Projects Tim's (aka anothercarguy) 1938 Ford Club Cabriolet Build Thread

Might be...good thinking... @The 39 guy, Sam do you know the width of the rear bow for your car?

 

Beautiful work!

 

I'll give it a try.


This may be hard to read. These horizontal measurements are taken on the wood side of the vertical
bracket that the header is screwed to.
At the base of the wood it is 49 13/16"
At the top of the vertical bracket it is 47"
I ran a straight edge across the top of the wood and measured down to the top of the vertical bracket/stanchion and came up with 6"

 

[QUOTE="The 39 guy, post: 14951122,
These horizontal measurements are taken on the wood side of the vertical
bracket that the header is screwed to.
At the base of the wood it is 49 13/16"
At the top of the vertical bracket it is 47"
[/QUOTE]

Hi Sam, nope...too wide for a convertible sedan as well. This thing is 57" wide (outside to outside). I compared it to my '48 Convert (project in waiting) and it looks like it might fit. I'll hold onto it until I dig into that car.

In the mean time, I had a couple hours this afternoon and was in the mood for a small, but fun project. So I spent a couple hours playing with the milling machine and lathe and came up with my top iron/header clamping screws. The epoxy is still setting, but should be could to go tomorrow.

 

Well those are sure better looking than the ford knobs! I'll take 7 of them!

 

Milling machine. Lathe...mmm.

Can I trade you? I have a hammer.

 

Tony, there are days when I might consider taking you up on that trade offer!

I don't have a huge update (I'm still waiting for a few convertible top frame bits and pieces, including a new rear wood bow). I've been working on figuring out the electrical for some non-HAMB friendly computer controlled seats I was planning on using. I want the electrical adjustment the seats offer but without the computer control and memory stuff...anyway, I temporarily hit the wall on that project and decided to change the subject. Today was a nice day, so I thought I would remove the rear fenders and roll the car partially out of the shop and make outside dust (way better than inside dust!!). I finally stripped the last of the old primer off the quarter panels and the panel above the decklid.

 

On those clamping screws, I don't know if they are captured or not, but IF I was doing them, I'd include a fingertip size divot in the center, so you can pres the threads in straight, then spin the outer edges. Your work is fantastic, just something I saw.

 

And, while the rear fenders were off, a 3M purple abrasive wheel on a side grinder, another one on the die grinder and a quick dusting in the hard to reach places with the sand blaster took the inside of the rear fenders from this:

to this:

Again, more outside dust. Before they get primer, I'll treat them with phosphoric acid to neutralize any remaining rust in any of the small pits.

 

I thought you did some really scungy welding to fill the tail light hole in the 'after' picture...until I realised it was the ground I could see through it.

 

Lol...you're looking way too hard...but I see what you mean!

 

It's good to see the inside of those fenders. You can really see how extensive and complicated the repairs were to save the fenders. Great work !

 

Thanks Sam. It might be time for another update.

I've been working on a few "little things"...First up, was a trunk prop. I've been using a broken hockey stick as my prop for the past few years (I am after all a Canadian eh!), but decided this was not going to be my long term solution. I purchased a telescoping door support from a hardware supply company. I used this type of prop on my roadster and found them to work really well, and at less than $25 Canadian, they meet my frugal nature. Lift the decklid all the way open, then let it drop about an inch and the decklid is supported, lift it up again and the decklid is released. The key to the operation is a little star wheel that rotates to toggle between lock and unlock every time it's moved. I found a company that had them in 3 lengths, I purchased the middle size. I had to cut the rivets off on one of the end brackets in order to reverse it for my application. Here are a couple photos. This is the star wheel that locks and unlocks as it rotates.
I made and welded a small threaded plate on the decklid to help distribute the force of the support. On the lower side, I did the same and welded it into place where the factory support bracket ties the trunk lip to the wheel well. I didn't take any photos of me in the trunk with the decklid closed to determine the correct position and alignment of the plates/brackets.

