Projects Glass '32 5 Window

I knew a guy in the early 70's that had a 63 coupe, it had what he called a "competition" 66 nose, the headlight doors were not cut out, the lights were in the grille.

 

Mine too! Those lines are black paint under the clear. Headlights were behind the grill.
I was at a show one time back east, a nice gentleman came up to my wife and I and stated he had to vote for our car because he had never seen a better fitting set of headlight doors. I informed of the truth and he replied he would vote for us anyway, we won that show.

 

Well, hope all the controversy is over for the moment. I'm disassembling the frame and rear so the final welding can be completed. I plan on putting her back together in January and into storage in February. We are going to sell our house in April and move up to New Meadows, Idaho to help build our new house. Looks like she will sit for 6 months. So I guess I won't be posting too much. Thanks for all you guy's support, I do appreciate it! I will post the reassembly with pics next year. Here's some pics of our new home site.

 

Appears you have good taste in coupes and real estate.

 

Found a picture from 1962 when I built my first ride, my soap box derby. Built it in the basement. My dad and I decided to use fiberglass on the top to get the contour we wanted. He worked at Polymer Corporation, a friend of his, who worked in the lab mixed us up a batch of resin. It came in two 1 gallon paint cans, about half full, with instructions to mix the two parts together and apply. Well we got it ready, chicken wire form and a couple layers of glass mat. Mixed the two cans together, and started slapping it on. The smell was bad enough, however the batch got so hot it set the can label on fire. We finished fast and put out the fire. Dried as hard as real glass. Then I learned about sanding fiberglass without a shirt - talk about itchy and irritated. Dad thought it was funny. He laughed, I did not. Still had a great time. Miss him!!

 

Judging by the glass work on your coupe, your dad taught you well.
I'm always a wee bit envious when I read stories of father/son projects.

 

I was lucky, didn't realize it soon enough but we still had a lot of great times.

 

One glass - one steel - BOTH FUN!!!

 

What a great build, and lots of nice memories you've shared. Love the 5W. I just sold my Kilborne 5W to a good friend of mine, and he told me check out your build on here . I had a "real 5W" that I sold back in 1999. Nice car, but I was done with it, and I figured if I wanted to, I could build a new one that looked just like it ( and for a lot less dough). I put a stock windshield and hinges in it, installed a working cowl vent, put on the UPC gutters, and was going to use a stock firewall. I also fit a 40 dash to the body just like I had in my last Deuce. Couple of years ago , I came to the decision I had enough closed cars and needed a roadster, so I am in the middle of building a Brookeville Rdstr. Here are a few pics of the 5W that Steve just bought from me. Steve will continue on with it with the same theme in mind. We both liked what you did with the door hinge install. Great Idea.
Good luck with your move and look forward to seeing you get back to work on the Deuce.

 

I also see we share the same idea on how the rear frame rails should look. This is the back of my Roadster.

 

I owned my last 5W for 12 years, and over that time period, I had the fenders off and on it more than a few times. Almost like having two cars. In an afternoon ,just by removing (or bolting on) the fenders and running boards , and maybe a different set of wheels, it became a totally different car. I also had cut the rear frame rails so I could un-bolt the rear section ( along with the gas tank) to give it a totally different look. I had a second gas tank mounted behind the bulkhead in the trunk. When I put the fenders back on, I'd bolt the rear gas tank and rails back on. These pics are all the same car. Have fun and don't be afraid to change it up once in a while. All fun.

 

Like your style, mine should go about the same route. I am getting ready to assemble the parts and put this project in storage till we get into our new house. Not what I wanted to do, but the idea of a new house and shop at 69 years old kinda sounds nice!

 

Back to the project (for awhile). Frame is at the welders, finished the structural work on the body and floor. Tranny tunnel took some time, but was well worth it. Finished the underside for now. I'm going to paint the frame with primer and assemble the car as far as I can, she goes into storage till our new house is livable, shop too. Here are some recent pics.

 

Does the cowl vent make a big difference when the windshield can swing out? What about when one gets caught in the rain?

