I bought this body about 3 years ago and have slowly worked on it over that amount of time. Packing up and moving to Austin and then back to Georgia in the same year didnt help get the progress any farther along. I bought this car along with the 29 sedan in the back ground from the rufus ranch in brainerd, MN for a total of $1800. The rear end of the coupe was pretty much rotten off so I cut it off and sold it to a guy in Oregon and thanks to him, that gave me enough money to buy the wish bones, front and back and the rear differential. I chopped the top 7" and then bought 2 sticks of 2x4 tubing and channeled the car 2" so there was still some sort of room inside. I am not trying to remake or copy the PPE!! I took the tubing and pie cut 2 " in the front and welded it back together then cut the top of the frame off so that the part under the body is only 2 " that way I didnt have to cut the floor and braces out. I searched endlessly for a good deal on an engine and transmission and finally found a 1964 260ci ford engine out of a falcon with only 10,000 original miles on it and a top loader 4 speed for the great price of $1500.00 It has a F-100 steering box set up for cowl steering. All of my wires, brake lines and fuel lines are inside the frames so there will be nothing showing. The battery will be under that dash and I am using a set of floor mounted pedals out of a dune buggy. I am running drum brakes at all 4 corners. I am now waiting on the funds to finish the back end of the body and get my front end set up and my tires and wheels. I am searching for a dropped and drilled axle and the usual 1937-41 spindles for cheaper than new.
Neat vision, and the fact your staying with it is the coolest. I think your gonna have a cool car when done!
Played with the exposure, contrast, and size at http://www.picnik.com/ . Only so much you can do with a dark image. Hope this helps. Neat project. Shaping the lower cab is going to be a challenge.
Yes I am going to make the back end using a sedan lower body and then form the corners using truck corners. I decided to say that I wasnt trying to copy or remake the PPE for the same reason you have some one saying " then why would you even say that"? There are always "those" people. It is a vision and a hobby. Some things people like and others don't Thanks for the thoughts and opinions
Alright, So it has been a while since I last posted, well even worked on my coupe. I have been really busy with building a bike (posted a pic), life, the kids and everything else that goes with it all. I have since added my front axle, rear coil overs and put the doors on with new hinges. I also ran my fuel line, electrical and brake lines inside the frame and closed it all up so it will be clean. If they leak then it will go on the outside and I can say " it sounded like a good idea at the time" Time to clean it all up and send the frame out to get smoothed up and primed. I am thinking about the Roth Blue metal flake for the frame and the body and the axle and rear end parts will be the Roth black metal flake. Grommet
How's it going Grommet? I remember that haul from GA to Brainerd and back, nothing like two guys, no sleep and 16' trailer with two car bodies strapped to it; fortunately I don't think the sleep deprivation kicked in until about hour 50 on the way back. I like all those little holes, I sure hope they make it go faster.
I definitely remember this trip but so far it has been well worth it. I cant wait to get both cars done and on the road.
Havent had much time to work on the coupe over the last year or so .... life, kids and deployments take a toll for time. I did take the last month or so and tried to knock out some issues. I got the back of the car wrapped, was going to use an old sedan but that didnt line up so I got some 16 ga. and went to town. I filled in the middle section with some louvered panels and wrapped the inside also. I put together a gas tank, got the grill shell and the radiator mounted. The wheels and tires are just for mock up and not mounted up front...waiting on funds to buy the spindles, hubs and brakes. Grommet
I like it, the overall look to me seems fast/ aggressive/ race carish especially from a side profile.
Thanks for the positive input....I checked out your blog (corpsewheelie) your car looks to be coming along pretty good. Grommet
On my way home from another deployment, got some cash and some time to get busy again on the coupe. See how far I can go this time, I am looking for spindles (37-41) and 40 ford front brake set up. Grommet
Got a few other pics to add....havent had much time to do anything but now that the kids are back in school I might have some free time. I got the back closed in but not finished, my fuel filler started and going to work on getting the filler panel on the roof welded in. Grommet
Been awhile since I posted any updates...again, life is busy with family and work but I have made some head way and am getting close to finishing the coupe. I have had the frame molded and painted, the front and rear suspension painted and everything put back together. The brakes are finished and plumbed, the firewall was painted so I could set the body back on it. I still have to put the drive shaft on but the wiring, brake lines and the fuel line is run through the frame and finished so the only wires that will be visible will be the spark plug wires. The battery is in it and getting ready to add the exhaust so I can fire it up. Once that is complete then off for final body work and paint. The frame and body are saddle brown fire mist metallic and the suspension parts, wheels and firewall are black diamond fire mist metallic....pics don't do it justice...but out in the sun, amazing It will be for sale .....after the break in miles are done. Grommet