Projects 33 chevy 3w....time for a cool change

man your coupe is looking great heres my 33 mercury

 

nice! i like it!

 

Great, your back! How was SEMA? Bob

 

SEMA was overwhelming! saw gene winfield, chip foose, linda vaugn, and others celebrities. we did not see it all.
we also partied like a rock star.

 

Did you bring Tater??

 

brought it into the shop this weekend, removed the old, original running board covers.
i repaired the rumble latch and made a new lever linkage to open it.
pictures as soon as a i get my camera working again.

 

Only a hand full of cars on the HAMB do I wonder about......
I've been wondering about yours. You fix camera's?

 

needs a battery. local; $49 at radio shack. staples on line; $9.95 but i have to wait for it to come in.

 

Smart move, and you avoid the crowd at Radio Shack. Bob

 

battery came in, let's see if it worked.
last weekend i made up the rumble latch. my dad had removed the original rumble latch and mounted it to the body, and used a starter solenoid to pop it open. since i had it, it never worked and was stuck in the open position. rumble stayed closed without it tho.
i took the latch apart, removed the lever my dad added and cleaned it up. i then made a bar with a T, that can pull on the latch bolt. i then made another bar that is anchored on one end, has the T bar connected along it, so that when the other end is pulled it levers the latch open. to get access i added a rod with a knob that brings it forward to just behind the driver seat. works really well.

 

the original cross member i replaced with the square tubing was taller, so i needed to add to the top of it to act as a rumble lid stop. i used a piece of a black walnut tree i cut down a couple years ago and saved a couple lengths. i then glued a piece of rubber to the top of it.

 

one of the other project was remaking door panels. my upholsterer cut a couple plastic panels using one of the original door panels, but i don't like the way they fit, so i trimmed them and added to them and i will use them for a template. they won't be wasted, i will then cut the kick panels from one of them and a panel for the rumble lid from the other

 

todays project involved replacing the running board rubber. the rubber is not available for the 33 mercury series, but i took mikes advice and bought the rubber for the 34 standard. it is pretty much the same shape, only longer. the extra length i believe won't be noticeable and since i have to make new backer plates anyway won't add any work.
my dad had made a set of vinyl covers that snap in place to hide the old rubber. despite not being the "right" way to repair them, i always liked the covers. he did them in white to match the roof insert in white. when i did the car over i changed the roof to black and painted these covers black. i might change them back to white.

 

the original rubber is adhered to a piece of sheet metal. the sheet metal has a rib with nuts welded down the middle that sits in the slot of the running board. screws come up from the bottom to hold the center down. there is also a set if metal tabs around the out side edge that fit into slots in the running boards and then get twisted to lock it in place.
i started by cutting out metal to fit the new rubber. then i bent up some ribs to match the original, but instead of welding nuts i welded studs and i will use acorn nuts.

 

here is where i left off tonight;

 

Lots of "cool" stuff here

 

You get a lot done when I stay away! I agree go back to the white!

 

where have you been?
you sure you don't want them red?

 

Nice work on the rumble seat latch! That's a great idea. I had to fab some new running board rubber backing plates for mine too, the originals were too far gone. I used some Pem studs and tacked them to make sure they stayed in place. Worked out well.
Tom

 

thanks, what are pem studs?

 

They are use a lot in sheet metal panels for electronics. They have serrated edges under the head to keep them in place when they are pressed in. Then they sit flush to the surface.

 

thanks, did you use them instead of the sheet metal tabs? or just the center rib?

 

Instead of the sheet metal tabs.

 

did you have any problem with the studs along the outer edge. mine are around the corner. what size did you use?

 

I used 1/4-20, don't remember the length but I can check if you want. It takes a little finessing to get them on but they did go on.

 

thanks, i am at that point now.....pictures tofollow

 

White running boards are like white carpet, they wouldn't fit my lifestyle. Remember, trim all the studs to 2 exposed threads, your forehead will thank you. Bob

 

yeah Bob, white gets dirty, but vinyl cleans easy
the threads will get acorn nuts.

 

this is all i was able to get done today with all the storm preparations;

 

Get the snow tires on!