For my latest project I have started to work on and clean up the Deuce "Tree Car" Cabriolet after getting it back from the the magic metalformer (maker of the best V-8 patch panels and sheetmetal parts) Tom Bay in November. Tom had repaired the subrails, floor and braces (it had been channeled), installed some patch panels, and most importantly refabbed the windshield posts and frame that had been cut off flush with the cowl. I had him chop it 2 3/4" and lean the posts back about 10-15 degrees. I think it looks a lot better than a stocker. The 3M stripper pads on my 4 1/2" grinder worked great except for the coating of grunge on everything in the shop. I'll have to wait for better weather to do the rest outside later. The last time the weather was decent (weeks ago), I had started to sandblast (with Black Blast) the beads, nooks and crannies but didn't get it all done. I have a long way to go but its fun to bring one back from the dead. I am planning to make it a full fendered long distance cruizer with a little more comfort than my roadster (roll up windows and more leg room!!).
Looks like a really cool project! I have an 'A' Sedan with a tree growing through it... I'll get to it one of these days. I have a photo request... could you post a photo, or a part number of the 3M stripper pads you are using? I would like to try a few, but I never seem to find ones that match the verbal descriptions I've been given. Thanks, Ben
Look in the Eastwood catalog, they have them in the larger 7" and the size I used, the 4 1/2" individually or as a kit with the velcro backing plate with 5/8" threads, red pads and the black stripper pad. Since you live in Minnesota, a Menards store shouldn't be too far away. Check in the power tools section and there should be a big 3M "Sandblaster" display with all kinds of sanding discs. The one you want is the part number #9681 - 4 1/2" clean-n-strip disc. Its purple and you can put it right on your 4 1/2" grinder that has the 5/8" threads without the adapter they say you will need. Its purple in color and works very well and seems to last a long time. They aren't cheap but then you won't have to pay for shipping it either. The local body shop supply stores I've checked with don't seem to know how to get the stuff Eastwood sells but I think the T Man in Rapid City can get them locally out there.
Wow thats some back from the dead story, from the size of the tree it had been out there for some time, body looked kinda solid for all those years.
Looks good Jerry! should be a nice addition to your fleets of 32s? We do indeed get those disks from the autobody suppliers. They are not in the 3M autobody catalog however, your salesman needs to look in the industrial products!
I have been looking for a Deuce Cabriolet for several years with no luck, at least in an affordable way. Last July I had asked my friend Mike, who owns Pikes Peak Motors (formerly So-Cal Colorado) if he knew of any Deuce Cabriolets for sale and he called me back later saying he knew of one with an interesting story, but he didn't know if it was for sale. I sat on the information for a while because I had bought a used So-Cal Deuce highboy frame for my Brookville roadster project from Mike that I had just received on July 6th, which was my 32nd wedding anniversary (what else would you buy on your 32nd anniversary?). I didn't think my wife would want another "present" like that this soon so I waited as long as as I could - a whole week! I called the owner and he asked how I knew it was for sale because he had just decided to sell it the that day. I said I didn't but that I hoped he would sell it to me. He said it was funny that I called just then because he was laying awake last night wondering how he would ever finish all of his projects. He decided he couldn't so he decided to sell his cabriolet project last night. He described the body and it's condition, named his price and I bought it sight unseen. The car has an incredible story that started in 1948 on a farm in what is now Cherry Hills (now full of million dollar homes like John Elway's), which is a suburb of Denver, Colorado. The previous owner had bought the car after returning from the armed services and had raced (and crashed) it in jalopy races locally for a few years with a hot flathead for power. After several years he decided needed more power, so he pulled the flathead out and planned to put in the then new small block chevy motor. The car got parked beside a grain bin and didn't move again for almost 50 years. A few years later some kids were riding dirt bikes by the car and told their hot rodder father Don about it. He and his friend Ted went to look at the car and tried to buy it. The owner said no and they mentioned that he should cut down a small 3' tall sapling that was growing up though the center of the car before it became a problem. He again said no, because he said "it would keep the car from getting stolen." They approached the owner several times a year for the next thirty five years trying to buy it. Every time they did it was interesting because sometimes the owner was very cordial and other times his wife would tell them "to get the hell out of there fast!!" because he was coming out with his shotgun to run them off (they could see him loading the gun through the window). It seems the poor man suffered from mental illness (Deuce disease??) and eventually was hospitalized or committed. One day soon after that Ted stopped by and the mans wife agreed to sell the car with the condition that it had to be removed by the next day. That little sapling had done it's job, the car was never stolen, but now it was a huge tree that almost filled up the entire car. After calling the local tree service, they said they could cut it down, but could not could promise what would happen after that. So as a last resort, the grain bin was drug over enough so a torch and a hacksaw were used to cut the car in half through the rocker panels. It was then hauled back to Ted's place until I stumbled onto the deal. I will be forever grateful to Ted and Don for selling it to me. One of my goals is to get it on the road again and stop by to see them so they can take it for a drive. Here is a few more pics of it.
