Projects '36DD - (My Double Duty 3-window build.)

Wayne,
There is a guy (engineering shop) in Levin makes rubber mounts.Supplies all the big retailers etc ...probably made the ones you already have , has a huge range, but he will do custom mounts ... you could make the steel and have him mould and bond the rubber to whatever strength and shape you want.. does all sorts of other interesting auto stuff too..ask him.
Euan Seymour
Phone: (06) 210 2276
Mobile: 021 282 0595

 

Have you thought of a Mustang tank set in the trunk floor to show that nice rear of yours?

 

Hi there... it's me again!
I know this has been an embarrasingly long absence, but there has been a small amount of progress in the last couple of months. I finally got the frame stripped down bare, and pretty much got all the welding sorted. It's not as pretty as I would have liked, but then I'm only very much a 'hobby' welder.












I skipped around a fair bit to try and control any distortion, and checked everything for straightness when it was all done ...




I've also had 3 weeks in the States since I last posted, so there's a bunch more parts coming back on a boat in the next month or so. We checked out a heap of '36s while we were over - they seem to be everywhere right now - so I've picked up a couple more ideas on some of the detail stuff for mine.

Now I've got no excuses.....


Bear

 

Good stuff bear
As far as your welding is concerned.....................................
When you are done building her........... You can come to Australia & work in my Rod Shop

 

Hell yeah ! Some of us are still stuck in the mud dauber welding phases. Looks damned good to me sir ! Hell yes, indeed.

 

Nothing a skim of filler won't cover Bear!

 

Considering the results, all is forgiven..
Damn, now I do feel like a hack!

 

Good to see this one is still ongoing!!

 

Amazing! Nothing more to say.

 

Amazing - nothing more I can say!

 

I think those welds are fine.Some guys stare too much how the welds look like,not so much about how the weld is penetraded.
I saw once a stainless steel header,it had pretty good looking welding seams,but no penetrating at all.
Only thing that keep it together were those nice looking beads on the surface.
Keep up the good work!

 

Welcome back! By the looks of your welds it would no longer be correct to call yourself a "hobby welder"! Everything you've done on this build is absolutely exceptional. It has been over a year since your shoulder problems sort of stalled your project, I hope you're back to feeling a 100 percent again.
Best regards and good luck with all your endeavors, KB.

 

Incredible fabrication, workmanship, and attention to detail.

 

I love this thread. Read through it probably 20 times. Keep us updated. Very inspiring work you do.

 

Well that little burst of enthusiasm was short lived - it's been 6 months since I last posted!
Thanks everyone for all your positive comments and reassurances about my welding.
I've been doing a bunch of little jobs that don't really feel like progress, stockpiled a few small parts, and been back to the US for the GNRS and a bit more part sourcing.

One of the jobs I have completed is the lowering of my headlights. Never been a fan of the LaSalle grille / 40s Chevy headlight deal - I've always thought the stock '36 front is just about perfect, just needing a little clean up and fine tuning.

I wanted a substantial drop on the lights, so I cut out the base a little at a time until I got the light setting down where I wanted it.



Then I formed up a paper pattern for a tapered 'cone' section to provide a raised mounting point for the adjuster.



I rolled up a piece of sheetmetal to suit, and formed a top 'cap' with a rolled over edge.


Once that was welded together, I trimmed the original adjuster/mount down to as small as I could get it, cut an appropriate sized hole in the top of the new riser, and tacked the adjuster into place before test fitting it inside the bucket.





Everything still seems to work fine, with plenty of adjustability, and enough clearance between the light and fender. So I carried on and welded it all together...






This pic shows the difference in height between stock, on the left when viewed, and lowered on the right. I managed a full 2 1/8" drop over stock!



And here it is with them both dropped and cleaned up...



Along with a view from the rear to show how the light sits down over the stand.



Bear

 

Well finally after all these years some one with credentials in eye appeal and talent has come out and said it, the La Salle, Packard "thing" is a step backwards in styling over the stock or "tweeked" '36 Ford factory front end look. JMO also! I think the price of used cheap '36 headlights buckets has just gone up as I will need a few to experiment on stealing your idea's again...................................

