somebody knows you.
The truck looks good man, keep a thrashin' .

 

That looks great! Too bad you've got to hide that rear suspension.

 

Know the Scotty well and this has to be the longest, most drawn out build ever....but told him from the start build what you want and do not compromise. Who would have known he took this seriously? I just hope he is satisfied with his end result...no, he will still want a model a. lmao

 

Honey, This is just practice for the Model A.

(for those that don't know, I travel a lot and I can always tell how much I ma missed by how often my wife gets on the HAMB)

 

You're doing some great work!!
Took me a while to figure out what's going on with your rear suspension

Love how it all fits together and gave me some ideas for my truck...