Projects How to win some beer... the roadster buildoff

This looks like it is going to be fun to watch, I'm subscribed

 

Now on to the body… boy have I got my work cut out for me! I figured that I could get a cheap body and save in the long run. Well I am here to tell you, ALWAYS START WITH A NICE BODY. I’m pretty sure if I added up all the material and time spent on this thing, I would have been better off buying a much more usable roadster. Oh well….

So I start with this (I had to peek at what it would look like on the frame):



There is no sub frame and the bottom of the body is missing the body line all the way from the cowl to the wheel well. The doors and stanchions are welded on as well. Who knows what’s under that primer? Let me give you a hint, about twenty pounds of lead and ten pounds of bondo. Here are some pictures of taking the body apart:







@krkx93 came up one weekend and we busted out the subframe using some measurements we found on the hamb.

 

I finally get the stanchions (which were, of course, welded on) off and here is what I am surprised with….



Passenger side^


Driver Side^

Well I guess I gotta fix that. And of course, finding patches for those are like hens teeth. I found someone who sold them a while back on ebay but nothing currently out there. Ill let the pictures do the talking:









And just a little before and after action:



This thread is getting closer to finally catching up to where the current state of the project is…

 

Looks like you got this in the bag
Your cuz seems to be a no show

 

Not so fast there my friend! I'm here alive, well, and kicking!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...you-some-beer.-The-roadster-buildoff!.958074/


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Both you guys seem to be off to a great start. Best of luck to both of you, cant wait to see more.

 

For those folks wondering what I will be drinking the evening of April 18th... (and to motivate us to finish)

My drink of choice

 

Sorry bud but we will be drinking Budweiser that weekend!


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Looks like fun.I`m in.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Watching this one for sure... love watching buildoffs

Glen.

 

A little pinstripe action from @krkx93

 

If you look closely on the bottom of the cowl, you’ll notice that someone cut the body line off. I guess they thought they were being clever but in actuality, they created a huge pain for me. Luckily I was able to find some patches instead of having to buy the whole cowl piece ($$$).



But as with everything that is cheap, you get what you pay for. The patch is extremely thin compared to the original metal. It’s almost like someone over stretched it, possibly because its die stamped. To put it lightly, these patches suck! Anyways, here is the comparison on material thickness and a look at how “close” the patches resemble the original cowl.

 

Now here are a bunch of pictures of the process of fixing both sides:






I now have the cowl mostly the way I want it. Here is a current picture of the cowl after I welded a few holes up and primered it to keep the rust away.

 

After fixing the cowl up I decided to start on the doors. I knew this would probably the worst part of the body. After some precision cutting, they were off!





And with that, we are now caught up with exactly where I am currently on the roadster. In the next couple of days I plan on cutting the door skins off and running them under the English wheel to get the dents out. From now on, the thread will be updated as I go, hopefully every day, but most likely at least 3-4 times a week.

The scary thing now is that we have exactly 101 days before we drive through the gates at roundup!!!

 

I'm enjoying this and we still have 3 months to go keep up the good work

 

You're definitely right about starting with a nice body.. i started with a nice cowl but i had to fix some smaller rust issues in the cowl posts like you had, however my bottoms are good with the exception of one bit. I found mint doors and then got the rear panels from Brookville..

I still had to assemble it all but at least i didn't have all the rust repairs, and tearing it apart like you. I'm far too lazy for that shit.

I look forward to seeing more progress!

 

Well after assessing the door situation and cutting off one skin to see about taking all of the dents out, I have concluded that some new skins will be needed. whoever welded the doors shut didn't just tack them on, they went after them with what looks to be a stick welder and warped both doors completely out of whack.... time to use that good ol' alliance discount at Brookville and get some full door skins!

 

Thank God for the H.A.M.B. and for threads like this. So many newbies are so excited to build a new car that they will buy really messed up bodies, frames and parts without a thought as to how bad they REALLY are and what skills will be required to make them usable. Most of these short-sighted newbie projects wind up made worse instead of better, sometimes ruining the parts to a point that they cannot be repaired even by a skilled craftsman. Keep up the good work.

 

Sweet, I am loving both of these builds, will be following them both.

 

Better be good beer!!

 

Better be a good roadster!

 

95 days to go…

I’ve been working on the quarters while I wait on the door skins to come in. I can honestly say, whoever decided to braze the deck lid closed did me both a disservice and a favor. While having to take the sheet metal trunk off sucks, at least it was not completely stick welded on to the car like the doors were….

Although the brazing didn't keep the metal from warping, shrinking, and stretching one bit.





If I could find some upper roadster quarter panels, that would make my life so much easier. Until then, I’ll just keep chugging along trying to straighten this mess out. @krkx93 thinks he can shape this back into form. I might just let him try and have a go at it since he thinks he’s a hot shot metal man.

On the bright side, I think I've come up with a fitting name for the car. I'll announce that later of course.

 

This thread is fucking rad.... what it's all about!

 

Any new updates on this build?

 

Must be too busy in the garage to post updates, by my count, only 89 days to go.

 

Sorry for the lack of recent updates guys. I decided to make a trip down to south Louisiana because @krkx93 was complaining about not having enough time left. He has no excuse to not make the roundup now. We got his motor and transmission mounted and his frame boxed.

We also took a look at my quarter panels. The conclusion: I'll need to fabricate some patches from scratch for the body line up. To do that I'll need a shrinker and stretcher so I'll just keep working with what I have until I can get ahold of the tools I need. Next up, the door skins and mounting the cowl to the subframe. I hope to have the body mounted on the subframe by the end of the week if all my parts come in time...

 

Where's the pictures man?!!! No pictures no proof!


Wanted!!!!
28-29 model A lower firewall

 

Pictures? Pictures?! We don't need no stinkin' pictures!!


I'm gathering them for a good post. Till then, I keep working...

 

You better hump and get it. More picks please I have a excuse I am moving

 

Who buys the beer if neither of you get done?