Ok here goes I am not one to. Post much on the stuff I build but I’m gonna try harder this time plus I’m sure I’m gonna need a lot of help on this one I have a few ground rules on this one first my shop is a mess I work non stop in it and occasionally I do get 5 minutes to sweep up but I have built hundreds of cars in this tiny little area and have never had any complaints so ignore that second I am always open to insights and comments as to how you did it or a way to make it easier I always welcome that however if your gonna complain about it or say something that’s not helpful then there’s the door don’t let it hit ya where the good lord split ya. Now that I’ve said my piece on with the show For years I’ve been gathering pieces and parts to build a 34 5 window fuel coupe I dig ‘em all the 554 the 15oz coupe but my favorite of them all was the hyder mccloud car which later became the hyder koulahan coupe it was more like a couple guys decided one weekend they were goin fuel coupe racing and went after it no magnesium wheels just steelies and a blown fuel Hemi crammed way back into the firewall now there are not many pics of this car on the internet so my car is not a perfect clone just a very good representation of it. Now here we go my car is more like parts of a car though other than the driver door that I have acquired the body and all of its pieces I swept up when I got it was the same car just imagine the worst 34 on the planet and then this one is still worse however I will make a car out of it and as bad as it is it’s still pretty good considering my funds are very small when it come to this so I’m first gonna show you some before pics of what I started with and the very slow progress I will make as I work a 50 hrs a week so this is my therapy to keep me healthy
Now that you’ve seen the ****py body parts I have here is the start of my ch***is it’s an old hot frame motor mounts for sbc a hacked up X member and some coil spring mounts welded to the rear cross member but it’s straight and I have cows measured it and it’s all good to start with I have a stock 34 front end and it is rh drive stuff which I will not be using so if any of you want that rh drive spindle let me know before I cut it up and we can trade for a is made one currently I am just gonna bolt in the front end as is and will upgrade a few things as I go but I gotta start somewhere the rear axle is a Frankland quick change it does have a spe rear cover but is a. Frankland I have tacked 9” ends on it as it has a 31 spline spool in it and have some aftermarket axles in it currently I’m just gonna tack weld the rear end in place to make it roll and get the body up in shape before i get too involved with the ch***is here are a few pics I took of the ch***is as I threw it together in about 2 hrs and started on the body
Ok next up starting on ***embly of the body it’s rough but I was able to piece the floor and rockers together enough to get it bolted to the frame in the correct spots in order to start tacking it back together I’m not starting with replacing any metal till I get it in a least some shape of a car I don’t have coin to buy all new floors and all of the needed panels I will buy what I absolutely have to if that was the case I would have started with a nice car but.mu pocketbook won’t allow it I started with the rear section of the body and got it bolted down then the floor section and rockers then the cowl
Next up I tack welded the p*** door in place with a good door gap all around as it should have as I don’t have any door side hinges for the p*** side if anyone has some they would part with please let me know I need them in a bad way I have all of the for the body side and the door side on the driver side I’m not sure if they are different from side to side
Next I fitted the driver door post and door like I did the p*** one just tacked it in place at the cowl then tacked the post to the frame as the rocker is non existent at that spot but I gotta start somewhere and yes the driver door is a 4dr sedan post and door but no matter it will be just fine in the end once the car is all welded up I then started to hammer and dolly the top area out and made significant progress I still have a good ways to go but it’s getting there I did cut the front roof skin area off and hammered it out and then tacked it back on at least it’s starting to look like a car
Hmmm, build plan, check, engine, pending, rear axle, pending, front axle, pending, paint, it’ll buff out, badges? You don’ need no stinking badges!, tires, pending, wheels, pending, rubber room ( hehe) , check, parachute, double check, da boss’s approval, check. Carry on.
Next up was tackling the driver quarter I had a section from a sedan and I cut the wheel arch area out and replaced it with as much as I could I know the sedan inner wheel well is wider than the coupe so I cut it out and set it aside for now and just replace the wheel arch with as much as I could also tacked the upper quarter piece I do have in place for now or until I can come up with better parts or get into actually fabrication of the panels I would much rather find some better parts than to make them all but if I have to I will so if any of you have any driver side upper quarter sections let me know I’m not worried ifs it’s bent up I’m worried about what’s not there and there is a lot I don’t have
Next up I started on the driver door I started with replacing the body side upper hinge as it had been cut off many years ago I bought a set of body side hinges a long while back and they were already chromed then I had a lower door section I bout that was in real nice shape and better yet it had all of the inner structure in it so I cut the door and tacked it all back together yes I’m tacking everything before I weld it and have to cut it back apart once I get it all back in shape it’s much easier to move if need be the door opens and shuts pretty good at this point I don’t have any latches yet but I will probly put in some bear claws and safety pins as they are much better than the originals I will use the stock outside door handles but that’s way down the road
Wow- that was a pretty rough pile of body parts, but you're well on your way to owning a complete car! Keep up the great work!
You are definitely to the point you can sit in it and make vroom-vroom noises, that's quite a bit of progress from day 1. Is that hemi on the stand going in it???? Nice save, keep us updated. -Abone.
I’ve started with a cowl and a roof before but I was much younger then, you are reminding me how much work it is. Good job!
I give all of you people that start with less than quality parts a lot of credit. In my younger days I pieced some 1933-1936 Willys coupes together, but nothing as rough as what you are starting with. Years ago at the NSRA York, Pennsylvania show a fellow had a Model A coupe that started out like what you people started with. He kept a s****book on his cowl, especially for the restorers who criticized him for cutting up a "good" body He would show the s****book to them, and asked them if they would even attempt to save it. Most of them after looking at the s**** book would commend him for saving the body, even if he did not restore it. I say the same to you who undertake such a task. Where there is a will, there is a way to get it done. All it takes is a lot of time and perseverance.
Well, Sheet! That's starting out with a pickled sow's ear! Can't fault a dirty shop if that's the work carried out!
I am all in on anything you build Jackson. This is going to be a bad *** hot rod. Fuel coupes are my favorite . And in my opinion, most shops that have lots of work going on look like yours, including mine sometimes. Real hot rod building? Yes. and it can be messy.
In case you guys are wondering yes it will have a blown 354 Hemi not sure on trans yet I have a couple to choose from but it will have clutch and 3 pedals or maybe 2 and a handbrake depending on which steering setup I use if I go the 554 coupe route it will be center steer I have no idea how this car was setup as I have never seen a pic of the inside or the suspension in the rear thank you all for following along it will probly be a couple weeks before I get much else done as I have a project I need to get finished up that I’ve been working on that I need to get finished up and get paid on so I can buy some parts for this heap I will be rolling it out this weekend so I can get the project back in to finish it up I will post up some pics when I get it outside stay tuned more to come
Well I do have a clutch flight so that might just be what I use just not sure yet I would prefer a clutch turbo as I think they are far superior to the torque flight version but I don’t have one of those lol
Well I rolled the coupe out of the shop yesterday as I have a project I need to get back in so I can finish it up so I can hit this one full tilt for awhile I’ll probly be a week or so on that project plus it will allow me time to get the new rockers and quarter panel patches I ordered Friday to show up then it will be go time anyhow here a few pic I took while it was outside in the street
The Jalopy Journal