 

Thanks Brigrat, nice to know I'm not alone in my thinking!
I don't have anything against the 'Calori' look, and appreciate that it is a very traditional modification, but I'm just not into change for the sake of change.
I figure snugging the original headlights down on to the fenders (and retaining the beautiful curved lenses), cleaning up the grille with a smooth bullnose, and fitting smoothed hood sides will get you pretty darn close to perfection. I don't even see the point in welding up the seams below the headlights - the line gives the front some character, and without it, the fenders appear too wide. Once again, just my own opinion...

Bear

 

Bear, I like the way you have dropped your headlight buckets. As you can see from my avatar I did mine as well but I was afraid to do as much of a recess into the bucket, thinking it would cause interference with the reflector. You proved that a large detent can be used to get the light down close to the fender. My solution was a lot more work as I also took about an 1 3/8" from the pedestals and reshaped the fender tin to match it's new height. I my case I can just get a cleaning cloth between the fender and its bucket. My drop is approaching 3".
As good as yours looks I question if my extra effort was worth it.
Time after time as we have followed your build you have shown us the better way to do things and are establishing a new build standard for all of us. Thanks for all you're doing here.
Best Regards and good luck with all your endeavors, KB.

 

How the heck did I miss this build....subscribed. I terrorized the streets (well, not really) of Aurora, IL in a 3W '36 from '56 to '68...miss that car. Had a SBC and sedan rear fenders like yours. It was silver when last seen in Naperville, IL.

 

Thanks again Bear, I'm playing with a 35 more door humpback which I'm planning on dropping the headlights on, at this stage it'll end up as a tail dragging mild custom.... I'm also planning on deleting the 35 horns also, I was pleased to see your thread pop up again! No one could argue against your beautiful work!

 

Thanks KB.
By doing the tapered 'cone' shaped recess I managed to clear the reflector with heaps to spare. I had thought about cutting the top of the pedestal off completely and making up a concave section in the fender to set the light down into, but was worried about opening up a can of worms with the front panel alignment.
I'm pretty happy with where they ended up, and there is still heaps of room for headlight adjustment. I actually had made enough clearance to get them sitting half an inch lower, before I discovered there was a cast plate that went between the fender and the headlight swivel - that's what happens when you buy a project already pulled apart!

Love the front end of your coupe, it's very much the look I'm going after. That front screen height looks dead-on too, How much of a chop did you do?

Cheers
Bear

 

Bear, My top chop was 3" but I only chopped the windshield 1& 3/4". This was accomplished by a vertical slice up the "A" pillar from the windshield frame break seam up into the top. This moved windshield hinges & all further up into the roof. I also laid the "A" pillar back another 6 degrees at the "A" pillar base to eliminate more of the stubby and uprightness of the stock profile. This ate up another inch of usual gap that develops in the top with a "Marcel" style chop. The result is a lower and sleeker roof line without "mail slot" windows. One of the considerations I took into account when chopping these cars is the claustrophobic nature of a large chop and short window height. This is particularly apparent with 3 windows when the rear of the top is moved forward to close the gap or align the "A" pillar. Even thou mine is a 5 window my wife was freaking about how closed in dropping the top made the interior feel. To compensate, I moved the entire rear of the top back 6" along with the "B" pillar to fit Tudor doors onto a 5 window. I added an approximately 5" section of Tudor top/driprail to fill in the resulting gap. Then I spent about two months perfecting the driprail line from every possible angle. What is not visible is the 3/4" section removed from the side window sills to make them in line visually with the windshield's base opening and in scale with the body detail into the "C" pillar. All this made for a feeling of roominess rather than "closed in" to our interior. These are some of the aspects to consider while designing your chop. With regards to the windscreen chop, the amount was dictated by practicality. The breakline securing insert screw spacing is 7/8" apart so by taking 7/8" from both upper and lower parts of the frame only two new screw holes per side were required. Also this made the frame's misalignment minimal. A small amount of pushing and pulling on the frame halves made their alignment perfect.
Talking about the "front screen height", if you mean what we call a "grill", its height is created by a 3&3/8" section from front to back to add more sleekness to the coupe's profile. This is my attempt to make tribute to Neil Emory who in my opinion was most aesthetic of the '50s customizers. The result drops the upper body line down between the fenders for more of a european "Delahey" look. Overall, I'm fairly happy the results of my efforts, but so far Kipp's "Miss Scarlet" is my favorite build yet. Your's is on track to top his. My build took 8 years to complete so don't despair, You're ahead of schedule.
Best regards and good luck with all your endeavors, KB.

