Hot Rods Do fiberglass Ts have a place here?

As I promised earlier this is the car that my friend Paul made in just a few short weeks and drove to the Nats South,,it was crud and unrefined,,but like I said he made the body and used junkyard parts to get it on the road.

The picture is ****py but it's the only one I could find in this stage.

HRP

 

This photo was taken a year later with the gl*** deuce frame rails and he pulled a mold off a old Austin Healey hard top for the roadster.

I nice looking car at this stage of the game. HRP

 

HRP- Can you explain " gl*** deuce frame rails"?

 

Sure,Paul didn't like the look of the car sitting on top of the square tubing frame so he borrowed my aftermarket frame rails and used them to make a mold.

He then took his chopper gun and made a set of fibergl*** frame rails,then he just bolted them to the bottom of the car to give the illusion of the roadster sitting on deuce rails,,the front portion just slid over the square tubing.

Obviously the trick worked because he had a lot of people telling him it looked much better since he had changed frames. HRP

 

made the scoop and the headlight mounts,they are not cast, 3 pieces of alum.3/16"base,080 2nd layer,1/2" main mount. mounted everything on HDF gl***ed to the nose.
No build thread

 

looking for windshield posts? 1/2" main post with 3/16" pieces front and rear.
Can be done without BIG power tools. I used a jig saw and offset grinder and lots of sanding.

 

You mentioned the '28 Chevy Firewall and the reveals along the side of your body are like the ones on a Steel '28 Chevy Touring.
It is Good to see someone doing a Chevy Design in Gl***. I for one will "Stay Tuned" for the rest of the Show !!! Good Work and keep the pictures coming........................ Jeff

 

Slick! Once you say it I get the idea, again nice mounts and i like the integral turn signals,

 

Thanks, the only gl*** Chevys I found were 32 and later and with so very few steel ones compared to the Fords I thought it would be fun and different.

 

Did you post anything on how you made them? I want a rounded post profile but the basic principles would be the same. I don't mind figuring things out but also enjoy learning from others.

 

hrp- thanks, I thought that is what you meant but wanted to be sure.

 

As the process of pulling a mold off of the body that started this post is a slow one I thought I would put my idea for a fuel tank out there. The tank will be behind the body, lakes style, and I wanted something different from the norm. My initial thought was to cut a motorcycle tank in half but while I was searching I came across a company that stamps tank halves. Looking at their overstock stuff I found a side profile I liked and bought three, two for the tank ends and one for an air cleaner cover. The price was reasonable and the quality was great but they are raw stampings meaning the edge that was gripped by the machine during the stamping process was still in place and would need to be cut off.
This resulted in what I call the Redneck Router. For an improvised tool the results were excellent with only minor clean up with a file or flapper wheel to be weld ready. The two halves will be joined by a sheet of steel formed into a like shaped metal tube with a few beads rolled in it for looks strength and to locate the hold down straps.

I'm attempting to attached a few pictures of the tank halves. Everything I tried so far says the files are too large, I'll post them and some other stuff as soon as i figure out how to make them smaller

 

I had to find a way to remove the stamping flanges from the tank halves. I don’t have a plasma cutter, or a metal cutting band saw and whatever I did would have to make a straight edge so the end caps could be welded to the new center. I used what for lack of a better term I call the Redneck Metal Router.

First I clamped a piece of s**** wood to my welding table with a pair of c clamps. This gave me a flat even surface to lay the halves on facing flange down.

Then I used two zip ties on an old skill saw. One to fasten the trigger down, and one to hold the blade guard back. (By the way I didn’t say this was safe or recommended and anything labeled redneck you should already know you do at your own risk.)

The blade was replaced with a metal cutting disc and two more c clamps were used to attach the skill saw to the edge of the table just high enough to clear the flange I wanted to remove.

Once all the clamps were tight and the disc was level I plugged in the saw and let the sparks fly. It took a few minutes for each end cap but in the end I had nice flush edges that only required a touch of work with a flapper disk on a grinder to make smooth even edges ready for welding.

 

If you read the initial post you know I bought three tank halves and that they were to heavy to be used as an air cleaner cover. The two were cut and the last one is here, saved as a mold to make a lighter fibergl*** version. I liked the shape so much I made two more and may bond them together into the "alien egg" air cleaner.

 

Very cool.

 

Andy Brizio did some 'gl*** Deuce rail 'covers' in 1974. (rectangular tubing frame, these just slid over like Model A aprons.)
**** Williams of Poli Form fibergl*** in Chico, Northern Calif. still makes them!
I once entertained the thought of Kevlar and carbon fiber tape-reinforcing the rails some, then continuing the process throughout the 'gl*** '27 body on top. My 2.0 litre BMW engine w/Weber side drafts and BMW 5 speed made for a light weight package...Imagine! 900 lb. Kevlar/carbon fiber hot rod!
I pinched myself awake, and used my American Stamping rails. And my flathead...

 

that would be a kick in the pants. an awesome power to weight ratio thats for sure. You would have to hide it from the here