Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

From Bangkok Dean

His old T bucket with a 427 Ford engine from Tasca Ford.

That he actually drove to Fla from Rhode Island

first photo the one circled

 

My grill shell and S/S wire mesh arrived yesterday. The grill shell came primered or that's what it looks like. Last night, I trimmed the mounting tabs to fit my frame and drilled the holes for where she'll mount. Then, I cut and bent the mesh to fit. Today, I'll glue in the insert and let that dry over night. Depending on the weather tomorrow, I'll prep and paint the grill shell.

 

Moving right along...cool. JW

 

Try painting then polishing the grille mesh on one of the cutoffs.
It may 'pop' more with Black in the recesses and you wouldn't have to mask it off.
Or just mask and spray, keeping all the mesh shiny...

 

I'm masking and painting. That mesh has a nice, subdued shine to it. It should look nice, when the shell is painted.

 

That mesh will look good Fred, it’s exactly the same stuff I used for my RPU.

 

Are you having an Aluminium radiator or black? JW

 

I don't have one yet, but an aluminum one from Superior is on the list. I'll paint the radiator black, so it'll enhance the S/S mesh. I've used Radiator Black from Eastwood and it seemed to work well.

https://www.eastwood.com/ew-radiator-black-12oz-satin-finish.html

 

Cool, that was my point with accenting the mesh. JW

 

Last night, I taped off the screen on both sides. This morning, I applied a coat of primer to the inside and let it dry. Flipped it over for a coat of primer and 3 color coats. I had 2 small runs, but was able to wet sand them smooth. I meant to take pics outside, for better light, but the rain clouds were coming.

 

Looks good Fred. Fred , what engine are you putting in it? Bob.........................

 

A friend of mine is building a SBC for me. He says it'll be a 355, when he's done with it. Nothing radical, just a nice cruiser.

 

That's cool Fred. You will probably save a lot of money to.

 

How far away is the motor time wise? JW

 

Nice work, Fred!

 

He says he could have it ready when ever I want. But I'm shuttling money towards a daily driver, so it will be a while longer.

 

Just sat the shell on to get a look. I'm pleased with it.

 

That looks cool, Fred. JW

 

you may want to WD40 those rotors so they don't rust...
this thing is taking shape nicely...

 

GAA!!!
NO lube on discs! You will get it on the pads...
The brakes will bed in on the rotor surface okay, the rest should be scuffed to bare metal and painted.
You could use the scotchbrite discs to knock down all the rust if you want. A cheap die grinder or drill motor will make pretty quick work of it.
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Brite-Surface-Conditioning-Medium-07486/dp/B000B91090


Fred, how is the all-important cowl to radiator shell height? (hope it's not ugly)

 

Been there before with surface rust on rotors. First good stop cleans them up. I'm really not worried about the fins. If they bug me, I'll address it.

As for cowl to grill shell height, grill shell is 18" and cowl is 19".

 

Looking good Fred, I got a call the day before car show load in asking for my bucket to take place of a guy that couldn't make it. I obliged, I swear that car gets smaller every year but managed to get into it and get it there...lol One day I'm going to put the 27-28 "A" grill shell on which requires a new radiator to do, hard to tear apart a great running car though.

 

I'm not one to tell someone what modifications they should or shouldn't do to their car, but IMO, your present grill shell is a cool way to separate it from the herd. That grill shell makes it truly yours. Lose the grill shell and you may lose some of her identity.

 

I would have thought the gave away that I was kidding,....I am aware that the surface rust isn't an issue...sorry thought it would have been taken as a joke.

Car is coming together really nice

 

You know what's funny is I found that grill shell in the attic of my garage and actually built a car around it, without it I would have never built that car..lol

 

That is as good a reason as any to not change it!

 

I got the joke. JW

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/first-pics-of-the-golden-sahara-in-decades.1100332/

https://www.customcarchronicle.com/...s-customizer/jim-street-collection-uncovered/

Poor Kookie Kar.

 

Thing is, I knew a guy who did that because his brakes were squeaking! I didn't even notice the "wink".

 

Sorry, didn't catch 'the joke'.
I've seen some real blunders and try to warn people...

Don't apply tire shine to the WHOLE tire
Don't use a shiny (slippery) protectant on a motorcycle seat or a steering wheel
Don't 'wax' flat black trim
I've seen people apply the brake anti-squeak to the front of the pad too many times...
The list goes on.