Projects 1934 3 window HighBoy Build Begins

Thank you! Rex asked me to pick a heater out and I found this in the Parts for sale ..but it has already sold. Does anyone here have one available for me?
Can you confirm what year it is from?
regards,
George

 

Josh has the body in white about wrapped up and he and Rex have been working on a dash lay out. We need lights ,wiper and heater PLUS ignition and thats all!
Regards,
George

Hmmmmm, now what is that heater pictured above?

 

One more picture...
Large diameter Banjo wheel...

Regards,
George

 

Pete and I drove up to see Rex Saturday morning. It had been a month and although I had been keeping up with picture progress, it is always nice to see first hand.

Rex had a list for discussion with regards to sorting out a few things and we visited a little while before getting back on the road as Pete and I wanted to head over to Golden early.

The car looks awesome and I am getting increasingly concerned about the challenges ahead with regards to the kick down linkage for the 700r4 and the Hilborn set up. Josh doesn't seem to think its a very big deal. grin.

I have narrowed paint colors down to dark blue or maroon "vintage" Ford colors.

Last but not least , please find a picture of the passenger side garnish molding chopped and installed.

This week Josh will put the inner deck lid back in, get the lid on its hinges and start on the all aluminum interior. HOW COOL!

Regards,
George

 

outstanding looking car! well done! damn that is one hot looking ride

 

Are you closing in a finished time frame?

 

You nailed it! Bitchen build!
chuck

 

Good question! I will defer it to Rex. Smile

 

Thank you Chuck. The one thing that we haven't sacrificed is doing each part of the build correctly, rather than finish on schedule and then have short comings. There are a couple of things to still work on getting "right" , but I would still give the build very high marks. Staying focussed on getting the rest completed at the same high level of craftsmanship is a major point of discipline for Rex, Josh and myself to keep working real hard on.

Getting the aluminum interior spot on might take awhile. Josh " gets it!" and I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. Rex and I are chasing a heater while we wait on gauges .

Custom Auto's paint guy is awesome and the final assembly fellow will have all of us on pins and needles for final fit and detail.

Regards,
George

 

Josh has been working on getting the rear window wood frame chopped and installed. I am excited that the winshield will crank out and the rear window down to allow air to flow through. It is going to be hot in there! smile.
Regards,
George

 

More progress ...plus some extra pictures
Josh is tackling the inner roof structure to hold the drain pan and the head liner. He stopped for a few minutes to take a few pictures of her all opened up.

As someone up in Loveland says "Bad Ass"

Regards,
George

 

Wings spread.... Looks like she can FLY!

 

Mike,
Looks like I have metal termites......I just can't bring myself to say the four letter word.......mmmmm , oooohhh kkkkkk "RUST", there I said it!
Thank goodness it isn't much.
regards,
George

 

The rust at the upper deck lid has been repaired and the lid is hinged "first pass" . IE: It needs to be gapped as well as have the original prop rod installed. I will always remember the louver party...5 guys supossedly paying attention..Ha. How much fun was that! Thanks again Rex, Nick, Bob and Pete. A great memory as part of this build.

Another step forward...
regards,
George

 

...Spent time at Custom Auto this morning. The purpose of the visit was to drop off EFI electronics ( Holley) with fuel pump and regulator. I also double flared a piece of 3/8ths tube section to share with Rex the alloy material that I wish to use for running brake and fuel lines. It's similar to "Cunifer"..A COPPER NICKLE ALLOY. I PURCHASE MINE ON LINE FROM ADVANCED Auto as it keeps the cost down. (About a dollar a foot ). Advanced calls their product "NICOPP'. Anyway , I am a big fan .....as it is easy to double flare, bend and then polish.

Please find pictures of my rear window regulator ( Rex states it is from a Model A little window), mirrors to be mounted through the door perimeter frame ( first removing the hoop that hangs it over the door), Nerf bars up front ( off the shelf) , heater valve that is so simple with manufacturers name and number on the label ( just power and ground wires and it is normally closed) the deck lid gap issues. Very ugly and a lot of work for Josh Monday.

It sure is a lot stuff to work on! whewie.

regards,
George

 

I spent time in the shop today adding the blue dots to two sets of bezels for my coupe. I haven't decided on which to use yet. The blue dots are quite the funny after market game. Plastic vs glass.... faceted vs smooth....thick vs thin and all different lengths of twist tabs.

No matter which one I looked at ,......not a single one would fit the I.D. OF EITHER THE BEZEL OR THE GLASS LENS.

Grinding the glass was a slow and dusty process and required I remove between .040 and .060 depending on which lens I had in my hand at the time. The chrome plated brass bezels were much easier to open up with the concern having enough material left to not destroy the hard to find bezels.

The attached picture is of original vs modified and two styles of blue dots. The plastic one looks much darker but I believe will actually shine brighter.

I'll go ahead and send the bezels out for new chrome and make a decision on blue dot style/color later on when we are ready for final assembly. I was able to have the LED assembly manufactured in Taipei with WHITE output instead of RED output . The new electronics will arrive by month end. If you have ever seen red light through a blue dot you will know why I needed different output. The circuit will run nominally from 7.7 volts through 14.4 volts with consistent brightness. Response time is in MILLI-seconds and brightness is awesome. Worth the effort!



I know from previous posts some of you don't like blue dots. The all red with reflectors is just too blah for myself. sorry! smile. This isnt trying to look 50's hot rod , but just simple preference for adding a little life to the tail light assembly.
Regards,
George

PS ...I had complete sets of everything but dropped one lens. OH Four Letter Word ,....that IS SOOOO Depressing!

