Spent the entire day getting the body shimmed and bolted down. It's amazing how much a tiny change at one end will make a huge change at the other. At the end of the day though, the doors close and the gaps are pretty even. For a roadster at least.
Maroon wheels and top. Beautiful roadster to go with the very nice plane and fabulous bike. I am duly impressed with your vision and carrying it out to completion!
Understated beauty and elegance, and a perfect partner for your 'keeper' bird, or is that term too disrespectful? Great job and looking forward to seeing the pair in a final photo shoot!
Thanks for all the encouragement. I feel like the grind part of the project is over and this is the really fun part. Actually it's all fun, I just like the finishing part the best. Been spending some time getting the floorboards built and fitted. I'm using 5/8" Baltic Birch with 1/8" mahogany ply laminated to the top. I also stopped by an auto upholstery wholesaler (Veteran Company) in downtown LA yesterday. Not a great neighborhood, right in the middle of skid row, but a great business once you get there. Picked up a couple of samples for the top material and I think I found a winner. It's a dead match for the maroon leather but has quite a bit of black thread in it as well. Hope the picture does it justice.
Holy crap... those floors... so good... And I like the idea of the maroon top too. All of the sudden, your wheel color got really important!
[QUOTE="Ryan, post: 11054698, All of the sudden, your wheel color got really important![/QUOTE] They're powder coated already, Just gotta decide whether to paint over or re-powder coat.
It's done in the restorer game, the wheels are a lighter tint, and compliment the upper color(s). Ex: Dk. Blue body, black trim and Lt. blue wheels.
Wheels would look good in maroon with cream colored pinstripe or cream colored with maroon pinstripe.
Down to the last floorboard section and its a tricky one. The new subrails sweep to match the frame, so I'll need some curved plywood. No way I'm gonna bend a sheet of 5/8" birch, but I can make a framework and bend the 1/8" mahogany. I'm making a lamination using 9 layers of some leftover 2mm birch ply. Some epoxy, clamps, sanding and most importantly wax paper and I've got some curved plywood supports.
Man, my stash of birch and mahogany is just leavin' a bit to be desired. As a matter of fact, I don't believe I've ever had any mahogany set foot in the shop. Nice thinkin' man!
I love everything about this car! The color especially.......and the interior and the wood floor and the engine. Oh, and that effin plane! So beautiful!
Thanks Fellas, Got all parts for the the curved floorboard frame made so now it's getting glued together. While the glue is drying I've been fooling around with the top irons. They're standard irons which like the car weren't in good shape. I'm using a deluxe windshield with '32 stanchions and quite a bit of rake, so it's taken a lot of cutting and fitting to get to this point. I've also flipped the windshield post mounting brackets which sort of "channel" the top over the windshield. Here's the bare irons. Here it is with an old sheet thrown over it to get a feel for how the fabric will fall. Also to get a sense for the headroom (plenty) and forward visibility (adequate).
I have to disagree with the top color. Love the build and the trick floors, the colors, very kool. I think the top should be tan Sta-fast "Durable" which is really the early version of conventional Haartz canvas. The binding and wireon would then be made of the same interior material or even a matching green to suit the body color. The maroon material seems like it's trying too hard to blend with the rest. Any car, restored or custom, sometimes likes to have the "organics" (tires, top materials, raw metal and wood) speak for themselves as a design element, or to stand along with the rest in a form follows function sort of way. Hey, I know you're not building it for me, just throwing it out there.
Tops are always a challenge on early roadsters. I spent a week chopping and fitting the stock irons on my '32 with a 3" chopped windshield. Then cutting and shaping the bows and wrapping it in muslim to get the shape. Many considerations have to be accomplished, height of driver, position of seat, visibility, ect. Your car looks great and will be a fun ride. Good luck on the completion.
Not that you need my opinion ( you clearly don't) , but I vote for the maroon top. I think that bringing another color into the mix would hurt the overall aesthetic of the car. Maroon, black or green would all keep the color palette tied together. Sorry, I have to go sponge all the drool off my ipad now. Beautiful car.
u I'd been thinking this, too. I was actually surprised when you didn't paint a maroon highlight one the roadster body, to match the plane and bike. I wasn't going to say anything, because I figured if you hadn't done it, it was probably on purpose, but it would help tie in the Maroon top. Nothing too gaudy, maybe just the raised body line area on the sides of the body. Oh yeah, LOVE this car, like the red top, and those floors......jost WOW! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
