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

You are 100% correct. We hashed this all over a long time ago, think it was on page 1. My '32 build is not 100% traditional, that's why it's in the General Forum instead of the Traditional Forum. Just sharing my work for those that are interested. Never claimed it is a 100% traditional build at any time. It will have the vibe but there are newer parts on the car.

The '62 pickup is an older project. It stalled several years ago. I decided while the '32 was at paint that I would dig it out and work on it since I had the room to do so. Decided to share that work (that pertains to this type of forum) while waiting for results on the '32. I don't plan to share things that don't fit in here. I respect the rules of the HAMB.

Somebody asked me about the wheels on the truck since they are not good here. I always build with the correct size tires and wheels on my builds. These are super cheap wheels to buy and allow me to mount the tires on the correct offset wheels for the duration of the build. These are not the wheels the truck will have on it when it is done but I don't have to worry about messing up my good wheels while welding and grinding. Cheaper in the long run.

Thanks for the concerns on preserving the HAMB, it has it's place. Very few builds would be shown here if the general area did not allow those of us working in some "gray areas" to post our projects. There are a lot of them out there. I try to learn from everyone sharing their builds.

SPark

 

Stopped at the painter’s shop today. Everything is jammed and the final spot hi build is on. They will do final sanding over the next 2 days and be ready for paint on Saturday. Thinking of shooting it Saturday since they are closed then and won’t be interrupted. That’s the plan anyway.

SPark

 

Oooh, shiney paint, that’s going to look good!
r


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Love it when the shiny stuff goes one.....looks like you are not in "paint jail"!

 

woohoo. Nice looking start.

 

Sounds like the body work went well. Should be ready to shoot the '32! Getting pretty excited!!!

Been working on the unibody for 30 days now. Big back window section is in, doors are aligned, material added to tops of doors so they line up with the box, paint stripped off the doors and roof, speaker holes patched, radio hole patched, transmission tunnel back in place, front bumper mounted and holes filled in, door gaps corrected (ended up welding the edges in a few places), stock column drop modified to bolt a 4" Borgeson drop in place for more adjustment, seat mounting nuts all welded in and ground down and everything is stripped down. Made some serious progress in the last month.

Hoping for painted pics of the '32 by next week. Stay tuned.

SPark​

 

Just left the paint shop. They found a few areas they still weren’t happy with so another round of hi build in those areas. Doing the final sanding right now and hope to have it in the paint booth this afternoon for final masking. Even though it’s frustrating and moving slower than I would like the end results should be worth the wait.

On the ‘62 unibody side of things I got started on the wiper delete. Got the left cowl vent removed and replaced at the wiper transmission. Filled in the transmission hole and roughed in the fit of the replacement cowl vent.

SPark

 

Finished up the right side of the wiper removal this afternoon. Also spent a bit of time working on the finish of the left side. Much cleaner looking. Won’t mess with it any more until it’s back from blasting.

SPark

 

This is a "2-for-the-price -of-1" thread!

The Deuce and pickup are different, but complimentary. Thanks for posting all the inspiring pics & explanations, @LM14

 

While I was on a roll, decided to fix the right side engine stand/tower this evening. When I originally built it, I built the left side first. When the left side was done I measured the right side and built the riser pieces. What I failed to do was check to see if the engine was still in the right place! It had slid down the angled top of the tower and the jack had settled. I tacked the whole mess together and stood back to see the right side was drastically lower than the left and the engine was crooked left to right. Walked away. That was actually the last time I worked on the truck until the '32 went to paint.

Today I reversed all that. Cut the old right tower out, got the engine back in the correct place left to right and built the new tower with the engine level (left to right) this time! Much better. The air cleaner now sits parallel to the pinch weld on the firewall.

Probably at a stand still for a few days now. If they do get the '32 painted in the next couple days, we'll go down and put the doors and trunk lid back on before bringing it home. Then I need a couple days to get it put back together so it can go to the upholstery shop. Once it's at upholstery I have 4 to 5 weeks to work on the unibody.

SPark

 

Steve are ya gonna build a model of this like you did of the coupe? i dont know if i have ever seen a unibody model.....I went by that shop in Ames you told me about last s fall and checked it out....cool place.....

 

Explain to me (us) if you can the logic behind deleting the windshield wipers.

I can understand the desire for smooth lines however a truck without windshield wipers will be pretty useless at times.

 

X2

 

Just noticed that the anti-wiper delete guys are all Canadian. Do you wonder why?

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I live in Iowa, we pretty much know when it's going to rain. Very specific weather patterns. If it's a rainy day, it can stay in the garage. I've had daily drivers when I was younger that the wipers didn't work for one reason or another. It wasn't that big of a problem. If a shower pops up Rain-X will work most of the time, parking and waiting is also an option. I'm not in that big of a hurry these days.

