'27 RPU Project going together at Circle City - Pictures

I thought I'd share some pictures of the roadster pickup that Jimmy White at Circle City Hot Rods in Orange, CA is building with help from Grant Peterson.

He's been putting it together in his free time for himself for a couple of years now, and it's getting very close to being finished. I think it rules...and being that it's almost entirely handbuilt, but still very traditional in nature...it seems to be a perfect fit for the HAMB.

I met Jimmy at the Lonestar Roundup this past year, and have kept in touch with him since. A little over a month ago he gave me the opportunity to come out and finish up the bodywork and spray the paint on the RPU, so I jumped in my shoebox and headed out there for a few weeks.

As you'll see, the car is definitely a '60's style build...I'll try to give a few specs with the pictures:


The ch***is is all handbuilt, and entirely TIG welded. This includes the motor mounts (tacked in this pic), shock mounts, and the diamond-shaped reinforcement plate where the frame was pie-cut:



The kickup is pretty extreme...the rearend is '57 Chevy. Panhard bar is missing in this pic:



Suicide perch, drilled backing plates:



A close up of that steering arm. The "dimpled" holes are a repeated theme here:



Battery box:



Now that we've got some of the details out of the way, here's a profile shot of it put together:



I'm going to split this up into a few seperate posts in an effort to make it load easier, especially for those of us on dial-up. Please bear with me until I'm finished...More to come!

 

Here's a front 3/4 view:



And a rear 3/4:



The bedsides and tailgate sections are all aluminum. The two large lower/outer holes in the tailgate will get bullet shaped motorcycle taillights mounted from the inside:



Back to the ch***is, with the motor giving a hint of things to come:



Here's a close-up of that mill. It's a 292 SBC (283 .060 over) with an Isky cam, 461 heads with roller rockers, and Offy dual quad. The carbs have since been replaced with Edelbrock 500's. It should be a high winding little *******:

 

Looks like the bed can carry four large pizzas. Nice workmanship, but I don't understand why there is such an odd angle to the steering drag link, or is it getting a cowl mounting steering box? Thanks for posting the photos.

 

Theres some jawdropping workmanship there - makes you want to leave it all unpainted!

 

I'm fast forwarding a bit here through hours and hours of block sanding, but those of you that have painted a car before know what that looks like anyway.

Anyway, here's the color that Jimmy decided on. It's a House of Kolor combo...Candy Tangerine over Zenith Gold. I have to say that it's definitely one of the harder colors I've sprayed, but I'm pretty happy with the results:



The color absolutely comes alive out in the sunlight, but it's a little more subdued in artificial light. The wheels are 15" Halibrand on BF Goodrich bias plys. The rears were cut down to about 6" by Eric Vaughan (formerly of Real Wheels)...and it's almost impossible to see where he cut them down.



After we got the body painted and set back on the ch***is, Jimmy started on the headers. Check out the drilled flanges and belled tips:



Here's another profile shot..you'll notice that it's not channeled over the frame. Room is a big problem in a T, and every little bit helps. The car sits super low even without being channeled, with the door tops coming up way below waist level. The drag link has since been shortened to make it perpendicular when the wheels are straight...It connects to an old sprint car box with a 3-spoke Bell wheel:

 

My prayers have been answered!!

A New Traditional(TM) hot rod that isn't 2" off the ground and shows restraint in all the right areas and just the opposite with the rest.

Good job! I LOVE it!

Sam.

 

Jimmy White is my hero.

 

From the top:



Opposite angle...you can see the cowl hoop that the steering box mounts to. The panel laying inside mounts above the cross bar on the cowl hoop and holds the coil and other odds and ends; it will be mostly hidden by the dash. The winshield frame is of unknown origin, and the bottom half of the posts are hand made from tubular and flat stock:



Here is the nearly completed driver's side header. The headlights are Deist on fabricated mounts, the radiator is custom aluminum. I didn't get to paint the grille shell because the insert hadn't been made yet while I was out there:



Last picture...I really think that this thing looks good from just about any angle, but this is probably my favorite:



Jimmy still has to do a mind-blowing amount of chrome for the car, and he was planning on powdercoating the frame in a chunky silver metallic. He's also planning on forming a pair of aluminum seats and matching aluminum interior panels.

I was totally blown away by the attention to detail and the fabrication/ workmanship on this car...and I'm really happy that I got the chance to spray some paint on it.

If anyone has any questions I'll try to answer them...if I can't, Jimmy checks in every now and then and I'm sure he'll be able to.

-Brian

 

Is this the Jimmy White of DeadEndCruisers video fame?

 

Yep, same Jimmy. I got to ride in his Model A Coupe while I was out there. I think the pucker I left in the seat is probably still there, too.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Is this the Jimmy White of DeadEndCruisers video fame?

[/ QUOTE ]


Yes it is!

And that's some beautiful work that those guys made on that RPU!! I remember that car sitting on a frame jig or somethin' in their old shop where they used to be.

 

The fabrication on that is beyond words....Jimmy rocks!

Dirty

 

Very neat work, He needs to show the quality he can produce to run a good shop.The color combo works too.Good luck keeping the Halibrands shiny.

 

man that is some seriously mad skills that dude has

thanks for the pics

and hella nice paint job by the way

 

Top notch!

 

Very, very cool.

 

Yes yes yes!

Quality workmanship, attention to detail, PAINT!!

And it still has at***ude and a vvery traditional style and feel.

yes yes yes!!!!!!!!!!

 

man that is nice - that guy is taking his time and doing it beyond kick ***.

That kind of work really motivates me to step it up

 

Very nice!. Excellent craftsmanship, one of the nicest cars I have seen in a long time. Beautiful paint. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks for the pic's. Sounds like you had a good time in CA.

Now when does the B***-O-Matic 49 get that coat of shiny
black?
TZ

 

Outfrickinstanding! Not much more to say....

 

B***:
Excellant pictures and story, I enjoyed reading it.
The car speaks volumes of the care and craftsmanship that has created it.
Do you have any pictures of the Hemi coupe Jimmy has?

AHotRod

 

Just totally *****in'!

Jimmy is one of the nicest guys around too.

 

WOW!!!!
Clark

 

Mr. B***, you pack a mighty mean "gun!

 

Thats is amazing. Jimmy White rules!! I love the detail and time he took. That will be one of the best damn rpus ever..Nice work Jimmy.. can I sweep floors too?? I need to learn!!

 

question from the slow kid in the back of the cl***!!

Is the tie rod square stock?

 

Very cool.... Inspirational even...

 

Man , I wish I could build something as NICE as that ..
Excellent Hot Rod , THANX for sharing

 

very nice work im glad to see paint on it and not another primer black car