Projects 1930 Sportster, shortened cockpit, tilted post cowl, door caps.

Impressive metal-shaping-skills and very interessant build, will follow your progress.

 

Looks good to me. But you sure are fully about which dash to use! The one in there now looks good. But what happened to the one you used a modified speedometer in? I thought that one looked good too.

 

I have had a '32 truck, '33 truck, '38 car, '38 Woodie, [2] '39 cars, [2] '40 cars and a '51 truck in this cowl...
they now are hanging on nails in the garage or have been traded off... pix of some of 'em…

 

Purchased another reasonably priced '48 truck dash from a hamber… thanks.
Going to narrow the left edge of the glovebox door and the adjoining dash 1.5"...
the flat dash area between the cluster and speaker grill will lose a matching 1.5"...
this will keep the radio delete and speaker grill centered...
ashtray delete with the first try did not...

pic with cut lines when the shipper delivers the goods !


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looks like it, but they did not test it by driving over it with a truck... mikie likes it !

 

The eagle landed Tuesday .... dash is better than I thought...
I cut this one 1.65" between the cluster and the speaker grill...
another 1.65" from the left edge of the glovebox door...
cut, sanded, fit, tacked and a little weld sanding...
2 cuts centered the speaker grill and radio delete...
first pic has just the ashtray removed, 1 cut... 3.25" total...
second pic is today's work, 2 cuts... 3.25" total...

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Note the centered dash was left with more stock sheet metal on the ends...
makes a much smoother flow from dash to A pillar...

 

Shortened the glovie and the dash behind it about 1.65"...
took 1.65" from the flat section between the cluster and the speaker grill...
it took the same chunk from both the defrost vents so they are still the same width...
.

 

Trimmed the right edge of the '30 roadster dashrail… with a little work to the door's top/ cap it might look ok...

 

There’s never a dull moment with this build. It’s a source of inspiration for my own build while it’s on hold. I am shaping a new 29 Roadster body for a guy in Newcastle. He said he wanted to extend the doors, I said it would be easier to shape new ones, doors are two inches longer than stock ones. The cab interior will be the same dimensions as a coupe. Once I get this one out of the way I can back to my own Cabriolet.

 

I am also inspired by your building... you build from new steel,
I can't form panels from flat stock like you do...
I have to make a puzzle from other cars...
a coupe's interior is 5" longer than the roadster.
just did the opposite on my sportster...

 

Can't leave this stuff alone... DR. says it will stop when I do !
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buddy's wife's son had this '48 truck dash... was rusted through along the bottom under the speaker grill... he cut out the section you see in the 1st pic...
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I had a chunk slip rolled then made the soft 90* along the bottom on the "new to me" brake..
first part bent on it !...
had to invent the radiused z for the glovie door to set into...



.narrowed 3 5/8" for a '30-'31 closed car cowl... narrow enough to fit '32 to 34 car and truck, '35 -'36 truck..[/ATTACH]

 

Looks good, @sloppy jalopies!

 

Buddy came over for a before his 4th of July cookout for a perimeter frame tack together this AM...
repop '32 rails, '28 one ton front cross member and some bracing...
the stamped body mounting holes in the rails were well located...
propped up a radiator, grill, hood and cowl to let us know where the difference between the 103.5" and 106" wheelbases would be...
I slid the front crossmember back 1" and will move the center of the rear axle forward 1.5"... want the car to be able to run the stock hood... recessed firewall will let the SBF fit well...
.

 

Shrunk and stretched some 20ga. strips to follow the '32 frames arch, made some "Z"s, cut them and overlapped them...
strips with a stretched 90*, angle a shrunken 90* angle make an even stronger Z...
bent some cross channels … slid in some 3/4" wooden blocks 10 bolts...
got to trim about 1.5" off the tail ends of the subfloor to match the A..

 

A wheelbase is 103.5"... '32 is 106"...
I moved the crossmember back 1.25"... moved the rear axle ahead 1.25"...
this will let me run a stock grill/ hood set up...
going to use a '32 fuel tank...
had to trim the frame's upper rail to slide the tank forward to match...
the A body is shorter... had to move the tank ahead a total of 2.75"...
by using the outside , stretched rail it leaves a .75" vertical flange to weld to the inside of the wheelwell…
undecided on cutting off the rear horns, shortening them and welding them back on...
may just let the spreader bar be where it is...
the further forward you move the '32 tank the more of the A body must be removed [upward frame angle]…
it appears the heavy rear cross rail and maybe a little of the lower panel will be left out...
.

 

I for one think this is awesome!

Build something neat out of rusty bits other guys sneer at.

Well played sir!

 

looks good Smitty! Keep at it.

 

You have a very good eye ! And you make it look easy !

 

Deleted the pick up quarter comments... they are in another thread...
when I started to bolt tight the sportie's panels the bottom of the deck was 38" not 35"...
no dent, no crease, no clue... grabbed a straight edge and some clamps... wow...
the left sportie quarter was bowed inward [towards the right side] 2"…
buddy is doing the chassis work so for timing I changed over to roadsterish pick up...
BUT... Today I located the owner of the rear half of a '30-'31 coupe, right side is rusted in half half way up from the lower reveal ... made an offer... now I wait... will let me transplant the left upper sportie quarter into his left coupe quarter and still save enough quarter window metal to cure someone's body...
if it lands here I should have both quarter windows, some roof, an extra tulip and right trunk edge... ?
don't remember if it had any lower panel left...

