COE A 42 GMC Bike Hauler thread

Got back from SEMA this afternoon. What a great time , overwhelming! A few photos . Blue

 

Can't believe I missed you AGAIN! I was super busy all week but would have loved to catch up with you and the missus!

Sent from my SM-N950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Love the T-shirt! (and the other pictures)

 

Will be back on COE soon , I promise. Got the A painted , put some new floor boards in ,gas tank , chopped........
There is a build thread on HAMB
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/de-ratting-a-model-a.1081444/
If anyone is interested. Will start putting it back togeather tomorrow. Starting with inside. Skier , will be doing a lot of beadrolling if interested . Sorry photos off subject. Blue

 

I’m still alive and kicking . Will start back on COE the first of the year . Should be driving the A around the 1st . Got the 4x4 3/8 tubeing cut up for my new press . Will be nice to be able to do all my different punches and my New louvre dies with just a push of the foot . Everyone have a Merry Christmas. Blue

 

Got the frame roughed in . Need to do angle braces and finish welding . Will be Abel to punch louvres and dimple dies as well as a bunch more . Also cleaned the shop after these pictures . I hope to get front sheet metal for COE primed this week and start body work on them . Merry Christmas everyone .
Blue

 

You're a hard work'n man Blue. All of your projects look great. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Joy.

 

Finished my press this weekend , painted , and mounted head .
Practiced on a piece of s**** and did a few louvres. Will try my punch and dimple dies next .
Will have the A I chopped done in about two weeks . Very excited to get back on COE . Burn out is gone . Blue

 

WOW, just WOW!!! Very nice!

 

So, do you call the machine "Big Blue"?
Does your louver die shear and form in one hit? Looks like it needs a pressure pad around the punch to iron out some of the distortion.

 

Steve , all in one shears and form in one hit . Has stripper on rear and heavy rubber in lower die . Slick as snot . Blue

 

Been doing some OT beadrolling . This is good practice for the sleeper on my COE . Will have Tudor done by end of March. Everything seems to take longer lately . Promise I’ll be back on COE soon . Blue Don’t know why some of Hesse photos came out sideways and out of order .?

 

Sorry I haven’t been on in a while . Finished the Tudor and now my wife has me working on her Airstream. Full frame off but is going fast . Should have it done by February and will get back on the COE then . Very close on it . Been driving the wheels off the A.
Blue

 

Hi Blue. I was wondering why I haven't seen any updates on the COE. You've been a busy man. Keep up the good work.

 

Good to hear from you Gary . Have been doing some little things on th truck , but you know how it is , wife says jump and well .................
,

 

Hope to back on the COE by end of February. Putting the Airstream back togeather . Floors , tanks , new axels and first layer of insulation. Wiring next . Blue

 

Please show more detail of the three size pipe 'thingie'

 

Blue, I was just thinking about you the other day. I spent the weekend at the Frog Follies and after seeing a couple of nice pairs of bomber seats I realized that I should make a set for my truck. I can only fit about an 18" wide seat in it because of a large duct to get air to my radiator. I need to acquire some of your bead rolling talent to dress up the seats a bit. Got to learn a bit about upholstery also.

 

Verde , it’s just 3 different size pipes 50” long . I put a 1/8 gap between each . I got this design from Gene Winfield. Works great . I put a square leg on one end that has a plow disk that slides down in it to hold my sand bag . Hope this helps . Can take more photos if you need . Blue


Steve , have you got a roller ? Send ,pm, to me your add. and I’ll see if I can find you some dvds to show some of the tech on rolling . Jamey Jordan is a good friend of mine and he has shared a lot with me . If you are on face book , look up I love bead rolling and beadrolling everything in groups . A lot of talent on both and lots of good ideas . Blue

 

Dang, I could practice for the rest of my years and still never be able to do anything near as good as your bead rolling...

 

It’s not hard just takes a lot of practice. Look at some of the masters , Jamey Jordan, handmade seat co. On web .

 

KC , here’s the finished interior of the A except for front door panels . Done them twice and didn’t like either one . Will do them when it gets cold and have to stay in the shop all day . Been driving the wheels off it all summer . Blue

 

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while . Life sometimes gets in the way . Haven’t finished the Airstream yet . Lots of excuses including sickness. Doing the interior now if I ever get over this cold . Been way to cold to work in my unheated Airstream shed . But the good news is I started getting the COE organized and a game plan in place to get it finished . Been putting in some time on practice my SS tig welding and have started putting togeather my stacks .
Big news is I started the big block . Didn’t run it long because I didn’t have coolant in it . Sounds great but a little too loud with the exaust not finished . The cam is nice , adjusted the carb , and shut it off . Great filling!

Should be on her full time before summer , wife said I have to finish the Airstream first . If anyone is going to the LSR I’ll be there in my Tudor. Blue

 

I got to make me one of them 3 or more size pipe rollers. I could had used one of them yesterday.

 

Oldschool , I use mine all the time . The three sizes I have makes it pretty eas to get most radius you need . I have done some 4x4 sheets in it and using the big pipe and bending slowly and advancing a little at a time did a quarter panel patch . Blue

 

Ha JOYFLEA. I'm doing floor panels & body patch panels right now, this would help. But what excited me most, I want to start building my bed. But I didn't know how to get an exact 5" radius @ 90% across two 3'x8' sheets of 14 gauge, for the front corners.
I am visioning adding a brake arm to help keep the bend even, on larger heavy gauge sheets. Maybe a large plate at both ends of the pipes with stake pockets, so to position the brake arm at the pipe you are using?
OK, I'm on a mission now, I got to have me one of them. I got to getter done...
Thanks for the tip JOYFLEA..

 

Do you have access to a combination brake ? I have an old one . 14ga . It’s a 52” brake , box pan , and radius brake .
The radius is the top slides back and a pipe with a flat plate bolts on to the top . The bottom has a large angle on front like most brakes but is 4” long . As you bend up it rolls flat along the pipe . Sadly I can’t find my top piece . Only had 1 they make 1”,2”,4”,6”. Mine is a Whitney Jensen 1939 model 5214 .
They still make them but very pricey. Got mine for s**** value. Got it and this shear for $500

.

 

Oldschool, I think 3 feet of 14 ga. is going to be a bit hard to bend, by hand, in a simple fixture like Blue's. If I was going to do it again, ( https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/autocar-build-thread.1055917/page-2 )(post # 45) I would try to find someone who has a press brake with a proper die. Steel gets expensive when it doesn't turn out the way you need.

 

Ha JOYFLEA; I checked out back & found a couple pipes to put this to-gather. It's 5" & 2" by 34" . It clamps & hang over the edge of my welding table. Easy to use & easy to store away. I left the end plates long to add a couple more size pipes later. It has already come in handy.

Here is another metal forming tool I will be putting together. I found this metal stump idea on YouTube, & I just picked up an outdated 9" round Oxygen bottle to work with.

Just having fun