Another quickee.....The dash was painted already, and is a kinda purple lavender mix with the cluster cover a darker purple. I wanted to see how it looked with the exterior, and I think it will look okay. It sorta blends in the exterior with the upholstery material.
Looking great. Can't wait to see some chrome on it. More important, can't wait to see Leland and his bride in this beauty.
You can tell a great story when it keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning right through to the end. Great work guys!! I am so looking forward to seeing the shiny stuff united with that terrific paint. Nifty custom Leland!! Dave
Well, Nick and I dragged the taildragger back to his pad late yesterday. Now the work begins all over. The first pic is of Travis and Cory over at Combine Metals. What a couple a great guys, and the further they got into this puppy, the more they got into it. Many, many, Kudos to these guys for their help. The other is of Nick holding a grille piece in place. Notice how the "burple" shows more in this pic..... Sorry the last pic shows the remnants of wetsanding, but I simply couldn't wait to post these...
That's going to be stunning with the chrome back on it. The color really shows the purple out in the sunlight. Can't wait to see the finished product!
Hang those shades on your nose guys, 'cause this might hurt yer peepers. Here's a couple pics of the brightwork. We can't wait to git all this stuff on Leland's shiny slinky. Nick says I have to wear gloves, so as not to smudge the new found shine. Okay, Okay, I git the point!!!!! Notice how the protrusion on the Ford front coincides with the Merc rear. We really didn't notice that 'till we were hack'n away. Everything just seemed to want to work together. The Kustom Gods were truly with us. My friend, it just doesn't git better than this....... On the way back, we stopped by the facility where Leland and Margene are staying. I wheeled Leland out, and Margene followed. I gotta telly, Leland was a tad concerned 'bout the color when I showed him the pics, but once he saw the old friend that he had spent so many years with, he just melted. He couldn't believe how smooth it is. I assured him that was Travis' handiwork, not ours. He and Margene both laid lots of praise on us for all this work, but I assured them, that without all of Leland and Gene's work and commitment, this honeymoon hauler would not be what it is today, or even here today. We are simply finishing what they did. I would have taken pics, but I was having a hard time focusing. What a classy couple they are. We are all blessed to know them. By the way, Margene was a nurse for many years, and has been most helpful in both Nick and my travails of late.
Congratulations. Glad you were able to have Leland see the car in person. I can only imagine his and Margene's reaction. Carry on. Please! Torchie.
I can totally understand Leland's trepidation about the colour based on the pictures. The first few you posted I thought "OH MY that colour looks like it should be on the lot of a Toyota dealrship". The last few look more like a colour fitting of this car. Nice work by all involved.
I am dearly hoping for a feature spread in Rod & Custom sometime after this beautiful ride is finished!
Let the sparkle begin!!!!! We have started attaching the grille pieces and front bumper in place. Final adjustments need to be made. It's at this point that every new addition seems monumental. We seem to spend more time looking than putting. Tomorrow I'm hauling off the interior for cleaning, and trying to figure out carpet. Leland's star is beginning to shine once again, and brighter than ever!!!!!!!!
You really did a nice job redesigning the front end - looks great, really compliments the rest of the car
So beautiful! You guys have done a stellar job finishing this great old car for Leland, who seems like a real stand-up gentleman with a great outlook on life. What I love about the car in general, in its unfinished form, and what your team, in conjunction with Leland have carried through to the present, is to make a car so radically restyled that it's virtually impossible to tell what it was originally and still have a design that is a coherent whole, where every choice has enhanced the other. Especially cool is how all the early-mid '50s design cues (wrap-around windshield, hooded headlights, small fins, bullet taillights, skirted fenders) combine to give the car the flavor of a miniature '53 Olds Fiesta without literally being a copy of the Olds. Speaking of the Olds Fiesta, I can't think of a more appropriate wheel cover for Leland's burple baby than a set of Fiestas from '53 to '56! Except perhaps '55-'56 Dodge Lancer...
Bruce if you have a problem on the carpet or other interior and need help give me a pm ,I'll make time to get there. Jack
Perfect colour. Such a great story and a really fantastic job of enhancing what was there by selecting more appropriate components. The only thing that could further enhance Leland's custom is a padded top.
What are you going to do about the modern gauges and funky purple dash, etc? That looks like the only highly visible area of the car you haven't improved and it really needs improving... What you have done improves the car amazingly. It would be a shame to stop short of the interior.
Seems no matter how much planning you do, things can still go haywire. Nick and I made sure that all the grille pieces fit to a tee before paint and chrome. Right.....and now we are pulling our hair our making things fit. But we will!!!!! We are still amazed at how the overall theme seems to flow throughout. Leland was spot on 60 years ago when he was planning what to do to individualize his San Francisco streetster. As to the dash.......remember, Margene luvs purple, and the dash color. The gauges........hmmmmmmm.....Now that's another story, but first things first. The dash color actually ties in the entire interior colors with the burple exterior. Nick and spent way too much time simply standing back and looking into this front end.......Wudn.t you??????????????
In all my years of building stuff, including building stuff ON the car (welding, drilling holes, patching something on the car), no matter how many times I make sure it fits BEFORE I take it apart...it NEVER fits the same after paint, chrome, etc...NEVER have figured out why... The car is looking good... R-
I've noticed the exact same thing. I think it might be a phenomenon known as "molecular re-location". Same reason that the stuff you buy at a store never fits back in the same packaging it came in.... The car looks absolutely stellar. Wonderful thread and an even better story.
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