This isn't a daily driver, it's a cruiser. It's a toy to be enjoyed. I like the look and am totally amazed how many people are fixating on the wiper removal. I see a lot of cars posted here that don't have wipers. If I lived someplace that it rained all the time or I needed to drive it 7 days a week it would be different. The '32 has a wiper on the driver's side because I had to have one to pass state inspection. If it wasn't required for that, it would not have had a wiper either.

SPark

 

The only unibody kit available is a long bed nd it was an annual kit in the early '60's. Been trying to buy one for years. They just released a regular cab/box kit and I may look into modifying one of those to a uni.

SPark

 

We’re not anti wiper delete, we’re just smart enough to realize that it’s nice to have a clear windshield when you get caught out in the rain.
If you live on the “Wet coast” like my BC buddy then it’s a no brainer, windshield wipers are not optional even for a toy.

My RPU will have a hand wiper on the windshield frame for inspection but it will be removed afterwards.
I will have a little electric wiper installed in the header of my Rod Tops top for whenever I have the top on.
Its a lot different having a open car like my RPU, a lot of early open roadsters don’t have wipers.

I still say that a closed car like your coupe or your truck will be much more fun and safer to drive with a wiper or wipers than without, even if they’re toys and not daily drivers.

Ask guys like Danny @HOTRODPRIMER who has more fun, the guys who can’t use their rides when it rains or the guys who drive their cars anytime they like.

 

I understand it's not for everyone. I have plenty of toys to choose from if the weather makes me change my mind. I went thru college in 2 different cars that didn't have wipers (broken switch and wiring issues on one, bad motor on the other) and never bothered to fix them. Got along just fine. Winter is worse than summer rains. I don't plan to drive this truck or the '32 in the winter so that's not an issue. The '32 has a wiper but I don't plan to have the wiper arm on it when it's done or ever use it. It's there though.

Spent a little time today fixing the rain gutter on the right side. How ironic is that?!?!? The original cab piece above the door is a totally different shape than the piece going down the back of the door jamb on the big window section. Only big windows had the piece going down the back of the door jamb. Had to slice the original cab piece between the roof and gutter for a few inches and reshape it so they matched up better and still fit the shape of the door top. Welded it back in place and filled the 1/2" gap between the 2 pieces. Got it roughed back into shape.

Also removed the 3 little rust areas between the gutter and roof skin. Cut the rust out, treated behind them and welded in new metal. Roof rust is patched.

Started cleaning up some of the welds around the base of the big window section. Lots of grinding left to do.

SPark

 

Just got a few pictures from the painter! It’s really happening.
SPark

 

Now that's purty!

 

Got that bad boy looking right!

 

Saw the ‘32 in person this afternoon. Pretty decent job. Has a bit of orange peel in a couple spots but they should work out fairly easily. Planning to get it home tomorrow and to upholstery Thursday.

SPark

 

Go man go! Looking good!

 

Nice SHINY paint.

 

The coupe looks great congrats.
I have been in awe of your metalworking skills and wonder if you could touch a bit on your process of after you do your welding on how you make it all come out so nice. This would be a big help as we see the fit, the weld then a beautiful finished product but I know your technique in between is masterful to get those final results.

 

Beautiful work sir. It only highlights your autobody skills!

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

 

Morning was spent at the painter’s putting doors back together, mounting them and making some adjustments. Also put the trunk lid, latch and support in place. His lot is glare ice, glad we have a winch on the trailer.

Got it back home (35 miles of spitting snow made a bit of a mess of things) and tackled a few more pieces. Dash, taillights, license plate and light, windshield and all the wiring is also back in place and working.

We drop it off at the upholstery shop at 1:30 Thursday afternoon.

SPark

 

Thanks for the kind words. There is really nothing special that I do. I just make things fit well, weld them and grind them down. This is kind of my steps on something like the base of the big back window section:

I spend a lot of time on making things fit correctly. That's a big part of things coming out nice. I do a lot of tack welds. I use a MIG because that's what I have. Start with the center and work towards the ends keeping things in line and in the proper place. I cool the area after each spot weld with a blast of air until I can put my bare hand on the spot. Again, taking your time along the way is a big time saver further down the road. Go back and put a spot weld mid way between the existing spot welds. Pay attention to alignment as you go. I keep the tack/cool process going until the panel is tacked in with a couple inches between tacks. I then weld in short sections between the spot welds. I don't pull the trigger and make a continuous weld. I make a series of fairly hot short spot welds that are all connected. If done correctly it will almost look like a TIG weld. I cool each short weld as I go, just like the tack welds. I also jump around a lot. Left/right, top/bottom, side to side. I never concentrate on a single area. Continue the weld/cool process until everything is welded solid.

