Projects Recreating the jesse lopez coupe

Not long after recieving the car Bob has asked if it would be alright if his friend Joe could be involved. I also know Joe and answered that that would be fine with me. As all of you know I like to share the experiance's "along the way". With all the data thats available as well as having Jesse aboard this should be great fun.

Bob needs to tie up a few loose ends before he can get started.

 

The fun started when you opened this thread , and shared this with us here... Thank you !

 

Bob and I have agreed that all the "progress" pics will be deleated. After all, this is the introduction to "Mom", the " MOTHER OF ALL UNEXPECTED SETBACKS" (post #602). We've finally arrived.

 

You should show the progress pics...


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

The w/s opening is 16.5-17" depending on where you measure. If your going to have an 8" windshield 9" needs to be removed.
Bob has sent me a pic of the top being lifted up like in the famous pic. It would've made a great start to this part of the story.

 

Ive spent hours and hours going over hundreds of emails that show the twists and turns of this part of the chop story. The car ended up being at Bobs shop for almost 9 months. Theres just too much data here to try and capture with a blow by blow account. Im going to have to identify the major parts (themes) of the story.

I was surprised and blindsided by Bobs first email that shows his cut on the A pillar has removed 7" instead of the 9" needed to give us Jesses 8" w/s opening. Bob says that he wasnt sure (???) of the w/s height so he only took out the 7". He thinks that even that might be too much! Bob says that he really wonders just what does Jesse really remember and, how will this effect the rest of the info we have from him. HUH??

This will be the major obstacle and overarching theme that is prevalent throughout this time in Bobs shop. What Jesse is saying is not matching up with all the photo info thats available (Bob and Joes take). Over time it becomes clear that what Jesse is saying cant be trusted. Bob and Joe think that there should be an effort that includes both sources of data that we use. As this is tried it becomes apparent that the pics are going to overrule Jesse.

This of course puts me in a major bind. If Jesse wasnt available it wouldnt be a big deal. We could do any number of things and still arrive at a place where we could say yeah, that looks right. How can I go along with Bob and Joe when Jesse knows its not the info he gave me. I cant and I wont. This recreation is as much about Jesse as it is about his car. Bob and Joe are resisting my protests about this.

 

Thanks for keeping it real.

 

WOW! The plot thickens.
Torchie.

 

it's getting like American chopper! haha

 

Show the pics. Really. They need to be seen. I'm not trying to bust your balls or sound like a know-it-all kid but people need to see what can happen when someone doesn't know what they are doing. It's a part of the history of this build it should be shown.

Just saying

 

Yep, Too many cook spoil the soup...

 

Well, this is another fine mess that Ive gotten myself into (Laurel and Hardy). I sure didnt see this coming. Im beginning to think that they think they have a captive audiance because there was no mention of a problem in all the early discussions about this.

The pic of the 7" cut does look good and, its exciting to see the roof cut. I go along with this, thinking that in the end all the data will speak for itself. After all these guys ARE traditional guys and, after we settle down this will all work itself out.

Bob says that he has an Appleton spotlight that he can hold in position to mimic one of the pics that we have. Bob ADDS 2" to the A pillar for another look! We enter into a time of experimentation with the w/s height to try and reconcile their problem with me insisting that we follow Jesses description about what was done. We go back to the 7" w/s and Bob takes out the upper B pillars with a CHUNK OF THE ROOF with it. I tell Bob that we cant show that piece out of the roof when picture time comes.

Im trying to stay positive and keep calm.

The other dynamic is that Bob is in a situation where hes not just step by step doing what Jesse said, as per our original agreement. He's doing all kinds of things to experiment and see what this looks like and what that looks like. I'm wondering how long this is going to go on before there is an explosion.

 

Wow I would have had an atomic breakdown already.

 

If you can't block everything out (the pic's) and just let that top fall back after you have the 8" w/s you make a lot of trouble for yourself. Bob and Joe are distracted and hung up on what the door glass measurement is compared to all the pic's of Jesse's car and now they're looking at other cars as well. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. Jesse and Sam didn't care what it was (they were busy). What we do know is that it didn't have a taper to it. It was the same from the front to the back. When we have that we should be able to step back and see the roof with the correct slope and the ¼ glass openings should start to look right. The 8" w/s opening is the fulcrum that everything else pivots off of.

