Don't know if I'll ever get to it....but I had found these patch panels at a swap meet a few years back, and thought they'd be a good start to a scratch built roadster body. They'd be perfect for a project like yours.
Well I took some of your advice and tweaked my desing some. I'm moving on with it slowly, I'm still figuring out the best way to do it plus I need more 1/2" tubing. ANyway I thought I would throw up some progress pics.
Alf..keep at it..looks great...I guess some guys on here would wonder how Marcel Delay started out....Ya got to learn as you go..Keep on keepin on
Friggin' awesome, man. I love to see someone make something out of nothing. I agree with some of the others, that what you learn throughout this build will be immeasurable. Keep us going with the photos and updates.
Attaboy ALF! If that's not traditional, what is? Take your time and slowly study The shape as you go along. I agree with the others, shaping larger panels does save time and welding. And those patch panels like john56h would help with giving you a reference point. Get yourself a sand bag, some mallets, cheap. Ya need a bead roller ($75-150) Build you own English Wheel (I bought my main Wheel and 5 anvils on ebay). Last Thing, go to metalshapers.com, The ideas there are out of this world. Best of luck OLY The cancer car lives Give to cancer research
Seems like I always have to explain the More Time Than Money scenario. I think it will turn out pretty sweet when your done. If you need me to keep an eye out for something for ya just let me know.
Hi Alf, I also admire your desire to build something as well as the guts to get started. One small tip: next time you bend 1/2" square tubing start on the inside of the radius with a punch and hit it with a hammer. This will make the tubing curve without any cutting by collapsing the inside wall. You can weld it up afterwards if you care what it looks like. Another thing you are going to run into is weld shrinkage. Anytime you weld something the metal gets slightly thicker and pulls toward the weld. The more welding, the more pull. John www.ghiaspecialties.com
Back with an update. It's been a while since I have worked on the car, I left it at scool over the summer and havn't had much motivation lately. These past couple weeks I've gotten back on it and it's coming along slowly, but good. I continued on my rear deck fabrication and framed out the trunk, which is ridiculously small and useless, ohh well. I have yet to proceed on the sheet metal fab parts of it, but that is coming up soon. On another note I picked up some 16" wires for the front that have some old crusty tires that hold air, so I set it back on the ground after about 10 months on jack stands. I forgot how low this thing is, it might be too low. Anyone have any experience with super low roadsters? It has 4" of ground clearance at the lowest point which is a bash guard for the oil pan. The tallest part is the steering wheel which is only 34". I pushed it outside today so I could stand back and snap some pics and show you guys the progress. I finally was able to cut free all the bracing welded to the frame. I made two more mounting points on the body for a total of eight, seems like a lot to me, but I don't want this thing rattling on me. The trunk is only 4" deep because the car is so low, take what you can get. I'm pretty happy with how it looks at this point, but the rear end needs to go higher in my opinion. It will lift up slightly when I get the right tires for it, but I don't think that will be enough. The rear has lowering blocks in it already so I have room to play with. I think the wire wheels make the car. The rear is 6 lug so I need to find a pair of Chevy 16" wires. Anybody got a couple they want to get rid of? As you can see I have a ton of sheet matal work to do, almost the entire body. My plans are to run a one peice aluminum hood top and aluminum sides and a tonneau cover over the interior. Should be cool when it's done, I'm starting to wonder if that day will ever come. Thanks for looking.
that's looking better than I was thinking it was going to turn out! I'd try to get it running & registered cause it might make you want to finish the body faster. Also the body looks like more time than money anyway. Has a good look for a super-low roadster. TP
Yes Alf, the wire wheels look bad ass on these cars,imo. And I'm glad to see a full shot, like PeteMattersen, it looks Way cool. Couldnt really tell with the up close shots. I'm not a big fan of roadsters either, but I'd dig having this one. Keep at it. Dont let it drag ya down. And dont look at the body like, "Man, I got a long way to go", rather look at it like, "Dude, ONE hood is nothing, I can crank that out on a Saturday" Set small goals, they are easier to achieve and they give you a boost of accomplishment every week or so! It's like a shot of vitamin B in the arm bro. Good work, stay at it.
It looks great. I agree it makes a big difference looking at it from the side. Keep up the good work. Add more pics.
Wow! Those changes you made really make it come to life! Gonna look good. Like you say...a bit low in the back but you can fix that up as you go along. GREAT job Alf...keep the build going.
Hey Alf, my Photochop skills are all self taught, so use your imagination here. I was just curious to what it may look like once the body panels were on and this is what came out. From this... To this.... Again, keep in mind I have limited skills with Photochop and I also dont really know what you got planned, just thought I'd throw some panels on there and see what came out. Cheers! And keep it going, I want to see the REAL THING! Jef
Thanks for the compliments. I was inspired by the photoshoped picture, so I made my own on paint. I think it gives the general idea of the finished project. It sure does need to be lifted in the rear and if anyone wants to throw a wire wheel on the back, be my guest.
I'd give serious thought to the long hood design. It would really add visual length to the car and would eliminate fabrication of separate external cowl tin. Build an internal firewall/cowl in the style of ear;y 30's Mopars or British sports cars.
man, that looks totally killer, its turning out pretty damn cool. what part of central kansas you from?
It is coming along and is an interesting project. One great way to move the project along is to set up a build day (like Sunday afternoon and evening), and provide some pizza and drinks to some buddies to come and spend the evening. Get about 10-12 of those down the road and I think you might have something! Keep at it.
Hello everyone, back with a small update on my car. It's slowly coming together, but there is a ton of thinking involved so it doesn't come out looking wierd. I got some .5'' tube and made a trunk lid frame, then I covered it with a big street sign I had laying around and threw on a handle I bought for a couple bucks. I bought these hinges at Tractor Supply, they were extra short with no holes so I added to them and rounded off the corners. Underside shows reinforcement for the hinges and handle. The rear deck is coming along. I picked up these six lug Chevy 17" wire wheels for $5 each. I'm planning on getting rear tires for it soon. That's it for now. I'm looking for a new engine for this project any four cylinder with a rear drive 5 speed is up for consideration. Thanks for looking.
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