Hot Rods Nature Abhors a Vacuum, Or, The Hemi A Roadster fills a void.

Could you pull a fiberglass mold off of it? Then make a glass copy you could paint?

 

That is possible, although wall hanger might be better, given my clumsy fiberglass skills. Said the guy who's built three 'glass cars...

 

Hmmm' .. .. wonder if you could assess whether a 3D printer could copy that. "Lost PLA" casting.

@gimpyshotrods is a treasure on this board. Partnering old with new is a fine line, but he seems to do well with that. His thoughts may do you right, or not.

 

Everybody cuts them and fastens or welds after casting them. Leave the center upright post on one side so you cast a "U" shape and the cut off "L" shape, should be easy to cast that way. Angeles foundry in Los Angeles on Pico Bl. is good for odd ball stuff like this. JW

 

Well, the blueprint is finished, all I need now is some steel tubing for the frame, a front axle, and boom, in a couple weeks it'll be done...

 

My windshield frame came from Sellers and it was cast in 2 pieces. Split right down the middle. I feed it out a little and TIG it together down the middle and filed it. You know there is shrinkage when you cast something off a pattern a foundry They should be able to tell you how much. It’s doable it will just take a little work. But I think they really make a 29 look good. I saw a picture I’ll attach it of a 29 roadster with a 33 hood and grill. The louvers and the grill accent the coach line on the 29 cowel . I be following to see how you do this time around. Frank

 

Somebody on FB (who also has a Sellers on his '29) told me that O’ Brien Truckers had a Hallock style W/S for ‘28/‘29’s for almost $1,000 less than I could have one cast from my pattern. So I bought one.


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Brian, nothing to do with your project but I seem to remember the windshield frame that SoCal used to promote theirs was carved out of wood and airbrushed to look like chrome.
Looked pretty good in their early literature.


If someone can prove otherwise I'll be happy to erase it from my foggy databank.

 

Woods and Baker and Studebaker electrics had Wood windshield frames

 

I could paint the wood buck silver and call it good.


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You're just like Chip Foose! But I like your builds better.

 

I'm just like Chip Foose, but have no artistic abilities whatsoever!! Like Chip, I did use a Sharpie to draw that sketch, which my wife liked well enough to put on the fridge door right alongside our grandson Milo's (he's 5) art, so, it must be pretty good.

 

My Hallock windshield arrived yesterday from O’Brien Truckers, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I spent about half an hour tonight with a drill, cutoff wheel and 4 1/2” grinder and have it nestled down on the cowl. It’s not a perfect fit, bit this is a glass body of unknown heritage, I think it’s close enough for a little sculpting with Mar-Glass and Rage Gold to be perfect.

I’m thinking now about whether to buy a frame or build one, and I’m looking for a transmission. I’m leaning towards a 700R4, I’ve had enough of rowing a 4 or 5 speed.


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Frank, since you mention the coach line at the cowl, I thought you might like that the doors with this body are longer, by about 6" at the top (at the rear, the front is stock shape), and curve down and forward, matching the the cowl line. I like it, and will be cutting new door jambs in the body. I think I can use the doors as a mold for the jams, I'll just wax 'em up, tape them on about 3/16" further back in the body to allow for some clearance, and glass 'em up as a pattern for door jambs. It'll be nice for entry and exit. And look pretty damn cool.

 

No photo because I don't have it yet, but I'm having my buddy Dave Grey build a pinched '32 frame for the car. I priced '32 rails to build my own, even considered making one from rectangular tubing, and decided if I want to get it done in my lifetime the very small difference in cost outweighed spending months building a chassis that looked like I'd build my own chassis. With age comes wisdom.

Anyway, he builds them pinched for the '28-29 cowl, a little kick in front to get them down, all the crossmembers in, frame spread at the rear to line up with the wheel wells, and bobbed rear horns. I'm gonna use coil-overs at the rear, and the Ford 9" I have. In front I'll keep it simple and use a dropped axle, and another set of the Wilson Welding aluminum backing plates and Buick drums like I had on the '34.

 

So, this happened, and the T’bird banished to the back of the shop. Then I tipped my big roll around tool cabinet over (bumped something on the floor) and just walked away.


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Sometimes it is just best to walk away.

 

You know the rule...pics or it didn't happen

 

^^^^ Yeah, everyone loves a good train wreck....

 

Oh, it happened. My brother in law helped me set the roll around base back up, no small feat as the drawers (still full of tools, all piled up at the fronts of them) slid out as we tried to right it. and, being on castors, it just wanted to roll back as we tipped. Finally, I slid a 4x4 under the front as we lifted it, it bumped up against the side of the T'bird so it couldn't slid back any further and we could set it up. I haven't had the nerve to look at the door of the 'bird to see if I damaged it. It was no bueno.

In better news, I ordered a bunch of shiny stuff for the roadster. Chrome "Superbell" axle, spring, and bones along with chrome perches and other hardware. The split bones I found on eBay, the sellers description was "...chrome is not flawless...", but the photos looked nice, and I don't build flawless cars anyway. I originally was going to get raw steel stuff and paint everything, and I thought a drilled axle and bones would be cool, but it seems everybody in the country must be building hot rods, forged axles are "...on backorder..." everywhere, but fancy chrome ones (more $$) are available. Cheap, no name cast ones are out there, but I don't want to buy crap just to save a couple hundred bucks.

I'm now on the hunt for a transmission. I'd like to get one locally, it doesn't really matter what, but I need a trans before I can get the proper adaptor from HotHeads.

 

Think of the mishap as a Treasure Hunt because you will be finding stuff in corners and under other stuff for years.

 

One thing(s) I hope I can find sooner rather than later are the little dies that go in the end of brake line tubing from my flare tool set.

 

I would be sorely tempted to use all my golfing words and possibly kick the cat if that happened to me. Feeling your pain!

 

Those are hard to find replacements for. If I remember correctly, I got mine from the Matco guy. If not, it was Snap On. Good luck! A flaring tool kit ain't worth spit without those little buttons.

 

Cast aluminum shrinks about 1/4" per foot, so you need to make those allowances in a pattern. When I was building the Dave Gingery lathe in his Shop From Scrap series, the lathe bed pattern was 24 3/8" long. After the casting was cool, it came out to a little under 24".

 

I let O’Brien Truckers figure that all out.


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It was like Santa came early today. A bunch of beautiful shiny chrome, and a trunk lid that fits!


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The futures so bright you gonna need sun shades! Pretty!

 

Oh, I scored a trans from a guy who pulled a 305/350 TH combo from his '55 to put a 5.3/4L60 in, for cheap. It's dirty but fluid is clean and doesn't smell burnt, so now a call to Hot Heads for an adaptor and I have a drivetrain.