Customs Who is building a new custom?

A bit more

 

The Grandpa Car is currently on "pause" due to lack of $$ and my skillset , hence the current "patina" . Gotta invest in some rust removal supplies - if I can just get enough cans to the recyclers...

Plans are to French the headlights (have the parts to do it, want to modify them a little before, but, lacking skills), shave the handles and put them fancy '48 Lincoln push-buttons in place, partial nosing, as well as mount '49 stainless side trim. Keeping the big taillights and shiny wind-splits, and the trunk handle situation is undecided - the little "bullets" are a joke between me and my dad .

UGH! - I "almost" forgot about them rust holes - gotta do something about those as well...

And tires...

Oh, yeah, and the interior. Maybe if I sell one of my livers...

 

I am building a '50 Merc from a basket case hacked up 4 door poorly converted to a 2 door. I have a build thread on Riks Custom Car Chronicle site.

 

I guess they're not dying! They're not finished yet!

 

I may die before they do, at the rate I work.

 

LOL!

 

I'll bite.

Been playing with this 61 Olds Super 88 for a couple years now. I wouldn't consider it a real new build because it was together and was up at the Jalopy Jam-Up a couple years ago, but there were too many issues to deal with in a piecemeal fashion so I decided to blow the whole car apart and totally rebuild it. Formerly a 394/Rotohydramatic, now a new 350 crate engine with dual quads and a TCI 700R4. I did a bunch of work I can't really talk about, but it's somewhat close to being back together mechanically and I hope to have it running and driving in the next couple months. At that point it'll be a couple months of sorting it out and making damn well sure it's mechanically sound. Then once I'm satisfied with that, I want to change the grill and headlight treatment, and I will address a few problem areas with the body before it gets resprayed, probably in a Watson-style panel treatment with the same HOK candy pagan gold and celestial white pearl.






I also have a 59 Edsel Ranger 2 door hardtop that is going to have more custom mods than I can name here. But at this point it has taken a backseat to my Oldsmobiles, and the considerable work I have done to it to date in terms of getting the underpinnings right isn't totally HAMB friendly, so we won't discuss that either.

 

Taking my '36 Cabriolet from a traditional hot rod look, to more of a "custom" .

To this (photoshop)


Painted and going back together. Skirts and wide whites coming this week

 

that 61 olds is freakin cool man, the 56 98 in the background is too.

 

I dig the air cleaners. What are they? Speedway?

 

Thanks man. They're both cool cars, different styles for sure. The 56 is very mild, but I have to tell you, is an absolute dream to drive and I take it everywhere. I just haven't really had the opportunity to enjoy the 61 yet.

 

Doncha know that it breaks the rules to pull out a big motor and put in a smaller one? LOLOL...

Nice Olds...

 

I got them from Spotlite Kustom Accessories. I wanted a theme of only chrome on the engine, and no finned aluminum. These looked cool and fit that criteria, and were also low enough profile to fit under the hood (just barely).

 

Thanks. I have been looking for a set.

 

Also a 52 Ford, 50 Merc chopped roof, extended 51 Merc quarters, 56 Ford front fenders grafted on. I can't take credit for the work but I will finish it and get the proper touches on it.

 

Glad I caught you while you are still in the process of building it. I have a QUESTION not a criticism. I see a bunch of these chopped while posting custom photos and there seems to be two different methods of rear window placement.

One is like yours is now with the window top lower than the door top.

The other, and the one I like better, is when the top of the rear opening is the same height as the top of the door.

Is there a reason like, easier to do, something in the way, or I just like it lower like this, when building with it lower?

 

The height of the glass in the rear quarter window should follow from the height of the glass in the door.

Glass height level with the top of the door frame? I'd like to see an example of that. Or maybe not.

 

Who said anything about the height of the glass

 

A couple for those that can't understand the concept.





not lower like this

 

Are you suggesting that K13's rear window should be the height of the red line you drew?
The examples you posted have drip rails, K13's does not.

Neither example you posted has the top of the rear window opening the same height as the door top.

 

I think you are just seeing the top of the quarter window vs. the top of the door opening since it appears that the top of the door isn't welded back on yet in this pic?

 

There's no door frame welded on yet. What you're seeing is inside the door jamb

 

Like you, I'm working on a '55 Ford Kustomline. So far I have done the following:
· ’55 Plymouth Grille
· ’59 Buick Taillights
· ’55 Ford Fairlane Headlight Eyebrows
· ’56 Ford Dash and Steering Wheel
· Hand painted ’56 Ford Speedometer
· ’57 Ford Wagon 9” Rear with 3.50 gears
· ’57 Dodge Lancer Wheel Covers
· Lowered with

Front - Granada Spindles and Aerostar springs
Back - 3” blocks​

· Nosed and shaved
I plan to paint it blue with white scallops

 

Looks good!

 

So what's different about the 56 headlight bezels vs the 55? I may have to steal that idea.

 

Not sure that there is a difference between the years other than they are off a Victoria and they have the holes for the eyebrows. My Customline was without them.
I also have a set of Olds headlight bezels to use but they will require some metalwork to graft them in place and my skills aren't at a high enough level for all of that just yet.

 

I also think one is steel and the other is pot metal. Steel is helpful if you want to French/modify them.

 

I'm keeping the tradition alive to a certain extent. Mine is going to be more of a mild kustom, no crazy chops, or wild fins.
What I have so far:
-54 Buick Roadmaster headlights
-50 Olds hubcaps
-68 T-bird steering wheel
-66 T-bird bucket seats
-63 Galaxie armrests
-got it sitting nice and low
-Unity spotlight
What's Next??
-Frenching tail lights
-Lake pipes
-Big fat white walls
-white pleated, and cloth panels with some trim that I'm going to laser to mimic the original
-working on some ideas for metal and wood center console

 

ONLY those that are not into customs are on that thread...
Here's a side shot of my latest project-a 1948 Cadillac Sedanet...another one for me, after my '55 Cadillac...


Here's a list...'53 Mercury front wheel wells, rockers lowered 3 inches, '53/'54 modified Bel Air trim (door trim lengthened, curve at rear fender modified to fit, trim turned upside down), 1950 Buick grille, 1955 Cadillac Dagmars modified, pan built below the Dagmars, nosed, decked, door handles removed, solenoids in the doors, full length fender skirts built, rear bumper modified with '59 Cadillac front bumper license box, bumper "frenched" in, full floating console inside, Olds swivels bucket seats done in traditional rolls and pleats, tilt/telescoping steering column, V8 and automatic trans, A/C, Torino nine inch rear, power brakes...steel wheels, wide whites and Olds Fiesta hubcaps...those who said customs are dying must have their eyes closed and living under a rock...

R-

 

Love the Bel Air trim flipped upside down.