Projects NOT THE TYPICAL '30 ROADSTER BUILD

Beginner's mistake....weather here in LA is in the 80's this week so I decided to take advantage and start working on the wheels.
I ordered the paint from TCP which hopefully will be here later this week.
The wheels were already epoxy so it was a matter of prepping the epoxy for 2k High build. Got them nice and smooth, spent a good a amount of time making sure it was right
Kept picturing on my mind how I was going to spray them....figured I would placed them flat on a folding table and turn them as needed, one side first and then the other.

Prepared the primer, placed the 1st wheel on the table and the table broke...damn!

Pot life reads 30 minutes. OMG!

Grab a ladder and a step stool, 2 burros, 1 milk crate, a box, a broom, a wood stake...anything and everything I could find....just had make it work on time.



At the end, they came out good, easier to spray and now ready to sand and prep for paint.
Lesson learned....be ready with the parts in place before mixing the product.

 

You are welcome.

Bronco is turning out to be a real nice rig! I have actually been enjoying it.
Just swapped the rear driveline going to try to drive it on the freeway to work this morning to see how smooth it is.
The slip joint was real sloppy, and shaking the whole truck around 60-65MPH
Then
Just a few more cosmetic things, and then saving the clutch for last.
The old clutch is hanging in there for now.


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

 

Getting ready to spray the wheels....color is coming!

 

Got some color on the wheels. Now just letting them cure so I can color sand.
Looking for someone to pinstripe them...3 lines around the hubcap area, same as original

If you know someone willing to pull some lines, let me know.

 

You are learning a bunch of new skills very quickly.

 

Thank you. It sure has been an amazing journey.

 

QC is back from Speedway Engineering and looking better than ever. Super happy with the final outcome!
Lincoln backing plates look right at home...can't wait to load them up and put the Buick drums on it and top it of with the wheels..

Really liking the color combination with the blue, the polished center, and the argent silver backing plates.
Polished center was not part of the original plan but glad I did it.



A little snafu along the way, towel shops used to protect the paint from the metal rack that Speedway uses, during assembly, marked the clear at both ends of the bells..assuming the clear was still soft and towels just adhere to it. :-(

Carefully color sanded the area and back to normal again...so happy!!!
I was thinking the worst, not enough activator and I had to repaint but it cut nicely and buffed with no issues.



Now back to color sanding the wheels....I going to end up with no fingerprints with so much sanding.

 

Starting to get the hang of painting/buffing...at least, I feel I am getting better at it and the process is making more sense now.
Color sanding my wheels...still a little more to go but looking good, so far.
Only color sanding the areas that will be seen hub caps and beauty rings will cover most of it.

...Still need a someone to do the pinstriping...any recommendations?

 

Get yourself a striping tool and do it yourself. You can do it!

 

Good luck holding the Bruegler upside down, guy! Paint has to flow to tip by gravity. I always use a brush for that reason. It'll even flow upside down. But only in Central Valley (Turlock).

 

Not a bad idea.
I might end up doing it, if I can't find someone willing to do it for me.
I've been searching and thinking of an idea to build a jig to help me get them right but haven't found anything I can copy yet.

 

I remember seeing Wayne Carini using one on the tires of a big KB Lincoln roadster. He put a single gloss clear strip right in the middle of the black wall. Something his dad was famous for, IIRC.
He used both hands to steady it, and had someone slowly rotate the tire for him. Looked pretty easy and straightforward.

 

You can find almost anything online!

 

Cool build and they made a few of the different hand strippers this is one of them and is the deluxe the other has a glass jar. They really do work nicely..

 

The more I think about it the more I leaning toward stripping the wheels myself. I am going to build a jig, somehow, and use one of those Beugler tools....more to come on that. I haven't find a pinstriper willing to do the wheels.

For now, progress will be slow since the wife asked me to remodel a bathroom in the house....got to keep the wife happy

Ordered the hubcaps as I am planning to paint/fill-in the letters with the same color as the wheels....not sure how I am going to do that just yet, but that's the plan.
Hubcaps were delivered and they are wrong...damn!


Got one of these....I really like the letters on this one.


Got 3 of these...Don't like the letters...the details on them are not as clear and almost look like a rushed stamping job.


Side by side you can really tell the difference.

Anyone knows which one is closer to the original?

 

Heck, yeah! That is the answer I have been waiting for! You learned several new skills on this roadster, why not learn to pinstripe your wheels as well?

 

I have used a product like this to "cheat". stick it down, pull out the center, paint the strip then remove the out side strips for a perfect edge
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/pr...MI1I_w34P_7wIVHcmUCR0iGwunEAQYASABEgIj6PD_BwE

 

i raced 1/64 hotwheels for years, we had to drill the car's rivets to play...
we chopped, channeled painted all of em...
i would tear the paper match from a book... put the paint in a coated paper plate and dip the match to use as a mini paint brush... cut the end of the match with scissors for a point or a flat edge...
hope it helps...

 

Get the hubcaps sorted?

 

I finally did. 2 different suppliers had the right picture on the web but once delivered they had the wrong look.
Ended up buying them from Bob Drake.
I will start working on the roadster again this week

 

You might give Dennis Jones a call, Jones Custom Lettering, for pin stripping your wheels. He told me he still goes down into LA to do jobs as needed. He did this for me last month on a leftover Snap-On key cabinet.


I watched him freehand the stripping, fascinating to see him work, a true artist. It is real gold leaf and some copper leaf that Dennis told me he had developed in the 60’s!

 

Silver Jimmy, that sign is cool. Dennis striped my 34 coupe back in the 70's. Watching him work was a kick.

