Customs 1949 Thunderturd.

Just playin' with the larger images thing ! ! !

 

You nailed the proportions man!
It has the shape of the 2 door 4 passenger sport coup.
Just about the same placement on the body of everything in a t bird
That long hooded thing on the trailer was uuuugleeeee and looked more like they tried to make an Opel gt out of a 49 ford
Yours looks like it was made that way by someone who could have made money with it as a genuine model

 

Time to upgrade the Photobucket !!

 

There wasn"t but 3 years of the Thunderbirds that made an impact anyway 55-56-57- just like Chevy in 58 all the car designers went to hell on design.,line up all the 58 and 59 cars and it was hard to give the award for the crappiest look.The designers for the new kits that are being put on the fords and now a damn camaro with a fiberglass 57 front and rear must have been kin to them cause they missed it completely.and Iain"t downing 58 Chevies ,the 2-door can be made to look descent,but the 58-59 bird no hope.

 

where's the project stand right now? need more PICS! i've always looked at moredoor cars as the starting point for custom coupe designs. it was a long time before i got into the concept of sectioning as well as shortening, to get the proportions right (seeing as how all i had to work with was pen and paper at the time!)

you definitely have motivated me to search out a likely shoebox moredoor to try this on.

too bad this concept won't fly on my '59 Galaxie...

 

What??

 

...what he said...

 

Does anyone know WTF is going on with the photobucket deal ? ? ?

 

I'll try this again ! ! ! I'm a newbie to this Photobucket stuff ! ! !

 

Looks great so far & although the idea of skirts might be cool, the skirts posted are waaaay off.

 

Skirts don't fit the European character of the car. And please don't move the rear wheels. I think the proportions are just how they should be.

 

I'd agree. Looking at the original sketches, the car's lines are very reminiscent of the Chrysler Ghia specials of the 1950s. Look forward to seeing progress on your project.

 

I wonder if that's the same shoebox someone was selling off Amber Road like 15 years.. maybe 20 years ago. It was parked on the end of some side road where the main road makes about a 90' left turn as you go away from the lake. I remember it wasn't in bad shape, but the interior was rough, it was black, but I forget if it was a 2dr or a 4dr.

 

I finally remembered the Camera. Just closed up the shop. Got the Flatty running this evening. Seems to run sweet. Was just running it on the ol' pour some gas
down 'er throat...... I am attaching images taken this evening. The current work is extending the pedals, positioning the steering column and wheel. The dash has
been moved back 12". The gas pedal rod has been lengthened 12", the Clutch pedal rod has been lengthened 9 1/2" and the Brake pedal rod has been lengthened 4 1/2". The steering column will be positioned as seen. The section is 4". The "repositioning" of the column will be approx. 3". I'm still "engineering"
the steering column mounting and transition to the steering box. I've located the battery into the Trunk and
run all new 2 guage wire to the Solenoid and Starter.
I have wired one of the Speedway (pull type) ignition switches. The gas tank is out and in the process of being cleaned. There was approx. 12 gallons of 30 year
old gas in the tank. Varnish city. I'll be running the engine on a one gallon gas can for now. I just scored a
Hurst Master Shifter 3 speed shifter on E-Bay. My next step is going to be fabricating the mount bracket and shift arms and getting the whole floor shifter installed.
I need to cut and reweld the Drive Shaft. At that point,
it'll be running and driving. After that, Weld like Hell ! !
Stay tuned .

I guess that I'll have to restore the ol' Gas Pump also.








Oh ya, I also chopped the Factory Front Bench Seat 8".
(4" section and 4" chop).




Trunk Mounted Battery .

 

Im looking forward to seeing this progress, what a cool concept.

 

Now i see the photos...........mlmlml

 

i continue to be impressed but the pedals are "kinda" scaring me.. have you considered fabricating new arms in one-piece that won't depend on a bolt/nut for attachment? just saying, that bolts and nuts work loose, and risking yourself and a rider.... oh, AND the car... worries me.

that said... i gotta find me a suitable moredoor now.

