Projects Truck into a coupe- My next pet project

My next trick is bring the rain edge detail along the red line and blend it into the bead line on the 1/4" - see pic in post 386 for red line.

 

Lots of the exact same concepts in ship building with developing templates. Not that everyone needs it or will use it but you can figure out some weird shit. Like the exact profile fish mouth to cut on a dissimilar pipes at the goofiest angles.
Example a 8" pipe entering a 12" pipe at 37*, both saddle and hole.

 

I think you'd like this one. The 1920 edition shows something of tin lizzie era body patterning.
I haven't seen the 1941 edition yet.

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?b...tern+cutter&mtype=B&hs.x=36&hs.y=22&hs=Submit

 

Yep, the yellow sheet metal is from a 47-53 Chevy truck hood. I was going to cut up that complete green hood but my buddy talked me into trading him for his 2 bare halves without the braces and hinges and front support and center trim.

I personally did not get into any of the windshield yet. But I don't think its been monkeyed with.

It's been cut more than anything I've ever been involved with lmao


I need to update this one and add some pieces.
This is what went into the dumpster.

 

Had to re-read the thread to remind myself of what exactly you did not do to this car/truck/whatever.........I still can't believe it. You do realize that no matter what the price of any offer that lies down this car's future......no one will ever touch the sweat equity, ingenuity, tenacity, heart, soul, and King Kong hairy balls that you have put into it. I hope you make every magazine, and every show known to mankind with it. It and you surely deserve it. Amazing, and superb to this date......

 

Thats a hell of a compliment and I really don't know what to say besides thank you for that and wishes.

 

I would say dito to what kidcambell71 said, except my wife doesn't allow me to talk like that. But I can say WOW. If you paint it red again most people will think its the coupe you bought, right

 

I do think about that quite often because it bothers me but i liked that color and so did alot of folks. The one think the guy did was put down some nice paint. I usually don't like red but I really did like that particular shade. Had a tinge of orange to it.

Just last night we were discussing a color. She said a bit soon for that, no.
The red came up, off white fire wall, white frame, white floor pan, chrome suspension doohickeys, chrome powder coat on the rear axle.

There's always this color too, neat but not too traditional.

 

Although it doesn't look like much more , all the panels are rolled shrunk stretched formed dollyed prepped for weld and all pop riveted I place. All Except for thewindow and back panel. This is a major move forward I feel as now This is ready to have seams cut and welded



,,

So now I need to blend all this nonsense together at the beads, corner and window and try to make it look cool. I chased everything in a direction headed into this corner.
This is where a 34 ford sedan, a 36 ford truck, 34 chevy coupe and 52 chevy truck collide. How's that work, because it sounds like really bad wreck on the highway and quite frankly looks like now. Well ,,,,,





Add a little 33 Willys ( influence) of course.
Not much of anything is cooler than a 33 willys
Here's a sneak peak, stay tuned.



As far as I can see so far, there will be one spot the size a pinky tip that makes no sense at all. Sort of a small WTF spot. I'll leave it for a conversation starter. Think anyone will notice?

 

If it gets 1% of the recognition it deserves - we'll be seeing it pop up in mags for years to come.

 

That's where the factory medallion would be placed: to cover up that awkward intersection.

 

Man alive Hemi, THANKS !
Now what might happen if it gets 10% ?
You're welcome to stop by and check it out if you want

 

Yeah, two of those have been ordered.
They were tough to track down.

So one of my buddies stopped by and was checking it out. He says "I just hope I'm there when that first guy says "I had one just like this"

 

That would be one for youtube. Not him ------ YOU.

 

HehHehHeh...

 

LOL, you're the factory here bud. You gotta make 'em (and from something traditional.)

 

I'm getting different opinions and having some thoughts of my own here.
The problem is where and how the roof comes into the deck lid. It will work the way it is but I think its too short leading into the curve up the back panel. The fix is to rework the 1/4 windows shorter and move the back of the roof panels forward Ugh! However doing so will make the trunk/tail appear longer that sometimes strikes me as being too short but only sometimes, and might make the windows too small front to back.

I need to roll this outside and get a 50' perspective before it gets welded.

