I'm wanting to (1) decide if I want to make the front clip on Clarence into a tilt unit, and (2) if so then decide how I want it to be designed and work. I've searched and came up with only one thread that actually showed how to create the hinge &/or slide mechanism and none that actually gave much in the way of how they went about designing or building it: Slide and Tilt Front End (the way I did it)Hope it helps someone The following thread mentioned that he was going to show how he did his, but I never found the actual discussion: Austin Somerset Gasser Build It is possible, of course, that I missed it when I was reading through the thread, as I was skimming and not actually reading every word. Tilt front end was mentioned in a lot of threads, but none that I found actually showed pix or discussed how they designed it other than these two. SOOOOooooo, if you have experience doing this please share your wisdom with me/us. Tell us what worked; what didn't work; how it was designed; how it was fabricated; what you'd do differently; how heavy it is to raise; if you use hydraulics or springs to assist in lifting; what kind of bushings/bearings you used; what kind of latch you used; etc. Any information is appreciated. And PIX!!! I'm worse than most about understanding a design discussion without seeing what is being talked about. Thanx in advance.
I don't have any pics of the build on this beast, but the client wanted tilt front end and tilt bed. The front began by bolting the hood and fenders together, using a strip of stainless for proper spacing. We fabbed a frame for the inside to keep it supported and moving in one piece. For the tilt itself, milled a long p shaped slot in 2 blocks of stainless that was welded in the frame rails up front. I used a skateboard wheel bearing for the roller, it rested in the loop of the p when opening to keep it in one place. It was operated from inside the cab via linear actuators. Long paragraph, I can reply in more detail via im if you have any particulars you wanted to dig into...
I built mine by using garage door rollers and small angle iron for the track .The front end rolls forward 5" and than tips upon the same rollers There are some blades on the lower fenders that line it up when you slide it back . I will post some pics tomorrow it is to late now.
Mike, I'm really glad you started this thread! I'm getting ready to do the same thing on my '56 Fairlane. I've searched and searched and haven't found much of real instructional value. I would also like to see some pictures, hear some warnings and positive reviews on methods and materials. Not necessarily to copy them, but get some ideas to put together into a system that will work for me on this car.
Some years back I started to do what you guys are planning on doing, this was going to be for my 66 Suburban, but 86'd the plan because of the physical size of the hood. I did acquire a setup off of a Saab to use as a mockup/testmule, IIRC itwas an 80's model. It may be possible to find a Saab manual that may show the parts breakdown and operation. I have seen a few of these built over the years, but it had to have been a lot of trial and error to get it to work properly. The cleanest ones were using a track made of 1/4" or 3/8" round stock along with a couple of heavy duty nylon rollers, probably was the easiest part of the project, the hinging and articulation will be a head scratcher. Your results may vary......happy engineering.
Well the first one I built was on a '55 Ford. I welded the fenders to the hood to make it one piece and originally it was a lift off. I got tired of finding a buddy to help me lift it to check the oil so I made it tilt. But I didn't build a slide the fenders were wiggly enough that I would let them spoing out at the bottom and just tilt it when it was latched it had a pair of hood pins on the cowl and a pair of jeep latches inside the bottoms of the fenders to hold them in place. Later when I got playing with trucks I made my sliders from 3/8 flat steel with a slot cut in them. Front and back there was a notch that hung below the slot. A steel bar runs across the front of the front end that rides in the slot and drops into the notches when it is closed or open and I have always just raised them buy hand, no assist. I always use a chain to keep the front end from opening too far. I have discovered that most will latch well enough with a magnet or two. I have though about electro magnets and letting it just lay there without being latched when the motor wasn't running, they are stronger. The core support is stationary and not attached to the fenders. A lot of fellas don't make them slide and tilt they just cut the fenders and leave the bottom portion bolted to the cab. Not my favorite way to do it but a lot of the fellas do it that way. hey did you get the mill sorted out? Find your leak?
I've seen several that had an angle cut at the back of the front fender and really object to the look. However I do this (assuming that I actually do) when it's shut it'll look "normal" with no non-factory body seams. Heads will come off Monday. We found out that the passenger side head bolts had been loosened and retightened. Cant say for sure until then, but the consensus of all my local buds is that the gasket never resealed (of course; how could it?).
Atch..... Sorry, I need to read threads a little closer apparently, I thought it was just the hood you were wanting to tilt forward.
Mine has the typical slide but another way I saw on a 55 chev was a simple rocking assembly. Picture shackles laid horizontal, the rear pivot attached to the sheet metal and the front pivot to the frame. He lifted and pulled lifting the shackles over the top and forward until they again rested horizontally now with the sheet metal far enough forward tilt.