 

WOW! That sounds like a heap of work, and there is definitely a whole lot more done to your bodywork than is apparent from the front view picture you attached. Now that you have mentioned the sectioning I can see it in the grille proportions, and it's definitely way more obvious in your avatar picture. I would have been 'fairly happy' just to piece it all back together as one body, let alone get it to the standard you have achieved!
I would love to see a side on profile shot!
When I referred to the front 'screen' height, I was actually meaning windscreen, whereas you say windshield (must be one of those north/south hemisphere things).
I'm definitely going for just a chop with mine, and have been saving a bunch of pics of hammered '35s and '36s (both 3 and 5 window) to try and narrow down the 'perfect' chop. I'm probably not so bothered about the claustrophobic issue - one of the very few times that being only 5'6" is an advantage!

I would have to say that my current favorite chop is the Cole Foster built 3-window (from a 5-window) for Kirk Hammett. Probably not an easy look to achieve when starting with an actual 3-window!

In the meantime, I'm just pottering around with little jobs trying to get the feel of working with sheetmetal, before I get the urge to start cutting it up.

Bear

 

WOW! WOW! WOW! I just found this thread. And I can't stop reading it. But I'm also reading it in reverse, so when I finish I can see how it all started.lol This is why I love the H.A.M.B. so much. And Thanks for all your post . You are very TALENTED! I also love your Art work second to none! how can one person have that much talent? keep it up and just have FUN! Ron...

 

One of the 'little jobs' I have managed to get done is the fabrication of some 'skirt' panels for the sides of the bench seat.

First off, I fabbed up some channel sections that bolt to the sides of the seat and space the 'skirts' out the correct distance.

I cut some holes in these brackets to line up with the holes in the seat frame, just so if anybody ever looked under there it might look like something the factory could have done.



Then I cut out some flat sheetmetal (after making a cardboard template), rolled a curve at one end around a piece of driveshaft tubing, and ran the edge thru my bead roller using a Covell 1/2" rounding over die to give a nice finish, and to stiffen the panel.



Then welded the two sections together and sanded up.










The plan is to eventually cover these with around 1/4" high density foam, then wrap them in leather to match the seat upholstery. It's never gonna' be an original '36 seat, but it should look like it coulda' been done back then....

Bear

 

amazing build.chassis is piece of art.subscribed.

 

Your "seat skirts" are simply elegant; and you're right, they do resemble the factory ones!

 

Bear, great job on all those seat parts, and I'll bet it work way better than the original.
While I'm here, let me make a suggestion regarding the low stance you have set up for your 3 window. As far as I'm concerned you have it set perfectly. My drive height is set at 4" at the front of the rear wheel opening and 4.5" at the rear of the front wheel opening. When I saw how close to ground this put the chin of my primo grill, I decided I need to add sum invisible protection for it. So I shaped a spreader bar from 1"x2" steel tubing that I welded and triangulated to the rails and crossmember. I next welded a pad for a medium weight swivel caster that nestles right up behind the chin with it's wheel's bottom about an inch below the chin.
The caster I chose was a 3"er with a 2" ball rubber tire. It is now time to replace the tire, as it has several major scuff spot nearly a half inch deep and no longer round. I have obviously scrubbed it on steep driveway, rough entries to parking lots, speed bumps, etc. I always approach those situations slowly with care and caution and never once was I aware the caster had made contact. It has obviously done it's job because there is nary a scratch in the chins paint. I'm so glad I did this.
Best regards and good luck with all your endeavors, KB.

 

I agree.