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

roughed out the tunnel yesterday, about right... will flange and trim later... .

 

Watched the hockey game last night and installed both the '31 grill inserts …
The crank hole cover had held crap and had 3 pinholes rust through...
Cover wouldn't hide them so being a proud Mainer I silicone the "State of Maine" emblem to it...
still need to trim off 1.5" to fit the '32 frame...

 

Looking good.

 

Making an insert for the grill, copying K's idea...
using a light diffuser from a 4' florescent light...
shopped around, lowz had 'em for $13...[makes 2 inserts] found ones that are only 3/8" thick...
laid the grill face down on top of the insert, with a sharpie I traced the inside and outside edges...
marked the cuts where strongest, cut with a wizzer, [DO NOT USE DYKES]…
test fit, paint spray bomb black so you can touch up the "bug ware" later...
carefully center the insert's "pattern" then silicone the insert into the grill...

light diffuser painted black...
silicone and weighted down till set...
I went heavy in between the squares...

 

About as near genius as you can get.

Thanks,
jim

 

Stainless screen for the food industry works pretty well, it's not $13 though.

 

thanks boys,
the silicone set up enough to move it...

 

I had another '46 -'47 truck hood...
cut out the sections needed to make a hood top for my coupester...
lunch with my brother and sister...
beltline bead is a little thick , by 1/4" or so… I will take the section just behind my cut and use it to splice / thin down the trailing 4"-5" of the hood top's bead to match the cowl's ...
then I will put an emblem or badge just above the dip,,, making it look like there was a reason for stamping the dip from the factory...
just forward of the bead the hood curves inward, the A shell is flat, I will cut it just before the bead starts to get rid of the curve... any MA. rodders that emulate the Banister rod with the '38-'39 grill ?...
The way the hood sides sort of curve in and down, the further forward, more curve...
seems like it would fit great with a '38-'39 truck grill... Tornados, Cam snappers ?

 

I like the hood idea.

 

Thanks mart,
Bobbed a couple coupe rear fenders, mocked them up on the sportster body... yup.

 

Grabbed a pair ?, of coupe rear fenders off the pile... bobbed them to flush with the bottom of the body...
left needs a couple patches [like every panel on the car],
I like 'em … they will help keep sand that is flicked in the air by the rear tires from falling on me...
.

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The home made hood is from a '46-'47 truck... truck hood's side trim is lying on the hood...
shortened about 4" it should look ok breaking up the flat, unhinged top... only got 1 with 2 hoods ...

 

It's really taking shape..

 

thanks Mart.

 

It's beginning to look real sleek Smitty. You have done an amazing job piecing it all together. What is the plan for the power train?

 

thanks V,
I would like to run an early pinto 4, [ auto tranny... bad back and left leg]...
the thing will be light so a 4 should push it ok...
they make about every part to make the early pinto motors look like an overhead converted banger...$$$
but my buddies won't even look for one for me.... v8-v8-v8 ………...
so... if I can't find one the corner of the garage has a 1971- 351 W … or a 289 block with 302 guts and 351 heads, both in front of a C4/Bronco 9"...
'32 frame rails, A crossmember, de-arched and reversed eye spring, straight model A axle...
I have a 4" superbell … but am not a weed eater...

 

I see things...
like a model A gravel shield's triangular shaped "ends" reversed as rear frame covers...
so I played with them this AM...
they will hide the tank sides and the fact that the body doesn't set quite level compared to the frame...

the door and trunk gaps are ok . i'm going with that...
left room for a stainless spreader bar...
With them clamped on you don't see the gap under the tank's flange...

 

Picked up a pretty good '33 chebby hood with 3 doors each side...
going to cut the 3 door section out of each side and weld 'em into another old hood...
want to center and reset the angle to better match my w/s posts...
.
any hambers out there need this hood and have the door sections of another to trade ?...
don't love cutting up good stuff, but I want the doors for the "sportster"...

a golf ball size rust-out but otherwise not a bad hood.
looks like a 13.5" tall x 22.5" long section with the '33 doors should fit in the raised area and replaces the louvers on a '30 hood side...

 

Did a little cyphering this week... cut out the louvers... marked and cut a little bigger that the hole... clekod on the doors panel from the rear through the 1/2" flange that runs all the way around the doors panel...
… the stock A hood runs about 1.5" below the bead, my hood top stops at the bead, by raising the hood side that much leaves room to splice the chebby's lower hood side onto the '30 A... pic.
stocker...

almost stocker, the raised strip around the louvers will add rigidity to the side...
donar hood doors ...
propped up against the Sportster …
and then I saw things man … the lower hood side bead has a slightly more arch than the '32 ford but I think I can live with it as it may be stock for clearing the fender...
Mikie likes it … now for some rust repair, welding and the much disliked grinding...

 

Trimmed a 1.5" x 3" strip off the bottom of the '33 chebby hood sides...
welded them to the bottom of the '30 A hood sides after I had cut the stock tubes off..
it has about 3/8" more bow than the '32 frame rail... I can live with that...

 

The little doorhandles look better that way around. I like the look.

 

thick to the front ?... me too... thanks mart...
.
opps,
F = front... The thicker end must be in the rear as the doors pivot in the center so the front edge has to rotate inside [the trim needs to clear the opening] and the rear edge rotates out...
gonna reverse the left side trim pieces and the hood's center molding...

 

Patched the hole and tear in the left fender this AM...
patch …

.
to be patched...

 

Looking good

 

Worked with some real sheet metal "masters" when employed at the Navy Yard.......you my friend are right up there with the best I've ever seen!
Nice work......good eye and great imagination.
6sally6

 

wow... that is a compliment... thank you

 

...Many have bile convulsions when they see these E & J's but when you mix it up a bit the dynamics change...Now Stogy just realized Sloppy has a Set of Guide...I think...Headlights already Fabbed......so I will make another with your set...in the meantime I had fun with this...
​

 

Sloppy, You have a Pretty Cool Handle on Creativity......Here's my Vision of What you may be Envisioning...I'm calling it Not Done Yet...but it's really coming together...



...Dayuum...

Go Sloppy Go!!!
​

 

thank you stogy...
I know its bragging but that little son of a gun looks great...
like the wheel and tire combo, I have been painting the wheels red... thinking of black...
seeing them black, black it is...
roadster top fits like a glove...
the grill is katz ass...
I know its a pic but the darn thing has a glow to it !
I have no idea how much money stogy saved me not having to build first then decide if I like it or not...
the hamb rocks !
…. go stogy go...

 

...Thank You for the Kind words @sloppy jalopies those Headlights are from your pics so they are The Lights...

I did mod the Forward Bead on the Hoodside to the angle of the Grille Shell and added another Bullet Trim from the vent door forward of the vents and actually split that bead to allow the Bullet to lie flat to the surface...

You also will perhaps have to lengthen and mod your forward hood panel to meet the angle of the Shell as well...as with the removal of the A Shell creates different fit dynamics...

Yes the Glow inside the shop does give some dreamy ambience to the pic...I am really happy with it...

Go Sloppy Go!!...

 

Melted some ice and pulled the narrowed '37 shell from its resting / rusting place...
.
got out a tape measure and checked it out... it seems the '37 is tapered so that the hood edge is much bigger than the radiator... when the radiator hits the inside of the shell the hood edge is too wide for the A hood to fit...
don't really want to have to build another hood just to fit the '37 grill...
but, I am looking for a decent '46-'47 truck hood just in case... settle for '42...
for now it looks like '30-'32 shells only... got a '30 + '31 ready to run...
'

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