It's the beautiful thing about hot rodding is to each his own. The seat is out being sewn and should be able to finish that up in a week or two. Thank you for your comments.
I would have saved myself a whole lot of work on the ones I have built if I had gone the same route. I really like it because that’s the way the late 40’s and early 50’s looked. My father and little brother standing on the running board in 1957.
That picture is awesome! I had looked into all kinds of patinas from iron oxide chemicals to vinegar salt and hydrogen peroxide. All give it real rust but way too orange. It take a long time to get it deep brown to black. Regardless thanks for the kind words!!!!!
for my landmark '35 truck i sprayed it with cheapo black spray bomb... one winter outside and pantina grew all over it...
Nice build! The finish looks fantastic, and it’s protecting the old metal from Mother Nature. Also it could be upgraded in the future, although I definitely wouldn’t bother!
Updated on the seat upholstery. I received a call yesterday to pickup my material. She said it was stressing her out trying to make straight seams. Hmmmmm. Back to square one and that is just sewing it myself. I have no stress! I also don't have a sewing machine! Did some wiring in the trunk area today for the tail lights and license plate light. Checked the gas tank for leaks and bolted it to the floor. Just need to add a filler neck inside the trunk. Since I love making old things work again I rigged up the original fuel shut off on the firewall with a large washer and a pipe fitting welded together and tacked to the inside of the firewall. Now I need to sneak a 3/8 hardline up the inside of the cowl to it. Unless you look in the trunk you would never know the cowl tank wasn't being used.
For you guys that might be interested in an upgrade to the old license plate light. These LED setups fits right inside with a little trimming on the width.
Update on the upholstery. My elderly neighbors across the street just happen to be at the mail box. I asked her if she had a sewing machine. Yes I do it's a real heavy one. It's in the attic. If you can get it down it's yours. I wasted no time and after putting a new belt on and reading the manual I was sewing up scrap pieces like a pro. I learned with this machine I wasn't able to sew thru the 1/2 foam. I believe it is also the same trouble my last sewing person had. So on to plan B. Sew the vinyl to some backing material and cut individual foam pieces and push them in. Very similar to tuck & roll. Hey it works.....
Stuffing the pleats after sewing them up is the best way to go. Did that on the interior of my roadster; takes a little longer but works well.
Some time has past and I finally have the bottom seat finished. I will post here from beginning so its in one place for thoughs that might consider doing their own upholstery work. It is harder than I thought and am beginning to realize why they charge so much. It is a lot of work and for a beginner like me I had to accept some flaws. Here we go.
One thing I will do differently is the side panel and how it joins the pleated top on the front. I will not go that route on the back. It looked good in my head but in reality it sucks....any advice is greatly appreciated.
Don't run the pleats down the front of the seat. Just run a piece of flat vinyl across the front and around each corner. Looks pretty good; even if it is your first attempt!
Thanks guys. I will do better on the back....I hope. The side panel is up and in your face so I hope it will look a little better.
Looks really good! I think you will be very happy with those pleats in the long run....old school type.
I took a little break from the upholstery when my tack rail arrived. I was not happy with the two ends pieces. I will not call the vendor out here. 1. The width was noticeably smaller on the end pieces than the back rail. 2. The counter sink and hole size was not the same. 3. 4 bolt holes in a piece that short while the back rail has only 5? Am I just being fussy for $100? Or you get what you pay for. I made new ones out of a scrap piece of red oak to match the back rail and put only 3 holes. Stained it ebony and fits the patina of the car quite nicely.
Here are a few shots of the seat upholstery done and installed in the car. Again not perfect but like my car, it isn't perfect either and I did it myself. Oh it is very comfortable by the way!
Thanks. I learned a lot too. I just remembered something I wanted to add. Yes the centerline on the pleats need to lineup both bottom and back. But also important is the total width pleat to pleat. Sewing them causes the overall to shrink quite a bit. Mark both both ends of the pleats on the seat foam and they will line up when stretching the seat cover on. I did the bottom first so I just copied it when doing the back.
Now that the seat is finished I wrapped up the gas tank. I welded a 45 deg filler neck from a early mustang and a marine sending unit one inch from complete empty. Water tested for leaks. None! The leather belts serve as an old way of holding a gas tank like this but are only used as an insulator. Threaded rod on both ends hold it tight to the floor.
Well it's motor time. I am starting off with a well used 8BA block with 4 bent valves. I had a heck of a time getting them out. I ended up grinding the valve springs off. Then grinding the valve stem off flush with the valve guide. Then with a small punch the rest of valve out. That only worked on one of the four. The other three came out with the valve guide. I hope have have a good block. One cylinder is scored pretty deep from a wrist pin I think. Off to the machine shop and find out.
Not really related but this makes working outside of the garage very comfortable. Just put it up yesterday.
The upholstery looks good. you did a good job on the tack rail. I need ,2 one for the 28, and one for the 31.
Thanks. If I was going to install another tack rail, I would make it myself. Even with the bow on the back piece, the bolts would pull it down tight. A 1x6 red oak is $4.95/ft.
The Jalopy Journal
