Projects My '32 5 Window Project - Done and Cruising!!!

Glad your treatment went well.
Rod is looking terrific!

Phil

 

Battery box in, interior/trunk divider in. Also got the shifter and emergency brake in. Making some progress. Tackle the shifter cable tomorrow. Have to get under there and grind off a boss on the side of the tranny for bolt clearance.

SPark

 

Beautiful job sir. Anyone would be extremely proud to have such an outstanding car. I bet everyone upstairs is talking about this one. Especially the unique color combination!

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Glad the reset worked. You’ve built a beauty here, now in the final stretch! Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

Got the hood back on today. Really happy with all the gaps except the bottom right front corner. Little grinding on the hood edge and a little welding and it should work as nice as the rest of it. Think I have the radiator shimmed to where it needs to be so time to make some permanent shims instead of the stack of spacers under it now.

That lets me fit the fan shroud. Still playing with spacers to get the fan exactly where I want it. It’s always a bit of a compromise.

Also started laying out wiring locations and routes this morning.

Headed to the Oncologist for an infusion. That kills the rest of today off.

Last pic was another project the painter had going while doing my work. ‘36 sedan they have been doing some repairs to. It’s a parade car for one of the locals.

SPark

 

Lot of little things today. No pictures since it looks basically the same. Created the solid spacers for under the radiator and got rid of the shims (ended up with 3/8" x 1-1/4" x 2" bar stock on each side). Did the final trimming on the fan shroud. Buttoned up all the tranny cooler lines. Put on the radiator hoses.

Spent the rest of the day playing with adjustments of the grille shell/radiator/front hood edge. Didn't accomplish much change. Feels like something is binding between the radiator top and inside of the shell at the top right corner. Think I've tracked it down to the overflow hose. Going to pull it out tomorrow and see if I can get a little better fit before I start trimming the front edge of the hood. It will need a bit of trimming but nothing drastic.

Shooting on getting the heater in tomorrow so I can seal up the cooling system. Also spend some more time on the grille shell fit. Also need to complete the little console I started that fits the front edge of the seat. It houses my turn signal buttons, a power port (got the GPS) and a couple HDMI plugs(keep the phones charged). Got the top plate made but need to make the riser and seat mount pieces.

Got an infusion yesterday and that always leaves me a bit tired but wired. Can't sleep, but want to. Between that and the fact that an easy half hours work turns your shirt soaking wet in our current heat and humidity and I seem to be taking more brakes than getting anything done.

SPark

 

Check the HDMI plugs. Most phones use USB for charging. Maybe just used the wrong acronym?

Phil

 

That’s how tech savvy I am. USB is correct. Have to get the grandkids to fix my electronics these days.

 

Short day today. Couple doctors appointments took way too much time. Feeling like crap since this last reset and change in meds. Zero energy. Sweat at the drop of a hat. Everything checks out good but my pulse is way low (40) and my blood pressure is about 30 points lower than I’m used to. Trying a little med change starting tonight to see if it works.

Did get the firewall feet in place and finished up. At least I got something done today.

Think I’m going to have to put a set of ‘32 headlights on to pass inspection. My 7” lights are 1-3/4” too low to meet minimum height requirements (24” to center). That’s with a 3/4” spacer under the mounts. Going to the ‘32 light should raise my center height 1-1/2” and I can work with that. Also have a taller set of tires to try. It’s always something.

SPark

 

Zero progress last weekend, well actually since Friday afternoon. Hard to get anything done laying in the hospital!

Friday night after eating supper about 8:00 I got to feeling worse and worse. Decided to rest a bit and post the pictures of the firewall feet. By 10:30 I was sick. Severe pain in my ribs and back, some of the worst pain I have ever been thru. Started puking, spiked a fever, blah, blah, blah. All things the Oncologist doesn't want to hear. By 11:30 we were at the ER. Almost 4 hours later I finally got something for the pain because my wife threatened to remove me from the facility. 12 hours later they decided I was too complicated for them and they didn't have the facility to deal with me and transported me to a much bigger hospital where my Oncologist and Cardiologist are based out of. Got my first ride in an ambulance! The 2 main theories were blood clots in my lungs or gall bladder issues.

3 days of tests, no food, 16,000 doctors poking on me, draining about a gallon of blood for tests, scans, x-rays and several types of IV's we finally got an answer. Gall stones. Knew they were there from my CT scans I get all the time but never had any issues with them.

Now the fun begins. The head of surgery was a fantastic guy, really impressive man. You seldom see a surgeon that doesn't want to cut you open but he was totally up on the problems my cancer drugs brought to the program. He came by several times, kept me posted on test results and ran the list of options available. Very impressive care overall.

