I was sitting around having some saturday morning coffee and thought "You know what the Hamb needs? Another shoebox build!!" So here we are - me and my 1951 Tudor Sedan. I found this car in North P-Town - October 2011 through a buddy of mine. It has a cool story behind it. The man I purchased it from had previously won the 1961 Portland Roadster show for "Best Custom Shoebox" Yes - I said 1961!! This dude was a cool cat with a bitchin' beard - He resembled an older version of Billy F Gibbons. But the years had gotten away from him. This cool old man had 4 Shoeboxes stuffed away in his heavily over-grow back yard. Three of the 4 were coopes - the other a sedan. He told me the heavily louvered hood on one of the coopes was from his 61' roadster show winner. Non of the cars were drivers, but that didn't matter. He still owned them at nearly eighty years old, and talked like he was going to restore each one tomorrow. What a cool sight to see these old shoeboxes just sitting there waiting for some love. Then there was number 5. We found my 51' sitting in the front drive with blackberry vines growing up and through the windows and spiders and webs everywhere. The car was full of old shit stacked up to the roof. I bumper laying inside, one on the ground. The old man said people didn't want sedans these days - only the coops were cool. I quietly disagreed. I would be happy with a coop or a sedan as long as it had 2 doors. But this car was pretty neglected. I couldn't see much through all the shit piled inside, but I could see daylight in the spots there should be floor boards. F--- It! I am up for a challenge. Building my car to my tastes is just what I am looking to do. Here is some pictures of the start of things.
Getting these doors off is a bitch! I am pretty sure that Ford engineers from 49-51 had their heads straight up their arses. Who in their right mind would put a damn phillips screw set on door hinges!! So - thanks to the reference of some great fellow hambers - I knocked up on of those aircraft screw remover tools and had both doors off in less then 1.5 hours. I know you will see alot of opinions on this subject - such as soak it in PB Blaster - or 50/50 acetone solution - or heat and wax. Let me tell you - I have run into these locked up screw situations many times on my last Model A chop. The aircraft screw nocker is BY FAR the best method for taking these door screws out.
I use an impact screw driver on my hinge screws on my chopped VW. Love to see some one save another old classic from rusting away no matter what kind it is! Fun to watch someone elses project take shape. Mike
The last pic is my girlfriend, and she is a trooper. She loves old cars and motorcycles too, and spends alot of time with me in the shop. She also has her own 63 Mercury Comet. I am lucky to have all kinds of support from her. Here is her car.
So lately I have been bracing up the car. I have sectioned in 2x3 120-wall steel into the base of the A and B pilars going back into the wheel wells for strength. I am going to make my own rockers out of rolled sheet once I get the subfloor built. I had to make my own 3-inch section of the lower drivers A pilar. I also made replacements for both the lower sections of the B-Pilars.
The last picture up top is a Volvo 140 box. I am looking forward to doing that change over. What's cool is those Volvo boxes are fully rebuildable. Here are some other shots with the 2x3 subrails being installed. I am amazed how much support this added to the car. This is not going to be an easy process, but it will be well worth it in the end.
Here is some pictures of the re-built lower A and B pilars. I still have to do some weld grinding, but I am happy so far.
It has been a good week. My Gambino notch showed up yesterday - now I am waiting on the 4-link and bags. I also ditched my training wheels and stepped it up to a new Lincoln 180C. My buddy is coming over on Tuesday to pull the 50amp 220 circuit to the shop. My trusty Lincoln 135 (110 box) just doesn't have enough power. This new welder should kick ass.
not against you channeling it, but i would be concerned with getting the rear tires on and off. you didn't mention if you were leaving the stock wheelwell openings or not but getting the tires on and off any lowered shoebox is an issue. just a thought.
Tell your girlfriend that I envy her.....63 black hardtop Comet is the cats ass....oh yeah and good luck on the build.
Hey Guys - thanks for all the positive comments. Des from Australia - Your shoebox build has been an inspiration for me. I think what you and your boys are doing with your spinner is kick ass!! I agree with the bare metal look - it's the shiznit. I check out your thread often to see what's new on your side of the pond. Thanks man. Jersey Mike - I have thought about the rear tire mounting situation. It will be a bitch, I agree. I am just going to have to get used to un-bolting the bag tops to get those babies off. Well, yesterday was a nice day here in the Couv. Nice days here are few and far between. I got a little progress made on the car, but mostly spent the day drinking (haha). I couldn't stand looking at the shoe so high off the ground. Had to fix that - temporary of course until the 4-link gets here. The rear axle is stopped on the frame rail - the Gambino notch will fix that issue. The lowering gave the box a new personality I think.
TECH Update: Removing busted hinges from old doors. I have found many good threads on the Hamb that have provided valuable tech info. I am thankful so many folks are willing to share how they did things. I did some work today, and thought it may be helpful to others how it went. I got into removing busted - rusty hinge screws (16 total today) to remove busted hinges from the doors. I completed 4 hinges in about 1.5 hours. I will let the pictures show the details.
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