Projects Old 32 Ford Hot Rod gets "Updated"...Part II (Racing History, added 06-29-15)

That frame is looking good Neal.

 

I think the later "narrow" crossmembers measure 43-9/16". The earlier ones are pretty close to 43-3/4". You can easily see the difference if you stand the two side by side. I'll throw a tape on it when I pull it back out of the frame.

Neal

 

Are you going to weld or rivet the crossmember back in?

 

I will probably put a couple of short welds on the tabs and then rivet the rest.

 

Hey Larry...looky here.

 

touche' mon ami

 

Nice work

 

I like the NO FENDERS look myself.......Go for it Dale....Lets see some photos of what ya got going on.....

 

I'll be following along. I always like seeing Neal's skills at work.

 

Thanks for the measurement on the crossmember.

 

Damn good work!

 

Made a little more progress this weekend. Like I said, I had a late 32 rear crossmember which is narrow, so I decided to add the reinforments in the kickup.

I made patterns and cut out the 6 pieces on the bandsaw. I clamped them in place in the rails and tacked them together...

Then pulled them out and TIG'd inside and out. That was over 16' of weld...

They were then plug welded into the rail...

The crossmember was then fit. Most of the rivet holes were welded up and then redrilled once in place.

The crossmember is bolted now, but rivets are next weekends project...

Neal

 

Nice work Neal! Such a cool old hot rod and your giving it some well deserved love!
Don't know if I would run it fenders or fenderless... hmmmm

-Shiny

 

The 32 4 door is my favorite more-door for sure, looking good!

 

OK, got the rear crossmember riveted in. Had to make some riveting tools first...

After a little trial and error, we got the crossmember done...

Here's some pics to remind you what I started with...

Since the car is going back together as a "patinamobile", I left the original black paint on the sides of the rails and painted the rest with "rusty brown".

Now the frame is done, so I am working on engine, trans, rearend, etc. Hopefully to begin assembly soon.

Neal

 

Your inner "restorer" is showing.

 

It's kinda funny, I feel like I can't post this project on the Fordbarn because it's too "hot rodder", and then there's not much interest here because its too "restorer". Oh well, I havin fun...

 

neal, great looking work! what size rivet gun did you use and did you rivet them hot or cold?
tom [in st.louis]

 

Tom - We did the rivets hot. I made the rivet set for the gun to fit the head of the 5/16" rivets. I also made it longer than the ones you can buy, to get in the frame rail easier. The gun is just an import air hammer. I adjusted air pressure until I got the results I was after on some test pieces.

Neal

 

Looking fantastic Neil!

 

that is sick...love the rivets


please disclose "rusty brown" formula

 

Oh there's interest! Keep up the great work.

 

Maybe I should just start a new thread about fake patina...

 

Please keep the pics coming, always plenty of interest in your great work. Thanks.

 

Nice work on those rivets.Good to see you back on it.

 

Don't worry, there's plenty of interest here. I too think the older I get the more "restorer" I become. Some famous builder guy says something like "You've got to restore an old Ford before you can hot rod it".

 

Great work Neal. I think more should be done the way you do them. Your stuff is trick but uses old ford parts. Just right. Slug

 

Hi Neal. I like what you did with the rivets. The rivets on the top side of the frame rail, through the crossmember, how did you hold/rivet/buck them? Does the tooling reach around the lower frame rail? Is the head of the rivet on the top or the bottom?

It looks great, by the way.

Mart.

 

note to self...research rusty brown paint codes