I think I know and understand the motivation of the differing opinions and that's making me take them with a grain of salt. Some see this as "you've been making everything else "just so," to your liking and you really should think about making this "just so" too or you'll not be happy." Others are coming from "its done, ready to weld & looks damn good- time to move forward so quit being so picky. Then we can get to fixing the next thing you (me) don't like "

So I guess I'm looking for some opinions from those without "any skin in the game" on this. I wasn't trying to copy this just looking at it for inspiration.

 

Man what a great looking car!!....You have MAD skills. I really like the quarter windows the way they are.
You definitely have the eye!! Keep it up I will be following along with envy.

Eric

 

I like the short trunk/tail, gives it a different look, and I like the way the willys body lines meet up with the drip rail which is much like yours, But what do I know, I drive a Pontiac Aztec. (just kidding)

 

Hey, 31V;
Since you asked... :
So far I am just flat-out amazed at what you've done to mix the various mfgrs' panels, + your own. Looks better than some oem stuff. I do like what you've done so far, proportions & all. The only things that bother *me* is, (1) the little flat "v" in the qtr window chop, that is now hidden behind the horizontal vicegrip, because every other thing is so nicely smoothed out & rounded. The (2nd) thing is that on the pu's, esp ford, the angle of the windshield is way too vertical. To me, chops make this worse when the windshield isn't laid back. It sorta reminds me of a pug-nosed dog - looks rather like the designer held the body in one hand & shoved the grille 'n' hood rearward w/the other hand - & the windshield posts/cowl area lost room - literally. I guess it's about flow & proportion(s). (I'm not talking about doing a Bonneville-style w/s angle, either. Just more rake similar to most oem cars of the era.) Every thing else flows so nicely - those qtrs you cut/twisted/widened = fabulous, as does the '33 Willys feature that you are incorporating. Great detail = better than ford or chev did, & helps the flow. If you really *need* something to do to the car... , Idk, I kinda like the fairly short rear qtrs, but since you are a bit of a glutton for punishment... , I suppose the rear qtrs could be lengthened 4-6" between the trunk lid edge & that rolled panel below the rear window (tulip panel?) + lengthening the side of the rear qtrs just in front of the wheel arch to get a different (maybe better - Idk) flowing proportion(s), which would entail moving the rear wheels back the same amount. & I'm rather glad that I've no skin in this deal... , but I am following the build very closely. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't've been able to do this, 'way above my skill level - not to mention patience. You're doing great!
Marcus...

 

This is the spot you're speaking of , yes?

That area matches perfectly on the other side too in everything- It's really been abused and had way too much contour from ford and then tortured by the last guy that was there and its been planned to be replaced. I just could not go from point A to point B with metal until I sorta knew where point B would Actually be. The inside radius is pretty good, but from the first bump up to the willysesque piece and from just above the weld down to the 1/4 bead line is going be new metal. There's actually 4 different levels there. If you could see the side view of this corner you'd know why I waited. It will be much nicer before too long but I wasn't the first one in here cutting them up. I still have some work to do on the glass seating surface too.

The windshield angle , well for now that's the way it is but you never know.

Thanks again man!

This is what was under the pretty red paint job and what I was working with.



Can you visualize how much mud was there to carve it

 

In general I think the contours and proportions are fine. It's supposed to look a bit like a pug IMO. Isn't that part of the charm?

Yeah there's still lots of smoothing to do, but the big curves have to come first & they look good in the photos.

But photos are just photos. They never tell everything you see in person. Just keep looking until you see what your mind needs to see to figure this out. I remember climbing on the roof of the house to see how well my fenders aligned from above. A different perspective will usually help.

 

I hear you on the different perspectives.
I haven been able to get a side shot from further than I can spit. Maybe tomorrow ill try to get it outside.

Not sure I see the pug with the hood on. But I'm quite familiar with the hood so my mind puts it there automatically. Not that I use this one I need to remake the hood too but that's what it looks like .



Now When I got it and it was on that other chassis the grill was way too high yet the chin of the grill was way too low and it was also leaned too far back plus the front of the body was channeled too deep and it looked very broken. Also pretty silly with that tire/ wheel inside the huge wheel well. All of that I knew would be easily remedied with a new chassis and some body shims/blocks and the right wheel tire combo. Little did I know I'd walk the road I did with this one.

