Hot Rods Pope RPU

a small update, over the past week a few little things have been buttoned up. got the inside of the cab painted black



he didnt want to fill the spare tire well, so i made an aluminum louvered panel that is hinged. we are going to mount a small jack and tire iron in the well. and the cover looks neat



started getting the hood trimmed and fit properly. still needs more fine tuning.



and made him a custom 1930 aluminum license plate to go with all the other aluminum on the truck

 

also here is the new 2015 shop shirt logo that has the truck on it. the artwork was done by the Root Bros.

 

Aside from your vision and talent, you must have an extensive metal working tool inventory.
How to you figure out how to make a grill shell or hood with built in hinges from scratch?
What gauge of steel or aluminum are you using?

 

to be honest i just have to sit around and figure out how to make them. its a lot of thinking and screwing stuff up. to do the hinges is really pretty simple. i lay out the hinge pattern or spacing. trim out the pieces that will be on the second piece. use the sheet metal break to start the hinge. then clamp in a piece of round stock slightly bigger than the hinge pin i will be using. then hammer and dolly the sheet metal around the pin. and your done. to figure out how much metal to leave for the hinge you just find the circumference of the pin. i trim father back 2x the material thickness to allow for clearance. that was a big trial and error process figuring out all the little things. especially when you roll a hidden hinge with a body line on it , like the hood sides on this truck.

figuring out the grill shell, i took a stocker and made paper patterns of the shell. and checked the radius' and wrote them down. then just made one piece at a time until i started to come together.

i have a good amount of equipment but the same things can be done with much less. i am just a tool/ equipment junkie lol.

usually on material for steel i use 18 gauge cold roll unless i am matching an original part. and aluminum i prefer to use .063 3003-14 aluminum. it is very easy to work with and shapes well

 

Lookin good..

 

Shoot ..... I'd be tickled to sit in the corner with my coffee and just watch ya ..... but after about 15 minutes, I'd be in your way wanting to try it myself.

Can a Bead Roller be used to make those louvers on the hood sides with a special or hand made mandrel?

 

great workmanship, will be a fun car, admire the craftsmanship.
Cheers,
Drewfus

 

thanks guys

come by some time if you are up this way.

i have never had much luck using a bead roller to do long louvers. i used a reciprocating hammer with custom dies.

 

Subscribed!

 

worked on buttoning up more small stuff today. its getting closer to being 100% all mocked up.

 

not bad for a white boy

 

That is a very cool truck, one of the Best I've seen, .......... it's got Style !
Glenn

 

to those of you close by, stop in, watch mike at work. its worth the trip.

 

Wow. Very impressive. Unbelievable craftsmanship.

 

BITCHIN !!!! Chris

 

thanks everyone

 

I am impressed with the detail you showed in reversing the fire wall and mating it to the floor. Well done Sir!

 

thanks man. hope to have it complete mock up stage saturday evening. buttoning up all the little things.

 

Looks real good Mike!

 

Looks Great
Stance is awesome

 

outstanding work there, kid

 

Wow that's neat.
You even bare metalled the licence plate.

 

thanks everyone

i hand made the license plate out of aluminum, didnt want to paint it or it would look like any other plate

 

Now your showing off, haha.
Very cool, and I thought it looked new.
One day I may ask you to make me one.

 

got all the little lose ends tied up on this one. so it is now in full mock up. rolled it out side for some good pics

 

Since the cab is lengthened, I would have liked to see the bed a bit shorter. But that's just me. I've always been hung up on a car's proportions. Never the less, it's a killer piece of work, and will make an outstanding hot rod!

 

That's beautiful!! There is no better word for it.

Your built can go head to head with Dean Lowe RPU, because that's the two best looking RPU I've ever seen.

You do great work, and has some good ideas. The Alu parts, the belly pan and the amount of rake in the windshield! Be a u ti ful l ! ! !

On a different note steering wheel is that only mock up?

What color will you run?

Edit
How odd that the Dean Lowe post when I type! Cool

 

Crazy nice!, been watching on IG too.

 

Enjoy seeing this being built by Young Craftsmen! Gives me hope about the future of Hot Rodding.

 

thanks, the model T bed we built is 3.5 inches shorter than a stock a bed. so we only stretched the wheel base about 3 inches to keep the proportions closer, instead of the usual 6-7 inches of stretched wheel base, or 6-7 inches taken off the front of the bed.

thanks
we are running the stock a model steering wheel in the truck. it is going to stay in bare metal. planning om coating in a product called shark skin, it is a bare metal protectant that is supposed to be good for out door use

thanks

thanks