Hot Rods The Belly Button Bucket Build Thread

Ah, that makes since

 

Merry Christmas H.A.M.B.

I got the wishbones and shock mounts back from powder coat. Special thanks to Russel for taking me on in his busy schedule.

 

Made some progress on the waterfall panel- got the 1/16” insert fit and welded to the frame, mounted the panel to the dash, welded some 1/8” side rails to the panel frame and used some riv-nuts to attach the side panels, then fit and mounted them. The gf and I hopped in for a test fit- the toe boards are a great addition for comfort, and the waterfall panel doesn’t cut into any foot room. I’ll probably work on the shifter panel next, as that seems to be the part I have all the pieces to finish.

 

Got the shifter panel insert fit and welded in. Tomorrow I’ll cut out the various holes.

 

Looking like a car more than ever now! Appreciate that shot of the backside of the panel!

 

Makin some more progress:

 

Is it me or does the waterfall seem to lean a bit to the left?

 

Optical illusion due to the angle the pictures were taken from.

 

The bends are not the same in the waterfall panel left to right- I needed to get something in there to see what it will look like so I just did the best I could, but it will probably be re-worked. After making it, my welds have improved enough that when I make it again, I will make the frame in two pieces, which will allow me to mirror them better left to right, then weld them together, and so on. But for now, I needed to see what it would be like with that space occupied, so consider it a placeholder until I can confirm all the other details planned will work out. Lots of things to hide still!

 

Hey, Tim;
Proof of handbuilt, not machined ? .
Marcus...

 

I know you said this may just be a first draft but that is pretty cool Tim.
I really regret posting the photos of those hideous shift boots, I envisioned that you were going to need to cover the shifter and e-brake handle as well as the open space next to the handle, seems you had a plan from the start.
With a limited working space as you have, a packaging mindset needs to come before satisfying the "dreaming" stage, I still struggle with doing something over, I have learned to embrace the cardboard and scissor phase.

 

No need for regrets. I may pretend to have a “plan”, but the internet hides all the evidence indicating how solid that plan is lol

 

Today I took the old insert panel and cut it down to put in riv-nuts. This will sandwich the shifter boot and emergency brake handle boot underneath the panel and help hold things together. I also cut a bezel out of 1/8” aluminum and fit the H-pattern tag. Once I have more time, I’ll drill the holes through, round all the edges on the bezel, and polish. The tag is 1/16” thick, so it will be recessed in the bezel and should look pretty cool.

 

Shits fancy! Very cool

 

Nice! I'm not up to that quality. I'm going for early dirt track...

 

Yes I did this just the other night! Pretty frustrating but usually a guy can do a do over....

 

That is just plain beautiful, nice job.

 

Thanks. Made a little more progress today. Figuring I might as well keep working to finish up this section of the interior as best I can. Next is probably closing up the sides- I laid up some fiberglass for that the other day, so I’ll work to shape those in this week.

 

Killin it man.

 

Subscribed!

 

Beautiful work, Tim. Make sure to get lids for the drinks, I'd hate to see a spill on that!

 

Hey, Tim;
Is the steering wheel hub cover going to get engine-turned, maybe in a circular fashion? Might help tie-in w/the dash n console?
Marcus...

 

Hey Marcus,

I agree the wheel hub cover could use something - not sure yet. I swapped in this one in favor over the Moon one, to try to get away from being a Mooneyes billboard haha. I'll figure something out - I had thoughts of running no cover as well, but I need to get fancier fasteners ordered if I'm gonna do that, which reminds me, I need to make a fastener list so I can order those up soon...

 

IDK, for some reason, running w/o a cover always leaves a bad-unfinished-IDCare taste in my mouth. A lot of times it does take extra effort to use the "horn" button, but looks *so* unfinished w/o it. Just mho. Only ones that work well for that effect, are the teens-early20's that used an acorn-nut retainer. Again, mho. I suppose a pair of mooneyes decal could work out well. . 1st thing I'd look to do, is to make those 3-D w/actual BBs or somesuch rolling free in the black-eye area, using some casting resin(multiple layers & paint) to get the effect. Sortof a takeoff on the clear-center-ed hubs that were done in the late 30s'-early40's(well, at least Stude did those).
Marcus...

 

Well, if we are tossing suggestions out there...
I like when a design element is reflected and cohesive.
Look at the gauges and the wheel. Both have a black ring and the wheel is shiny so the light almost mirrors the bezel.

So, I'd say instead of doing the engine turning of the flat surfaces, do a single spin brushed finish on the center cap to match the center of the gauges.

 

Man if that vertical panel gets turned as well I bet you could shine a flash light inside the car in a dark garage and turn it into a disco party pretty quick. Might want to pack some shades of your driving away from the sun

 

Hey, now that's a great idea! I'll scheme up a way to get brave enough to do that! Thanks for that!

Thanks, I actually have a "plan" in the works for this.... I've been distracted the last couple days working on the between seat console/waterfall area, because I really need to see how much real estate I have in that area to work with to hide some more things, but I really hope to be pulling all this together "soon".

 

Spin-brushed cap. Nice detail.
May as well blacken the pedals' background, too. & showcase the moon n "points".
Thinking the skull shifter-knob will need detailing too.
Marcus...

 

I love the sports car styling! I can't wait to see it in person around the Couve

 

Thank you- your pickup is turning out awesome, too! I also go back and look at your roadster build thread - might have to bring over some rum and coke to get a peek at your heater controls and ducting… that’s been a large gray area in my brain. I’ve returned 3 separate styles of heater control valves now that were advertised as being a bypass style and weren’t - starting to lose optimism in this area lol.

Tonight/past couple days I’ve been staring at that waterfall console between the seats. I had a heck of a time getting the bars bent up roughly symmetrical and mounted in the car. I think now I have something to work with, but it obviously needs a lot of attention before it will look like something.

My thinking here is to use the waterfall as a border to build the side bolstering of the seat back foam, optimistically mirroring that in the interior side panel against the body when the time comes. Hard to explain, mostly because I don’t have it figured out yet lol. Anyway, stay tuned for more madness.