 

Sounds like a good plan Smitty! Keep at it.

 

Because the cross rail lines up with the B pillar I will cut the subfloor 1" ahead of the cross rail...
not going to cut anything till I get the quarter I need at my house...
had some junk subrails, cut a 19.5" out of each side, repaired the short pieces...
this replaces the difference between the cut and the rear subrails after I cut off the truck subfloor...
really hoping to get that '30 coupe carcass...
Crossrail in the way...so I will cut ahead of the gusset... this will leave the cab back with the subfloor under it, for an easy transplant to another cowl and doors later... .
19.5" sections from junk '30 coupe subrails…
had to weld in 5 patches and 5 cracks on one of 'em...other one had only 4 cracks...

.

 

Resorted to trying to salvage the original left quarter, got a line on a couple, but the owners want to think about it...spose to get 3 storms this week...
freezing rain, sleet and snow coming...
if they don't say yes real soon the quarters will be frozen in for the winter...
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bent a chunk of 1/2" conduit to match the quarter's radius, clamped it in to use as a curved straight edge … tested for flat on the bench...worked well....
I used a large pair of water pump plyers opened up about halfway... this let me bend the trunk / quarter edge in not crush the gutter... helped...
couldn't straighten the trunk edge without the 14" long 3/8" tapered wedge I had tacked in in October …
welded the wedge in... a little grinding...
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I know it is not correct but in a quarter with a thousand stiches in it I can live with the left side being 3/8" wider than the right...
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of course now both guys will want to sell,
i'll buy 'em, A quarters are tough to come by...
conduit straight edge.
wedge welded in, ground... needs the cockpit combing's upper flattened out... later...
I can live with it... .

 

Cut off the subrails to remove the cab back...
spliced in the short subrail sections I messed with yesterday ...
shimmed it and welded it...
tacked on the rear subfloor that I made this summer...
strung the [4] ratchet straps to hang the quarters from...
initial measurements say it is close...

 

Everyone screws up now and then... well its my "now"...
when i started I cut up the left quarter first... when I tried to bolt the panels together the quarter appeared to be bowed out at the bottom...
well it was me, when I widened the top I was off about 3/8"... making the quarter too narrow...
in October I used a straight edge and determined the trunk edge needed to be moved in, I cut it and tacked it, it bummed me so I went the back up route with the roadster - esque pick up...
got [2] quarter deals pending... so with that as a back up plan I decided to go back to the '30 "sportster"
rear clip...
this am, just for fun I grabbed a tape measure and ran it from the B pillar to the tulip gap...
both sides were 19.5" on the dot...
the quarter was never bowed, it was my bad fit... so the 3/8" wedge I added should have been there all along...
happy to be going back to the sportster, but that was a ton of work doing the "cab back" thing only to realize it was all my fault...
when i take my chassis to a buddy's house [rotisary] for him to do the suspension I will fab up a '30 cowl, truncated doors and subfloor with the "cab back" welded to it...
I felt pretty stupid for a while till I found that it is still going to get the job done...

 

back at it,
dropped a couple bolts through the rivet holes where the trunk gutter's top and sides meet as a location point... still got some tulip trimming to do... added conduit bracing... 4 more sections to go...

 

got my insurance policy... the '30-'31 sport coupe quarter has issues but is fixable at a fair price...

 

gonna stuff these pix here, lost most of them when I went truck cab and back... cockpit combing...

lots of tape measure, straight edge and a level...

 

Chanced the freezing rain storm that was predicted, no ice till I got home...
went to southwest NH. to buy an A rumble lid...
minor rust through [pix] …
no visible dents...
further inspection may reveal some faint dings ?...
got to get the rumble hinges and handle off ASAP...


the rust through seems to be little more than drain holes... I own worse...

 

I’ve enjoyed your posts here and on others’ threads. Usually some good advice about interchangeable parts or acceptable substitutes. Watching this build gives me more hope for my A coupe. I will be starting with even less than you have with this one. You also got me back to considering a truck but I think I’ll stick with the coupe. Glad you’re going forward with the sport coupe.

 

Sorry, no pix,
But I spent an hour removing the rumble hinges and deck handle for a buddy's roadster project,
Couple more hours heating the lower left door hinge to red hot, let cool, hammer and punch, red hot, let cool, hammer and punch, ETC... ETC... ETC...
Till I was sick of it...
So I finally broke down and got out a new drill bit, soda cap full of oil, finally ground off the pin's head, then drilled the top door half of the pin about 3/8" deep, then the same to the bottom end of the pin...
this let me separate the hinge halves so I could drive or drill the pin from the male hinge...
worked all day and nothing shows...
There is a reward, I get to do it again on the upper hinge Wednesday ! [I am going to go directly to drilling it].
Turkey, ham, taders, biscuts… and a nap, during late afternoon football on Thanksgiving...

 

and well you deserve it Smitty! Hope you have a great holiday.