Here's hoping, shame we've missed the snow! Anyway when are you going to organise that run you and Pete mentioned?
Twisted frames, adjusted spring clamps, on and on, ain't it somethin' what you can manage to find in an ol' car??? From the pic's, I'd say you'll have it on a downhill drag in no time. When I did my tudor a few years back, I put flat sheet metal under the floor boards to protect the plywood. Some caulk around the crack to seal the water out and it was good to go. Your build is lookin' great. Keep it up!
Your build's coming along at a fair old pace.Have to get my arse in gear and get mine done.Got up this morning to annother 3 inches of fuckin' snow.Maybe tomorrow!LOL Don't think you'll have too many problems straightening the frame on that big arsed table! Cheers, Mark
From what Pete has been saying there looks like a couple already being organised by some Meltdown guys. So as not to step on any others toes and with a fairly busy summer for shows, I'm not sure it'll be this year. Of course we could always do the Cotswolds with show chains this winter coming
Looks like we are making some great headway this week. Turned up early, fired the gas heater up (beats working in a lock up for sure!) and made a start prepping the body for shot blasting. 2 1/2 hours and nearly 2 full rolls of Gaffer tape later..... Thats right 60's panel paintwork with lace overlays. Nah just joshing, spot the deliberate mistake, yep we're just going to have the interior and bulkhead blasted and etch primed. Believe me the guys at the blasters thought we were a right pair of doughnuts when we had to explain, especially as the bodywork is covered in rust and more holes than Blackburn Lancashire. The idea is to have a tidy interior for this year and keep the heavy patina until Pete can sort the patch panels out and we decide on a colour. Taped it up so that all the returns on the openings follow the folded lines of the outer skin, even the bloody doors had to be able to open! Off to the blasters, didn't we get some looks (now I know how the chimps at Bristol Zoo feel)
While I was gift wrapping the coupe, Pete was working on the chassis. Straight away he managed to get the twist out of it, by clamping it to the bench and just applying heat to the front crossmember where it meets both rails. Pete told me that as we'd already gut the rear of the car off and tacked back on and the same with the gearbox crossmember and the chassis was still twisted, the only point left that could be causing the distortion was the front member. White spots are where he hit it with the torch I'm confident now that the body, hood, sides and grill shell will line up <!-- google_ad_section_end -->
Nathan and just what is wrong with 60's Panel paint jobs HMM? I've always liked the loom of a worn exterior and refurbed under pinings and interior, putting the shiney bits in the right places! Nick.
Nothing whatsoever Nick, in fact I'm a big fan. This coupe however is stuck in the 40's (alright save for the Toyota box and some up to date parts for the flattie).
WOW!! That is a CRAZY K-member! I see some nice work here and some amazing welds! I love what you're doing with the rivet details as well. Very cool!
Thanks Scooter, I've got a good feeling that this coupe is going to turn out really nice. The bit that I'm struggling with is what kind of finish it should have. For this season the outside of the car will stay the same with heavy patina. Next year the rust holes will be repaired but there are a lot of minor dents externally and some tears internally to the steelwork that will be extremely hard to repair. I'm not sure what type of paint finish to use on the car if the body isn't perfect, can't really be gloss, not the right car for the Flatz paint. I'm not after a show winning mint car, I just couldn't live with it, this thing is going to be driven and I don't want to be worrying if a girl scratches the paintwork with her heals I reckon we'll have it worked out when the time comes maybe a matt brown, beige,grey...
Yeah, please don't do the Flatz! I agree! What about just a simple semi-gloss single-stage paint in a solid color? Grey, beige, and brown are certainly timeless colors. Dark red/burgandy? Dark blue?
Cheers Scooter, I'll be honest I'm not very clued up on paint finishes so I appreciate your suggestion. The photos from the GNRS are very inspiring, I particularly liked the grey 28/29 roadster, ali hood and burgandy wheels. One year I have to make it there just to see those cars in person, be a dream come true.
holy buggery in a bucket, the craftsmanship is unbelievable....glad to see a persons dreams come true...cheers...
Looking good Nathan! Pete's work and your vision is gonna turn out one awesome rod. Glad you will put some paint on it down the road, I really don't get bare metal cars Gloss paint looks fine over a few dings and dents mate, look at my truck, got loads of em!
Gavin I could have sworn you're truck was mint. Looked bloody good when I clocked it at the Hot Rod Drags last year. Have to admit that I'm so excited about getting a proper chance to play in the Meltdown this year. Pray for sunshine, cold beers and cool Rods!
I'm praying mate believe me. Guess thats another one who will blow my doors off The truck is solid, (a couple of patches needed welding), but Steve left the dings and dents alone. The paint job only cost $400!
Shit! It just cost me £200 to get the inside blast cleaned and primed! To be fair they spent a few hours on it to make sure they didn't warp any panels, but still pricey
Nathan, Is your head gettin' BIG yet????????Seriously we both know your Coupe is gonna be one of the BEST this country of ours has to offer and its good that others from around the globe can see what once made this country Great Britain i.e. Craftmanship of the highest order!Shit that sounded a bit too serious!!!!!!! Nick.
Nick,you've gone all 'Winston Churchill' on us.LOL I'm sure I could hear 'Rule Britania' whilst reading your post!
That sounds about the going rate,Nathan.I've been quoted £400 to blast/etch prime my body tub in and out. I guess the car will be at the Hayride this year.Hope so,I'll be all over it like a rash! Mark
Nick all it aims to be is a fun little car with some tidy bits and some more bits inside that make it trundle a little quicker. I've seen a lot of amazing cars in the UK and to be honest I don't think mine will be finished to that kind of level, who knows. I have to admit that Clarks '36 will be superb, the stuff i see at the Nostalgia Nationals and Hayride blows me away. Thanks for the kind words Nick. Any more updates on yours?
Mark I couldn't miss the Hayride if I tried, best event going! It would be great to meet up and have a pint or two and talk bollocks (something I manage to do every year!)
No I'm afraid still waiting on a clutch fork, one poxy little thing can hold the already slow job some more!Nathan your ''A' is gonna be fuckin' OUTSTANDING the little details add up to so damn much.You don't need fancy paint and shit to stand out to those in the know! Nick.
Sounds good.I'm not much of a drinker but,I'm an expert at talking bollocks! This will be my first Hayride,really looking forward to it,and putting faces to names. Mark
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