I said I wasn't going to start on this car just yet. Yeah, right. Well, I need something to do until I can get back on the Buick and right now I'm waiting on lots of things out of my control. So, I'm looking at the Ford and trying to come up with small projects I can work on. Today, I worked on the dash. It's in reasonably good shape but today's gauges don't fit the openings, plus there were some odd holes hacked in the middle section and I want to eliminate the crank out windshield. So, I cut plugs and welded them in to fill all the holes. Then, I worked on the layout of the instruments and cut their holes. All in all, a full day's work and a satisfying ending.
I needed to recess the firewall to make sure I have enough room for my SBC engine and 700R4 transmission. After looking at the aftermarket firewalls that cost around $400 delivered, I decided I didn't like the way they looked and thought I could do better and save some money. Anyway, making your own is Traditional. Right? I went to Alro steel on Thursday and told the guy I needed a 4 X 4 sheet of 16 ga. cold roll. He said that he was out and then he said, "Wait a minute, I've got a drop that is slightly damaged. If you can use it, I will sell it to you for $.50/pound. It was fine for what I needed, so I gave 18 bucks and change for a piece that was big enough to make two firewalls out of. Worst case, if my plan doesn't work out, I can always order an aftermarket firewall........NOT. First, I made a pattern from poster board. Then, I clipped it into place on the firewall to test the fit. It looked good, so I traced it out on the sheet metal and cut it out with a saber saw. It would not have been easy to use shears for this. Then, I laid out all the break lines, looked at it and decided I could not use my press brake for this project. Nope, this was going to call for good old blacksmithing. So, I located two suitable pieces of angle iron, some clamps and a hammer and started to work. So far, it's looking pretty good. I just hope it fits! I will cut out the two X panels on the portion of the firewall that is being removed and use them to fill the open portion of the recess. Also, the W pattern will remain in place, so I don't have to cut the entire firewall out. Stay tuned.
The saga of the firewall continued today. I cut the OE firewall out, test fitted the recessed firewall, cut the two X's out of the OE firewall and tacked them into the center of the recessed firewall. Unfortunately, the two X's aren't identical but the short side will be obscured by the engine plus with a hood on it, you will never see both sides at once. Lots of welding and grinding to be done tomorrow before plug welding it in place. I think it looks better than a smoothed firewall and it sure was cheaper.
I finished the welding and grinding. I swear the firewall is smooth and looks better than the pictures. It will take a minimal skim coat of filler to finish it. I tried a couple of different angles and just couldn't get the pictures to look good. I'm happy with it. All that is left to do is cut the recess in the middle for the transmission. I don't have an engine and transmission to do that mockup just yet.
That looks GREAT!!!! The best part is YOU did it and it looks way better than a totally smooth one!!!! Be proud, that’s some nice work!!!
Gor the rotary latches and suicide latches installed. This is no short task. I moved the interior latch and had to modify sime of the pieces to get the exterior latch adapter to fit. Works like a charm now. All parts came for Carolina Custom Hot Rod Parts.
Well, my painter still isn't ready for the Buick, so I am going to keep working on the 34. So far, I've made good progress in accommodating the 700R4 and trying to creat enough foot room for my 12W feet. Glad there are only 2 pedals! I moved the toe board back 3 " and built most of the tunnel. I'm leaving for Nashville on Thursday, so that will pretty much be all until next week.
Gotta love the clecos! Those older cabs seem so small after working on my '60 C10. Love seeing the sheet metal take shape
My Buick is waiting on the upholsterers. Imagine that. So, I rolled the 34 intonthe shop and picked up where I left off. Good progress today. This is my forst custom floor build. I'm liking how its turning out.
I'm watching the floor work you're doing, as I'll be doing the same for my 34 Victoria. Working on my Nomad right now, Vicky will be a while, or when I wear out on the 56.
Very nice work! Don't forget to cover or pull those running boards before you weld. '34 boards are not cheap!
Yeah. I keep telling myself to take them off. I will do it today or tomorrow.....before welding, for sure.
It's a helluva lot easier to do this work with the running boards off! My back really appreciated it today.
I cut out the original floor, which was going to have to be modified for the rear axle housing, regardless and, as I stated at the start of this thread, I wanted some cargo room. So, I built a frame of 1" square tubing, constructed a couple of boxes. (One will hold the battery and the other is for storage and they will have lids.) After that, I cut and bead rolled the remainder of the floor. I have one piece that connects the rear floor to the frint floor left to do. I'm liking this.
I am working on the dash and the mounting of 10# of stuff behind a 5# dash. The Buick ruined me. There was lots of room for anything you wanted to mount. This thing fights for every 1/2" behind the dash. I got my grille back from my plater last week. Wow! I may just hang this above my fireplace and call it good!
The Jalopy Journal
