The Ernst car is my all-time favorite and a great chop to emulate! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Kieth Ashley is responsible for the Ernst clone, and is a HAMB member. I don't remember his HAMB name, but maybe he could be of help.
If you are talki.g about cutting the glass, then it must be laminated , You can cut laminated. I have a 53 eldo and had to make amould to slump tbe screen into . Moran glass in Brisbane did it for me. I suspect your fear glass istempered/toughened. look at tge edge can you see a seam?
Love the car and where your going with it. Sinking the glass might be your best option here. I also think slightly pancaking the trunk lid slightly would change the look of the roof flow.
Alright guys. So I've been pretty busy and haven't had much time to work on the car. But I did abit today on it. I talked to the glass guy and he said to go with Lexan. So, with that in mind I decided to re shape the rear window section a little. I never liked the wide pillar section on the Ernst car, but it has grown on me alot the last couple of weeks and it just seems like the way go to. I don't know how the Barris guys did it, I can't figure it out but I've got it pretty close I think. I took measurements of the pillar and scaled it up and all that so it should be pretty close. Also, I found more rust and crap. Pretty annoying but I was expecting it.
I couldn't get the side window bottom sections to lay right so I cut them out and have tacked them back on where I think they should sit. New cat walk section. Decided to do it in a couple of pieces, just to make it easier to handle etc. Making the paper pattern for the side area. Helps to know what size to cut the steel out, where to put the bends and gives you an idea of what part needs to be shrunk/stretched. Panel started. It looks abit funny in the picture, Not so bad in person. I'll take it to work tomorrow and use the shrinker rather than putting hammer marks in from stack shrinking with the hammer. Here's a comparison to the old glass.
Are you in Australia or somewhere? I don't recognize that 4-door car in the background. Nice work so far. You are making me really look more closely at the Ernst Chevy than I ever have, and it's my all-time favorite kustom. Go man go!
Really looking great... I personally like the original roof line, and when I started reading your thread I thought...oh shit....but hey, me was WRONG... Will be one awesome car when done...very nice work
Did you chop the front the same amount as the back? If you did then it looked to me like the Barris car had it chopped more in the front than in the back.
The center glass needs to be laid forward, not sunk into the quarters or the catwalk. The corner pieces on my car are aircraft quality acrylic plastic formed over a buck I made by an aircraft windshield maker. The shape is different than what a stock glass can be cut down to IF you could cut stock glass.
I did the same thing as Keith (FASI) on my 55 Olds (with a 57 back glass). Lean the center until you have the look right, then make new side windows out of Lexan. I usually don't like the use of plastic for glass on cars, but here it was unavoidable.
FASI! I tried to PM you recently, but the new "conversation" format stymied me! I have read several times that the windshield was leaned back on your car/the original. Is that correct? After looking at several photos and posting a thread about it here on the HAMB I'm still not sure??
Yeah mate, I'm in Australia. I'm guessing you're talking about the gold one? It's a 78 Ford Fairlane. No, the back is about 3 1/2 and the front is about 3/38 I have laid the center glass forward, but I have also added an inch or two into the catwalk. The reason for this is the thing that's really got me stumped on your car. If I don't add to that catwalk, then I need to add more into the roof, which means I need to angle the side glass parts back to keep from making the rear pillar too wide. Though looking at the picture comparing mine to the original, it looks as if that angle is roughly the same. I might be able to get a little more length out of the screen if I laid it out abit flatter, but once again comparing it to the original it looks like mine is almost flatter. The only way I can explain it is if the front pillars were laid back like Atomickustom has said. I'm not going for an Ernst clone so it doesn't bother me if the chop is slightly different. As long as it looks similar, it's just got me stumped as to how it was done. Hope to hear back from you FASI
It's been slow progress, had alot on the last couple of weeks. R/H panel made up pretty much ready to weld in. Both catwalk sections made up. Hard to tell in the shitty photo but the L/H sail panel or whatever you want to call it is not far off being done. Just need to order an Oxy set then I'll be on my way to having the outside done.
It's OK to play with the catwalk. If you have a good eye, you should be able to balance the angle of the rear window, with the slope of the roof to come up with the best look. Just be sure to step back to a distance, and look at the car fom all angles to see if it looks right. As long as you can work with the glass, getting the profile looking right is the most important thing!
Grant, I snapped these photos of an Olds at TRJ show this weekend, with your car in mind. Unfortunately, I could not find the owner to ask questions, but the rear window appears to be all glass. Anyway, it might inspire, if not inform.
They're interesting photos. It's hard to tell if the catwalk has been played with, but looking at the trim at the top of the quarter it looks like he may have lengthened the roof, that could solve some issues with the wind up quarter glass as well.
Hi Grant .... Gotta keep the 3 piece rear screen....have done the same on a 49 Caddy and kept the 3 piece screen....find an old timer glazier he will cut the 2 end toughened glass pieces to shape...a few pics of the glass this is a 5 " chop at the rear had to extend the cat walk 5-6" lay the glass frame forward about 12" to get a smooth body flow
My windshield post are not laid back. The top slides forward to meet the posts when cut. The rear center window was laid forward to flow with the top lines. The rear outside surface of the top was sliced and pieces added to continue the flow. The top at the rear narrows by chopping so the width has to be recovered. Nothing was done to the bottom corner window channels other than dress the joint as the channel gets shorter when chopped. See the thicker "C" pillar on my car. The acrylic replacement with aircraft quality acrylic is the way to go for clarity, color and scratch resistance over Lexan. I hope this helps.
I KNEW IT!! Do you realize how many books out there start describing the Ernst Chevy by referring to the windshield being laid back? I think even Pat Ganahl has repeated this, and I know I've seen specific numbers! Thank you for clarifying that, FASI, it's been driving me crazy for a while now. (Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread, Grant, I'm just happy to get this information.)
Regarding the aircraft-quality acrylic, I used to work at a very busy airport/flight school and I've cleaned a LOT of Cessna windshields over and over and FASI is correct, that stuff does not scratch easily and does look like glass.
I made acrylic and polycarbonate skylights for 25years. . . but if it was me I'd go glass. Architecural glass bending companies are able to do it. shop counters etc have bent glass. Moran glass did a whole wrapped screen for my 53. . but i made the mould. On your small cornrs its an easy make.
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