That's still up in the air...but it will be a dark color. The owner and I both like the green on the restored Sam Barris Merc, but it's still a ways off from paint...so who knows what the final color will be. I'm personally leaning more towards a medium to dark blue (pearl or fine metallic). It's gonna be a tough decision.
I've been following this build since the start. Such an awsome car, I can't wait to see it in person at Pomona!
Great job! B***. The tail light treatment is ingenuous. My only critique is the Kaiser guard. I think rounding out the inner point might be a consideration. It seems to overpower the bumper with that extra piece of metal (seems more bulky). It kinda lost it's iden***y, instead of having that boomerang shape. Thanks for sharing as always and looking for more great updates down the road. Ken
You make me proud, Brian. Wish I could claim I taught you how to do all that, but you have far surp***ed my skill level.
awesome. i think the guard looks great, i agree w/ brewsir, it breaks up the smooth flow and draws you in to the fine points, the curved bumper addition is brilliant, now i need to see how i can steel that idea for myself. you need to cut the fingers off your gloves!
Yes, now it's a custom '49 Chevrolet part instead of a Kaiser part. Seriously, I agree that the boomerang shape of the leading edge on the guard was cool, but it just left too big of a gap between the body and bumper guard. I may go back and cut a slight 'V' back into it, but I'm not sure just yet. The guard's definitely staying though...as Jeem said, it'll make a lot more sense when the car is painted.
You taught me more than you realize, but thanks for saying that. I'm just about finished with the floater bar made from the pieces shown in that last picture I posted. It looks really good in the Merc grille opening...here's one last pic: Thanks again for all the kind words and constructive criticism guys. -Brian
oh dear god why did i click this link i just knew i'd be green with envy.....you are a madman bro...keep it up... Flaco
grill looks **** man..i dig it do you have a good side view of it? id like to see the real flow of it
Nice job... it has been a real treat to watch this car come together... now for my question... With the fourlink mounted with these rod ends, what happens if you cross a speedbump at an angle, looks like your axle would force the rod ends to bind?
wow now that you say that i wonder that too leaf springs are like that too but they flex in the middle thats a great question...
It's not a four link, it's a 3-link...and there is no excessive binding. I articulated the suspension from left to right with the airbags out and it works fine. Mini-truck guys and Trophy Trucks use a very similar 3-link, as well as late-model Mustangs and now a lot of drag cars. The key to making this type of suspension work is the mounting points. The lower links and upper wishbone mounting points have to be on the same triangulated axis to keep the suspension out of bind. Parallel leaf springs do work in a somewhat similar manner I guess, but where the leaf springs (and shackle bushings) are what would flex in a situation like you describe, the rod end does the flexing in this set-up. The rod ends use Pete and Jakes urethane bushings which allow for a bit of deflection. And we're not talking much here...a maximum of about 1/16" at the center rod end translates to probably somewhere around 10-12" (or more) of travel at the wheel. During normal driving, you are only going to have a maximum of about 4" or so difference in height between the rear wheels, which is really not much deflection at all at the rod end. All this has been discussed at length on here before. If you do a search for 3-link rear suspension, some of the old posts will probably come up.
Ahhhh, so the bushing are urethane, I thought they were like a hard plastic type. Thanks for clearing that up B***.... nice car!
You showed us the finished grill, can you tell us the pieces you used? Also, would you like someone to sweep your shop and bring you beer on Saturdays in exchange for some metal-work mentoring?
When you showed me the ribs for the floater bar, I was'nt quiet sure how you were placing those in, but now after seeing it, that looks really cool and looks totally different from the whole mock up you had. Can't wait for the next photo of it back on the car.
The quality of your work is amazing. What an awesome transition to a beatutiful custom. Well done. I cant wait to see it finished. thesneakytiki
More amazing work, Brian! I can't wait to see it in Pomona. Will you be there too? I'd love to chat for awhile. ~Scotch~
The Jalopy Journal