My options are 1: Gall bladder work. That means we would have to stop the cancer treatments for a minimum of 60 days so they can remove the gall bladder but they don't want to do that. Second option was drains but that would be an even longer period off the cancer treatments, like 3 months. 3rd option was scope me and remove all the stones they could but again, that's 60 days off treatment. I also have kidney cancer attached to my liver which is right next to the gall bladder. Their fear is the surgery would energize the cancer and make it spread like crazy. He basically took that of the table except a last resort.

The option he chose Saturday night was turn me over to the internal medical group and that group decided on massive doses of IV antibiotics for a few days and see if it will kill the inflammation. That is how we went and it seems to have worked. The head of surgery still stopped in every day to check with me and keep updated, was totally impressed with that man. Got booted out of the hospital last night and sent home. By that time all my labs were back in line with normal.

All I got done was ordered the '32 headlights. Will take a few days to get back on real food (liquid diets suck) and get some strength back.

For the record, I don't recommend that as a weekend plan for anyone. Totally sucked and set me back a few days.

Hopefully we're back at it later this week and the updates will resume. Need to get it assembled so we can finish paint and get to upholstery! Have to get some miles on this thing before winter is here. Want to be driving in in the next two weeks, that's the goal. Stay tuned, never know what will happen next around here!

SPark

 

Wow, not the kind of update we are used to hearing from you. Glad everything is back on track, and hope progress ( your’s and the car’s) continues in the right direction.

 

That Sucks but you're on the mend again...soldier on as they say and you seriously are a model of courage and positivity...I am in awe of your strength to move forward @LM14...So glad to see turn key in the near future...

 

Can't wait to see you driving it! One thing I've learned from this thread is that you are one tough guy. You can do it. We're all cheering for you here!

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Yes we are all cheering for you.

 

Enjoying your build Hope you get your strength back soon

 

X2 on this. Prayers for you.

 

Isn't there an option for sonic (don't know the name) where they blast the stones with radiowaves or something like that and it mashes them up into small particles with no surgical intervention. They do that with kidney stones.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. It's common with kidney stones and is very rarely used on gall stones. Gall stones have more area to roam and are harder to find plus the ducts are different. My ducts all checked out good and the stones that are there are not abnormally large so they say we should be good once we get past the inflammation this one caused. The blockage also caused a urinary tract infection that I'm still on meds for. Kind of a snowball rolling down a hill deal (Southern State friends can call for more info on that statement). My Avastin and the tumors on my liver right next to the area are the limiting factors. The head of surgery thought the meds we are using are the best answer at this time. He felt ANY surgery or procedure would open me to bleeding issues and the possibility of the cancer cells spreading. I liked his thinking. Any time a surgeon declines to cut you open you have to respect his opinion.

Did make it out to the garage for a little bit today. Got the trunk lid back on and aligned, also cleaned up a few parts for reassembly. Only a little over an hour but it really zapped my strength. Going to have to take things slow for a while. Also, can't afford to sweat and dehydrate. My kidney functions were way high when I first got to the ER and I only have one kidney. Can't afford to mess that one up! Will be slow going for a while but any progress is good. Need time for the meds to work and it's killing me sitting in the recliner watching TV!

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

SPark

 

So what is the plan on getting the body in paint ?

 

I am wiring it, getting it running/driving with temporary upholstery on the seat. Will put the doors back on and work the gaps. I need to do an Iowa inspection to get my title/plates and will drive it until late fall. That gives me time to work the gaps, fix small issues, etc. as they show themselves. Want to put as many miles on it as possible this fall. Once driving season is over it goes back to the painter and we strip the taillights/license plate and glass back out. Break the doors, hood, grille shell and trunk back down and paint them. Then they will bag everything on the chassis/firewall/under body that is already painted (we placed all the paint seams in strategic areas that get covered in final assembly) and paint the main body. It gets reassembled and goes to upholstery in January.

SPark

 

The tail is all back together and adjusted. Trunk hinges together, catch, latch, taillights and license plate frame. Ready to wire this end of the car.

Starting on assembly of the heater/defroster system tomorrow.

Feels like I’m moving in slow motion. Wouldn’t think 4 days of zero activity would be so hard on a guy.

SPark

 

Back at it the last couple days. Finally feeling like doing something again.

Got the entire heater/defroster system installed for the final time. It’s going to work. All the heater hoses are connected and clamped except 2. Bought the parts store out of that size until Monday freight comes in. Joys of small town living. Everything fits great so far.