 

Please don't leave those pedals like that!

 

the more i look, the more i see.... i like your vision but i really want to find my own moredoor now. i had a hard time understanding the setback of the cowl until i realized the wheelbase hadn't been altered... definitely going to steal your ideas and work off them. now... please... FINISH IT!

 

Believe it or not, the Clutch and Brake Pedals are really solid !! ??
The Gas pedal is shakey due to it being Rubber. Since I'm just in
the mockup stage, I will most likely go with a underfloor Brake and Clutch assy (ECI brakes) and do something different with the Gas pedal. Right now, I'm shooting to get the car running and driving (for mobility's sake) and then I've got to get welding. Gene Winfield is doing his metal Seminar at the shop next month, I'm going to let Gene take a look and give me some
real "old school" input. Thanks for the comments, I appreciate
feedback. Feedback is what makes a project "come together"
with a constant stream of fresh ideas. Search "Gene Winfield"
if you're interested in attending the seminar in July.

 

Just found the Jim Weimer Rod Garage Mustang II set up specifically for the Shoebox. It is a complete kit with Brakes
and all for $ 1,795.00. I have been battling with the brakes,
steering, clutch, etc...... Now that I've looked over this kit, I'm
sold. Jim Weimer Rod Garage will be in Syracuse for the Syracuse Nationals July 16 - 18, 2010. I'm going to hook up with them at the show and do the deal. I'm pretty sure that I'm
also going to use the ECI Brakes Inline Brake and Clutch set up .
This will tackle all of my Front Suspension, Steering, Braking and
Clutch set ups all at once. Just dropped off the Drive shaft Friday to have 14" taken off. For all those that didn't like my
pedals, they will be utilized for temporary moving around of the
car while the Bodywork is being done. I feel that this set up will
be down in the dirt and handle well and Brake well. I'm going to
keep the Flatty and 3 Speed. I'm in the mock up stage of installing the Hurst Mastershift 3 Speed Shifter. I'm fabbing up
a bracket to mount the shifter to the stock 3 Speed. Just figured that I'd give an update since I've been working slowly but surely
on the TURD >>>

 

Just mocked up the 3 Speed shifter plate. I'm using a Hurst Mastershift 3 Speed Shifter. I am using the original 3 Speed Transmission behind the original Flatty.
Here are some images of the Transmission Shifter Adapter plate I made last night. I'll give 'er a try today.
I made a pattern, so all should be good.

 

Wow , I can't believe that I haven't posted an update in almost
3 months ! ! Just trying to catch up with the back of the Bus !!!

I figured I'd put some images of the 3 speed shifter bracket
now that it is installed in the car. The car in 100% running and
driving at this point. Now that the Gene Winfield seminar,
Syracuse Nationals and Summer are gone for that matter, it's
time to dig in to the bodywork. Here are some fair images of
the shifter mounting bracket......



















I know, I know, the pedals are scary. Just temporary to move the car around while the bodywork is being done.

VR&C.

 

Hi,
Did you make any progress in this last month? I can t wait to see this car finished!
I had the same idea a few years ago when I could buy a 1953 Ford Mainline four door over here in Belgium and after reading the march 1953 Hop Up magazine where there is an article called Practical Restyling where they describe doing the same on a 1952-1954 Ford. Did you read this article allready?

 

..........I like the look......keep us posted....

 

Im as impressed with the vision as I am the skill, very nice!

 

It's been a slow go recently. I am going to be digging into this build once Winter sets in. I am basically at the point where I need to weld the whole body together and finish up on all of the bodywork. I've been out of town a lot lately and time is minimal.
I do take the car out in the fields and do donuts on weekends just to blow off some steam ! ! ! You should see the look on peoples faces when they see the Thunderturd doing donuts ! ! !

I'll post more Pix when I get back to work.

Thanks for the interest.

VR&C. (Mark).

 

Here you go. Just for fun.

 

Hey James D. Thank for the inspiration. That PS image looks great. It'll help light a fire under my tailfeathers.

Thanks,
Mark.