Haven't been on HAMB for 5 years or so, but I have been working on Howland for a while on-and-off. Thought I post some of the progress. I'm building Howland to be a driver. Mild chop, pre-war stroked flattie with a 5 speed. Ford 8" rear on leafs. These roof lines are ugly stock and my biggest challenge was getting rid of the hump over the passenger seat.
Welcome back! Very Kool, what a classy chop top. It looks like it should have rolled off the assembly line that way. Going to fool a lot of guys. Keep us posted with your progress.
The one thing on my 46 that I didn't like was the hump. Always wondered if there was a way to take the hump without doing a chop that looked good. I really like what you've done with yours.
That is going to be one beautiful ride if your workmanship continues on the same plane. Congratulations.
looking very good - terrific body style but, roofline has always needed a bit of modification - most get carried away with too heavy of a chop
Thanks for the encouragement. Haven't been spending enough time in the shop lately. Need to get back to it.
I stopped working on Howland months ago when I got discouraged over the grill area. I had parts I liked – '50 Desoto grill, '41 Ford surround – but it didn't come together well. The Desoto grill was a bit too extreme for the subdued build and didn't tie in to the hood well. I recently had the idea of a Pontiac-like waterfall front. Here is the start. View attachment 4501022
Started work on shaping the driver's fender for the '52 Studebaker headlights. The fender falls back right under the stock round headlights, so the fender had to be brought forward almost an inch below the bucket. I like to use heat when stretching that much. It makes it much easier and a smoother result. Started forming the flange. I won't be installing the fender trim, and I didn't like the looks of the body line / shelf and scallop so I rolled it out and shrunk the scallop area.
Further tuning of the shape and flange. The Studebaker bucket and trim ring actually flare forward a little at the bottom. More metal moving and blending.
Bucket mounted. No cutting or welding to re-shape. Just forming. Still need to add 3 tabs at the top of the opening to pick up the last 3 mounting screw locations and suck it in tight .
What an awesome grill! I like the 5 teeth. Is the whole thing going to be chromed, or are you going to paint the center?
Thanks - I had figured on painting the center / surround piece body color. Chrome! It would be a lot of chrome but I think it would tie it together better. Just the teeth and headlight bezels being chrome might be too little. Thanks for the idea!
Just a bit of trivia here. That Studebaker headlight trim was also used on Borgwards. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Interesting, never heard of that. Which borgwards? Sent from my Moto G (5S) using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Not quite sure. My friend Sid built two bullet nose Studebakers. He pulled those headlight doors off a Borgward and they were identical to the Studebaker. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Years ago I saw some photos of period customs with Guide B-31 style tail lights mounted to bumper guards in place of any tail lights on the body. I loved the look and started collecting B-31 housings. I found the red bullet lenses are very hard to come by and it took years to collect 4 that matched well enough. Was able to put together 4 nice ones for Howland.