I've been working to improve my metalworking/fab skills the past several years. I bought tools, videos, and have gradually been increasing the complexity of my projects. I've been repairing the body on my 48 Plymouth coupe and it's been coming along really well. Some of the builds on here are downright amazing. I scrapped out a 48 Dodge sedan last year and decided to save these parts to see if I can build a decent looking roadster body. I figure it's free and it's not a high $$$ classic so even if I blow it it'll be a lot of good practice and I won't destroy something nice. What I've got is the cowl and the back half. I plan on cutting the bottom 6 inches off all the way around. chopping and laying back the widshield frame, and narrowing the body by 5 inches. The doors will be suicide doors since they're already hinged that way. I have the rear clip although it's not shown here. I have the hood; I'm undecided on the grill but i do know that I want it fenderless all the way around with a Model A based frame. I know a lot of you are thinking,"throw the whole piece of crap away and forget it." But after I saw the Atomic Punk bubbletop that was recently build from the back half of a 59 Plymouth Savoy, I think I can do this or at least learn a lot trying. The big question is where to start; should I be building a chassis first or concentrating on the tub? OOPS! I misspelled roadster on the thread title, not a good start.
What ever you end up doing make sure it's safe enought that you don't build a Roaster..LOL.............
F#$k 'em if they don't like it. Do what you want, you'll have a lot of fun for cheap. It'll surely draw the looks. You might want to at least build a simple jig approx. The size of the frame you're going to use. Might be helpful holding things in alignment.
I had that coming; good lesson to always use spellcheck to keep from looking like an illiterate..or is it iliteret....or maybe illetterite?
Hang in there sunshine and it will all come together. As to where to start depends on your specific project and to what extent and condition the car is at the time. If you want a full blown hot rod then it really not to important where you start since it all has to be done. A frame on a pair of saw horses can be worked on as well as the body in the other corner. That breaks up the boredom and you don't burn out working for weeks on one thing. Throw in a motor stand with block and you have 3 options to mess with.
I worked on this a little more last weekend. I got the rest of the body cut down, narrowed the rear clip 7" and tacked everything together for a test fit. I think if I shorten the rear wheel well openings it'll look better. The idea of using a Model A frame isn't going to work so I'll build one if and when I get the tub to look right. It's still just an idea but i believe there's a little progress in the right direction.
Are you having fun? Building skills? does it keep your interests? than thats all that counts as for the spelling,,,no one is perfect. I dont use a spell check to do my spelling for me..its a crutch. SFW if i blow out a few mis-spelled words, this isnt a MENSA board
After seeing Plowboy's Atomic Punk in an issue of Rod and Custom; I had to give this a shot. That dude is a genius.
Neat concept! It'll be interesting to watch your progress. And FWIW, an open car on a very hot day can definitely be called a "roaster". lol
Good luck, and have fun learning. I'd narrow it maybe 18",what ever it takes to try and get good proportions. Shortening the wheelwells shows you are on the right track. If it doesn't work out so what.
I love it. I think your gonna be pleased with the way it turns out. I love things that are not the norm. rock on!
I don't doubt that it is dooable, actually look like fun. Now this is just opinion so don't take it the wrong way but if it were mine I wouldn't loos the bottom 6" of the body I would section it and keep the lower reveal. OK disregard everything in bold I didn't realize when I posted that you had already given it a whack. Looks good the way you did it anyway. Grill wise you might consider something along the lines of a '36ish GM. Kinda of comes out to a point in the middle but is pretty narrow. Take a look at one and just think about it for a bit. If nothing else it'll give you an idea of what you like better. Never the less go for it the worse that can happen is it won't work out right?
Thanks, I certainly am not any sort of genious, but if you want my take, first I would make some smooth skins for the cowl sides to get rid of the unsightly lines where the fenders bolted up. Then I would try chopping away all of the red areas on the C-pillar, removing the package tray, and laying the black area down flat. That would give you a curve for the rear of the passenger compartment. As for the side wheelwells, I don't know what I would do there, that area is going to be tricky. Maybe just fill them completely and keep the wheels on the outside of the body, but I would definitely make them shallower to allow for more room on the inside. You could paint them a different color to emulate the wheelwell coves on a Buick Skylark, but they should probably be made smaller. Maybe fill the rear after the wheels and leave the front a cove. I dunno, but whatever you do there will make or break it. You also need to be finding a rear end that will fit your car immediately. They are a lot harder to come by than you think. Try a Chevy truck rear end as they are wide and the pinion is more or less centered on them.... .....and drink lots of beer.
Looks interesting...I'd take and move the wheel well (the area by the door) back, and maybe make it a little rounder...And then see if you could make the trunk area a tad longer...Some sort of DuVall type windsheild would look sweet...I think it would need a hood with sides too, to look right (to cover up the cowl area) like mentioned before, 36ish GM products would work there (even a '37-8 Chevy, hood, grille, and sides would look good) run some cycle type fenders, paint it a nice dark color (navy blue, maroon, dark green, dark purple, gun metal) and a dark interior too. With white walls, maybe artillery wheels (maybe chevies?) Look up flyinbrians Fordillac, same principel but not shortened...very cool car. And now for the final deal...if you want a '36 Chevy grill, hood, and sides, oh and the artillery wheels...I know a guy that would love to get rid of one.....either the whole damn thing or parts... *edit* I changed my mind on the longer trunk area, in the pic I looked at it looked way short, but it's not that bad... Plowboy is right on the wheel wells though...They're gonna make or break the whole deal.
I had no idea I was so close to being capable of this type of work! I'm halfway there! Not really........ I always feel bad having input on builds like this, as I've NO WHERE near the skills needed to pull this off, but I THINK this may help you some. Remove about 12/16 inches through the wheel tub. Maybe reverse the opening of the trunk lid for a rumble seat?
Thanks for all the input! I think you've got something there with the photoshop; that's about what I was thinking on the wheel well shape, but I was thinking of cutting the front edge between the front of the wheel well and the back of the door, moving it back and forming a quarter panel in between. i've got the hood and trunklid so I'm going to try and work them into the deal. Right on about the "C" pillar; that's pretty much what I had in mind. Next step is to get the garage cleaned out to get some proper space for this. I'm going to put some temporary floor braces in to sturdy it up and get this thing up on a body cart or a stand where I can work on it easier. It'll probably be a little while, I'm finishing the paint on my kid's Firebird and still have my 48 Plymouth project to work on. But at least it's starting to look like a real possibility.
I like that photo chop, kinda takes on a Bantam look. Consider some bobbed fenders in the rear (maybe model A or whatever you can score cheap) and cycle fenders up front.
what about moving the wheel well to the back side and making it have a longer backed mid 30's roadster look to it.
You might want to check over on MetalMeet.com, they are having their annual meet not far from you in October.
I think you are on the right path,, and I also think the "Roaster" should stick with the build. Keep up the good work.
Dang dude! Jumping the gun a bit aren't you? I didn't see any negatives as of yet. You must have gotten your balls busted a bit on here. Take it easy.
You need a body to mock up a frame .Follow your vision.Ask Pat pryor who said it couldn't be done Home made hot rod.Look at all the wild customs out there.Take your time and Don't ever use diamond plate in your ride.Keep it traditional and don't be afraid to think outside the box.
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