Projects Recreating the jesse lopez coupe

Gettin there, the girls surveying the new scene.

 

Awesome!

 

Struggling with computer issues.

 

Moving along well, but I'm sure you feel not fast enough!

 

Lots of balls in the air at the moment.

 

Lets see if this works.

 

Wood from Home Depot and where it's going to go.

 

So you’re saying you got decked? Hehe.

 

Hey guys, my wife and I just had our 50th anniversary last month and we are going to cruise the Mississippi on a paddle boat this week and part of the next week. I'll check in when we get back. I appreciate you.

 

Congratulations Jerry!! Have a great trip!!

 

Her's another post to match the previous one on Jr's thread.

 

When I did the JCC I had lots of help. When the JLC came along everybody had jobs, so I was on my own. I had to learn how to solve problems differently. I had to put a spot on the floor that I could push the (done) chassis over to, that would put the body exactly where it needed to be to lower it down on that chassis.
Thank God for that winch that was in the trailer.

 

From the archives.

 

The time came when I realized that I had to really experiance what I was doing with the chop, I had to imagine what this was going to be l;ike after all the hype about what it was like looking out of that windshield opening.. YIKES!!!I

 

Bill Weiser married Jesse's sister Margie, and Jessie and Bill were tight. When Jesse would go somewhere with a girlfriend, Bill and Margie would occupy the back seat.
Bill told me that he and Jesse spent a lot of time in the car, and he ended up being a critical part of what driveling around in a car that you could barely see out of critically needed, a "spotter". It was Bills job to keep Jesse out of trouble when traversing the various obstacles that the car had to maneuver around. I didn't ask him, but he was probably involved in the street racing at night as well.
Bill told me that there was a park in Burbank that they would go to in the car, and that him and Jesse worked out a "dance" (my words) that the car would go through as Bill helped Jesse maneuver the entry way to that park. Bills comment about it was "ridiculous", but the local kids/young guys loved "the show", (Bills words).
When Jesse went to Korea his brother Memo and Bill had the car and the routine would continue, with Memo driving and Bill "spotting". Memo would continually ask Bill if he was interested in driving, and Bill would say no without really explain why. He told me that he didn't want any part of trying to see out of that thing.
Bill and Margie were warm and friendly, and we spent some quality time on those calls.

 

I found this in the archive's and thought I would share it. This is son's Dan (L), and son John (R), with the old shop truck.

 

Landed!

 

Keeping at it.

 

Thanks for the update

 

A lmost there.

 

A nice and roomy shop!

 

Thanks Doc.

 

Well, for the die Hards that have been here from the beginning, we're going to revisit one of the most agonizing parts of this build. The effort (by you guy's) to convince me that the grille looked like it was set too low. I kept saying that it was the distortion in the original pics that was the problem, but you guys weren't having it. You saved this build!

I finally realized that the only person that I could trust was the man (Jesse) himself. I gathered up all the pics of the front end and sent them to Jesse, with the description of the "problem". His reply? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

OK, I got it. He also said that the headlights weren't right either, he didn't want the rings showing. So that was also dealt with. What an adventure.

 

Ol droopy, a good place to be from, not goin too.

 

When I asked Jessie about the location of that front bumper, he mentioned that he had used the original brackets on that '46 bumper. I thought that that was all I needed and was OK with where I was at. This experience taught me that he had "tipped" them up raising that bumper (and everything else).

 

Gosh, I had forgotten about that whole thing. How heartbreaking to have had to cut it all back apart, but well worth the effort to get it "right." Your efforts to get everything right on the money and all the research you did on both builds was amazing and commendable.

 

Thanks, Doc, for the reply. As I look back on all this, I realize I was caught in this trap that was set for me much earlier in my life. The difficulties and challenges were presented to me as just this journey that I'm on.

I had sold my business and had some money to do this with so that wasn't the consideration that it usually is for most of us These "discoveries" along the way were just part of the journey. The discovery that I was able to do this stuff at this level was a motivating factor

I had developed a relationship with Frank Palmer, when the chop was being sorted out, and I had him help me with the garnish moldings. While visiting his shop in Mansfield I noticed some curious items on the floor They were an Olds engine, and some bumpers that looked familiar. When I asked him about them, he explained that he had always wanted to do a clone of the Bettencourt/Zupan Merc, and I told him that that car was also on my list to do next.

We did have some serious discussions about how "we" would do this, but with the clock ticking on our energy levels as we aged, we realized that that ship had sailed awhile back and the realization that we should have met ten years earlier was sad.

Love you, Frank.