Hot Rods Modified Murray - or is it the "Butchered Briggs"??

Been awhile. Thought I would do an update, being it's Friday and all...

There has seriously been a TON of work going on! I'm numb to the actual amount at this point. I just keep working on tasks and keep crossing them off little by little.

Up to this point, I've had to do a lot of "fixing", reshaping, redoing, etc. etc. etc.... It has to be all or nothing with this car or it's just going to look like crap... or more than it does right now.

So here's what I've done since the last update...

* The Hemi is at the machine shop as well as anything else that needed machining. Should have it back next week. Have just about everything I need to start building it up.

* Sub-structure is done. Resembles a roll cage, but I seriously doubt it would pass any kind of real NHRA or SCTA rules. None the less I did it to reinforce the body and provide at least a little more safety, if that's possible.

* Reshaping the roof has been a REAL drag! Lots of bumping and dolly work as well as the shrinking disc and I being real close lately.

* Reshaped the quarter windows as well as raised the passenger side door top up. This was a biggy and a TON of work, but I think the lines are a huge improvement.

* The visor is perminantly mounted and blended to the roof.

* I made drip rails but they still need some finishing touches to look exactly how I want them

* Started the transmission tunnel

* Made a dash panel

* Steering is hooked up

* Front brakes are put together and ready to be plumbed

* Front shocks are mounted and all the links have been fabbed.

* OH! And I found out it's NOT a Murray bodied sedan... it's a BRIGGS!!

LOTS done!! And tons I haven't mentioned and tons I'm NOT going to mention until later...

Here's a couple pictures to get you started. I'll post them and try to explain as I go. They're taking forever to load because PhotoBucket is taking forever with all the pictures I have in there. Be patient as I get them all up... Thanks!





Nope! Tank isn't done yet...







Sellers Equipped scoops...



My best friends one day...



How it looked before...







Looks about right



My nasty looking welds...



Taking the welds down and a bit of file work



Smoothed out



This is pretty much the way I'm seeing it... but I'm still tired.




I have a TON of pictures and stuff to tell you about... Give me a bit to take a breather and then I'll start loading some more.

 

Hey Scoot, looks GOOD!

 

Awesome Scooter. That thing is pretty rad no matter whether it's a Murray or Briggs or whatever! Cool to see you are making good progress.

 

So how are you planning on rounding over the edge of the driprails (re your blog)?

 

Those brake ducts look great, what did you make them out of?

 

Okay, so I did some work to the Quarter windows based on some reactions of some individuals opinions that I greatly respect. They mostly confirmed my feelings, but it's always good to get an unbiased, outside eye to look at your work and get their input.

So... because all the other work wasn't enough I decided the tops of the quarter windows were just going to have to get changed so they would flow better into the door shape... Ton of work but I think the result was worth it. Not sure if you guys can tell, but I can.



Drip rail line will have to get changed... YIKES!






AHHH! Scary!! Had to reshape the drip rail line to match the new shape of the window though...







Tacked



Forgot to get a picture of the driver's side done, but here's the passenger side.



TONS more... hold on... Drip rail fab next!

 

Stever Sellers made them! Steve rules!

I'll get to the drip rails and the rest in a minute... gotta' grab some grub!

 

No you dont young man~! Now sit back down and finish this post!

 

Those are the details that make projects like yours stand out. It's worth the effort. Now put a gradual arc into the top of the door!

 

Looking great as always Scooter! Keep em coming!!!!

 

DUDE! SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Epic. Just freakin epic.

 

Scooter, I've been enjoying seeing this go together, keep it up man shes getting there

 

Okay... Turkey, bacon, avocado sandwich slammed down and back to business...

Let's talk drip rails. I'm having some serious issues with PhotoBucket today. It's taking me waaaay too long to get this stuff down on the screen...

Was talking to Jimmy White and Matt Proctor from Circle City a while back and was asking how they did some drip rails on one of their coupes. With tips from those guys I decided to go that route or at least give it a shot and I liked the result.

I simply started with some 5/8" thin-walled square tubing and started messing with it until the shape was what I was looking for. Took awhile to get it just right. Jimmy used a tubing roller with square dies, but since I didn't have one I used a vise and just went VERY slow. It kinked a little as I went so once I got the shape I was looking for I simply dollied the "dings" out.

I'm going to flip flop my pictures from passenger to driver's side just because the pictures were more clear this way.

Sizing up the situation...





After it all the lines looked right it was time to stick on there...

I fully welded these drip rails on. I don't want any moisture to get between the body and the rail. Spot welding is just not enough. Plus, I have some roof line issues and I need a good guide to get the shape right and this will help as well bring even more strength to that portion of the roof.



Mark it out for the outside cut...



I smoothed the weld out first since I could use the top of the tubing as a guide and it's getting cut out anyway, so...



Showing the finished cut on the other side... VUA LA! Drip rails...





There's still a crap load of finishing works that needs to be done so the shape is right. The obvious thing here is that they are sort of squared off looking. I'm going to roll the edge so it's less boxy looking. This is risky. These actually match the coupe rails very closely. But the Slant Windshield cars had the same gutters as the '32 had. It was wild looking by comparison. That's just about impossible to mimic on the car, but I'm going to make an attempt. I'll use a piec of round stock that will match the shape of the rail and then use a wedge and form the rail side over it. In theory, it should work and should turn out nice if I take my time.

Here's this picture again, now that you've seen the gutter installation...