Once it's completely welded, I break out the grinders. My main weapons are 4.5" angle grinders (I have several and just keep different style discs on them). Grinding stones, cutoff wheels, flap discs, paint strippers, etc., I usually start with a common grinding stone. I like to start with a new stone if I am going to end up with square corners or older stones if the corners will be rounded. I remove probably 80-90% of the weld with that stone. Anywhere I can reach. I cut with the round face of the stone so I have a very small contact area that I can control, working from the top to the bottom of each weld. When a large area is roughed in from top to bottom I then use the face of the stone and level the area on both planes. Sometimes this calls for a new stone so you have a good surface or sharper corners. Don't be afraid to change stones, they are cheap in the grand scheme of things. Lots of cooling while doing this, it gets hot fast. I concentrate on working the large areas first and skip areas that are going to need finer tools and more detail. I might grind 3 to 4" to shape and out comes the air gun again. I keep cooling while grinding, I hate warpage and fixing it. I'm not good at shrinking so I try to work to avoid it. I try to get all the big areas to that 90% ground to shape range. I don't grind the parent metal, just the weld. Take your time, use a light touch, master controlling the grinder and not just hogging metal out as fast as you can. No need to lay into it. Take your time.

Once I have the major/larger areas to that 90% ground range, I tie into the smaller areas. On this roof what fit the area best was a 1/4" straight tungsten carbide cutter on a die grinder. That's what I used for the sides and areas where I filled the window seams in the glass track pinch weld areas. I brace one hand against the body and guide with the other. Again, light cuts on just the weld and stopping often to cool. Again, I'm looking to remove 90% of the weld without getting into the parent metal. I may also break out a Dremel tool with a very small carbide cutter for inside corners if needed. Whatever tool fits the work area the best. Once again, I keep cooling as I go so it doesn't put heat in the panels. Sculpting. Slow and easy.

Once I have the entire welded area to the 90% ground status, I break out the Mig again and fill holes, low spots or places I went too deep. I go back to the grinders but usually skip the biggest heaviest stone unless I made a major repair. Basically just use a cutoff wheel on a 4.5" grinder or the die grinder. I may repeat this process several times. Whatever it takes to make me happy with the final results. Little bumps don't concern me at this time, just a good solid weld and fairly straight surfaces. We'll fix the little bumps in the next step.

Once I'm happy with the weld being solid and straight I break out the 3" angle grinder. I usually use Rolock 50 grit green 3M disks on it. Buy them by the box. I keep fresh disks on it so it cuts fast and doesn't just build up heat. An area as long as the base of the big window section, I used 3 fresh 50 grit disks to keep cutting uniform. The old disks still are fine for other grinding work and I throw them into a box for later use. I just want a fresh disk when shaping. I start working in longer passes and try to remove that last 10% of weld and create a nice corner. If you paid attention to your initial fit-up and welding/cooling, you should be able to do your final dress-up in that remaining 10% of material removal. I keep straight edges handy and check my work often. Cool often. After removing the bulk of the material I concentrate on straight and level for the last little bit. Using the straight edges helps tell you where to work more aggressively and where to stay away from until closer to the end of the process. I also have 1" and 2" Rolock setups and switch to smaller sizes as the bigger disk loses access to areas. I always work from large disk to smaller sizes, never the other way around. This is the first grinder that will touch the parent metal and that is the very final blend.

Once I'm happy with the whole area, I walk away. I tend to overthink things. I will look it over from several angles, use the straightedges, mark problem areas, etc. for a day or so. Then the day after I don't find something that I think I can improve on, I'll tie into the areas needing more attention. I find that walking away and just looking at it lets me see new issues. It changes my focus. Nothing says it has to all be finished in one day.

If I'm going to use fillers in the area I now have the perfect tooth to hold fillers. The area of the big window section will be blasted when the truck bed and interior are blasted later on. That will help with the final tooth for filler, too. I generally stop at the 50 grit disc. If that is too rough, I may put scotch brite pads on the 3" angle grinder and repeat the whole process.

You'll notice I didn't use a flap disc in the whole process. They tend to leave the weld high and put a dip on each side of the weld. You need a solid back to shape and smooth. If I were to use a flat type disk, it would be after everything else is done and just a quick pass to make things look uniform if it was getting primer immediately. They have their place and I use them a lot, this just isn't one of them as far as I'm concerned.

Like I said, nothing special. Pay attention to controlling your tool, don't gouge, don't rush, don't build heat in panels, don't get into the parent metal. Remember, this is my method, everyone will have different "go to" tools or methods of getting what they want. This is just how I have developed my system for dressing welds. I'm sure there are others that think I'm a crazy hack but it works for me. If I raised any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Attached a few pictures of my answer to Ford's unibody double ugly tailgate hinge setup. Rust repair, lots of filling by welding and reshaping several areas. Wanted it to flow better with the tailgate I made. Made it look totally different. Still needs a few inside corners welded and dressed to be totally done. Just takes time and patience.

SPark

 

Thanks for posting..I appreciate your pictures and descriptions as you go.
Two great projects.

 

Car is at upholstery as of yesterday afternoon. They still hadn't painted my garnish moldings when I picked the car up the other day but those were done today. I'll run them down Monday. Upholstery is to take 4 to 5 weeks. They have been pretty busy with small projects but the main man will now concentrate on this one and his assistant will do the walk-in stuff.

All that's left to paint is the hood and grille shell. We're getting there!

SPark