MMM,well...yeah,i realized that this pile rust was a little too far gone, but obviously there is no way back.... next time will choose a MUCH better car to start...that's for sure!! On the other hand my goal is to have a timeless built car,balanced...not over done! Less is more rules, ya know....
Now that is a beautifully laid down rear window on a Merc. I like the curved shape of the crease where the roof meets the deck. Are you going to keep the crease or smooth it over? I'd let it show myself. Fantastic work.
Mikes51,thanks for the kind words...yeah,will keep the crease line of course. Went the hardest way just for that reason... as you see the panel is 1 piece,no pie cuts,just lot of patience to create the shape and put it in place,but i think it pays back Also note the stock window height,just lowered in place... This means a lot more curves on the side corners of the rear window,it sits much lower and is intricate to build up in taht area... it's just more pleasing effect after all,especially when painted.. of course i wanted this way,and there are many different interpretations on the same theme as we know...we never finish to talk about this,especially here on Hamb...
I forgot ,the crease line has been made by hand,hammering carefully..still waitin my bead roller,hopefully soon... of course right tools speed up jobs like this....
Kickass, yeah I left my window in the stock location as well, and youre right its way more of a pain in the ass to get the side panels right. I spent damn near a whole day hammering out a curve for the passenger side that I liked once the panel was already in. Lot of stepping back and looking at it bit by bit.
Sled, you RULE !!! Could you tell which tools do you use ? I assume a planishing hammer, english wheel, lotsa hammer/dies are needed ?
Unionville,yep...is a little by little process,cause you don't want to ruin the whole thing and redo it again... but it really pays back big time,IMHO...
Romain,hi...well,i still fighting to buy an english wheel,planishing hammer and bead roller,at list.... I don't have them actually....but they will come soon! I did what you see all with old time tricks,some good SnapOn hammers,both steel and wood...some cutters/ grinders and lot of patience.. build up some handy tools wheen needed,but that's about all... Nothin really fancy... but as stated before i really wanna move on the basic tools above mentioned,is way faster and easier...
I thought that crease was made by two pieces of metal meeting each other. I wondered how you were going to weld the crease and still keep the good looking crease. Now that I understand it is one piece I am really impressed!
Stunning buildup. I'm amazed I have a '41 Buick Sedanette and I love the slanted B-pillars on my car. How would you think they fit on your Merc?? .....they have a little smoother curves I think... But hey. It's your car Btw. Not my car on the pic. But you get the idea
Mikes,soon some closer pics of the 1 piece panel will be posted,for you and all guys to check out the thing... i like to take lots of shots from every angle too,always interesting to compare for another project or so....
Buick 41,hard to say by instance...these curved B pillars typical from those years are fitting better the sedanette/fastback style ...but the great thing about kustom is the open vision on ideas applied to create personal solutions.. I'm always amazed about great tricks and clever ideas comin out from kustom guys... personally now in my built havin a short distance on the pillars you loose much of the curve too,on height...i prefer the slanted but straight posts in this particular case... But you swedish guys have all my respect there,plenty of talented builders on the great north...
This is from a 2dr Coupe. The back side window is missing though..but anyway I like how the door looks with the more "round" edges. ....just kicking the idea with you And this one is lowered too...
Not to Hi-Jack, but that's Matt's Buick, and he has an impressive site. Don't think he's a HAMBer, but the buildup has been impressive: http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/index.html sled, AWESOME work as always...
This is one of lines that separate the good chops from the not so good. A properly chopped Merc looks good from any angle. This looks perfect! At this stage, I like to lay the rear window in place just to stand back and look at it. The rear glass,because of it's compound curve,can change the lines of the roof slightly. Keep up the great work.
Some more pics of the chop. Sleds Message: Mikes51,here you can see more clearly the 1 piece panel...i try to keep a good photo record on all built,no hidden secrets or cheatin around...of course the crease have to disappear at 1 point,going to melt togheter with the upper panel...it adds the rear end much more flow,and i knew i did not wanted a fastback/sedanette (sort of ) look,ya know... subtle details make the whole difference,you know that... Also will post later on a 3/4 pic wiew from front to back to show how's the flow...visually is very pleasing. As soon all is welded up and the window frame will be off you'll see what i mean...
MercMan51,i have just some more pics on small repairs,nothing really worth it right now to add on the soup... Also will take a break to follow some other things,but of course i'll keep going soon with this one... Try to buy some more tools i need also in the meantime,to speed up the work Stay tuned....
Hello all,i'm busy on some other matters right now but i think i get back full time on the Merc in august,and then pushin to completion...but keep an eye on my other thread Mexican Junk in the meantime,found some other crap around... see ya, sled
It will be only 1 month away,and in the meantime i keep you busy lookin at my other mexican JUNK thread on my finds havin a blast finally scarfin around.... also i'm movin my other Mercs finally to my garage waitin for theier turn later on...yeah,it takes some time but next step is to build 2 of em at the same time.... Startin from better conds, of course...i don't wanna rescue another dead Merc,a bit too much work later, Sled
Ok Guys,almost back in action on the Merc...finally moved from another city couple of my other Mercs 49/51 projects to start choosin the best body parts to speed up the swiss cheese project... At list will help saving lots of panel work... The 454 BB is already rebuilt at the meantime,need to buy all the shiny goodies,vintage stuff if possible...so,shortly will keep going and regular updates will be shown... stay tuned,aloha sled PS:ETHER,i did not forget your mex plates,have already some of em for ya...need to find a minute to ship em...beeing around all the time is a bit messy to have all in 1 place for me...
sled, I hear ya, good to see you are still alive!!!! I was worried about ya and going through mex merc withdrawl! Looking forward to the update and the plates. ETHER
Message from Sled: Hi all fellas,finally i'm back on the swiss cheese Merc project full time.Trunk time,cut the floors and replacing side patches all over.Nothin,and i mean nothin is savable from the original back section, as usual... Anyway,in the meantime i moved to my garage another 49 Merc as a donor parts car,and a 50 Merc too...Will use from this 49 both doors,trunk lid,3/4 panels,all front end to really speed up this project.Have many more parts layin around,so now choosing the best ones is a must to push the whole thing... And then when this will be done it will be more relaxed to reuse the average parts and fix em,for the next 49 and 50 coupes,both will be full kustoms.will make em 2 at the same time. But that's another story... Plan to finish this one before the end of the year,yeah...still lot to go. The 454 BB is already rebuilt also,need cosmetics..a friend o mine gave me a crossram manifold,from the 60's...i don't know,perhaps i can use that thing,is vintage and unusual. Of course i'm not so keen on using a modern GM 454 and is a must to make it vintage,have some options and ideas about... My goal is to have a balanced vintage style car,nothin fancy but a good overall balance ..well,yeah...there are 1000's of intrerpretations on what's correct and so on,but let's see on this one. For sure it will be fully painted and shiny,as deserve a classy kustom...no primer/satin here. Well,from now on i will keep going on regular updates,stay tuned....
MagnusB,thanx as usual for adding the pix buddy....Actually today i took my time to make an inventory of parts from my other 50 Merc,to choose the best parts to speed up "swiss cheese"... Also since is the first time i go thru the car since long i realized there are many parts and stuff that i did not realized before...nice!! Basically i don't body parts,can use em from the 49... Soon i have to buy an english wheel,planishing hammer an swadge roller to be set at list with some necessary tools....this is the key to work faster!!
The Jalopy Journal