 

That guy is a champion mud slinger. You have taken a car that would have gotten passed from one unsuspecting buyer to another and made it car anyone would be proud to own. That is quite an accomplishment!

 

Hey, 31V;
That was the spot I was referring to. Was wondering if you were going to leave it. Lots of guys do - I don't know why, guess most must like the visual clue????? I missed the 1st pic in post 413 - none of that was welded & just mudded over??? "Cough, hack, ahem!"
The w/s is no biggie, on your car the back & front contours/length help balance it out a bit, but if I had any say - & I don't... , I'd guess leaning the top back ~ 1 -> 1 1/2" would be right. Not a whole lot, maybe less than that even. The w/s angle is one reason I'm not fond of fords/chevies from the 35->48+ era, have had a '42 'n' '47 ford pu ( <shrug> ). Oddly enough, I do like the studes, M series & R series. But it's just me. It's one of those I may not be able to do it, or describe it (very well), or draw it well, but some things bother me, & I eventually figure it out. Usually it's proportion(s).
& the sorta thick door post window frames on mid-30's->late40's pu's remind me of a 4dr - kinda heavy & thick looking. Again, it's just me. Long time ago, I sketched out a chopped 47pu, (along the lines of the SoCal Highland Plating Spl), & probably lengthened the cab a bit too, & finally figured out that the door window frames made the proportions messy. I eliminated the window frames, curved the door end edges into the A & B pillar, & truck got a lot lighter looking. . I never tried building it, as I realized the needed cutting & metalwork was beyond my abilities. Would've had almost as many cuts as do did to the coupe. . I still like what you've done.
Marcus...

 

Willy's rear you said....coupe waterfall to the tail with no beltline at the rear cab ....... tying the drip line to lower beltline is Willys 33-36. I like it ! Are you having doubts looking at the previous version? I admit both look good.......but after rebuilding the rear of your own design.....

....your Willy's thoughts keep that car bragging long after you touched it. Your signature. I almost wouldn't notice the first iteration of that car being non-stock..... you still haven't picked your rear port design yet either.......so this still has a lot of fun left in it, I think. Gets better and better.

EDIT- as a matter of fact....the previous iteration....2 posts down....looks "humpy" to me now. While in same post....your iteration swoops down perfectly.

 

I think the roof line looks nice. I think it looks like a "believable" factory build.
What will the changes do for the rear window? Will the window look okay either way?
Just thinking out loud- I'm sure you have been thinking about that as well.
Take care

 

I have been watching this build from the beginning and thought I would chime in. Your workmanship and eye for proportions is excellent. Its very inspiring to see someone who is not willing to stop until everything is perfect.

Ok so you asked for opinions from someone with no skin in the game. I think you nailed the 1/4 windows and the way the rear roof profile transitions into the trunk, i also think the new rear driprail is perfect. I really dont think there is any way to improve on that shape. I think shortening the 1/4 windows and rear roof will make the cab area look too abreviated as it is more round and shapely than a willys body.
The only thing that jumps out at me that you havent already fixed is that the roof appears to slope upwards. The door top and driprail appear to slope upwards in relation to the lower beltline. I think chopping a very small amount of material out of the A pillars and leaning the front of the roof down so that it follows the angle of the bodyline would be the icing on the cake.
I dont have photoshop, but I did a couple of very crude renderings in ms paint to try and get my point across. The first picture is kind of a bad example but compare these to the previously posted pictures
Please dont take any of this the wrong way, its your car and no matter what direction you take it will be badass and 100 times better than it was before.

 

Nrgwizard and 66gmc sent me on a mission this morning.
I wasn't sure if I'd be cutting or welding this morning.
Tape measure says I'm ok, my eyes say I'm ok.
But different pictures from different angles sure do say otherwise, and sadly pictures are all you guys have to go off of. So I took some fresh pics with the iPad. Then cropped and rotated the body line to the grid lines on the screen.

Here's straight on thru thru the Vicky table.

Cropped and rotated to grid lines,


From Vicky door Camera reversed
Reversing makes a fish eye effect.



From the rear corner




From the front

Definitely looks like it goes up hill( higher at the windshield) in the picture but only from this angle.

So at the very least, it's told me I need to get it out side and get more perspective before it's welded

 

Outside 50 footers