 

I was able to get the tail light bezels shipped off to the platers in Yuma today and happy to get a little done to not only help Josh and Rex out in a small way, but to do a few things myself.

Josh sent me the attached pic this afternoon of the inner panel after being painted for rust prevention. Josh has also now completed the gap effort. Another day and a little more progress.

The vintage 1948 Ford Truck heater is due in Wednesday by early morning and I am looking for a piece of metal with "Ford Script" for Josh to weld into the front of the heater Panel. If you read this and have an old running board , hood side , mayber a 49/50 Ford Truck heater etc. with stamped in script that you can part with??? please let me know??

Regards,
George

 

Wednesday's Update: Part 1
Received the1948 F1 heater this morning and it's just too big for the space we have under the dash. It is back to the drawing board with either of 2 aftermarket heater manufacturers that have smaller units. One we looked at has 20000 BTU and 250 cu ft per min output. It's the modern day version of the Hupp 360- (now Mobile 8000 model) It works...hmmmm, but it is UGLY!

The Vintage Air stand alone heat with defrost might go in as it' only 5.5 inches tall. I am not a big fan of the ABS plastic housing,....but it MIGHT also be a good choice? sigh

choices , choices....

regards,
George

 

Wednesday Update : Part 2

The pictures tell the story.... ahhhhh, Josh almost has her metal work completed! GREAT JOB JOSH!
Regards,
George

 

I am in need of a 1937 Chrysler lens pn 669430 ,(picture attached)as I broke one by accident.

Also looking for 1937 Desoto tail lamp bezels like those in the attached picture.(the top ones)
BACKUP! smile

I also put in the wanted section but maybe someone that is following this thread will have one?
thanks much!
George

 

While chasing pictures of 1937 and 1938 Chryslers and Desoto's, I found this convertible for sale at Schmitts. I can tell you that not only do I love the car..I also love the color and it might be the strongest color choice candidate I have found for my coupe.

1938 Desoto "Everglades Red" by Ditzler. Code IM1879 WOW!

Desoto Paint code is "608"

regards,
George

 

Very nice job lining the truck lid up. I did it the same way on my 33 five window.

 

Steve,
Thanks much. Here's a picture from Josh's effort to get the deck lid latch installed this morning. The N.O.S. 37 decklid handle detail with the "v8" is a little different thing that folks have been doing for a long time. ( read as.... I copied it! ) smile.
regards,
George

 

Josh managed to get the rear window rolling up and down today with a Masonite pattern for the glass. It looks cool with it's little banjo crank knob.

Justin,...Custom Auto's painter is working to get a modern paint code for the 1938 Desoto above. He will mix a little and spray it out on a test panel to see if it is a thumbs up?

regards,
George

 

Still following this build closely, Josh is doing awesome work! But what has surprised me somewhat is the lack of responses from fellow Hambers, while this is one of the best builds on the Hamb at the moment IMHO. Keep up the great work!

 

That's a great color choice and also one beautiful coupe. I'm sure yours will turn out just as striking.

 

I think there are few responses because everything is being done so "right" that there's nothing to add or critique. We're all in awe.



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

All of your comments are very much appreciated! A GI-NORMOUS Thank You!!!!
How about I share a little bling that I have been keeping quiet on until I had found all three pieces needed. I have been searching for and have now been able to locate and acquire 3 pre WW2 3 inch wide pilots wings with clutch backs INSTEAD of pins. Two of them are as pictured below. The shield recessed areas will be painted with our nations COLORS. These two will be assembled to the window garnish lower edge flat spot/ reveal. Providing they look good after a trial on one garnish, we will move forward with this . I have been looking for an "OBSERVER" wing to have a circular pattern in which to place a knob for a dash pull INSTEAD of the 1950 Mercury ash tray winged knob set. This has proven to be a lot harder than I would ever have imagined and I bought the same WING manufacturer and pattern set of Bombers Wings. I am going to have the center reworked by a jeweler to make it fit the knob ...YET TO BE SOURCED! This is the third round of ideas as a matching Ford Script Cloisonne' oval was a little too big and the Mercury Winged knob looks a little too hokey on the garnish. The picture shows the Wings mounted by drilling holes and using the 'clutch' pin retainers. SIMPLE, neat and very nice looking.

All of this effort is because I like details to make the build a little different. I still need a Ford Script from an F1 heater if any of you can help me out? It will be added to the "Atlas" brand heater to improve its looks and maintain the theme.
regards,
George

 

That's pretty cool. I'm a little confused where your putting them but anywhere they go they'll only serve to make your build cooler than it already is good work.

 

I'll post a picture for you SOON. I am waiting for all the wings to arrive before making the drive up to see Rex and Josh. It will be a quick drilling of two holes and mounting with the clutch backs.

On another issue..... I have been looking for the original retention spring clips that hold the RiLite 1904 lens to the bezel. (3 per) I have a handful of originals that are rusty and have broken tabs. Since I havent been able to locate, I have two choices...glue the lens to the bezel with RTV or make new retaining springs. I chose the latter and have sent samples to a professional "wire forming" company that will duplicate these via a CNC 3 axis wire forming machine. I might as well order 1000 pcs as the "cost per" is next to nothing after the programming and set up fees. I was teasing Rex this morning about my effort to sell these on ebay at an outrageous price over the next 20 years. I might sell a handful and at least be able to help someone else out. I will never be able to get my money back. Oh well...please dont tell the Mrs. Well, go ahead, she knows I am eccentric.

The below picture is NOT what is needed...BUT IS VERY CLOSE. The MoPar Forum fellow sells this clip for holding the light bulb in fog lamps. You can find them on ebay.

Warm Regards,
George