A little 47 Ford custom progress, the quest for perfect gaps.

I have been working on my door gaps on and off for months. These cars came with awful gaps from the factory, the doors were too big for the door frame (on my car at least), and ,like all old cars, the quarter and door edges curl into the gap, which is what makes that "wave" in the reflection at the gaps on most glossy painted cars. With Chopolds advise, I sliced along the inner edge of the door jamb along the leading edge of the rear quarter, hammer and dollied the sheetmetal until it was flush, and then hammer and dolied the door edged until they were flush as well, so when a straight edge is put perpendicular to the gap, there is no variance until the door and quarter drop off into the gap.

I am happy all of this is finally done, and today I sealed the doors and jamb area in black epoxy, after a lot of block sanding.

 

Dude...you have no idea how i've been just gawking at the build post of this car. I cant wait to see it fully completed. Looks f@cking awesome and you deserve a huge pat on the back for a job well done!!!

 

after you sliced the quarter panel on the inside of the jamb and flattend it did you have to add metal on the inside of the jamb or were you able to just weld it up?

I am jealous of your car, man it looks good!

 

Chad,

Nice work as usual. Glad to see you're making progress.

Theo

 

alot of work buy well worth the effort.the car is coming out awesome

 

Thanks guys. The hard work has really paid off now that its a bit shiny. I cant wait to see how the gap areas look once the car is in paint and is but and buffed.

Jim, in some areas it just had to come out a little bit, and a mig weld filled it well, but a lot of it required a very thin filler strip, which happens to be very hard to weld without the filler melting away!

Also, you should really switch to bearclaw latches to get the alignment this precise. The stock ones are just too crude and when (at least on mine) adjusted to pull the door in tight enough, became very stiff (as if they arnt already stiff enough!) and hard to open, and making solenoids open the stock door latches is very tough as they are just way too stiff.

 

Wow Chad that is looking spectacular!!! All those nay sayers about shaving drip rails need to look at your car. In a dark color like that it all just blends into one smooth form just like it is meant to. Right out of the late 40's early 50's. Have you decided on a final color yet? Can't wait to see it done.

 

I agree, shaved drip rails really work best on a dark painted car. Door gaps have become my pet peeve, but I think with shaved drip rails, and a dark color, it makes all the difference when the gaps are very straight and flush.

I am going with a solid dark maroon color, that much is decided on. As for an exact color, when the time comes, I'll go to the paint shop, take a few paint books out in the sun, choose a few possibilities, and do some test panels, and stare at them for a few weeks, and make a decision.

 

great work as always,,,,
that car rules,,

 

As a owner of a 46 cpe. I can concur with you on the gaps......very sloppily done at the factory. You've done a fantastic job straightining them out - no pun intended!!

I'm actually leaving mine alone except for the bearclaw latches. I'm in for a "distressed" look.

Best of luck on the balance.

Paco

 

Have you installed the bear claws yet? I used the large style, and put them in the door jamb, as there is very little window channel clearance in the door.

 

Chad that looks great. That car is going to be straight as hell. Awesome!

 

The car looks great. Very nice work on everything you've done - the chop, grill and door gaps.

The front fender to body gap looks smoothed over - did you weld the front fenders to the body? If so, what engine are you running?

I have a 46 with a SBC eek and I can't get remove the engine without first removing the core support - which forces me to remove the fenders.

 

My fenders have been welded on, and molded in with sheet metal filler pieces to make a gentle blend into the cowl. I am running a 302 ford. The fenders bolted to the cowl will support the fenders on these cars with the core support removed. I can remove my core support, radiator, etc without taking the fenders off, I dont see any reason yours wouldn't work any differently.

 

Wow...nice work! I can appreciate what it took to get to this point.

 

Wow, nice work... Keep it up!

Malcolm

 

Door gaps, I'm working on that battle with my truck! Question, did you install new weather stripping? After installing on my truck, only now, I can get the doors to set flush. It takes awhile for the rubber to mold into place, if that makes sense. It only took 2 yrs since the whole rebuild. Is there a secret besides waiting? Chad your patience is paying off!

Ken

 

No weather stripping, just the stock rubber bumpers, shaved down so they fit right.

