Projects 1920 T Roadster Build Thread

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Small, positive update, Anna Cubel from Fordwood.com just called me and told me my wood will go out today or tomorrow. So, if all goes as planned the next few days, I'll have the inside of the body painted and ready for wood.

This Sunday, Halloween, marks on year of owning the body.

 

I dig that light! Am I seeing the lens right?? Does it really have bullseye rings like that?? Neat-o!

 

Yeah, you're seeing it correctly. It'll be neat if the bulb is bright enough to show it like that.

 

Brent, You are sure making some great progress. I like your tail light. On my Mode "A" coupe I am using drumstyle headlights, cowl light and tail lights. The headlights are mid 20's Pontiac, The cowl lights are the same vintage from a Buick and the tail lights are accessory lights for camping trailers. Guy I got the tail lights from even helped me convert them to glass lenses. Hope to mount the tail light in my rear nerf bar.

 

Plugging away, today. The body is almost ready for painting to start. I picked up some navy blue, but it's not dark enough. So, I darkened it with black until I got it to where I wanted it.



Way too bright...



This is close to, but a little lighter than, the final color.

I'm thinking of doing the frame too, what do you think?

 

Diggin' on the color! Yes, both body and frame!

 

Great color! Is that Rust-oleum? I was just trying to dull down their navy blue for my '34.

*edit* and I am in the black chassis/ blue body camp as well.

 

Black chassis, blue body.

 

Brent, I agree - Blue body on a Black Chassis. Would seem to be the style for the period you are building to.

 

I only made it through 4 pages tonight- I can't believe I've missed this thread for so long! Posting only to subscribe.

Awesome work- and a car I hope to emulate in someway someday. Thank you for sharing the build process with us!

JK

 

My 2 cents ....Black chassis, blue body.
What do all your pictures tell you. Can you tell with black and white pics
All blue might look... street rod
Bill
Sorry I used the S word

 

Paint the chassis black and the body blue x 2

 

As the rolling stones said ...... "Paint it black"

I'd like to add my voice yo the cry of painting the frame black (with a brush and a little flattening agent) then paint the body blue

 

That looks awesome man!
Loving it!

 

Thanks fellas, I agree with going with a black chassis although there are some great salt cars (Remington's comes to mind) that matched. However, this car is not at that type of level.

As far a paint, the body should be ready within the next couple of nights.

I'm looking for another decent 1923/25 lower windshield frame. In preparation to go to drill/tap a broken screw, I leaned it against the wall and forgot it was there until I closed the garage door. Needless to say, it's wrecked.

So, if anyone knows of one give me a PM.

 

pm sent.

 

I found the pictures in post #123. I'll go dig around here in a minute and see what I have. Cross your fingers.

 

I'm with these guys... For the era that you're focusing on, black frame and running gear with blue body. Great color!!

 

Scooter, I am in the same group as you are. Like the idea of the frame/drivetrain painted black with a blue body.

Brent, Looking forward to seeing the upholstery darkened up for use.

 

Here are a few pics of the body in color. It looks black in the first two photos probably because of the overcast sky. My goal was to get the paint as cose to black as possible but still being blue. In person, it's easier to see the blue. (Click for larger photos.)





Even in these photos below, the flash shows it differently. The torque tube is pretty close, though. Should look pretty good on the salt.





This photo was taken a while back... the body/paint is much glassier now.

I've gotten all the stuff that will be blue, painted (except the lower windshield, don't have that yet). Now I just need to do one last wet sand and a polish.

Then it's fab & install wood and interior.

 

Fuck yes! I was gonna bump for an update a couple of days ago, but I resisted the urge. It looks great!

 

Awesome! Cant wait to see it all back together....

 

Thanks, fellas, I appreciate it.

 

Hey Brent, how many coats of paint did you brush on and was it reduced or conditioned? If multiple coats did you sand in between?

-mike-

 

Mike,

I've lost track of the amount of coats. My estimation is probably 6 or 8. I thinned it with mineral spirits around 1:1. I've wet sanded between all the coats. I do have some scratches from the rougher grit I had used during the body work in a couple spots, unfortunately. That was part of the learning process, for sure.

My first coat was light and the 800 grit took most of it away. It took probably 3/4 coats to get it covered. Had the base been grey, I'd assume it would have been more. I moved up to 1000 grit for a couple coats. Then I went to 2000 grit. It was neat to see the coats following the 2000 grit because it started looking really glassy.

I used both a brush and roller. Sometimes I just used the roller just to knock down the brush marks as I worked my way through. As I got a feel for how the paint went on I got better at applying it. Had it been a hood or horizontal surface a brush might have been enough.

I did brush-paint the windshield frame and stanchions and some of the other parts (still wet sanding in between coats) and they look glassy. I did have some runs to address on the stanchions a couple times, which added more work but followed up with less paint during a coat and it worked out.

There'll be other opportunities for better pics and then I can show how it came out. It was certainly a lesson in patience but worth it.

 

Wow Brent...that's great! Any shots of the supplies you used?

 

Cool Brent! Thanks for the tutorial. I can tell this is going to be one of my favorite cars and very inspirational for when I get to start working on my '27. I can't wait to see it all together!

Thank you for the detailed build. The builds are my favorite part about the HAMB.

 

No pics of the materials but I'll list out what I used.

I bought a gallon-sized paint can and put 2 quarts Rustoleum Navy Blue into it and mixed in Rustoleum Black until it was the color I wanted. I bought a gallon of mineral spirits, too.

I used a mixing cup from the auto-body store and mixed the paint/mineral spirits 50/50. Most times I only mixed/used 4 oz. At most, I used 8 oz. (Those are combined measurements.)

The brushes I used were just some inexpensive 2"-2 1/4" that I got from the local lumber yard. I cleaned them like I do with my good paint brushes and they did well. Only thing I noticed was that there were times I'd see a bristle that'd come off the brush and be in the paint.

The sandpaper I got from the auto body place I bought the rest of my supplies from. On the paint, I used 800, 1000, and 2000 grit. I put some liquid soap in a spray bottle and filled it with water. After sanding, I wiped the residue with a clean rag. Wet sanding was one of the most fun parts of the job, I love the process and seeing results.

Also, I wet a low tack rag with acetone and wiped the wet-sanded areas before I went on to the next coat. I should mention that I left at least the required amount of time to cure before I sanded/prepped for paint. I found that info on Rustoleum's website.

The rollers I used were the foam 4.5" (or 4"... can't remember off hand).

I should mention that I brushed (and rolled) in a way suggested somewhere I read. I brushed/rolled it in one direction. The overlapping coat I changed course by say, 30 degrees or so. The coverage is very even and there's no directional marks.

 

SweeT!!

 

Brent, The "T" is like some highly polished gem stone ! This actually pretty close to what you did. I need to try this on mymodified if I get it together.