 

I'm building a 'glass 3 window myself and got the inevitable "it's a fake" '32 HAMB response. The advantage of a 'glass body in my case? I can build something with big HP, low weight and not butcher original steel. I want to go fast not try to impress people with how much money I spent buying steel (if I could even afford it!). The purists would have a cardiac if they saw me doing to steel what I'm doing to this body.

 

Again, that is some impressive glass work!

You guys are making me "itch" to get back on my roadster project, it's been idling for too long, it's great that you two are keeping the flame alive.

 

Yeah I don't give a rat's ass what other people think. (period).. I go by my budget, my skill set, and my past fond memories of the Reading Fairgrounds, in the fifties, watching Bobby Abel and Russ Smith go head to head, Bobby had a 5 window, Russ a 3 window, along with a lot of very cool guys trying to just win a couple hundred bucks, and a kiss from the trophy girl. Pure Racing - not clouded by money!. Now I just want to have a hot rod 32', drive the heck out of it and enjoy my remaining time on this crazy planet. I had no idea when I started this that I would get so much negativity. I guess nobody likes things that are different!!

 

When I had my 32 the swing out windshield worked good but the cowl vent really cooled off your feet and legs, especially if you got a lot of heat through the firewall. Another thing I would do is pop out the rear window and really get some airflow. I've got an original 32 rear window regulator that I will incorporate into the 5 window body that I just got from Baron.

 

Stop defending the 'glass body part and stay focused on your build. Looks good.
Haters gonna hate anyway.

 

Amen, last thing on my mind when I go out in the garage is other peoples opinions.

 

The cowl vent is well worth the effort. 95% of the time I had the cowl vent open and the windshield closed. And when its raining, more water will come in around the windshield than the cowl vent.
I've had 4 5W's and this will be my 3rd Rdstr. Because of the Duvall windshield I can't run a cowl vent, but thinking about putting a one in the cowl panels, like the one on my 47 COE ( much like they have on 48 - 50 Chevy pickups).

 

Yeah, I gave that some thought too. How about a pair of quiet computer fans behind the dash blowing down? Maybe a trans cooler below one fans with a water shut off valve form the engine, for heat? I'm also thinking about 2 ducts thru the floor, behind the seats, with a door, to give the air a way out of the cabin.

 

When I was body shopping I decided I had to have the working windshield and cowl vent. Then I found a company that also did the roll down back window. Score! It's all about air flow. Now I read your build thread and get more excited every day, don't know if I can make it to April/May to get that body! You're killing me!
SPark

 

Sounds like you went with a New Age Motorsports body. You will have a blast. Ignore the negative people, my mom always told me "If I don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" just as true today as it was back in the 50's.

 

love the progress.

 

Picked up the frame from the welders, time to prime the steel and start putting it together. Retirement is coming fast. Trying to decide if I want to put the 265 or the 350 in the coupe. The 265 would be period correct, not so much for the 350 crate motor. I guess it's not to hard to pull 300 horses out of the 265. I have powerpack and 462 camel bump heads for the 265. The 600 DP Holley should work also. Any suggestions?

 

It's not like steel bodies are 100 percent perfect.....steel and glass, they both have problems and advantages. The way I look at it, my glass chopped 3W body cost was really inexpensive. Really inexpensive when you factor in the fact that I didn't have to pay to have it chopped. Factor that in, and a glass body is really dirt cheap! If I ever find an affordable and really nice original coupe body (probably not going to happen), that I would rather have on my chassis, it can always be swapped out. Until then, I'm driving, not dreaming!

 

The 265 would move it down the road just fine but I suspect it would leave you wanting more. I also don't think the 462's will work on that small bore if they are 2.02's.
But, those heads would be perfect on a 350, pretty sure they were what was put on the 67 Camaro SS 350. It would be pretty easy to disguise it to look like a period 327 with the right valve covers if that was an issue.

 

Confuses say "There's no replacement for cubic displacement". Go 350. Put little JB weld in the bolt holes in the heads before you paint. Add a breather tube in the intake. Only one carburetor? I don't think I've ever seen that on this site.

That car is going to be bitchin. Keep at it.

 

Amen, that's my exact thoughts also. Steel would be nice, however the damn budget rules!!