 

WOW! That is cool!. Like that gold leafing a lot.
How do I contact him? Any contact info?

 

Just talked to Dennis, told him about your project, he said he just did some wheels for a 38 Buick....
Then he said he did a scooter for a guy.

And he said he did this for another guy, aluminum leaf that mimics silver leaf.

He said he loves working on Hot Rods and you should call him, 562-696-4637.....

 

Also, mine isn’t a sign, it’s a key cabinet, cuz I have way too many things that need keys!

If Dennis can put a brush to it and make it pop, it gets some 1 Shot!

 

Silver Jimmy, thank you for the info. That key cabinet looks bad ass!

 

I am officially back on the roadster. Wife is now happy with the bathroom remodel and I can now concentrate on the roadster again.

Hard not to think about it for the last 4 weeks, so I did what I could to keep me motivated....buy stuff for it!
Got the gauges and the Firestone tires. I think I got the last 2 550s whitewall on the market. Everywhere I looked/called they were backordered until June...can't wait to finish the wheels to get them mounted.



I went with the Autometer gauges.
Really liked the Stewart Warners but the reviews just kept leading me to Autometer.
...of course, gauges got me thinking about the dash...and then I saw '32 3 window dash and I really liked it....too rich $$ for my blood but the seed has been planted and the wheels are turning.


I do like the simplicity of them, yet, elegant!


Back to the hubcaps...Today I spent a good amount of time taping and cutting out the letters. One step closer to painting them.

 

You can save yourself a LOT of time and aggravation when painting things like your hubcaps, just paint with a brush with NO TAPING later a bit of thinner on a rag CAREFULLY creep up on the paint outside the lettering and remove the excess and/or wait until dry and use rubbing compound to remove the excess.

 

Thank you. I will keep that in mind for the next time.
That sounds a lot easier than the taping and xacto knife route I took.

 

Fit to be tied....I found a good deal on complete Roadster top and went for it.

I figured I could get the fabric and use it as template to do mine, I could chop it even more than mine, and/or re-sell it and still break even.
Seller was nice enough to box it and I provided a shipping and pick up label for Fedex, since I have the account with them....I felt like a kid on xmas waiting for Santa.

The tracking number never updated in the system and until now it keeps showing invalid. The pick up confirmation showed the package was picked up and not just once but in two different days and at two different times.

Called FedEx and agent 's first answer, "The tracking number is invalid"....really,? No sh*t, I could have told them that from just looking at the system.

They offered to open a case to locate the package and a offered a return phone call in 24hrs, with an update....week and half later and I am still waiting for that call.
I called again. The case from above...nowhere to be found. No record of it.
Next agent told me the package was lost and I needed to file a claim. I filed the claim with the agent on the phone. Got my claim number and a confirmation email...Funny thing, the claim is not visible in the system under my account and when I asked FedEx, the claim is nowhere to be found. Here is the kicker, I have an email confirmation with the claim number and details on it.
Agent's answer to this...."Maybe you imagined filing the claim, it happens". However, she couldn't explained how I have an email confirmation with the claim number on it and all the details of it.

They asked me to file yet another claim. This time, I did it right from my account, took screen shots of it too. Guess what? still nowhere to be found. I also have an email confirmation saying it was received. WTF!?

Customer Service agents on the phone can't help, they can't even transfer me to a Supervisor.

Finally, I got someone with a desire to help and realized the package that was scanned at pick up was a completely different package that the roaster top being shipped. The package they scanned was only 2 lbs and bound to NY.
Agent couldn't explain why there were 2 pick ups for the same package. Only thing agent could tell me, "Diver must be scanning left and right without paying attention to what he is scanning. It happens with some of our drivers..."
Wait until you hear this one....after speaking with several agents, this one agent says, "there is something wrong here"
Unfortunately, this agent couldn't help any further....little did I know that this was just the beginning to a bizarre shipping story and customer service experience.

I found an email address for the Executives at Fedex and took my time to detailed my experience, add proof of shipping label, photos, receipts, proof of claims and asked for my package to be found....Don't want my money back, just find my package....Well, let's just say I am glad that I am not holding my breath while waiting for a reply. Executives must be too busy playing golf.

Maybe my email reached someone, or one of the claims went through, who knows? I received a call from an agent, from here in LA, wanting to help track/find my package...I have to admit I was baffled since my package is in NC or at least it was coming from there but I could care less, someone is willing to help.
After some back and forth and going over my story, yet again, he asked me for some time to reach the local hub in NC to see if they could get a visual on this package.
It is not an small package, 12x30x50 and about 40lbs....not just an envelop that is under someone's desk.

I gave him a couple of days and after not receiving an update, I emailed and asked for an update. He called back and tried to explained what happened....

The driver recalls picking up the package; however, he couldn't scan the label. He called the receiving hub and was instructed to bring the package to the hub for a re-label.
At the hub, they re-labeled the package.....wait....but forgot to scan it. Wait...What? Why?
They searched the warehouse for the package and package is nowhere to be found.
So, now what? ...The package is in transit, not sure to where, but in transit. I am being asked to wait a few more days to see if the package shows up or "someone" at the next hub scans the package.
They alerted my local hub to be in the lookout for the package.
What happens if the package is not scan at the next hub? Well, packages that are not scanned or label is damage in transit are redirected to a central warehouse...until someone complains and then Fedex tries to locate the package. Good grief!

No responsibility whatsoever, totally frustrated, worst customer service experience...and not even someone with enough brains to complaint to. WOW!!!

I am really hoping they can find my top. I am almost certain that won't happen but I hope they do. I am sure at some point they will refund my money based on declared value....

Any Fedex workers out there...HELP!