how to make "jimmy jones" style needlenose bubble skirts from scrap

decided to make some needlenose bubble skirts,,these are the same style as the ultra rare jimmy jones bubble skirts. took a walk out to the trusty scrap pile and came back to the shop with a shoebox roof that had the perfect curvature for my project (this is actually the way jimmy jones did his too, from a roof panel),,compound curves in all the right places,,,laid out my tape lines and went at it with the cutoff wheel. i left an extra 3/4 inch around the perimeter to fold over later on. after i cut out my shape, i put a 90 degree bend along the top, and then hammered it flat for strength. i needed more horizontal curvature, so since i don't have an english wheel, i used the next best thing, an english TELEPHONE POLE...worked perfectly...next along the bottom i needed to make a fold, but it had to be a curved fold. i marked out the line with a piece of tape and made relief cuts along the radius. next i took my flange tool/vice grip thingy and bent the metal along the edge, being careful to be as accurate as possible,,the curve had to flow, no straight segments. once the metal was bent, i welded up the slits, ground them down, and cut off the excess. next i had to do another curved bend along the back of the skirt,,this was a tighter radius, hence more relief cuts,,,using a hammer and dolly, i bent the tabs over and hammered them flat. test fitted it to the car, and pretty damn close,,after a little tweaking and twisting, it fit perfectly,,,still need to make the attaching hardware, but done for the most part..

 

more,,,,,

 

the rest,,,,

 

You sir are a ruler!

 

damn... theres always a surprise on your threads. those are pretty.

 

...is history!!!

 

Jimmy Jones Laga!! Where's my set??

 

we can talk,,,,lol,,,got a spare roof?

 

That car is soooo bitchin

 

I will once I clone this pile you call a shoebox!

 

damn nice work! good eye with the proper scrap piece grab.

 

That trim piece looks like a 55-57 Belair 4 door post rear quarter window trim. Looks like it'll work good where it is.

 

thats exactly what it is,,,,,good eye man!!

 

Nice!! Awesome work

 

Do you think this could be done with a set of the fiberglass cruiser(bubble) skirts like these below to fit around the 52-53 Buick dide trim

 

wow as usual. let me ask you a question do you think this poor car will ever quit getting cut up hahahaha

 

Jim, Wow, Jimmy Jones had it goin' on. That slirts are perfect for Teslstar !

41 Dave

 

nice i'll keep that in mind if i ever need to make a pair...Jones

 

Damn. I got a couple of spare roofs.......


Amazing as usual.

 

......

 

Again I say.........Amazing metalwork!!!

 

i dont see why not,,,,my experience with fiberglass is very limited, but it can be done for sure

 

Hey Jim,

I was jus' today thinking about some Jimmy Jones skirts I'd seen at a swap 5-6 years ago. They were all gas welded and had round stock for edge wire............they were sexy, but not the $1,500 kinda sexy!

You can pull some great crowns and shapes into flat sheet stock by edge shrinking & or stretching with one of those Lancaster type machines. Just leave a 90 degree flange on the edge of you panel, start your shrinking in the middle of your greatest crown. Jump your shrinks on the flange just as you would if you were tack welding. The closer and tighter your shrinks are to one another, the greater the shape/crown in the surrounding area of the panel.
You can also develop shape and crown in a panel by clamping a General Purpose Dolly into a bench vise and hitting the sheetmetal with a large faced bumping hammer or wooden malet. If you draw a grid on the metal, and hit everywhere a line crosses, you'll introduce crown into the panel.
The Italian coachbuilders did this to build panels, and built some cool vehicles!
Jus' something to think over when you need a panel that has a shape you can't fine in your scrap pile.

The "Needle-Bubbles" are smokin' hot!

Swanky Devils C.C.
" The Checkered Demon lives!"

 

Skirts?

Sorry Jim, I think it ruins the whole concept. Makes the whole back of the car look flat and chunky instead of the nice aerodynamic look you had nailed.

 

you suck and i should get out in the shop

 

pimpin paint,,,as usual great info man..
i'm always impressed by the things you know,,,

 

ya know what they need is a little bit of a wheel well in them obv. not as big as the stock one but just a small opening to match the front. everything looks so sleek and swoopy it doesnt do the ass end any justice having the rear wheel blocked entirely out. just my useless .02 cents.

 

Thats ironic, I was thinking of doing the same thing for my 48 Chevy. I just got a mazda truck that I'll cut the roof up on. Your skirts look great and reinforce the notion that I can do it.

 

a little more fine tuning, , , tape line represents "half doors",,,considering the wraparound bumperette mocked up on the rear,,works well with the skirt,,,,i may also concave the cove area below the side trim kinda like a 50s vette