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1951 Kaiser Drag'n build

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by NTAPHSE, Jun 13, 2008.

  1. narducci
    Joined: Jan 3, 2008
    Posts: 194

    narducci
    Member

    Man what a bunch of work. Nice looking, cant wait to see it finished.
    maybe you're not a professional fabricator, but you should be.
    Nice work .
     
  2. alsancle
    Joined: Nov 30, 2005
    Posts: 1,572

    alsancle
    Member

    Very very cool. Thanks for posting.
     
  3. Very nice job. Way to be different I love it. Have the cops found their donor car yet?
     
  4. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member


    Not yet, but it is nice to know I could outrun them with their own equipment if I had to!
     
  5. captainjunk#2
    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,420

    captainjunk#2
    Member

    your car is awesome keep up the good work , loved the pictures ,
     
  6. dv8
    Joined: Apr 15, 2001
    Posts: 1,097

    dv8
    Member

    Awesome!

    Looks really cool!

    I've been seeing a few of those pop up on Craigslist for cheap lately...but I don't think I have the skill you do to them what you have!

    Plus I sold my '95 9/C1 a few moths ago..... :)
     
  7. All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!! Amazing amount of work and it WORKS!

    Here's a cartoon I did of one about 10 years ago in a slightly different vein.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. Just looking at the pics again and there's one small criticism I have.

    The roof chop looks cool, great proportions and not 'over chopped' but I reckon you've lost some of the Kaiser identity by removing the return angle of the rear door frame. I know it would be a prick to reshape that area, but if you pulled it off, it would look great.
     
  9. evilgenius
    Joined: May 10, 2005
    Posts: 391

    evilgenius
    Member

    that is some really great work. keep at it.
     
  10. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member


    Believe me I thought about that. The kick in the rear window is signature Kaiser. However, I would have lost a lot of the rear window by adding the kick and it would have looked too small so I chose to go without it. I also kinda dig how the side window line just flows as one continuous line. At least I didn't put a plain Ford or Chevy windshield in right?
     
  11. Fair enough. Good to hear that you thought about it at least.

    I did mean to congratulate you on keeping the Kaiser front window shape. Very cool. :)

    Keep us posted, will be very interesting to see it done.
     
  12. For seats, go take a walk through a salvage yard. Pay attention to the front buckets from late 90's early 2K Mercury Cougars. Pull the head rests, and I think you'll like what you see. Medium width and nice shape without the head rests. You could score all 4 for less than 500 bucks.
    To see a pic, search ebay. There are some Cougar buckets on there right now.
     
  13. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    Installing the headers and need some advice. Do I need to heat-wrap these spark plug wire boots? I already wrapped the wires to tuck them against the block and protect them.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Should I use these metal protectors? They come stock on LT1's.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Shifty Shifterton
    Joined: Oct 1, 2006
    Posts: 4,964

    Shifty Shifterton
    Member

    That wire clearance should be fine.
     
  15. 'Mo
    Joined: Sep 26, 2007
    Posts: 7,432

    'Mo
    Member

    First: WOW!!!

    Second: Many curved windshields don't survive the cutting, and the
    project is abandoned. Did you have a glass man cut yours? How far into the project? Were you nervous?

    Third:WOW!!!
     
  16. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member


    Thanks! The windshield and rear glass are stock. The windshield is recessed behind the dash and the rear glass is leaned forward. The only glass that will have to be cut is the flat side windows.
     
  17. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member


    Thanks.
     
  18. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    Making progress...

    I filled the holes in the firewall where the glass comes through.

    Installed Borla headers and cat-back.

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

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    Added a hood ornament and swapped hoods for one that fit better. Also took the front end apart and beadblasted all the rust off then painted all the brackets black.

    [​IMG]


    I used all SS BHCS for reassembly, they don't strip like Phillips screws. Waiting on a new grille bar to show up, mine is mangled.

    [​IMG]

    Rebuilt and installed turn signals and made some fillers for the front of the fenders so they don't look incomplete.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    Turn signal rebuild, took lots of pics because I thought someone might find it useful. I replaced the socket with a modern 1157 socket I found at AutoZone for $3.

    [​IMG]


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    Nice fingerprints on the black paint huh? I got impatient!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2008
  20. atomickustom
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,409

    atomickustom
    Member

    Beautiful so far. I love Kaisers and would never have thought you could start out with a 4-door and end up with such a beauty!
    I don't supppose you have any photos of how you recessed the windshield, do you?
     
  21. The Lone Wolf
    Joined: May 19, 2007
    Posts: 145

    The Lone Wolf
    Member
    from Malta

    Man I didn't even know such a thing as a Kaiser Manhattan existed before 5 minutes ago!!!
    Yours is just tooo cool
    Some awesome fab work going on there.
    Great job mate!!
     
  22. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    Frenched the plate. I love the stock Kaiser trunk handle/light so I kept it. It was tricky to french the plate but have it integrate with the trunk handle. I didn't want it to look like a box stuck under a trunk handle.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I hammered a compound curve into the sheetmetal that would be the back of the box so it matched the trunk. Next I used a shrinker/stretcher to make the edges.

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    Still need to get some nice fasteners for the plate. Probably SS BHCS like the rest of the car.
     
  23. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member


    Nope, that's top secret! Really its as simple as cutting out the ledge that the glass sits on and welding it to the inside of the firewall.
     
  24. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    Got the rear bumper on. I flipped it, filled the bolt holes, and shortened the ends because I didn't like how far forward it went. It took a lot of finessing to get it to match the curve of the body. Usually these bumpers hang way off the car but I wanted it tucked tight to the body so the curve had to match.

    Before shortening:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2008
  25. Throttlehead250
    Joined: Aug 29, 2008
    Posts: 165

    Throttlehead250
    Member
    from Houston TX

    man you got a good lookin build goin!
     
  26. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    After shortening, shaved bolt holes and flip:

    [​IMG]


    My favorite part:

    [​IMG]


    This is why they call them taildraggers:

    [​IMG]

    How long until I drag the bumper off?
     
  27. johnrockin
    Joined: Apr 20, 2008
    Posts: 184

    johnrockin
    BANNED
    from midwest

    wow, i'm impressed. nice job.
     
  28. UnIOnViLLEHauNT
    Joined: Jun 22, 2004
    Posts: 4,827

    UnIOnViLLEHauNT
    Member

  29. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    I had the stock Caprice filler neck sticking through the trunk and it needed to go away so I filled the hole and mounted this aluminum flip-top filler. It is smack-dab in the middle of the trunk, should be a nice detail with the trunk all cleaned up and carpeted.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2008
  30. NTAPHSE
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,028

    NTAPHSE
    Member

    Next I'm working on seam-sealing the interior, installing insulation courtesy of Lobucrod, chassis rewiring courtesy of Painless (getting rid of the rats nest Caprice harness), then mounting the dash and figuring out the gauges. Anyone know if I can run the stock Kaiser positive ground 6v gauges on a modern 12v system? Time for research!
     

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