Customs Ayala '42 tribute update

Have not posted any,"i want my chop" updates in awhile,been busy with the boring part of the project,like detailing and installing eng/trans for the last time.And a few other things.So ,i finally installed the front sheet metal for good.I just got done welding it to the body for good,and aligning a few gaps,and checking fit overall.Still needs a few tweeks brfore i lay on the kitty hair.heres a couple of pics.

 

Looking great Dave! Do you have anybody work left to do besides the front clip?? I am afraid to weld the front clip on mine lol !

 

Hey Steve,once the front is done i will start blocking,i want to get paint on before June.Finally got the color of the original car.Don't slack Steve.

 

I love it!

Can you provide some insight into how the concave shape was given to the filler strips in the fender seam?

 

Love it subscribed.

 

Hey Mo.i first made patterns a 1/4 " wider than what i really wanted.Put it against the body and welded at several points on the one side,then i tapped it in with a body hammer until i was happy with the concave amount,then finish weld.Sorry i didn't take any pics of that.Hope the discription helps.

 

Thanks, man. That helps much!
That is perhaps my favorite modification on perhaps my favorite car.

 

Looks really great Dave.

Tell us about the color, what have you found out about it? Did you talk to Memo about the color on the car when he got it?

I recently came across a photo of the interior of Gil's 42 Ford. Its basically the same as I already had on my site, but this shows a bit more on the bottom, right side and the top as the other photo from the first Custom Cars annual.

The photo taken by Eric Rickman comes from the July 1951 issue of Motor Trend magazine

 

Thanks for the update. It is looking really good. I love the molded in look of the Ayala cars. Lots of work but just such an organic flowing shape when it is all done. Keep us posted.

 

Lookin good man,I really want to see this one in person.Im glad to see p***ion for the Ayala bros.

 

looks good Dave!
the interior looks familiar! ha ha
notice the heavy chopped windshield, compared to the stewart!
keep the updates coming!
-palle

 

Hello Rik,after talking with memo regarding the color of the Ayala car i have come to the conclusion,after providing Memo with several dark blue samples from that era,that thee color is called "Andalusite Blue".it is a early ford color.i hope to have the car ready for the Long Beach Motorama in Sept.

 

Hey David,

The '42 Bandito/Ayala is lookin good!

I'd avoid "Kitty Hair', "Tiger Hair" or any fibregl*** mat material over steel at all costs! Over time, the resin, be it polyester or epoxy will crack or 'whitness', and usually before the paint jobs' life is up! I'd do somemore metalwork, add more weld and only after that would I go with a slime coat of a preminum plastic filler.

Remember the more different types of material (gl***mat, resin, plastic filler, hy-build primer & spot putty) you have beneith a paint job, the greater the chances for failure

" Life ain't no Disney movie "

 

David, are you saying that the car was painted Andalusite Blue in its early stages?
I find that a bit hard to believe. Especially with interior colors of Honey Gold and brown... that would not be a very good match i think.
Perhaps it was... I think Gil's 1940 Merc. was painted black with an yellow interior, which might also be a bit of an odd color choice... at least for back then.
I have never talked to Memo about the color of the car. But could it have been possible that when Memo got involved in this car it might have been repainted blue?

 

I thought in the Ayala article in TRJ that Gil's wife said his car was painted a metallic bronze color which would make more sense with the interior colors Rik mentioned.

 

I'm enjoying this build...more pics, please!

 

I just got an email from Memo Ortega. Memo owned Gil's 1942-46 Ford for a couple of years from 1958 and up. By then the car had quad headlights done by Gil, but he never finished them.

This is what Memo said.

I will tell you how the car was when i got it. Rik i can still remember when I got it. It was dark blue metallic. And it was faded, I hand rub a spot on the bottom left rear fender and i could see a little metallic faded on it. The paint was checked out from it being in the sun to long. Anyway I decided to take it down to bare metal. It had black primmer underneath the blue paint. I took it all off to bare metal. Then I repainted it blue metalic again. And the interior it was dark blue and a off white vanella. it was a good combination.

Memo


So... In the Rodder's Journal Pat Ganahl writes that Lucille (Gil Ayala's wife) mentioned about a color photo of a Bronze Metallic painted 1942 Ford was not Gil's but Bob Gillum's. The car is extremely similar to Gil's 1942-46 Ford Coupe, so most people thought she might have been confused about this.
But now it starts to look more and more like there might indeed have been more than one. The car in bronze does have a working cowl vent. Memo remembers the cowl vent being welded shut on the car he got. Perhaps the car with the stock bumpers and the one with the Plymouth bumpers are different cars?...

Memo is thinking hard about this and if he remembers more about it he will let me know.

 

That's a fine looking car, always liked it.
So glad you're building a tribute to it!
Keep up the good work!

 

This is going to be a beautiful custom. Im glad your building one. Looking at the photos on RIK's site. i can see how it was dark blue. I wander if it was Lombard blue over black primer.
Here is a link to a ford message board that has 3 different ford blues on model a's. Go down to post # 29.

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3662&page=2

 

I agree that the car with the Plymouth bumper looks like the paint was a lot darker - and most likely very dark blue - than the photos of the car with the 46-48 Ford bumpers.

 

Do you think Gil would have changed the interior to the blue and vanilla or do you think the picture you posted above has the wrong car? Or did he redo the whole thing and repaint and re interior to the blue from an original bronze color?

 

Memo says he sanded the body down to bare metal, and he never found any bronze color anywhere on it. So this would mean Gil also sanded the car back to bare metal in 1951? when he repainted the car in blue after it was first bronze.
Perhaps the car was originally built for Bob Gillum, and Gill bought it from him in 1950. Then in 1951 he stripped it down to bare metal filled in the cowl vent, added the Plymouth bumpers and painted it dark blue.
The lighter colored car with the Ford bumpers can be seen raced by Gil, and inside the 1950 Russetta Program with Gil's name added to it.
I think its more realistic to believe there was one car that was redone both in paint and interior colors.

 

Its a BIG mystery! But after talking with Memo at length( he has a very good memory of things he did in the past) about details of the car,i feel good with the color( blue) of the outside as well as the combination on the interior.So i am going to run with it and hope i get it done in time,and hopefully drive it over to Memos pad so he can check it out.Oh yes..i mentioned the video of the Coachman car club(http://www.viddler.com/explore/kripfink/videos/1/). Memo said he was there with a buddy showing their cars.There are a pair of early chevy coupes that are mild customs ,one of them is his.I can barely remember what i did yesterday!sheeesh

 

cool video!

 

Still from that movie...



And some photos from Memo.

 

You are quick Rik.Not bad looking mild customs wouldn't you say

 

Finally on vacation,so the attempt to complete the car by sept. is on.I had a young buddy(Gus)who is on summer vacation come in and get some free training on block sanding.LOL.He's a great kid,always ready to help.Here are a few pics.

 

Glad to see these pictures and the love for the Ayala brothers.Your car is looking good and looks like u have some good help. Glad to see some customs on the Hamb.

 

Great to see some more progress on your project David. I'm always looking forward to see some more work done on this car... It will be spectacular when done. I love the Ayala's Custom Cars, and your tribute looks fantastic.

 

nice!