Projects Does the HAMB really need another shoebox build thread?

Looking good Andrew!
I there was an article by Pat Ganhal in R&C(I think) a few months ago on that rear window conversion on his personal shoebox. If you can't dig it up on the interweb I'll find the mag for ya when I get home.

 

Oh NOW you tell me

 

One of my favorite things to read on the weekends....keep rollin bro

 

Got the other window done, no pix, out of time. Won't be back at it for 2 weeks so yer gonna hafta wait

 

Andrew, what are you using for the regulators...back door from a four door?

 

wow great build gives me the inspiration to tackle my first build

 

Stevie, I'm planning to use the original regulators. Mine is a tudor sedan that had wind up rear glass and vent windows. The chop changed the shape of the window enough that I think I can delete the vents and the regulators should still be able to handle the added length of glass.

Not a big update. I was away for a couple of weeks and only got a bit of time in the garage yesterday.

Mundane details. One of those jobs that just seem to take a whole lot longer than you want them to. I've got a new bearclaw for the trunk latch, so I've been wondering how the hell to get it to work.

Cut out the old steel (pics were taken from inside the trunk looking out, kinda hard to tell what we're looking at). I'll be brushing off all the rust and crap and repainting. For now I'm just worried about getting the latch to work...





Hacked together a box to hold the striker pin. It's all doubled up and over engineered so hopefully it will keep its shape. I used sheet metal screws to attach it so I can adjust if needed...



Need to make a box to hold the bearclaw, but it looks like it might work...





Once it get all that figured out I'll need to run a cable or rod system to pop the thing. Devil's in the details and all that.

 

That looks pretty neat,good job!

 

Looks nice the new lock

 

Man, you are really getting into this one aren't you?
I think it is so cool that you jumped in and just did it.
So, how close is she to the road?

 

Keep chipping away. Can't wait to see this on the road!

 

I always like seeing updates on this thread.. keep it up !

 

everyone shoebox is done differently, or car for that matter, sooo keep the threads going. great work!

 

summer is coming....get on it dog gone it!

 

You East coast guys amaze me. You have to go through hell rebuilding before you can begin. An incredible job my friend, incredible.

 

I wish I knew. Got a long list yet and joy-of-joys, it needs to pass safety inspection here in Ontario before I can get tags. Everything has to work... wipers, windows, latches etc etc. Got a LONG way to go.

Thanks for the positive comments guys. It keeps me going.

 

Great build and play by play....keep up the great work.

 

I think I'm gonna steal that decklid latch idea......to a point anyways. Thanks! Anymore updates?

 

Yeah Pete, you can see why I wanted to buy your old shoebox that got crushed by the tree. Cut the top half off mine and the bottom half off yours for one nice car. Woulda been a lot less work

Small update... doing small stuff. Got the lower part of the trunk latch installed... several times, trial and error, all that sort of thing. Over-engineered it a couple of times before I got it in, adjustable and adjusted...



Yes, I have a lot of welding to finish up in and around the trunk, around the whole car for that matter.

This might be under-engineered now, but if it's too weak I'll add gussets or something. Just happy to have a trunk that latches. The wire will be replaced with a hard brake line and a cable running... somewhere. It's running out a taillight right now, which may not be too practical once the car is on the road




On to the doors. Lots of threads about bearclaw installs, everyone does it a bit differently. Here's how I did mine.

Marked out some cuts, not too much, not too little...



you can see by my Sharpie lines I did a little hemming, a bit of hawing before I got to cutting...



Got it to about here, things were looking pretty good and I pretty darn proud of myself...



...when my welder died. I was told that "El Cheapo" was a good brand, but evidently I was steered wrong.

So I just duct taped everything in there and called it a day Looks pretty neat-o...



...then I bit the bullet, dusted off my piggy bank and went and bought a new welder. A good friend is an electrician so he came over and hooked up a 220v plug, and I was back in business...



My welding is still ugly, but I'm pretty damn happy with my new welder. Shameless product endorsement: It's a Lincoln 180HD and man is it a whole lot nicer than the Canadian Tire special I was using. now I want to go back and have a do-over on a whole lotta things I've already welded. It should speed things up at least.

 

keep on trucking bro.....we'll be doing doughnuts soon

 

Glad you got a 220v welder. Makes a ton of difference. You got shield gas too? Looks like the heat needs turned up a little. But what do I know Circus Bear came over and hooked up my gas 1/2 way through my first build. What a friend.

 

Oh, I've got gas alright Actually I was so excited about trying my new welder I forgot to turn the gas on (I really shouldn't admit this in public) so those welds are pretty rough. I hadn't adjusted any settings, I was only going to do a little test but got all worked up and away I went.

220v makes a huge difference. Took my friend about 20 minutes to add the wiring, so now I'm axin' myself why the hell didn't I do this sooner?! At least I haven't bought a compressor yet (and can't afford one now that I bought a welder).

 

Big A...I appreciate the support on my build and I'm loving the why yours is shaping up...and I'm going to pay you a HUGE compliment and copy your trunk latch setup! The say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery

I've looked at a ton of other ideas and just haven't found a latch set up I liked for a shaved trunk

 

Looks great A! Thanks for sharing your progress. I will keep following along for sure.

Ed

 

Nice progress!
Are you going to fab a mechanical door opening?
The law requires mechanical opening in here,so i've been thinking how to do it..

 

the car looks good!

 

Car looks great!

Do you have any pics of how you mounted the car to the rotisserie? I've found a shop that will rent me theirs for an indefinite time for $200, but I need to figure out how to safely mount it.

 

amazing... you are doing a hell of a job on this....

 

Thanks for the pics on the bearclaw trunk latch! I've had one of those kicking around for years (if I can still find it!) . Everytime I thought about putting it in my shoebox, fortunately something better came along to do!

 

That's awesome stuff Andrew. I know what you mean. I stepped up to the 220 and my oh my. Wish I had done that a looooooong time ago. Latches look good. You're a dang old pro now!