Projects Recreating the jesse lopez coupe

CJ Mustangs has a similar clip, can these be made to work? Frank

 

Whoa! Thanks Frank.

 

Well, I never got this far because I wasn‘t going to enter the car in any shows.

Now as I get serious about the details, I realize that this door glass situation is really bad. After much time trying to get all this to work, I realize these vent windows need to be fitted again and that means new ones, that are a much better fit.

Subcontractors!!

 

I don’t know your middle name, or last name Frank, but one of them must start with an L. Like in LIFESAVER. Those mustang clips work better than the original ones. We might have to start calling them “Frank” clips.

THANK YOU AGAIN.

 

This is much better.

 

Bit by bit, we move forward.

 

I'm so glad the H.A.M.B. stepped up and was able to save the day!

 

After you do this for awhile, you realize that nothing is inexpensive when building these cars. The Sombrero’s which are correct for this build, are very expensive. I went online last night and found a “nice” one for the asking price of just shy of 1K! One definition of disaster is seeing your Sombrero passing you after it has come off because it doesn’t mount on the wheel securely.

So it’s serious business getting those “grippers” adjusted so that you feel good about going down some street that might not be perfect.

 

Mcveys sell them new for about $250 bucks

 

That certainly puts things in perspective. I will never gripe about my repro '50 Merc caps.

 

Reproduction parts are vital as we deal with the ravages of time on these cars and parts. The guys that were making the repo skirts of my car didn’t survive the covid down turn, that’s a damn shame.

McVey’s make some very nice stainless steel Sombrero’s. It’s to bad that when compared side by side with original steel/chromed Sombrero’s they look different.

There are probably many applications where they could work, but they can’t work on this car for reasons of authenticity. This pic doesn't show that difference very well.

 

It's comin'...so's Christmas.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone, all the best to you and yours.

 

I have followed your thread from the beginning. Throughout it all, you have amazed me with your dedication, patience, and willingness to work through hard problems. You have recreated one of the most iconic customs in custom history. Best wishes on your health, and Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas Jer.. all the best to you and your family...

I know that feeling of the hub caps passing by.. Olds Fiesta Cap came off my 49 Coupe...all I could do is watch hit the curb and fly into the bushes.. lol went back and found it..

 

Thanks Dave for the kind words. This is one of those times when I say...I’m doing whaaat!!?? I'm as amazed as everybody else.

 

I'm fightin' a bug, and this is as far as I got before giving up.

 

Hope you're feeling more like yourself, soon!

 

Thanks for the concern about my health. It’s taken on a new meaning because of the times that we live in.

It was the run of the mill fatigue with a slight ache all over dynamic. It did get the attention of Dan’s family and resulted in vitamin C, D and other supplements. It also included a device that checks your oxygen level in your blood, and a device that takes your temperature at your fore head. All this determined that it was a temporary thing that a good nights rest and those supplements took care of.

Now the problem is a frozen shop that needs some higher temps to make work.

Thanks again.

 

This helps, which means it's good medicine.

 

Looking good Jerry... Keep plugging away.

-Adam

Sent from my rotary phone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

This definitely doesn't help, stuck lift.

 

Call Johnny Swink he is in your area off 287 in Kennedale metro 817-572-1225

 

I appreciate your attentiveness and help Frank. I've had to have this lift worked on until I put the guards next to the pulleys on the deck to keep the cable in place. I called this AM and they were here at about 2:30. They spent an hour tuning everything up and it works great now.

They were very interested with what this was on the lift. I gave them the $12.00 tour and showed them how to access the HAMB. They said that they didn't have any invoices on the truck and would have the office call later today. Still no contact, we'll have to see what happens tomorrow.

Thanks again Frank, your a friend.

 

OK, I’m making progress on these doors, a big deal. The r door glass front channel did not have the bracket that connects it to the door shell. Where it went I don’t know. I depended on my glass guy for all of this stuff without really checking him out, step by step, a big mistake. This bracket is spot welded to that channel and allows me to adjust the glass to be at the right angle as I roll that window up. Finding out what the problem was, was more work than fixing it. I fabbed up a bracket that now solves this issue.

Tomorrow I hope to button up these doors for good.

 

Some times we get lucky with a simple fix

 

Ya, I know, I'm working on a report, I really am.

 

I'm looking forward to your report on your first drive in the Spring! Until then I'm happy to see any progress you're making.

 

When you’re trying to get the vent windows to be in synch with rollup door glass, you have to be aware of the geometry that’s involved. I never was any good at geometry, algebra or math for that matter. So my answer to all that was creating as much “slop” as possible so as to be able to adjust things after they’ve been assembled.

I turned the two holes that accept the upper bracket on that vent glass frame that’s attached to the door garnish assembly, into a long slotted opening that let me move the assembled parts a little, to get that vent glass to operate correctly. Whew, that’s a long sentence.

I discovered that the bracket on the vent glass frame that extends down into the regulator must be tight. This lets the vent close enough to match up to that roll up door glass. I’m a little slow with the discovery/analysis part, and the times for the assembly/reassembly part extended way beyond what’s reasonable to make a living doing this stuff, BUT I NOW KNOW WHAT I’M DOING.

These pics help.

The long pauses through this process were because I took four days off, and there were a lot of two hour days.

 

You can imagine what this engine compartment looked like after spending two years + at Dan’s shop getting the exterior redone. Before I reinstalled the hood I took a wash mitt and hot soapy water and scrubbed the inner fenders, firewall, and what I could get to on the engine. It doesn’t look like it now.

Unlike Junior’s engine that was all dressed up, Jesse’s car was a race car that was all business, no chrome /polished anything. He ran a 3/8X3/8 59A stroker, with a Mculloch super charger (on the weekends). The blower had a big Buick carb on it and because he couldn’t shut the hood he took it off when it was time for racing. During the week he ran the two Stromberg 97’s.

I did have too explain why I didn’t have the blower on the car and that the world wouldn’t recognize it with the hood off of it.

Barris Kustom (Compton shop) was where you hung out when you weren’t working. Jesse and Sam where in the same age group and hung together. This is the late forties, the car was done in 1950. It was at this time that Jesse learned how to do the body mods and paint work and decided that he would also have a “Kustom”, that was also a race car.

He was quick to let me know that George never touched his car, and by the time that it was nearing completion ( with Sam helping and teaching) he could do all the body mods himself.

When the time comes to finish cleaning/detail under the hood, it will look better than this, although as I said. this is a huge upgrade from when it came home from Dan’s shop.