Projects Project Mattitude: the Beginning

Sorry about that. I was in Jamaica all of last week on a mission trip so I couldn't catch y'all up to where I'm at right now. So here goes..



Here I had cut some bad metal out from when I tried my hand at metal working. Thank God I'm young and have plenty of time to learn from my mistakes. Here's how I fixed this problem.






It's not perfectly straight but with minimal filler work, it'll look good. If I can't get the body as perfect as I want it to be, then minimal filler will be used as conservatively as possible.

I'll talk about the center gap in between the quarters on the next update.

Thanks everyone.


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Also, excuse the ghetto bracing. I tacked that in last summer on the lower rear subrail and the top of the brace that runs along the top of the gas tank. I cut it off to section the gas tank brace but before then, I welded the square tubing securing the door jambs to it..

Oh the things you can get away with being the new guy.


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Off to a great start, good luck!

 

I think you're doing a great job!!! So what if you're not perfect. You are making mistakes and learning from them, and you're not too proud to hide it. I admire your drive and direction. I especially like the cowl treatment. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

Definitely looks to be the beginning of a great project.

 

This project will likely be the bible of coupester conversions once you're finished. I'm just getting things under way on mine...got a buddy helping out with the chassis.

UPDATE!!!!!

 

Oh man. Look at what I went and brought upon myself. Such high expectations..

I'm in Canadian, TX for my recently deceased uncle's funeral. I'll be back tonight so expect the next update this week before Thursday. I'm out of town a lot this summer so updates will be here and there.

But thanks for the words. It lets me know I'm not being too much of a cookie-cutter.


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Just wanted to let everyone know that this summer turned out far busier than I had expected. Lately I've been focused on something else that needs to get taken care of soon. I've been doing little things here and there like sanding off rust in my spare time.



I haven't done anything major.. Still waiting to finish up welding the back panel and as soon as I'm done, I'll let everyone see. Here's a little sneak peek at how it's coming along..



Which brings up another question. The other day, the bottom plug of my welder slid out, I guess.. I'm not sure if this is actually a frugal part of the machine but I did test out the welder a while ago and it seemed to weld just fine. Could someone enlighten me on whether this piece is actually important to have or if this was just to help hold the plug in the outlet?



And for anyone wanting to know..



Thanks everyone.


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1940truck here
glAd to know u
cell is 418 1454
u can give me a call

 

All right. Just one teeny question. Can you use text messaging? I actually can't use the phone function for a legitimate reason. I'm deaf.


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Yes u can send a text

 

Hey man.. This is a neat project.. Taking your time--and working on it around life--it's gonna be a great car when it gets to moving down the road under it's own power. Keep at it..

 

Looking good

Grommet

 

Your metalwork looks great and your willingness to redo stuff you've already done to make it better is the mark of a true craftsman. I'll be watching this one come together.

 

Finally caught your thread --- good progress and cool project you have going!
Looking forward to future updates.



Malcolm

 

Good build. Looking foward to more.

 

Car is taking shape man looks real good

 

Great thread so far and you are making great progress and learning as you go - well done!

 

Now Matt, how you ever gonna give me a ride now that it's got 7 inches less leg room?!. Hahaha
Nice build, keep it up.

 

Aw, man. That made me laugh pretty good.

The dimension of the cockpit opening from the dashboard to the edge of the rear is just the same as a stock Model A roadster. That's why I did it in the first place.

Second reason.. The back part of the seat should be right at the rear edge, and that's just in the stock sports coupe location as well. The only thing I eliminated is the package tray. So I didn't lose any leg room..

However, I do plan on channeling it 4 inches so the bottom of the body sits flush with the bottom of the frame. So I guess I do lose some leg room in the end.

I need to get back on my build soon, my summer just got busier than I expected right up to starting school again for the year. Then I've also been focusing on fixing my C10. I do have been doing minor stuff like hammer and dolly work, filing down high spots along welds, etc. I do have free time occasionally during the semester, so I guess I'll be able to provide teeny tiny updates.

Lame excuses, I know..


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Here's somewhat of an update..

I decided to just go ahead and use my welder as it is for now then replace the plug later when I can. So I used the welder to finally finish up the rear panel which I started on months ago. I'm pleased with how it turned out. It has a little dive, some very minor waves so it needs some grinding, shrinking, body hammer and dollying to be finished. But it's much better than I expected. I'm no Bobby Walden but here you go.









I also included some pictures from when I dragged it out in the sun on the frame I borrowed from my brother-in-law. These are from in between starting and finishing the rear panel.





Oh. And the seat I sit in to make vroom vroom noises might not be traditional but it sure seems to be from the same period (late '50's) I'm shooting for.




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Just went to look at my recent post on my Safari app and I'm not really pleased with it. I liked the version where pictures were uploaded onto the post full-size without having to click on a thumbnail..

Anyone know if that's possible with this new app update?


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Good to see some progress Matt, that rear panel came out looking good. What is next on the list?

 

Thank you. I see a lot of room for improvement though.. I'd like to be as good as Bobby Walden or Bass with sheet metal but that's going to take years to learn.

