Projects Giant speedster project

Can you convert this into a speedometer?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-La-France-Fire-Engine-Co-Elmire-N-Y-Gauge-/151082589029

Sorry just realized you have a Seagrave not a La France.

 

Interesting! Actually, I bought some--now don't get mad people--modern, but brass rimmed old looking gauges. They solve a lot of problems and look nice. I've got a smattering of old dash stuff too--switches, buttons, whatnot. I like a cluttered dash. I'll post a picture.

Jerry

 

JERRY, JERRY, JERRY... have you no shame? First you tried to buy a new steering wheel and now you are telling us you bought NEW gauges! What else have you bought that we should know about? And, by the way, the latest photographs show that you still haven't made the steering wheel you need. Have you even started on the steering wheel? Are you waiting for the "steering wheel fairy" to make you one? Dismay and disappointment at this latest revelation is what I am feeling. Where did we go wrong? And you had so much potential....

 

I using new nuts and bolts too. There! I've said it!

 

Next thing we know you'll be telling us you are using new air in the tires too.
Have you no shame?

 

c,mon kids he has lots of shame ... we will point it out when ever a new picture is posted ...new stuff left open and exposed to his garage will age things pretty quick..so he is cutting corners after 3 years .. he is just getting caught now ...heck he said he is ready to start on something else ... the pizza should be dried out enough for the steering wheel .. stuffed crust takes longer to cure

 

I wasn't convinced about the front apron but that is looking really good.

 

Wow! That's looking great Jerry. I hope to see it in person one day.
Regarding your next project...is it a Mini Moke?

 

Love that giant picture, Ned. Just finished reading a book about the history of De Beers. Wow, that was something. The apron is different. I had doubts too but it's starting to grow on me too. Gives it a unique look. I had about 10 minutes in the shop today so I mocked this up. I'm thinking mahogany. There'll be brass trim on the back and don't forget the SS tail piece.

Jerry

The next project--military

 

I was about to go about downloading and resizing when my wife called me to watch something on TV. I'll edit it now.

 

Thanx for resizing that picture... That giant one was making the pixels leak out of my monitor.

 

I haven't posted much on this thread but I've been following all along. It's nice to see thing coming together!! Keep it up!!

 

I once worked on a 1969 GTO convertible resto where the owner had all the nuts sent out to be re-coated. Love the strips on the rear.

 

Sure looks great with paint.

 

Nice step detail!

 

Did one of those Jerry. Not fast, but a bunch of fun.

 

Hey, this looks pretty good!

I spent a little time in the shop today and put on the firewall wood. I still have to make up some spacers for the back, build some brass plates to tidy up the steering shaft and hood hinge area and also spray on a coat of clear. Satisfied for the time being, I moved on to the tail piece. I was worried it would not fit neatly inside the fender welting, er body welting? beading? So I mocked up a piece of poster board. It looked good so I lined everything with tape and stuck it on. Amazingly it fit well--and I didn't scratch the paint! I still have to grind off the screw heads to make them resemble rivets. There's no going back after that so I'll just look at the screws for a while. Hey, my camera date is a day off! How to change that?

Oh yeah, the new project, it's a military vehicle but I've been sworn to secrecy.

Jerry

 

What a journey it has been........Looks like you are rounding 3rd and headed for home. Can waiting to see it going down the road.

 

Wowee. Nice Studebaker ya got there.

I knew the old owner of a customizing shop who called every car a Studebaker...lol.

 

web the corner the reflection will be sweet

 

How do you do that? Kind of art deco.

 

A visit to Don at MorganFab

I wanted to protect the inside of the body from kicking feet and jack handles so decided to line the inside with 1.5" slats. I had a boat like that and I liked the look. Lowes had some nice fir slats but enough to do the body was about $100 so I went to see Don at MorganFab. He pulled out two 10' sticks of fir he bought a few years back because the wood was perfectly clear and he had to have it. He cut it up into slats for me. I liked it because who wants to put wood from Lowes into a giant speedster? More about Don.

Jerry

 

Don

Don's been working with wood--building archery bows and furniture and Morgan bodies-- for 50 years. And as proof of his skill, he's still got all his fingers! Back in the early seventies Don used to work for the Chrysler styling department. One day at a styling meeting everyone was discussing the shifter grip for the upcoming '71 Barracuda that a team had been working on for months. When the shifter handle got to Don he said it looked like a limp noodle and was a piece of crap. The head of design scoffed at Don and said, "I suppose you can do better." "I can do a helluva lot better," said Don. He went home that night and being an archery bow maker, whittled up a custom hand fitted walnut grip with finger notches and ridge for your thumb. The next day at the styling meeting Don flipped it out onto the table. Everyone was dazzled by the smooth finish, how the fingers layed in the notches and how well the thumb fit along the ridge. They passed it around oohing and aahing like it was some rare jewel. Unanimously they voted to accept Don's design and passed it along to production. There's the rub, says the bard. Production had to translate Don's fabulous design into something they could pop out of an injection moulding machine. Below you see the result. His finger notches became bumps. His thumb ridge a line. Still, it was revolutionary and a bit of Don lives on in every shifter--not to mention in the 450+ Morgan chassis and bodies he's built.

Jerry

 

This is one of those builds that started off kinda kinda slow for me, but man it just keeps getting better and better. I can hardly wait to see this baby finished. I should know better than to judge a HAMB build by page one lol.

Great work, very cool car!!!!!!

 

I am a hack

just open the pic in "paint"
in the tool section "eye drop" the stick on the tire ..that selects the color
in the tools then click on "line"
then click
select the width
pick a start point..drag to end point
and stripe where you want

goof up click undo over and over as needed

i used the squiggle line to draw the curved line

it take a bit of practice to set end points and pull the curve where you want
took 2-3 minutes

i am a hack

 

What a great story........

 

Gotta be honest, I like this version best- the strips should follow the same lines as the wood for the top of the boat tail.

 

Thanks,I always have a good time seeing whats happening on this Giant Speedster.

 

Hey Dana, I grew up in Perrine driving British sports cars. I went to Killian HS. We used to go to the dragway in Hollywood to watch the SCCA races. Love all your pictures.
Jerry

 

I haven't seen any new postings from Jerry lately... is someone keeping an eye on him? He could be out trying to buy a steering wheel for the speedster on the sly. He has already admitted to buying new nuts and bolts. Jerry buying stuff instead of fabricating it himself is a slippery slope so we need to stay vigilant and save Jerry from himself.Yesterday it was new nuts and bolts and today it is??? I'm worried.