Hot Rods My trip to Brookville Roadster... (pics)

Wow! You made my day. I think this RPU is mine. Pickin' it up later this month to make my avatar finally a reality. All I could do so far is dream.

Those folks are truely fine people. Many of their crew have been there 20 - 30 years! No tall talk, just the best steel you can buy period. That '32 full fendered RPU is totall awsome!

 

6000 in a 10 hour shift is not too shabby. When I left work today the crew on one of our 1,000 ton presses (like the one shown in the photos) was stroking about 1600 parts per hour. Of course that was 2 up cross members. Is that the only press Brookeville has?

 

There's 5 or 6 presses in the building, but that's the BIG one. Here's a few more shots of them.

I'm sure they s**** all the mis-struck pieces, but I would have been glad to take them off their hands. Some of them were real jacked up, but some looked like they would be fine with a little work. The junk ones were better than anything I have.... dammit!

Kevin

 

great pics! thanks for sharing your visit to their shop. Good luck with your project.

 

I'm sure most of us haven't seen a body panel press work, so how does it punch out perfect pieces? Is it a one shot BAM! there's your part or several slow pressings?

 

I think about this ALL the time......I'm SOOO close, but yet too far away.

(I live a little over an hour from there, too far to drive everyday)

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing.

 

From what they told us today, its a 2-BAM process. The first shot makes the panel what you see on the outside in one swift move. The panel then has a 4"-6" flashing around the outside, they then use a 5-axis laser cutter to cut off the extra metal. It then goes back to the press for the inside lips to be pressed out. WahLah... new panel.

Kevin

 

I was so shell shocked that I didn't even get a catalog or t-shirt. Both were on my list of things to do when I got there.... Just forgot.

Guess I'll just have to go back.

Kevin

 

whoa - that is cool - are you building the roadster??? I love those things.

 

Great stuff Kevin and thanks for the pics! Wicked cool place and great folks to deal with! Plus you got to eat Skyline Chlie, I love that place I'll take a Fourway.

 

It's Billy's car, the guy that helped us pull the blower off your car at Rayford's shop. He already has the rest of the parts, now no excuses. It will be a nice semi-traditional build, with a SBC. I'll be helping him when he needs it. He's a street rod guy, so I'll have to help keep him on track.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures, it's great to see stuff being built in the good old USA, the big 3 should be looking at these pictures. I also like the wood wheels with all that money bolted to them.
Dave

 

awesome! I have a 364 nailhead and a 3 duece intake if you want but I'd rather see the SBC. I love those things!

 

Thanks for bringing this thread up again, I did the same tour a couple of years ago and my knees are still shaking, great pics.

 

I love that roadster pickup. I've been thinking about one of those myself.

 

What a Cl***y ride... I think it was gonna be flathead powered too. Nice. I love fenderless cars and trucks, but that one looks great with all the fenders and stock bumpers.

 

Thanks for the picture's Kevin, looks like a fun trip.

 

Dumb question, but what does it dampen? Does it bolt to the engine?

The reason I'm asking is we were thinking about putting a "B" engine in one of our A model projects.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

Being mounted only through the sheetmetal on the firewall, it can't be holding/helping much.

PM Bruce Lancaster & ask him what exactly it did.

JH

 

if only I was born rich instead of handsome.......

 

"By the way, what is the round thing in the lower part of some of the '32 firewall's? Some of them have it, some don't."

Damper, essentially a friction shock...a surface bolted to firewall, a surface bolted to engine, linings are felt and graphite lube, bolt with spring in middle to adjust resistance via a fairly elaborate procedure. Most B's got them...this is actually about the only '32 part that doesn't cause a riot and blizzard of thousand dollar bills when sold at a fleamarket!
Engine arm bolts to same holes as throttle ***embly on an A. Fitting one in an A would be hard, as the base part is fitted to a '32 firewall and would have to be totally sliced and diced.

 

i think Edsel Ford would be blown away to hear that the early Fords were being made from scratch, and done well. thats a geat tour you got. Buy American!

 

I would say by looking at those tools that there is more involved than one hit.I didn't see a picture of a blanking tool so I ***ume they don't have one. (As most automotive presses are more involved) We stamp out ch***is parts, rails, cross members and some bracketry. Some of our tools are "PROG" as in progressive. This is where a coil of steel goes in one side of the press and a finished part comes out the other. Our forming presses get blanks fed into them and usually contain 1 to 8 different stations in the tool to progress the blank into a finished part. I have worked in the industry for 15 years and I still think it is neat as hell. The presses in the pictures are some OLD presses. All of ours were built in the 90's except one that was built in the fifties. It is an 800 ton press, it will out run the 2 other 800 ton newer presses we have. Any way schools over, I appreciate the pics. I always wondered what kind of presses and how many they have. Oh we do FORD, GM and TOYOTA parts at my shop.

 

****ing A it is!.!

 

i know that feeling

 

I think Henry and Edsel would be impressed by what the guys at Brookville are doing. These bodies are probably better quality than they were new. As fas as fit and finish... There's no comparison, they are damn near perfect when they go out the door. Ours was perfect.

Kevin
Ooltewah Speed Shop