Projects A late introduction-Junior Conway coupe build

i dont think it will be noticable.. but if you want to try belt sanding another , ill pop it in the mail... dont forget theres adjustment in where you point , or aim them that will make it really hard to tell.. you know what i meen? just turn the handle a lil more maybe to point the light down more is what im trying to say.. lemme know... dave

 

I don't know what you mean. This is my first shoebox or anything that had/has Appletons. I 'm close to Jr's age but I started 10 years after he did. So even though I've done my share of custom bodywork/paint and yes, chopped tops they've been the next generation (where have I heard that term used before) cars. You know, 60's-70's chevelle's,corvette's,el camino's,etc.
I'll let you know.

 

maybe you could take the dummy spot bracket, hold its base agaisnt a belt sander, to slightly change its angle, and not wreck the chrome..

 

If I'm stuck using this bracket it would need to be built up (aluminum welding) to give it the mass to be able to cut down. I need to see if I can get the seller to swap brackets with me. Stay tuned. Thanks for your input and offer Dave. These spots will have be dissasembled and chromed anyway.

 

I think its appropriate that problems with a build be revealed from time to time. It's helpful for the person that's never done anything like this and sometimes a reminder to the veteran that things don't always go the way you want them to for various reasons.

When the front end was put together the hood shut effortlessly with the nice sound that their supposed to have. I've been struggling lately getting this final fit right. The hood no longer wants to shut like it did before. I've come to the conclusion that when the hood latch panel was modified to conform to the pic that I got from Jr the heat from the welding moved things around in the latch area. The front end should have been on the car, bolted down and braced. There was a faint little voice that warned me "you better watch out". I brushed it off.

When Jr wrecked his car he replaced the 50 nose with a 51. That gave him the hood latch panel that we see in post #153. The good news is that I've found a 51 latch panel on eBay. I've never seen one there before.

As I stated earlier Im not familiar with these shoebox's. Although in my late teens I had a 54 chev 210 2 door that I frenched the h/l's and upper grille bar on. It also had extra grille teeth and a 50 Ford trunk lid handle cut down and frenched to the trunk. These areas were covered with the obligatory black spray can primer. Other than that my custom experience has been with 60's-70's cars.

Over the decades that I've been brooding over this car I've built it many times in my mind. So it remains a privilege to be involved in this build and as I stated earlier this is just a boil on the ass of progress. It will remain a labor of love to be careful to do this right.

 

Son Tom fit's the template for the w/shield. The two pieces need to be extra wide to pick up the space where the divider bar was.

 

Here are the rounded door tops. Took ¼ rod and put it in the slot.

 

I'm starting to put the final (?) chrome pieces together for the plater. First pic shows the raw ¾' grille bar and the shaped lower bar. Very aggressive grinder.

Second pic shows middle bar with the big gouges taken out with a 120 grit
disc on the grinder.

The last pic shows same bar after 80 grit with the DA sander. All this work makes things easier for the plater.

Bill Carr (The Aztec) and George (Barris) built this grille.

 

Well we've got a lot of balls in the air right now. The hood latch panel hasn't arrived yet. The generator issue has been solved. The particulars have to be worked out before I can post a report. The wiring needs to be finished up before I can consider installing the dash and some of the components on the inner firewall. The seats have been dropped off at the upholstery shop. I would like to paint the car before the minor interior trim and other items are installed. Just to remove the dirt and overspray issues would be a tremendous accomplishment at this time. So I think we'll move to the rear of the car and look things over.

The t/lites, hood scoops, paint etc. were all done in a two week period leading up to a big car show in late 56. There were four cars that Geo. wanted to be there. Jr's Ford, Tom Hockers 40 cpe, Mandy Holders Merc conv. And another car that Jr can't remember. Geo. Wanted to do well in this show. He was able to motivate his guys to put in the hours for things like this. Perhaps it was a precersor to American Hot Rod without the drama.
The t/lites (55 Buick lens's) came right out of Geo.'s head (remember the lower openings were already there). I think Jr says that Geo. pulled an all/niter and when the crew came to work in the morning the t/lites were all welded up. Jr helped with the lead filing.

As Dick Jackson tells it, things were a lot simpler in those days. Geo. was this bundle of creative energy. At each years new car showing the new cars were scoped out for trim, lites, grilles, bumpers etc.. So all of this was filed away in Geo.'s computer (head). You would just go down to the parts dept and pick up/order the parts that you wanted.

Hey. I'm still lookin for that 3 carb Fenton fuel block. I know they're out there.

 

Of my 4 sons only 1 has followed me into my chosen trade. Tom is studying to become a personal trainer. Dan is the second auto painter in the family. He is the one who keeps me up on the latest products etc. So now that we are at this point in the build we will be seeing more of him.

 

It's not a run Dad , its a flow check ....





Keep the updates comin ...

 

Here we go. Closer to the end than the beginning.

 

This must be so exiting for you guys!!! Looking gooood!

 

Looking really good! Very inspiring build

 

Just to finish up the generator issue. First pic shows locator holes in generator. If you look closely you can see the center punch hole for the new hole that will put the generator forward to line up the belt. Second pic shows locator on bracket. Last pics show generator in place with everything hooked up. I appreciate the input (that was correct) about this. It helped.

 

so that's how it's done, simple but elusive........ great job guys !

 

jivin jer, how did I miss this thread being a 49 Business Coupe owner, Jr's shoebox is one of my custom favorites !!! Thank you for sharing, can't wait to see it finished. I salute you attention to details !

 

Wer'e showing the new hood latch panel being replaced. This seemingly negative has actually turned quite positive. This panel gives the look that will stand up to scrutiny and its made the inner panels of the forward portion of the hood (underside) suddenly function better. Now I'm able to screw in the hood plunger (?) and be comfortable that its secure. A lot of good stuff dressed up in negative clothing.

The first pic shows the old panel. The next two show the new panel in place. The last two show the new one welded up.

 

Dam you guys work fast and good.

 

love it! if you havent seen it check out the movie tbird gang the conway car makes a couple of appearances

 

That DVD should be renamed THE SHOEBOX GANG. In the story line Jr's car belongs to the main bad guy that transports the other thugs to the crime scenes in his car. There is quite a bit of footage of Jr's car. It helped me ID the steering wheel and how some of the upholstery was done. It also showed the door actuators in action. Its to bad all the footage is at night. Jr was raised to be a pretty straight laced person. He remains that way today. There were no ashtrays in the back because of his no smoking rule. I keep forgetting to ask him about the smoking that is shown being done in the car!!!!!!!

 

Onward!

 

Re: Here we go.

 

More.

 

More.

 

Still more.

 

Here they are again with some photoshop levels adjustment.

 

Thanks for the blow up Bill. I had to call Jr about those fender bolts that looked like they might be chromed. He said no.

 

The rear gravel shield was originally to be molded to the body like the front shield. The crush to get this car ready for the show in late '56 did not allow that to happen.

 

2" X "about" 50"