Bob is looking at those ¼ glass openings (on the car) and freaking out when he then looks at the original pic's. What I discovered about these old photos (when doing Jr's car) is that for some reason they're all distorted. We all saw this again earlier on the nose of this car (post #492-496). The pic's are pulled (stretched out) horizontally and compressed vertically. Bob complains that if the car is right the way it's set up with the 8" w/s than the model in one of the original pic"s head has to be 6 ½". OK BOB (and Joe), there's more evidence that the original pic is screwed up. Not the other way around. They can't be used for precise measurements. This never gets through. Ask Rob (Shoebox 1950) about this. He got off easy (?) finding this out (post #557). ME? Not so much. YOU? You've got it made.

With out that 8" w/s opening for an anchor we're adrift, blown every which way by every little breeze that comes along. The only question I have as I watch all this is, how much stamina does Bob have. We"ll soon find out.

 

It's my hope that you've been able to reconcile some of the "step-by-step" issues, and see the end result of a well-replicated chop coming together.

There are so many nightmare stories of chopping '41-'48 coupes, I can't imagine trying to do one exactly like another when they aren't sitting right beside each other.

 

OK, we've finally achieved analysis paralysis. Too much data. The pic's won't answer the questions put to them. They just sit there looking back at you and, I'm in the background constantly saying we're wasting our time with these pic's.

Bob needs a break. He's starting to mutter to himself "I'm not going to be the guy that screwed up the JL cpe". I hear this more than once. Of course this is all done through emails. He thinks he can keep that from happening by throwing himself at this job and overcome the obstacles by sheer determination. It won't work. Unfortunately this is all coming out of Bob's hide. He was up sky high for this and it's not turning out like he thought it would.I keep thinking that staying positive and encouraging Bob is going to save this mess. He does have the skills to do this job. That's the really tragic thing about all this.

Since what Jesse says can't be trusted and all the pic's do is produce a lot of activity that produces blank stares, I suggest that we take a break and talk to some of the guy's that have the chopped Club cpe's that we think look right. We can ask them for some of the measurements off of their cars. Everybody agree's.

I have Jesse in this loop as we are going through this. I respect Jesse. Without him this car can't be what it has to be. I find ways to ask him if by chance his memory could be wrong about that measurement . After some gentle prodding that happens over weeks as we talk about this he says that windshield couldn't be over 9, to 9 ½'s. I can hear him struggle with this statement.

Can I use this? I don't know, we'll see what comes of the other cars info. I do tell Bob and Joe. They're not impressed. I'm getting the subtle impression that they wish I would just go away.

Those cobbled up A pillars are looking mighty shaky about now.

We are a good way (month's) down the road now.

Todd, years ago in the early years of my business I hired a guy from Sao Paolo Brazil, he was a fun guy to be around. I'm going to use one of his attempts at American slang to reply to your statement about the '41 Ford chops. At this point, where I'm at right now after all this it's a PISS OF CAKE. It's just around the bend with pictures and instructions.

 

I was going to try to do my version of that coupe(which is my favorite custom of alltime)but decided to do my own thing

 

Hey Jer- I love the coupe.. I sat and read through about 25 minutes and saw that you mentioned going to Edison Tech. My Dad was an instructor there and after when they changed it to Seattle Central (60's - early 70's). Small world- Greg

 

Hi Jer,

Great project! I love the look of Jesse's coupe.

At the risk of muddying waters possibly already navigated, and out of sheer curiosity, I went out and measured the windshield and door glass in the ex Al Sinclair coupe chopped by Barry Mazza and his fellow club members - just to have an idea of what those measurements are. I'm sure that this won't help a great deal; and I hope it doesn't mess up your thoughts regarding Jesse's chop since my Merc has a different roofline from the 'B' pillar back, but it might give you an idea as to how far to chop with your tribute.

My windshield has 10" of glass from stainless to stainless right next to the centre bar. The door glass is 7 1/2" at it's tallest point (pretty much mid-door).

Jesse's (from Rik's website):


Mine:


I'm sure you fellas will get it right..!

Dave

 

Dave, your coupe would have helped get us to where we ended up. I always looked for the funny car guys from Saskatoon at the races. This is SIR late sixties, early seventies.
What is your coupe like for visibility?

 

Well...hang in there Jer.

After what you accomplished on Junior's tribute, I doubt anyone would dare question the dedication to the final result & your attention to detail. I doubt there are many of us who have the balls to execute, let alone attempt a tribute like this.

