Could it be a "problem" when you are surfing the HAMB during your own New Years party?? haha...... we were looking at this thread, though!
It seems I left some folks hanging on the roof post. I apologize if the names of a few of the parts are off. I'm trying very hard not to use words like "thingie" and "dealy," but descriptive words instead. I should also add that the black material, finish railing and black moulding all came in a kit my dad bought twenty-some years ago. We ran across it's container while looking for other parts. The material was in awesome condition and the container was luckily sealed up so that nothing got in to nest on or eat the material. Harry brought the canvas and cotton filler with him. So I left off with my dad bending a piece of metal railing, which will work to finish off the roof. These metal pieces come in straight lengths and have to be bent to shape... without kinking. Then we'll pop rivet it down into the body, to hold it in place. This black finish moulding came with the material in the kit. It's a hard plastic and should snap or slide over the railing. He hasn't finished bending the railing yet, as it takes a lot of patience. We've worked on the rear window a bit and set up the shifter and emergency brake, though.
We got some pieces back from being powder coated so we could assemble the shifter and emergency brake. And then slowly cut out the holes for the interior piece. Harry made this shifter/emergency brake boot for us too. It's almost scary how well the whole thing is coming together.
Excellent thread, and car. Don't worry about not knowing the proper names for everything, I used to work with an aircraft mechanic that his favorite term for components seemed to be 'whosie-whattie'. He's our turbine programs manager now. Regardless, you are doing well, best of luck with the build and the new year in general.
"He hasn't finished bending the railing yet, as it takes a lot of patience. We've worked on the rear window a bit and set up the shifter and emergency brake, though." Thanks for the update and great pictures, Jess. That last step on the top does look difficult.
Hello.. Where did the roof kit come from, all I need is the rail and molding.. This is a excellent post..It one I look forward to visiting when on the HAMB.. Thanks.....Duane..
Hi Duane, sorry for the delay. The kit originally came from Lobeck's V8 Shop in Cleveland, Ohio. I checked and they're still around and now have a pdf of their catalog on their website. I didn't see the kit scanning thru, but you may be able to find it.
Great post, terrific looking work, outstanding. I did a 33, 5 window maybe 25 years ago, didn't look as good as this one but I had the same interior door handle as you show in one of the first photos, ironic huh ? Very nice.
The vise grip? Yeah, it worked well. And actually, the two doors shared that vise grip for quite some time.
Sorry all. My mind and energy have been devoted to work stuff. I was only able to go to the farm a couple days these last two weeks. But we kicked butt on Saturday and made up for the time we lost. The shop was full and jumping. My brother ground down the markings on one of the exhaust manifolds we plan on using... And I sand blasted... and blasted... and blasted... While my dad worked with the steering linkage... And Tim and Scott were working on some piston's for Scotty's TransAm. Then I helped my dad finish off the interior floor pieces which fit around the pedals. We put the seat back in and cleaned her up for pictures. One night last week was frustrating... once we start spending more than twenty minutes looking for a bolt or a set of screws one of us just had in our hand, it's time to clean the shop and put tools away. Here she was on Sunday night: The next major thing we do will be to take the body off, put the brake lines back on and hook up the fuel lines... then the wiring harness... Oooo, scary. Yesterday, the glass for the rear window was ready so last night we played around with the windows again. The runners and bumpers seem to be in place, so the driver door got the interior window moulding installed. We held the glass in place in one of the quarter windows and I was just speechless. It's amazing how much a simple piece of clear auto glass changes the car.
I had a 33 five window bought a couple of years ago, but the guy backed out at the last moment...Drat!!! Love the thread and the car...keep it comming....
Where the heck have I been while all this was going on??? Jess, I don't know how I missed your thread, but I did. Now that I've come out of my stupor, I HAVE to tell you that your post is the best I have seen for quite some time. Your photos and description are just top shelf. Thankk you so much for taking the time to share your passion with the rest of us HAMBsters. I'll be looking for you on the salt as I plan on going again this year after being a salt virgin last year. PS - You are a lucky girl indeed to have the dad you have and he is equally as lucky to have you as his daughter. Keep up the good work, you two.
Coulda swore I subscribed to this thread, musta been too busy readin' it. Lookin' good. Subscribed now.
Wow. Time has been flying. It's been a while since I had something worth posting. Well, we took the engine and transmission back out, since we need to weld some more on the frame and eventually fill a couple holes in the floor pan. We got a few parts from Mac's Antique Auto later in the week, so Friday night we got to play around with them. Then discovered, there's some more blasting and priming to do with the pieces we took off the dash. This is Scott. He's bending some pieces back into place for an ash tray. We're having some fitting issue with the ash tray but don't want to spend a whole lot of time on it right now. I may just put my HAMB Alliance tag there for now.
My dad fashioned some card board pieces which will be added to the floor pan so the radius rods will clear the body near the rear end while bumping down the road. Then we measured and marked the inside... And then he cut the pieces out. We only have to clear about four inches of the body, but made them about six inches, just to be sure.
great thread.. awesome photos. beautiful car. you should be very proud.. and it's a family project, awesome.
Awesome, looking good, the first ride is just around the corner. I drove my 34 to work today, it's been a while, what a rush, blasting down the interstate, no windows, no radio, just the pipes singing and the slicks humming. Pure joy.
Looking good Jess. With all the work on your house and keeping up with things on the job, I'm impressed that you and your dad have accomplished so much since I last saw the car. Tell "Bonneville Bill" HI! for me when you see him. See you on the salt! WOS pit set up September 16, 2008.
I'm looking forward to seeing you in September! We're all rev'in to go. And we'll hopefully bring along some newbies. I'll see Bill on Sunday, so I'll be sure to mention you.
I can't believe that I just found this thread now. Where have I been? Love the car, everything looks top notch and the fact that you are doing this with your pops makes it all the better. I would tell you to keep the updates coming, but your documentations thus far is impeccable. So I know they'll keep coming. Great Work!!!
Wow. Time sure is flying. Even though I haven't shared any new photos for a while, the coupe is still progressing. The last post left off when we were cutting holes in the floor so the radius rods would clear the body. Turned out the theory of how much room the radius rods need was smaller than the actual, so those holes were enlarged in the end. We turned the body up, so we could get the welding done right. Around that time seems like as good of time as any to re-prime the frame and some other parts. It was also a good time to enlarge the hole for the rear end. We tried simulating road conditions by jumping up and down with the rear end in place and it would hit the body, each time. Time for a bigger hole.... Then it was time to bring in the big guns. This is Bobby K. He's a professional welder and made quick, nice work of the welding needing to be done on the body pan. Thanks Bobby, you rock. My dad did some grinding... Then some more work and a little coating, and the underside of the car doesn't look half bad. Here's the new rear end cover on the inside of the body:
Once everything was done, or looked done at the time, we carefully swung the body back down and set the frame up in the shop. This last week, we got the rear end housing back from being powder coated at Source One, here in Lincoln. They did a really nice job and it looks spectacular. We got the leaf springs all tightened down and secured. It's scary to see how much pressure those things endure. My dad painted the pumpkin to match the rear end housing and we shoved it up in place.
The Jalopy Journal