Been a while since I looked at one, but maybe research the hood system on a 70's BMW 2002. When unmatched it popped up in front, then moves forward until it clears the nose, then tilts up 90 degrees. It might give you some ideas to work with.
Got some pics for you may have to study them a bit to see what is going on. Keep in mind this is a gasser built in the 60's style a bit crude . I wanted to be able to open and close by myself It works good in the one pic you the 'U" looking thing which is part of the latch which came from the trunk latch of a 65 Chrysler. any ? just ask. you
Best I can help...Fenders cut but gives you more head room when open and not wanting to slide forward..Actuator only has 6" of travel but equals a 24" modern day actuator due to linkage..Its been doing its thing for 39 yrs when I made the glass nose..Pics should enlarge pretty clear....
I cut the lower part of the fenders on my Henry J so they wouldn't interfere. I used 1/2 heim joints for hinges. Gary
I bought a 1947 Mercury in 1967 and made the front end tilt in 1974. Its heavy! I bolted the hood to the fenders and left the inner fenders in place and I can open it by myself but its heavy! I used a convertible top pump/motor and cylinders to make it open. It might be better to make a fiberglass front since it is so heavy. Somewhere in the gasser threads there are two good ways to tilt. one cut and hinged the front of the frame and the spreader, The other put the hinge below the frame. May have been the 4 dr gasser in Hawaii
Go on you tube and search for project Binky. The poster is Bad obsession Motorsport. It's an OT Mini Cooper but they do detail how they fab everything, including a flip nose
I built the tilt frontend on my 56 Chevrolet Bracket Car as simple as possible, but it required two people to tilt it forward. I used the stock steel fenders and hood, with VW fender-welt between seams to give it a finished look. By the way, that was the BIGGEST mistake I ever made with a car; should have just left the front end sheet metal stock. What prompted me doing it, was the fiberglass front end I bought NEW for the car arrived in a box, and the ends of the fenders were curled under to fit into the box. When the fender ends were pulled out, the hood would bow in. @#$%^&*()!!!!! Yes, it went back for a refund. The pivot at the front, should be a low as possible to get the trailing ends of the fenders out of the "arc' as soon as possible. I saw a 55 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery in a downtown Seattle car show once that used some section of thin U-channel bent into an arc to match that of the tilt (that had to be a chore to get right). Furniture swivel casters attached to the fender endes rode in the channel, and made for the needed clearance on the fender ends relative to the doors. There was some sort of two hydraulic ram assemblies also in place to power the tilt. IF I was going to ever do one again, I'd make it a lift off. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I'm no fabricator, nor photographer, so bear with me. Mine is on the simple side. I bolted a 1 inch square stock section into the bottom channel of my stock core support, welded a couple tabs to it, and bolted it to a bracket off an old trailer, that had adjusting grooves,so I can adjust it in, out up down. I ended up splitting the Fenders, (although I have seen guys use rollers to spread them as they tilt it forward) and trimmed and welded a filler piece inside, reinforce on the bottom by by a round tube fender brace, with a shortened hitch pin, with cotter keys inside to hold it down. I will attach a thin insulator at some point, and a couple brackets on the upper firewall to support the hood in 2 locations on rubber, also to be on adjustable brackets. I envy those of you who can figure out clean and simple ways to make brackets, and weld good . I used light duty chain as a stop.
here is another pic. The long bolts showing are where I attached the square stock. It is where the front valance went. you can kind of see the bracket. It is attached with a grade 8 bolt and lock nut. I
I built the tilt mechanism for my truck over 25 years ago. It uses ball bearing drawer slides to slide forward and then tilt. I built the tilt for Hooley "Okie Twister" Henry J a few years ago. I made some aluminum slides for it and then some trombone like telescoping links to limit how far it tilts. Best one yet is one I built for another Henry J gasser that used linear ball bearing slides. You were standing by two of mine at the drags just two weeks ago. John
A few more pictures. The tubing framework is 7/8 od 14 ga wall. It fits a 3/4 conduit hand bender nicely but is a lot of work to bend with it. Gary
John, I sure wish I had known that. I could have gotten some pix. I had thought of drawer slides but figured there weren't any out there that would be heavy enough.
I've done a few and it takes planning to understand how a hinge works. What I did was put 2 sheets of paper butted together. One piece is fixed (that part is the cowl, firewall etc on the body) the piece butted to it is the front end. Using a thumbtack as the hinge place it in different places and lift the front end off by rotating the paper. It sounds like a stupid excersize but I guarantee you won't be wasting your time doing it.
I built this simple setup that works pretty good, I put a hitch pin on the end of the tube that slides through the brackets. Pull the hitch pin and the whole front can be removed, there's a video of the works in my Henry J build thread.
I used tool box cabinet drawer slides with a 80 lbs capacity each on my 68 dart fiberglass front end slide out then tilts over pic show it before stops were installed
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