Next.. I'd like to section the A-posts so that it's more narrow like the top of the cowl brace. The reasoning is in the pictures above, you can see how sectioning the top of the cowl brace has moved the 2 temporary bolts inward more, that leaves about half an inch on the outer edge of the A-post which sticks out a little too far to my eye. I think the A-posts would look great sectioned in closer to the cowl which adds a more streamlined feel to the entire car. But a problem that arises is that it's going to be difficult to reshape the bottom part as it narrows down to a "point" at the bottom. I can visualize the finished product but I can't mentally figure out how to get around preserving the curve at the bottom of the A-post which is the same curve that is found at the bottom of the door. Might just have to take most of the curve out and try my hand at making the curve minimal throughout the entire side of the car.

I really would like to keep somewhat a curve as it adds to the Model A characteristic but at the same time, to section the A-post vertically, it'll require minimizing the curve. Maybe I'm just overthinking this? Maybe I should just jump in the deep end and see how I come out with this.

Another issue I see is the door jamb. I'm concerned that if I section the A-post, that will move the door hinges in another half-inch or so (which will have to be modified too) I'm not sure if that's big enough to affect the doors closing. But then again, they don't close all that great so this might be my window of opportunity to go ahead and modify the A-post and figure out the door jamb later as I'd like to go with a better engineered door latch than the Model A latch.

I sure talk a lot.. I hope I'm making my intentions and thoughts clear to everyone reading this?

 

looking good man!

Some quick thoughts, if you want to keep some of your leg room when channeling it the depth of the frame just drop the floor with the rest of the body! Basically just tunneling the frame rails and making your trans tunnel up higher.

If you still think you want to stick with a closed drive line instead of going for open like was available for years by the late 50s, then your still wondering about that trans.

As far as I gather the case is more or less the same from 39ish up the only changes seem to be little stuff and gears, which can be swapped from case to case to get you gears you want. That being said yes you can just buy an adapter plate and the little bits and pieces to make it work, there are a few posts about it if you do a search that will lay it out a bit more for you, actualy search posts ive started and there should be one fairly recent about using a 48 trans behind a sbc that people contributed some good info to.

Im not certain about making it a top shifting trans but it seems like even with the levers on the side there has to be a way to floor shift it, check out the trans in Zibo's RPU "chief" im pretty sure he is running a side shifted trans but with two shift levers! kinda neat.

Hopefully that was of some help as i hadn't seen those questions addressed in your posts, let me know if you have any more questions and I'll try to help ya out

 

with your vertical sectioning of the A pillars keep in mind you "measure, then re measure, then re re measure" thoughts.

if you narrow the A pillar a 1/2 inch, then your hinges are offset that much, then you have to move the jambs, but A doors over lap so that half inch keeps rippling back and back and back until youve narrowed the car an inch to make it look right. I could be wrong but alot of this stuff is like dominos, yes make sure you dont warp the panel when you weld it in. but also make sure that when you go to bolt it back together it still fits.

makes you consider if that 1/2 inch is worth the next 100 hours of welding to get it. Or at least make a game plan for the next domino.

One that pops to mind is when you horizontaly sectioned your cowl bit, now if you run a standard height roadster windshield posts and glass it wont hit the body. it will have a gap the size of your section. so youll need to keep in mind that down the road that 1/2 inch section is going to lead to you half in sectioning your windsheild uprights. and because you tweaked the ends, and will possibly vert section the A pillars you may very well just have to cut the bottom of them off all together to make something that works.

im super stoked to see this turn into your rendering, but remember dominoes when you are triple measuring. itll save you some frustration down the road as well

 

Thank you! I'll get to looking for those threads. I do have to admit, I've been wondering about driveability as 5-speeds seem to be all the rage right now. I do remember reading Ryan's Daily Driver write-up about how he loves his 3-speed and how even though his friends are all for the 5-speeds, he wouldn't change his car one bit. Then I thought, maybe I could run the Ford OD 3-speed from the mid to late '50's, but I'm not sure if they ran a closed or open driveshaft. I'm thinking open, probably. So would I be able to convert an open OD 3-speed to closed or would that be going through too much trouble just for the sake of saying "it's a closed driveshaft"? In all of this, I'm thinking "just run the 3-speed and get it over with." Should it prove to be too much of a hassle, then I can always convert it to a 5-speed. It's only metal.

I also plan to mount the motor higher in the frame so that the top of the carb is just below with the top of the imaginary line that runs from the grille to the cowl. Another aesthetic that bothers me when I see a hot rod that has the motor at the lowest point in the frame, all that space in between the top of the motor and the "hood line" just feels empty to me. I might upsweep the frame to get it down to that "just right" stance I have in mind, as well as Z'ing the back. Another concern I have is after doing all of these, will I still be able to get the motor and transmission at the right angle to run a closed driveshaft which requires a center crossmember? The way I'm picturing this in my head, I might have to put the crossmember at above the frame to be able to get the motor angled back right with all of the frame mods going on. This sure is putting my engineering skills to the test.

But this is going to be worth all the trouble for sure.

 

yeah after 48 for ford its all open, though if you nabbed an over drive equipt trans you cold also snag the driveshaft and rear end that may accept your new 55 ford brakes.

with your motor height don't forget to factor in air cleaners

with your front frame issues do a search for the "bleed sweep" im sure its got to be in the tech archives. you basicly make two opossing pie cuts in the front rails dropping the front a few inches, keeping the front cross member at the correct angle, and you get a nice 'sweeping' frame rail instead of some aquard step or Z.

 

also, if you end up looking at Zibos threads youll see a link to his blog that has a little more info on his builds on it then whats posted on the HAMB. and you can look at the rpu a little more and get some ideas for crossmembers and what not for your trans.