Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

That's exactly! I'm gathering as much info as I possibly can to go out there and do it right—even if it takes a few tries.

I gave that a great deal of consideration, but I ended up not taking that route. Instead, I found front drums that were in almost new condition and had reinforcement bands welded on and the drums turned. The bands will help with both strength and cooling.

Yep, we got hills. All kinds of hills. Tall ones. Short ones. Wide ones. Narrow ones. Ones that make you feel like you're on a rollercoaster and others that are so steep that they need to have stairs cut into the side for pedestrian traffic. I love this city, but it's tough on cars. I'm hoping to build mine to be tough enough!

I still sometimes dream of those Rocky Mountains...

 

My swivel slide links showed up today—plus some great literature. I'm looking forward to setting up the linkage once I get the brakes figured out.

 

Right before lunch, the doorbell rang. I rushed over, signed and, just like that, I had the next piece of the roadster puzzle.

Even though my build has been following the traditional hot rod formula, I've been working pretty hard to find ways to make it uniquely mine. Just like on choppers, I feel like so much personality lies in the taillight(s). Very early in the build, I bolted a set of old bullet marker lights at the bottom of the rear wheelwells. I didn't plan to keep them on there long. Well, they grew on me, so they're staying. (Except for in the photos below, where I've taken the driver's side light off to install a new bulb).

Initially, I was going to put my Duolamp taillight in the middle and call it a day. I like that look. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted something to match the era of my bullet markers. I'm excited to say that I found exactly what I was looking for. Here it is mocked up with magnets.

From the ribs and the tapered lenses to the old repair and the pitted chrome, I feel like it's the perfect mix of Art Deco and mid-century style.

It's no secret that you guys know a lot more about this type of thing than I do, but I figured it would be fun to set up a little contest. I have a prize for the first person who can tell me what make and model of car this taillight/license plate light came from. Bonus points if you can guess the year. Let's hear it!

 

Thank you! I work pretty hard to carry those same principles across the board, whether I'm setting up the shelves my sunroom or finding the perfect waterslide decal for the oil tank of my chopper. It's all about cohesion.

Thank you! My goal is to save up enough money for top irons by the end of 2021.

Good guess, but not quite...

Doesn't it?! Kinda crazy.

It looks verryyyyy Chrysler, but it's not.

Shades of Mopar for sure. However, it is not.

I have a feeling he will

Thank you! This light definitely fit the budget. It would be crazy to see another early Ford with one. I wouldn't be mad!

 

Lots of good guesses—I'll give the night shift a shot and then I'll post the answer during lunch tomorrow. No real progress to report, other than getting ready to shop for more parts. There are so many little things that I need to buy, but I'm chalking them up as start-up costs.

When it comes to tools, I try to buy used whenever possible. Garage sales, estate sales, eBay, Facebook Marketplace—you name it. But after seeing David's Eastwood flaring tool, I decided to splurge. With any luck, I have 50 more years of hot rodding ahead of me, so I figure this will be a sound investment to do quality work. Best of all, I got the Alliance discount!

Additionally, I sketched out my plan for the taillight. I'm a very visual person, and seeing the drawing helps me familiarize myself with the assembly while also creating a parts list.
As an aside, I'm working on an interesting Jalopy Journal feature that I'll share on here next week. One of the guys I'm writing about sent me this picture and I figured I'd share it here. Not for my build obviously, but I love the louvered doors.

 

BirchRidge nailed it! It’s a mid-to-late '50s Gaz M21 Volga decklid light. These cars were built in Russia, and I got this particular piece from Belarus. Although it doesn’t exactly fit the timeframe of the build, it works from a style standpoint—and I can’t wait to wire it up and get it bolted into place.

(Not my photo)

From the factory, the light assembly had an illuminated placard on top. At some point in the past 60 years, a previous owner shaved the placard and riveted a piece of metal in its place. It’s a little bit rough and has plenty of character, which makes it a perfect fit for my car.




Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app