I wont be using stock molded weather stripping, it just doesnt fit. Maybe waiting 2 years is the trick! I have tried drake and d-carpenter seals, and both are too thick, and to hard.

I plan on using a generic weather strip from steele rubber, it comes in different thicknesses, one should work. And if the one that works is a little too thin to perfectly seal, I'd rather have perfectly flush door gaps, than sacrifice that for weather stripping. Steele has generic lengths of of weather strip as thin as 7/32 thick.

This car will always be garaged, and driven on nice days, if it gets cought in the rain for a bit, it will be a rare circumstance, and a little water leaking in isnt going to kill the interior.

 

Hey Chad,

I like the extra attention your giving the panel gaps. This is what sets
the good builds apart from the great builds! I jus' love seeing cars at
shows with 10-12 thousand dollar paint jobs and panel gaps ya could
throw a cat through! Ya have to ask yourself, "who was the metalman,
Ray Charles?"
On your paint selection/choice....Don't pick your colour from a paint
book. Some paint samples, in books are dies, and not true paint colour
examples. Some of those samples don't even begin to show the real
nature of the colour. You're much better off finding an example on a
vehicle, look it over in natural sunlight, and see if "she's the one". I've
make some very expensive mistakes pickin' colours from paint books!

Swankey Devils C.C.

" Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"

 

Nice job, Chad! One of the cars being built here, that I really CANNOT wait to see finished!

 

Thanks for that tip, I have to do mine here in the next few weeks...

I concur on the stiff stock door latches, I soaked mine in vinegar for a week, then soaked them in marvel mystery oil for a year or two, re-installed one, and I, as a 350lb guy, had to lean on the handle to get them the door open.

Mine is more of a high schoolers hot rod build, so the door gaps won't make a difference to me... I'll let the next guy who buys this from my estate worry about 'em.

 

As usual guys, having some of the top body and paint guys here on the HAMB give such positive encouragement is a true honor. Thank you!


4t64rd Are you shaving your door handles? I plan on making the interior door handles operate a switch when they are turned, which pops the solenoids, which will be mounted inside the rear quarter panel area.

As a backup I will have a mechanical pull cable under the bench seat, as well as a mechanical pull on the underside of the car, so should the solenoids fail, you can still get in out out of the car.

The difference between the stock and bear claw latches is night and day! The door closes so nice and smoothly with them, versus having to slam them.

 

Car gets better evry thread.

 

That is so nice it scares me. Hats off to ya!

 

mmmm gaps they make or break a car in my opinion.. nice work my man.

 

Wow, looking good, Chad! It's details like these that make all the difference. Interesting to hear how you'll mount the bear claw latches, good idea.

Just got me wondering... Why not pick a color that looks its best at night instead, illuminated by street lights and neon signs and burger joints? Weren't those early customs to some extent purpose-built, to look good while cruising around? Car shows wasn't the prime target back then. Just like ladies wear a daytime make-up, and another one when going to the nightclub.

Like Lee Pratt's '58 Chevy for instance. I have seen quite a few pictures of it from shows, indoors and outdoors, but those pictures of it in TRJ, it was like it finally had found its way home.

Chad, I'm not saying this in regard to your color choice, it will be excellent, it's just me thinking out loud.

 

Thanks! I know, gaps are my new big pet peeve, they are one of the first things I look at on every car now. Most of the time I'm left dissapointed. You see some cars that look as though the guy dissassembled the car, bodyworked and painted each pannel off of the car, never did any mockup, and then assembled it all after it was painted. OOPS!

 

This is going to be one of the most kick ass customs, period. It's an honor and a huge motivation to see this car come together.

 

I wasn't planning on it, because I'm keeping the side trim, and the door handles are part of it... looks like I have to re-think some things if I can't get the latches to fit in the door.

 

I shaved my door latches, but being that I have a business coupe, I got long door coupe door trim that I can shorten and finish the ends on. In your case, you can use pieces of trim off of another car, and have a good tig welder weld and finish the ends to extend them.

On a hot rod though, I dont think shaved door handles is all that necessary. If you want, I can send you my original latches, I have no need for them. They are not as stiff as yours sound to be, they actually work well with the handles, but for a solenoid to pull them, they are pretty much worthless. Its worth a try, PM me your address if you want them, and I'll send them over to you.