Okay, more to tell. I'll keep going and then reply to your comments when I'm done...

 

I like what you did with the windows, real nice.

 

Scooter, that's not just cool, but, it's hyper-cool!

 

Okay... on to other stuff so you don't have to keep looking at all my unfinished body work. So much more to do in that department. It's going to keep me busy FOR SURE!



Subfloor is pretty much done, so it was on to supporting the rest of the body... How about some structure... we all need a little of that in our life, right? I added some inside my car.





That ought to hold things in place. Like everything else, there's finish work to be done and I want to tie the top loop into the C-pillar a little better and it still needs to be welded into the B-pillar but I can't do that until the door jams are complete and the quarter window regulators are mounted or at least mounting is deterimined.

So on to the floors! I was super excited to get started on the transmission tunnel and it's nice to finally be to that point. That's a good sign! So here's how I strarted...





The piece that goes over the shifter and e-brake was super tricky. Some shrinking and stretching, some e-wheeling and here's what I got...



The transmission tunnel will be REMOVABLE! It's the only way to get the transmission out since I elected to make the transmission crossmember stationary.

So just to add to the progression on the interior I decided to make a template for the dash as well.



Feels like arts and crafts time, boys and girls!



Okay... what the hell. I'll go ahead and just make the dash while I'm at it...

1/8" aluminum. I think it's 5052 or 6061...



Cut it out with the jig saw...



Busting out the abrasives, I need to get all the scratches out of this panel. It will get engine turned in the end, so it needs to have a nice finish on it first...



After going down through the grits... (120, brown, red, then green scotchbrite type roloc abrasives...



Then I gave it a once over by hand with a Scotch Brite pad...



And here's what it looks like in the car. I still have quite a bit of trimming to do and obviously there will be holes for the gauges and switches, but it's taking shape....



This dash will be FILLLLLLED with gauges! Decided to go with SMITHS gauges. Can't wait to get them!! That's when it REALLY starts looking like a car...

I have more! I'm not done!! Keep your pants, shirt, socks, whatever... (don't tell me) on.

 

Okay! Other cool stuff!

I got pistons from ROSS! A very, very special thank you out to Gary Stauffer of Quality Engineered Components for his input and help with this entire process! I owe you BIG Gary!!

10.5:1 compression ought to get my little 331, Chrysler up and running nice!





Almost too pretty to bury in this motor!



Yay...

I've got the fuel tank design nailed down pretty solid now, just need to pick up a couple more things to make it happen. In the mean time, one of the key ingrediants came in from Crafty B. I thought these caps would be fitting for the overall scheme of things. One flip cap and one sender cover...



The quality of these caps are INCREDIBLE!! He's got a TON of different styles as well! OH! And he's a HAMBer!

Thanks a ton Kirt for your help with everything! Can't wait to build a tank around these.

I'll talk more about the tank and what's going in it when I start building it. I got a bitchin' float gauge that's getting mounted next to the flip cap from Chadillac that will help read the level of the tank as I'm filling.

In addition to all this, I found out that this body was NOT made by the Murray Company. Instead it was made by the Briggs Mfg. Co... I don't know why I never noticed it before, but this was the tell tail sign of it all, right here!



I have one more thing to share... I'll get to it in a minute...

 

bitchin!

 

Your work is really nice scooter. I am digging the dash as it looks very fluid like. As if it almost drapes the shape of the cockpit. Can't wait to see it filled up with guages!

 

I just realized I never shared the "ALMOST finished" front crossmember... guess you'll get to see that too then... Still messing with the radiator support tabs in the front as well as some other stuff.





Can't wait to do all the finishing touches on this frame! Tons more welding, shaping and lines to form on this thing. Little bit more along the lines of structural stuff as well, but shouldn't take but a few long days of hard work to have the frame completely done and a couple long days to have all the suspension stuff wrapped up as well. Still lots to do in that department...

I got the front shocks mounted in sort of a temporary state. The brackets are only tacked and will get some nice gusseting. Links were also built for the shocks as well as making my own custom urethane bushings for the eyelets of the shock arm and they even WORK! WOOHOO! I love it when a plan comes together!

Before anyone says it AGAIN... YES, there will be reinforcements where the spring shackles attach to the split bones....









Speaking of the fuel tank... here's the idea I'm kicking around for mounting the tank...



The tail lights will probably be mounted on 32 Ford tail light stands. Not sure on that yet. Still thinking. (yes I'm holding the light upside down)



And a couple pictures just to finish things out...

 

How about " Bad-Ass Briggs"?

The first draft is almost never perfect, but having a good idea.....and the drive to work through all of the re-works....is what seperates the great ones from the also rans.

Keep up the good work.

 

its come along way since the days in your garage.....

 

Fuck my old boots that's cool , in fact I'd go as far as to say it's the Dogs Bollocks.

 

NiiiCE! Well done mate!

 

Scooter, STUNNING work, I like those driprails in particular, But its hard to pick just one thing from stunning build like yours.

Nick.

 

Going to be one damn nice rod when done. Please post more pictures!

 

It is clearly a BRIGGS, how could you confuse the two

Man, it looks good.

 

A perfect example of hard work paying off, very nice.

 

I want to make babies with that car.

 

Looks totaly cool Scooter,
Youv'e done a lot since I was in there. And that was only 2 or 3 weeks ago.
All work and no play ....... gets the project done quicker !!!!!!!

.