Hey everyone, I know there are a bunch of build threads similar to mine on here already. I bought the car about 8 months ago and I've been whipping it into shape ever since. You never know when something you screwed up on can help someone else so I'm going to post some pictures of my progress and setbacks. Hopefully something I've done can help. Also I'm all for constructive criticism. If you see something I'm doing and know a better, cheaper, or easier way please let me know. I'll try to keep this updated as I'm working on the chop right now.
I bought the car with a broken front windshield caused by the hood flying up and this was the result. I found a hood off a 49 that had some rust issues on the front so I cut them apart and made 1 hood out of two. Still needs new hinges and hardware but it's a good start.
Decided to pull the front end apart and polish all the chrome up and do some touch up painting before Hot Rod Reunion.
Got some toys in. Gonna do some frenching with the help of some Moon buckets and Shoebox Central bezels and Merc headlight rings. Still needs some more blocking but it'll do until paint prep starts. Still a lot of metal work left to do.
O Dannyboy... Looks like you've done some of this metalwork before... What in the double-deuce did you use to polish that grille? Old shoe's lookin' good... Go man, go!
Lowering the lid part 2 That just about catches up to where I am now. I'll keep posting as I finish. I have more photos but just trying to give an overview to catch you up to speed. Thanks for checking in on me.
Thanks Mike. I spent about two days with some really fine steel wool and an aluminum polish. It had really nice chrome just a thick layer of desert sludge from the previous owner. This car had a restoration done in the mid 90's and I bought it in pieces before a guy turned it into an intentional rat rod. I'm going for more of a finished period correct custom. PS - I do metal for a living. I have a head start and some great tools. They make me look a lot better than I really am.
Nice work! Looks like we are struggling with same problems.I have crappy hoods too,one of them has slight rust issues and the another one has opened while driving the car.That one is fixed by a shitload of bondo. I dont know yet how to do it,but i am definetely going to upgrade the hood latch. Keep up the good work!
Nice work here. So what is the deal with hoods coming open. Does the safety not catch the hood or does something else fail?
I was told that the hoods always came open, so I made latch out of a 3/8" bolt that II mounted on the under side of the hood above the grill and drilled a hole to meet above the crossbar. Drilled a hole in the bolt and pin it with a hair pin clip in the grill. Can't see and it makes me feel better.
I imagine hoods did not come open back in 1949, so what has changed. I sure do not want to enjoy the experience of a 272 nicely louvred hood flying up to block my view.
I too heard that the hood flying up is a concern. I had a '49 coupe for 14 years and never thought about it nor ever had an issue with the hood . However I am going to insure that it will not happen to the '51 I'm building. Great job, by the way on you welding skills Quite a cool project. Keep the info and pics coming.
A lot of the problems come from the front end alignment of the fenders and hood. Everything on these floats off of one bolt on the bottom of the radiator. A lot of times these come open and you don't know until it's too late. I'm probably going to fab something up just for safety. I drive with the family in the car so I don't wanna take the chance.
Don't remember if I replied or not, but I mounted a hood pin on the underside of my hood that sticks down through the hood latch panel. Before I release the hood, I just reach through the grille and pull the hair pin. Seems like cheap (and invisible) insurance
Can any of you snap some photos and share for me how you accomplished the hair pin safety hood trick? I'm missing all the hardware so it's difficult to wrap my head around. Sounds like a great idea though.
Here ya go! I used the long hood pin bolt from the pack... Just a generic muscle car hood pin from an auto parts store.
I think the problem with the hoods is there is no return spring on the latch - at least there isn't on mine. I have to push the latch back to the latched position before I close the hood. In addition, my hood didn't have anything for the safety catch to grab onto. The center front lip on the hood had a gap. I bridged the gap with some heavy steel, and I think it makes a big difference.
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