This is true and in some cases still is. Check out Artie's (550coupe) coupe that's goin' fast on Olds!
Absolutely! I did mine without the fender split at first, and also before paint. Didn't take long to reaalise you'll always need a second helper every time you open the frontend if you don't split the fender drops! I often had to open mine and couldn't find a helper, and no matter how I tried I ended up with s****e marks on the doors where the fenders rubbed. I finally cut the lower fenders off and attched them to the body, then built in latch plates, and used hood latches from a old Datsun/Nissan late 70's PU to hold the frontend closed:
go tilt man ! and i say use the steel as well. check out shakey puddins build. he shows how he set up the steel front clip for tilt
regarding your question: if I was buying your car, I would expect to pay less, or offer less, if it had a fibergl*** front end. BUT, as others have said, this hobby is not about resale value........
Stay away from Unlimited junk. I bought a 55 a year ago that they had converted the steel front clip to tilt. I had to do quite a bit of work to it to make it usable and keep in mind it is a two man job to tilt it. Also remember that if you put a nice paint job on it you will eventually ding the paint doing this no matter how careful you are.
You are long past worrying about affecting the "value" of that particular car. It's already another hacked up 55 Chevy tudor with hogged out wheel wells in the wanna be a g***er look. No reason not to put a gl*** front end on it now as it will make it a hell of a lot easier to work on the engine than hunting for something to stand on to work on the engine. Not that I don't like the looks of a well built 55 Chevy G***er style car but worrying about if putting a gl*** nose on a car that already has the rear wheel wells cut out is wasted worry. If you go to sell it you will either find someone who is a g***er nut who will fork over the cash for it otherwise it will probably end up as a "saved" ex g***er one of these days when we see a build thread on it by someone putting it back into a more streetable version. Several years ago one of the main things that caused me to burn out in the hot rod hobby was the constant barrage of "what's it worth?" questions by spectators at any and all car related events I attended whether it be cruise night at McDonalds or GoodGuys the mouthbreathing hord wasn't interested in how many hours I had in the truck or how fast it would go but only what it would sell for. That's when I bailed and went sailing where my boat friends could give a rip what my boat's worth as long as it floats. I got most of my enthusiasm back because the majority of the guys on the Hamb are more interested in how well built and authentic your build is and not what it's potential resale value is or if a gl*** nose on a 55 g***er will make a value difference over a steel nose on a 55 g***er.
It doesn't have to be a 2 man job. Here are some pics of the steel tilt front end I did for my 56 Chevy back in the 80's. There is a small wheel hidden behind the lower corner of each fender that rolls down the cowl as the front end is lowered. This holds the fender clear of the door. It first contacts the aluminum piece that you see bolted to the cowl. The fenders etc were all bolted together and nothing was cut up or welded other than the hole in the hood and radiator support modified into a hinge. I had it set up so I could run with or without the hood.
Here's another 57 I did.. And a few more I did.. I'm a tilt guy.. Some will like it, And some will not..
I posted that only so you guys would have another construction idea to look at while developing your hinging and fastening systems. The XK-E used a slide pin on each side that you accessed in the door jamb.
OK - Let's raise the hood too You absolutely NEED a TILT front end!!! Steel is nice - easier to keep the hood functional that way... Stock bumper mounts to this bracket which doubles as pivot point and has built in stop:
I would not be afraid of Unlimited fibergl***, they are no worse than any other manufature these days. Any front end you get is going to need some work to make it fit correctly. This is their front end.
I did a liftoff setup with the Unlimited unit. It is not the most convenient design but it makes really easy to work on.
I have a full tilt metal on my dodge g***er .I wanted it so it is a one man operation. It rolls forward about 5" on garage door rollers.I use a trunk latch to lock it closed. I made a flat plate on both sides that slides on a platform built on the cowl. This controls the height. then I have a blade like deal that is attached to the bottom of the fender and slides into a slot cut in the cowl.
Here is a fibergl*** one I did a few years ago, can't remember who made it. Expanded metal strips get gl***ed over.
Im running 3in x 12in long bullet mufflers commonly found on circle track stuff....its a muffler but not....lol...(like a giant see thru)
Value is what you want to build and drive in your own mind. Everything has a different value to different people, who cares. Build what you want and enjoy the hell out of it.
The Jalopy Journal
