no not going to weld the guard cause i think the local chrome shop will kill me when they try and plate it. so it will be bolted on. ill use the stock 2 bolt locations on the guard (i torched them off) will weld a new nut then drill two holes on the bumper to line up, also using the pipe (see pics below) i plan to make a second mount behind the bumper. thanks for the kind words fellas! more progress made this weekend. the floor work is shaping up nicely. worked on the transmission cover and tunnel. hand formed 18 gauge sheet-metal using only wood blocks, a hammer and an oxygen tank... used one of my oxygen tanks to form the tunnel and hand hammered the 2 lips: so the front part is about done. going to move to the trunk next. also worked on the Kaiser guard. welded the bullets to the top bar: blended the welds: cut a piece of for better flow (i think): here you can see that now the vertical bar has matching front and rear angle so it looks more uniform in profile: got a 6" long 3" outside diameter thick wall pipe, trimmed the bullets to weld it up: cut the bumper using a torch to allow the new pipes to slip in: hard to see here, but the pipes are welded and blended to the Kaiser bullets for a smooth finish. later exhaust pipes will simply slip into the large pipes about 1" so they are not visible:
thanks! today i was able to wrap up the floor work upto the notch. the notch sheet-metal is ready to go as soon as i put a few bends in it. in the mean time took the original Rochester off the '61 283 and tore it down to be rebuilt. also got a 3 duece set-up that i might use, but not sure on that yet. while doing my daily research (basically looking at the pics of the shoebox Paul Bragg worked on) noticed a b-pillar lower brace, so i improvised and made my own. knowing that when the roof comes off there would be tons of work to do, figured the roof should come off tonight. tomorrow and sunday plan to chop the front windshield, think 4" will suffice, and going to cut out the rear package tray so that i can move it forward. this will elongate the trunk and give the profile the appearance of a real convertible.
Man, you are insane. I friggin love what you are doing. I have to think about it for a week before I spray primer on a panel. I wish I had your mentality.
Saturday progress... tapped out 4" to be removed from A-pillar: with the a-pillars complete, decided to shave the wipers and washer hole, along with a bolt that was in the center of the top firewall. blended the welds a bit too: cut out the rear package tray. moved it forward 6" then another inch for a total of 7. after analyzing countless profile pics of Carson / Gaylord top shoeboxes i think this will put the new roof where it needs to be:
I like the fact that you have the patience to fix it right BEFORE cutting onn the roof. Some guys just whack it off and THEN fix the rockers, floor, bracing, and wonder why it lines up like shit. Lookin good. And lookin forward to the great outcome. Good work.
Thanks for those back bumper photos! I really like how you handled exiting the exhaust through those bullets. I'm planning something similar, and this really shows how to do it. Nice work.
I am not a custom guy, but I really like the work your doing with this one. That rear bumper with the exhaust through the tips is just flat bitchin', and your moving the package tray forward is something that most that do this sort of thing don't bother with. I can't wait to see what you do with the top of the windshield frame to finish this beast out. You sir "get it"!
thank you all! Sunday progress... not too much to show for today, took the Buick out for a nice cruise with my pal. then once he headed off i stuck to the shop and pushed forward on the package tray work. started off by making a paper template: followed by splitting it into 2 and making them out of 18 gauge, worked one side at a time: then worked the driver side: in the end the 7" gap is filled. everything lined up nicely and its all tacked in place:
looking great!! cant wait to see how ya do the carson top!! lots of details please of how you are going to mount it and the attachment points latches etc...
after the acid bath, the carb got cleaned, detailed and rebuilt: hoped in my shop truck this morning and drove North for a good 2 hours, what for? Vert doors! got back to the shop and placed them on the car, they will need some adjusting to look at home but they are worth the effort.
Man, what a score on the 49? convert doors I've been following this thread thinking that if I did one, I'd want conv doors. I also am getting interested in shoeboxes... get this story.. When I was a teen in the 60s, my car friends and I would see a 50 2dr sticking out of a shed at a local farm. Reputed to be low miles. The old dude would never answer the door. By the mid 70s, the car and buildings were gone... A few days ago I was working at a woman's house near there. She was complaining about her 55 yr old brother leaving cars behind when he moved overseas 25+ years ago....she then said; " he even saved our uncles old Ford" , "do you want to see it?"..... Well, sad to say it's rotting into the dirt in a makeshift open lean-to. It took me 5 minutes with PB blaster to get the door open to read the mileage.... 23,780 miles...one owner, 1969 tags on the car..
I know where there are a bunch of vic doors in my neck of the woods? let me know if you need directions? M.