 

This is a hard thread to read because its just a story now. The only response to give is a kudo. I hope your not basing updates on responses. Its a good read, I like the traditional clones, just like the cackle car restos. Good reads. Kudos to you, keep er updated.

 

I've got to keep pushing jfrolka. If I just posted off of responses you guys would get cheated and, we would lollygag around forever. The story is what the story is. We're almost ready to break out into the sunshine.

 

Hi Jer!

I did get off easy since I was only going blind staring that DeWitt's tail lights and not an entire roof

I think you might be over-thinking it with measurements. I would start with an amount that you guys think is close to what Jesse and Sam took out when they chopped his Ford...then keep trimming more and more until you get it as close as possible. I don't think they moved the windshield up into the roof like Matranga's Merc...so that keeps things a little simpler.

 

Drag racing in the '60s and '70s was great wasn't it Jer!

I find the visibility out of the coupe surprisingly good. I do wonder how owners back in the day managed to maneuver in traffic and park without the peep mirrors though... Maybe the other drivers were more courteous back then!

I know your thread's timeline is a bit behind, but when you get to the point of revealing the chop I would be curious to compare some window measurements.

Keep on keepin' on..

Dave

 

There are 4 or 5 cars that we would like to get some info on. Some are old originals and some are fairly recent builds. In the end we are able get a hold of just 2 of these cars.The owners are given a brief explanation of why we want this info. We are able to talk with one builder right away and get his info. The last one takes about 6 weeks because he isn't where the car is.

As we all process the info we find that both are chopped about 5". This gives them an 11" windshield. This doesn't help at all other than confirming to me that Jesse's car is a heavy chop. I think that the 5" chop is pretty common and is what we are seeing out there these days.

I start thinking that there would be value in trying to talk to people that were there back in the day and remembered Jesse's car. I call and leave a brief message on George Barris's recorder explaining why I would like to talk to him. No reply. I call Gene Winfield and he does remember when Jesse brought his coupe up to the Oakland Roadster Show. He did think that Jesse's car was a heavy chop. I asked him about the sail panel slices Jesse is talking about. His reply was "you mean ribbon's, it's the way Dick Dean did his chops".

All this is Greek to Bob, he is new to this traditional scene and all these names and cars are not anything he knows much about. I keep thinking that he is hoping that the next discovery is going to save him. Which means that it proves me wrong once and for all.

 

One of the cool guys that I've met on this journey is Jesse's brother in law Bill Weiser. He married Jesse's sister Marge and their home in Downey is Jesse's home away from home. It's in walking distance from House of Color, Junior's shop. Jesse's '57 Bird is there and often they will be over there on Saturday. I tell Bill about the problem I'm having and he tells me about when Jesse was in Korea him and Memo (Jesse's brother) had that car until it was sold. They drove all over in the car. Memo was the driver and Bill would spot the car when it came time to park, back up etc. Bill says that the car was very difficult to drive because of how chopped it was. Memo asked him once if he wanted to drive and he said no because of that reason. WOW, great stuff.

During this break it is decided that we're going to get some new A pillar's and splice them in, I will buy them. Bob has found some for cheap. I keep thinking that even as bad as this situation is it's going to be best (for everybody) if this can somehow be successfully done in Bob's shop. To have to find somebody in Texas and then try and do this over will definitely doom any hope of the 2014 GNRS.

After some time passes the owner of one of the cars that we looked at contacts me. He says that he's been looking over all the pics really carefully and he thinks that Jesse's car IS chopped more than his is. He says that the headlights are about 7" in diameter on these cars. He can take a measurement off that light and move it up to the windshield and that windshield DOES look to be close to the 8" that I"ve been talking about. WHAT? HOT DAMN!

I'm a little bit reluctant to buy into this because of the distortion issue that I've been talking about and, that headlight is too far away from the windshield to be able to use like that. Hey, wait a minute, I do have a close up shot of the windshield and an Appleton spotlight that's right next to it. I happen to have an Appleton spotlight on one of the shelves in this room.

All right, that settles it for me. I don't care where your'e coming from, there it is. MUCHUS GRACIAS AMIGO.

 

Keep the faith Jer !!!

 

Todd, I'm referring to the guys that had the recent builds that we talked to. I don't know about Barris/Winfield. I'm going to give Bob the benefit of the doubt and say that he probably knows who they are. Besides, at this point Bob is where the young bull is, with all the darts in his back at the bullfights, not thinking rationally.