Once that project was done, I decided another quick project would be installing the gas pedal. My goal is to get most of the welding done before I blow the car apart and begin spraying the primer. Nothing too fancy here, just another plate with studs protruding to hold the gas pedal in place. The gas pedal was a swap meet find (I know it's a bit "street roddy"...but it solves the issue, and met my frugality meter again).

The next project is one that I've been working through my head for a while now. The hood latch. After looking at some of the "street rod kits" on offer, I realized that they are little more than re-purposed VW components...so I found a supplier for the VW latch, striker and cable at less than 1/3 the cost of the "kit".

I didn't want to use the original "hood ornament twister" that came on the car, but some of the original pieces proved to be useful. Here are photos of the original "hood bridge" complete with the slot that the "wire" latch centers in on and the "wire latch" that ties the front fenders and grill together. The latch would rotate to grab a hold of the wire to hold the hood shut. I decided I could use the hood bridge.
The bridge needed some additional reinforcement as it would be used in a manner that it was never intended. As well, I hope to eliminate a weak point where the bridge meets the hood flange (it was cracked in the area). Using nothing but the finest and latest version of CAD (cardboard assisted design), I began creating additional support for the hood bridge and tacked them into place.

I then cut out the "wire" slot and and replaced it with metal that was drilled to accept the new hood latch. I also made a plate with welded nuts to sandwich the hood bridge between it and the latch. The holes in the bridge were drilled purposefully large to allow hood latch adjustment.

Followed by full welding and grinding.

While the hood was on the bench, it was also a good time to fill the original hood ornament latch release holes.

Placing the hood back on the car, the first issue became readily apparent...too many things trying to occupy the same space. So, as is the hotrod mantra, begin removing stuff that's in the road!

Upon closing the hood again, the second issue became very apparent...the bridge was not perpendicular to the car! The latch was tilted rearward about 8 degrees.

Hood off...take II.

That was better. With the hood closed and the side panels off, I installed the striker onto the latch so I knew where in three dimensional space it needed to be. I then built temporary support legs to it, so I could open the hood and keep the striker in place.

I decided the original "wire" latch mechanism also served as a structural triangulation component for the front grill and fenders, so it needed to remain in place and be re-triangulated. It could also be used to hold the sheet metal that would ultimately hold the striker. So this is where I landed with that. I also sectioned the previously cut down grill centre panel and tacked it back into place to give a nice finished edge (I still need to fully weld it in).

 

I apparently ran out of the number of photos I could post so had to carry on the update onto to a second post.

Continuing...I then cut a couple pieces of plywood to create a hammer form over which I could fold a flange on the panel that will hold the striker. I didn't take any photos of the process, but just imagine a plywood sandwich using sheet metal as the meat, and wildly thumping around the edge with a hammer until a 90 degree flange is made. I then used the shrinker to bring it around and match the hood side panel profile. I do still need to add a couple more bolting tabs to hold the panel in it's final resting place.

Full disclosure, this was the third attempt at the panel...I had tried "fancying" it up using the step dies in my bead roller...but the confines of the panel were too tight and I didn't care for the results...so plain it will be. And lastly, an overall photo of the car in shiny metal with all primer except for the lower 1/2 of the grill removed.

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all!

 

Very nice work, Tim. That hood latch is slick and the whole project is really coming along.

 

See (waves finger in general direction of all modern automakers), that's how to make the underhood pretty and functional, NOT a big blob of plastic!

 

Hey, Tim;
Ohhh, so nice work. .
What are you going to do to seal the air from flowing over the top of the radiator. Sheetmetal panel from rad top to bottom of latch panel? Just curious w/that design of hood, grill, n side louvers.
TIA.
Marcus...

 

Thanks Marcus...good question. I'm not sure yet. I need to add side panels to direct air into the rad rather tban letting it pass by the sides. While I make the side panels, I'll look at the need for panels on the bottom and top.

 

Nice and clean.

 

Thanks, I was wondering about those too. Although I kinda figured the side panels would just be covers for the rad/fender U-shaped side-supports - if they didn't fill things out already, but I don't remember what you did there anymore. & figured a chin-plate would be used. Thanks.
Marcus...