What a great story. It's what makes this hobby so interesting and so much fun. Great car by the way - Mark
Roll up windows? Dude, the Dictator is going to either kick you out or banish you to the back of the pack!
I'm safe since he let Orv in with his '34 Cabriolet. Hell, I'm an outcast anyway so I am used to the back of the pack!!!
That is a great story, I'm glad it was rescued before the tree grew enough to actually start growing AROUND the body panels, I'm kinda glad our trees in this part of the country don't grow that fast. Out here, that woulda been a 90 year old tree at least. Lookin good...
Actually, I bought it from Ted, who cut the car in half to save it from the tree. He said that as far as he could remember it was between 35 and 40 years ago when he and Don first saw the car and had tried to buy it. He said the tree was just a little 3 foot tall sapling the first time they saw the car. When I bought it I told him the story alone was worth $500. I have to hand to them for trying to keep buying the car all those years. They are both die-hard old school hot rodders from way back.
Priceless Story : .. Ted & Don must be a**** the coolest guys Ever !! From what I read : They are treehuggers ( Cut the car in half to get it out , but in the prosess they saved a Tree ... They aint Easly scared ( GUN ! ), They are not in a Hurry , AND , they sure know where to deliver the goods ( To YOU !! ) And , that Tom Bay guy sure does EXCELLENT work !!! MAN , You better keep us posted on your progress ! THANX For posting ... KLAZ BTW .. MIKE is the first1 to ride shootgun with you , when you have this Hot Rod of y`rs done... Right ?
Have you had a chance to make any progress on your cabriolet? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sounds fishy to me... That tree looks to be more than 130 years old.... I could be wrong... But I doubt it....
Nothing much Brandon, I've collected a few more parts like some scratch built top irons and one of the door garnish moldings. I'm still looking for the p***enger side garnish molding and the window tracks for both doors, which are impossible to find. When I bought a '37 Cabriolet over a year ago I told my wife I'd "try" to thin the herd of some of my projects. I made a half hearted attempt to sell it and one of my 5W's to someone I know in Sweden but it didn't happen so it continues to sit at the end of my long line of projects. I'll post some more pictures of it as it sits today, plus some better ones from when the tree was holding it hostage in Cherry Hills, which is a suburb of Denver, Colorado now. This is Ken figuring out the tree problem. It's sitting patiently down at the end of the line of my projects in the "Deuce Cave". This is what I'd like it to be someday, a recreation of the 1951 Paul Ellis Cabriolet Hot Rod. If I don't do it, maybe I should save it for you Brandon!
Believe it or not, it's real, the tree was about 40 years old. Tell me how it got there then. I'd love to know how Ted and I faked it!
Here's how it looked after Ted saved it and when I bought it. More pics here.... https://photos.app.goo.gl/4K1cnnsvAT7Yv4K58
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