Welded in a mounting plate for the fuse box. Started stringing wires to the appropriate places.

Got the nod to John Milner put on the shifter today, too.

The fun of working on old cars, getting infusions every 2 weeks and being on 3 blood thinners at once. Any little bump or using my arms as levers makes for great bruises. Arms looking a little rough. Been telling everyone the wife is a pincher.

SPark

 

Good to see you again making progress! Continued prayers that your treatments are successful.

 

Doors are back on and fit great. These bodies are really stiff and maintained it’s shape all the time it was off the frame. Everything went right together and it all lined up just like it had never been apart.

Milled 0.125 off the top of each inner door hinge pivot point so a stainless AN washer fits on top of the pillar side of the hinge and underneath the door side of the hinge. That gives me a stainless pivot point/wear surface instead of aluminum riding on aluminum. Was suggested by a couple different guys with these bodies and it worked great. Thanks!

Got all the wiring separated and ran to appropriate areas of the chassis. I hate wiring.

More work on garnish moldings and they are about done.

All the plumbing is finished....almost. Have a leak around the tranny dipstick tube. Have to drain it down a bit, pull that back out and see what's going on there. Thought it went in too easy. Maybe a slightly thicker O-ring will fix the issue. Hate using silicone on tranny parts.

Hauling it to the upholstery shop Tuesday so they can do some preliminary measurements and get the skins ordered. Taking paint samples so he can mail them to his supplier and get a match on the colors I want to use. Wants to have everything on hand when I take it down in January for upholstery.

Still trying to decide on the Dietz style headlights or the bigger ‘32 style. Need to decide so I can put the conduit holes in the buckets and grille shell.

SPark

 

Look at shorter bucket Guide lights. I favor those on a highboy 32. Not as small as Dietz but not as big as stock 32.

 

Think I have the solution to my headlight dilemma. Going to run the Deitz lights with a spacer under them to get close to the required height and put the slightly taller tires from my '62 short bed unibody project on the front for the DOT inspection. Should get me the height I need.

Spent the day dragging the car from shop to shop. First off was the painter. We discussed a few alternatives to some repairs and details on the Rootlieb hood. The bottom flange is pretty rough at each end and needs a bit of work to line up with the lower character line. He confirmed my plan so will start that soon. He checked the fit of the doors and decided high build would take care of any remaining low spots so not much left in the way of body work. Couple areas but nothing drastic.

From him I ran by a glass shop. My driver's side door window is cracked. Came out of a track and hit the door latch inside the door. The track had come loose and moved. Been looking for somebody that was comfortable working on it and this guy will custom cut the replacement safety glass, install it and adjust everything. He seemed excited to do the project while everyone else was pretty wishy washy when talking to me about it. He's been doing auto glass for 38 years so he's been there, done that. Finally someone to do the glass work that knows what is going on.

My last stop for the day was the upholstery shop. Picked out the white and green leather for the interior and a nice deeper olive green for the carpet. Discussed a lot of options and they had a whole page of notes by the time I left. Scheduled to take it down in January but if I get paint done before that they will take it. I'm their next major project they are taking in. The 2 in front of me are farther from being ready to upholster than I am.

Tomorrow I start the actual wiring. Hoping to get it done in the next week. Taking my time, making things look nice and easy to work on. Have a couple pieces that will need to be removed for upholstery and reconnected after the upholstery is in. May have to put a conduit in for the third brake light. Wife had to have one so I haven't spent much time thinking about it yet.

SPark (hopefully not from the wiring!)

 

Good luck Sparky!

 

Wiring is about 3/4 done. All battery cables run, engine compartment wired, rear lights done and the dash is complete. Starting on the switches Thursday (infusion ties up most of tomorrow). Still have a few wires to anchor down. When it’s all done and I get through inspection and everything works, I’ll cut all the zip ties off and put Painless braid over all the wires. That’s what is on the distributor to coil wires in the picture. That’s what winter is for.

Cleaned up the grille shell and primed it.

Stainless pencil tips for the exhaust finally showed up so got them installed too.

SPark

 

How do u keep braided stainless clean when over all electric wires. I split rubber hose & wipe off. Tie wraps need little more work but has to be easier then braided or all the corrugated junk on factory cars which just catches & holds all dirt

 

It's not stainless, it's Painless Power Braid. It's a nylon covering made for wiring. Wash it off and go on about your life.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Pain...47334435&utm_content=All Products (Oct4_2019)

Comes in several sizes for a good fit.

SPark