 

Pretty doggone slick - very, very nice ……

 

That’s really turning in to a beautiful piece of work! That panel and latch is genius.

 

Thanks guys...you're making me blush!

 

It's been awhile since I've updated this thread. House guests, 3 weeks in Italy, fall preparations for winter etc. has meant limited time in the shop...but there has been some progress made.

Next up, I wanted to get seats figured out and then mounted. I say figured out because the seats are not really HAMB friendly (as such, I even debated posting this on the build thread, but decided the metal shaping/fabrication/problem solving might make it worthwhile) . When I found the seats listed for sale on our little island, they were priced right, the leather was a color that fit our plan, in great condition and were very comfortable. But, they looked like they belonged in a "street rod". I wrestled with whether or not to buy them (price, condition, location and comfort finally won out). They came from one of those late model German cars with the 4 Olympic looking rings in the logo. They had built in heating, cooling, fans (4 in each seat!), electric movement in every direction imaginable, adjustable lumbar and have many memory functions all controlled by a built-in "confuser" located under each seat. . My plan was to ditch everything but the electric adjustments. Seemed easy enough in my mind except when tested, the switches that controlled the movements spoke only to the "confusers" in a language (pulses) only they understood. So, I needed to install new switches in a very tight space. I contemplated my options and after some testing decided to adapt switches from a GM product (that spoke directly to the motors in a simple "on" and "off" language) which meant I needed to replace the original plastic trim panels to make room for the new larger switches. I figured I could duplicate them in steel and either paint or upholster them to match later.

So, I just had to make 2 of these...in steel (note, the large cut out was my effort to determine how much space the new switches needed and whether there was enough space behind the panel).

I made a bunch of cardboard templates which were then transferred to steel and cut out. Over the years, I can't count how many times I've accidently made 2 panels for the same side when I actually needed one for each side! So now I'm very careful to mark top, bottom, left side ride side etc. on any templates and panels.

After cutting, planishing, English wheeling, shrinking and stretching, hand manipulating, fitting, welding and then finally grinding...

I had 2 panels that were close enough to the originals that they fit the seats, but had enough room in the area needed for the new larger switches.

And lastly the product being fit in place (still need to cut out and mount switches in this photo).
Once I'm done with these, I will get to installing them in the car, mounting seat belts etc.

 

that seat panel stuff is great! that could be easily transferred to use in T Bird or any 60s gm bucket or really any seat with lower trim panels.

 

Nice work. I would cover them with fabric,JMO

 

That was a lot of work Tim and nicely done! I'm glad you took a chance and shared this project with us.

 

I was just thinking about your build a few days ago and wondering if I had missed an update. As always really great work.

 

Hey, Tim;
Very nice job. I think you're going to really like those seats. I'm to the point I'd've left the "fancy manipulating devices" in place so's I could benefit from them(wife & I are very different in height/leg length & favored driving position = memory seats are more than an "unneeded-extra". & the other "comfort-items" are appreciated the older I get... ;( ). But the comment is on the panel edge-finishing. I'd weld on, or make, a rolled edge so's no sharp edge was "near" the upholstery, esp when sitting in them. Have experienced material-wear over many factory cars & aftermarket seats(granted, lots were in buses w/300+lbs of chunk killing them, but still...), & it's a bit disheartening to have the material scuff to the point of wearing thru/tearing. Doesn't take much - or long - to look really crappy.
FWIW.
Marcus...

 

Thanks for the positive comments guys. Good comment on the rolled edge Marcus. I have a small rolled edge (welded an 1/8" welding rod to the bottom side of the sheet metal and ground smooth) along the seat bottom, but after testing, will need to add where the contact the seat back to provide protection when it's adjusted. As for keeping the other comfort features, because they all required inputs, signals and sensors to and from the "confusers", I had no interest in figuring them out. I have used aftermarket seat heaters in the past (and my old back and but appreciate them!), and may use them here as well.