Screwing Big Bucks - Not Spending Them - Atomic Punk Update

I have been getting the occasional e-mail wondering what the hell I have been up to.

Well, I have been working the "real" job for a couple of months....and then I had to go away to the homeland of Carroll, Iowa for my grandma's funeral. Don't fret, she was 99 and lived a full life. She had spent the past 15 years in a nursing home though. It was there I realized that I have a lot of relatives! My grandma had 13 kids. I have 55 living cousins who have had 110 great grand babies. Now that is a lot of fuckin' isn't it???

Anywho. I have been squeezing some time in in the garage in between work and whatnot. I had to C-notch the frame on the Sea Hag so it would ride better without bottoming out on the axle.....I forgot to take pics of that but it was rather uneventful anyway.

I have been working on the grille of the Atomic Punk off and on squeezing in a few hours on it here and there. I don't know how much time I have in the damn thing, but I know it is a bunch. If I would have made it out of fiberglass I would have been done by now but that wasn't the point of the excercise....

So...I started with the round rod shape of the grille that I wanted and I welded it to the chassis of the car. Then I laid some paper out and made a rough template of the shape I wanted.

 

I fought and wrastled the sheet of steel into a rough shape and I began to roll the contours in the English wheel.....

I got it pretty close, but I couldn't really tell where the straight edges needed to be. So I ran to the local Menard's store when I got off of work, grabbed a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood and came home and made a buck for the grille. I think I used it for a whole minute to mark the edges and trimmed them up. It looks pretty cool laying around the garage though. People come in and see that buck laying there and think that I really know what I am doing! ha ha ha

 

Funerals suck, but I'm glad to hear you got to see your relatives. That grille is looking tasty.

 

Well the whole thing kept flopping about so i thought I would make up the structure for the back side of the grille and weld it to the frame too.

Since I had taken the time to make that nifty wooden buck, I whipped it out and bent some round rod over it and welded it to a support that I then welded to the frame.

 

Now that I had a rigid structure to work from, I used the english wheel to roll out the curves and tighten up the clearances on the metal.

Once i got the rear to fit right, I tacked the metal into place onto the rear structure of the grille. I then cut it all loose and began wheeling, and fitting, and wheeling and fitting, and wheeling and fitting, the grille shell to the grille opening. As I got the metal to fit the contours better, I kept trimming off the excess until it fit nicely...

 

Ok here is where it pays off a little to be a tool junkie.

I have one of the MetalAce bead rollers and used the Ron Covell roundover dies to roll the edge of the metal over to meet the round rod structure. I then clamped it all down and welded it to the round rod opening.

It was then time to do the ever important check with the front end on to make sure it would actually fit on the car. I did some trimming and whatnot to make room for the next addition....the headlight pods....

 

So I have this cache of 59 Plymouth headlights that I got from Rashy. I figured they would look OK on the car since the main chunk of it is also 59 Plymouth.

I took the sheetmetal surrounds and cut them up a bit and welded them onto the grille.

I sitll need to do a lot of work here and use my buddy's Pullmax to make the rounded pods to attach to the grille. I need to do a lot o0f shrinking to get them to work and I don't think the english wheel is versatile enough to do the job. I made some rolled tubes on the slip roll but they were just too square to look right...so this is where I leave you....to be continued.......someday......hopefully soon.

 

WOW we get to what the lab looks like. Like how you made the frame and used it to help you make the curve you wanted. Sorry to hear about Grandma and think maybe old age runs in the family so you might make it to 100 building space cars. keep us posted. Do you think it will be ready for round up 2008.

 

It's looking good! What kind of junk did you find on your trip to Iowa?

 

Looking Good. I Dig The Headlights

 

Looks good,

Is your motor back yet or is that still the mockup block?

 

you're supposed to screw the split tail - not the bucks.

 

You know me, i get a bit confused at times. ha ha ha

Tyler, that is the real (Heavy) motor in there...

 

Too much candle smoke for you, young lad....

Charlie

 

"The force is strong with this one."

Doc.

 

Your car just keeps getting more and more gay every time I see it.

Did you go up north this weekend?

 

Plowboy, I wish you were my cousin.

 

Just insane, I love it. It's looking great Aaron.

 

I thought this might of had something to do with Ted Nugent. Your stuff always amazes me.Seen the lander at live fast last summer.Cool beans.

 

So this means there's more than one buck in the garage now?

 

Its better that we aren't related Nads, that way we don't get that creepy feeling when make out.

Ron, as for the roundup, hopefully....my goal is to get it to Detroit next year......as for the old age part, I think the cheeseburgers and beer are going to send me to my maker sooner than later......

 

OK Plowwizard...the front end looks terrific! Inspiring, in fact.
Now, as to the dietary contributions...we, thats you, me, and that school of unfortunates you find yourself entertaining, do become what we eat...sorry, it is tough news.
So, what would an old bird like myself suggest? Hmmm, well I'd keep food and beverages that serve, and add joy to life. Cause frankly, that's why they have evolved. Beer and Clotted CHol covered burgers? Yep. I have learned that once in a while, as a treat, they are supremely delicious!

----moved to the plowlite herbal bin!-----

Best of luck to you! Pitman

 

uuuugh, squash, I can't stand the sport or the vegetable.

Cabbage though, that stuff rules.

 

I'm from Texas and I like Broccoli

 

nice.

 

I am the ruler of these netherworlds
The underground. Whoa, yes
Nobody rules these streets at night but me
The Atomic Punk!

 

I just asked my mom, and apparently I'm a Plowboy too! Apparently he's my cousin's uncle's mother's brother. I think I'll just start calling him Dad.

Dude, that's fucking rad. Mount the headlights lower.

 

Lookin good buddy.

Can i pose next to it at rock n rods with my banana hammock?

 

Ted Nugent called and wants to know what the fuck is going on down there?!

Lookin' good Aaron.