I got this old body cheap. Reinforced where it needed. Fixed some bad spots. Worked the window opening for rollout. Refab door openings for stock hinges. Doors for rollup windows. Redone trunk with drip channels and drains. It's still in mockup now while I'm trying to decide if I want to put pinch seams around firewall and put a leaking cowl in (some hot rodders may have filled them in the day, don't know). Built the frame from bare rails with stock 34 front crossmember and 40 rear with rivets. Trying to build it with nothing newer than 63, even the wiper stuff is used early 60's MG. Front bones are older chrome with some pitting. Most every thing on it is second hand except Magnum chrome axle and front shocks. Probably change them out if I ever find some chrome 50's ford shocks with studs. I have spent a lot of time but nowhere near the cash I would have for just an original steel body. It's just a route some can go that's not nearly as costly. May not be cool to some guys but you are learning skills and you are the one that is supposed to like the car. I like mine so far and I know I'll like it when it is jumping naked shifting that 4 speed. And besides that it's pretty fun to start with an empty floor in a shop and end up with a whole car that never existed anywhere before using only a torch, welder,some hand tools and your own very limited skills. Looks ****py now but with some period correct big and little wheels/tires and Firemist blue paint I think it will look a little better.
My good friend Kelsey Martin finished this Anderson Industries 34 3W coupe back in late 1979. This was the first gl*** coupe body that they sold. Kelsey took two more inches out of the already chopped 3 inch top and leaned the windshield back to give it the right look. This was just a fibergl*** shell. Period. No wood, no steel, no doors hung, no floor,nothing. He cut,fit and gl***ed in all the wood,installed a floor,hung the doors and deck lid than ironed out the body out before he gave it one of his signature flame paint jobs. He put steel fenders on it along with a steel deck lid. He not only louvered the hood top and sides, but also did the fenders and deck lid. Back than everybody said the car, because it was gl***, would never be worth anything. How wrong they were.
One thing that bothered me about my Kilborn 5W were the gutters. Drake came out with repro steel gutters this past year. I am in the process of installing a set on my 5W. The srews are temporary. I will weld 3 studs on the back side of the gutters and use epoxy on the final install. Here are a couple pictures of the progress so far.
The Jalopy Journal
