Hot Rods BUILDING HOT RODS & CUSTOMS - USING WHATEVER GET'S THE JOB DONE

The vacuum wipers on my wagon didn’t work so I made my own electric wiper conversion using a rear wiper motor from an ‘80’s ford minivan. Same vehicle as we use coil springs from in our 50’s ford.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Man, that is some nice work. HRP

 

After I got the wagon on the road everyone would ask where my surfboard is.

I found a set of vintage roof rack brackets online, but needed the cross bars.
1” aluminum closet bars from home depot worked perfectly.

Then fortune struck again. A friends kid had insisted that his parents get him surfing lessons for his birthday, and a surfboard. The kid quit after one lesson. I happened to stop by when my friend, the kids dad, was cleaning out the garage and wanted the surfboard out of his way.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I have an ot car with side pipes that’s alittle too loud. A sink drain with the flange cut off fits perfectly inside the turnout to quiet it down for long drives.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

It's strange how people associate wagon's with surfing, I have heard the same question of where's my surfboard?



Living in the upstate of South Carolina it's close to 300 miles from my home to the coast, besides I'm not a surfer, if I were to add a roof rack a pair of water 0r snow ski's would be more appropriate living on Lake Hartwell and the shadows of the Great Smokey Mountains. HRP

 

Today in the world we live in it seems all the old school junk yards have turned into "Salvage Yards" and because of fear of someone stumping their toe or getting snake bite they don't allow you to wonder around the junk cars looking for parts like we did in the past.

The days of stopping by the office and letting them know you were looking for something that will work on your hot rod does not exist today.

I miss those early Saturday morning trips to the local junk yard. HRP

 

^^^^^^^^^^ Still have a few small yards down here that will allow you to look around for stuff, but I agree, they are getting few and far between.

 

We have a couple places here where you can do that still

 

In high school I had a job sweeping the floor and washing cars at a body shop,
There was a small yard of wrecked cars out back for parts.
I’d spend hours after work looking at them and thinking about what parts would work on my projects.
I miss those days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I guess it all comes down to liability, there use to be more yards than you can count on all your fingers here. the EPA & local ordinances expanding into the county and now it's dwindled down to three large ones, none allow access to the yard.

The only yard I have been able to roam is Temples Verbe Salvage yard in Batesburg, South Carolina and it's a 2 hour ride to get there but I have always found what I was looking for. HRP

 

Sometimes you have to see the part you need in pieces sitting in the pile of scrap you have:

These are Tri-5 body mounts.



We needed something to cover my access hole to the front body mounting bolts on my coupe (the firewall is reversed).



Here it is, trimmed out, with some shape hammered in so it sits in place.

 

Datsun hood latches mounted in my fender drops to latch my tilt frontend on my Austin gasser.



3/4" EMT used to make the framework for my tilt frontend on my '63 Falcon gasser. And Ford Ranger tailgate cables to hold the frontend open.




Pickup canopy tailgate latch modified to work on my '39 Chev trunk lid.

 

A Long time ago when I had my Shop I used to build a lot of strange
Sleeper's and I had over my tool box Function Determine the Form
and they still have Places were you can go & Pick your own Part
its Called Pick & Save.

• Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

Hello,

As a teenager, money was always a problem for buying any part necessary for upgrading the engine compartment. A friend had multiple carbs on his Buick motor (40 Ford 2 door sedan) and had a store bought fuel block that had a “rinky-dink” name inscribed on it. So, we found a small scrap aluminum block that was from the Douglas Aircraft Surplus Yard. Our metal shop instructor told us the if we bored the inside out, drilled in the required 3 holes and shaped the block the way we wanted, it would work as a fuel block on the firewall.

So, a relatively free piece of aluminum, machined and polished on the outside, drilled on the inside and had some fuel outlets added completed the job. It took one class period constructing and polishing it. Then, we hooked it up at lunch time in the auto shop.

Jnaki

The cost, almost free, as it was part of several other pieces of raw aluminum in a “bunch” on the measured scrapyard scale. The time it took, free as it was a class project for a grade. Teenage ingenuity in action. The Ford sedan owner added his hoses, clamps and had a nice custom functioning fuel block as a “one of a kind” addition. Next time, he wanted finned grooves on the top. Bring on the milling machine… Precision Racing Engines’ Speed Shop at your service.

 

I built my tub from a 4Dr sedan using windshield top half, tub doors with 4 Dr door bottoms and rear qtr tops from a tub thanks to Magooze for the parts, I built a real tub. If you gota have it, make it happen.

 

My 36....started life as a Bellingham Washington airport fire truck.
51 ford pickup frame,
pinto front and rear suspension,
ten bolt chev rear, eventually changed to 8.8 ford
someone elses junk front fenders and running boards
glass rear fenders
16 gauge hot rolled sheet made the box
19 gallon boat fuel tank in the box
64 327, mid 80's turbo 350
chrysler mini van bench seat
77 chev steering column
brake pedal 62 pontiac, unknown power brake booster
72 ford p/u master cyl
thrush turbo mufflers under a buddy's bench for twenty years
Princess auto trailer lights
home depot hardware store dash knobs
lots of 1" square tubing
One of many collected trans coolers from somewhere
front shocks, pinto, rear shocks 80 monte carlo
4 different sets wheels and tires
Volkswagen bus windshield wipers
1/2 inch plywood tonneau cover, naugahyde glued on 20 years now
painted in a shop class by students for practically no money
Striping was a swap for some wiring work


I'm sure there's more......

 

Creativity is a mark of individuality. Aren't hot rods a reflection of the owner? Good thread.

 

Hello,

When we started our ground up build of the 1940 Willys Coupe, it was a new way to do hot rodding. Our friend had a 34 ford 5 window with an Olds motor. It was the top dog in the whole neighborhood and very competitive at Lion’s Dragstrip for a couple of years. So, we knew what a street legal coupe should look like and feel like, if we happen to go strictly street daily driving.

I was all for that since my brother would take the Willys Coupe, I would then get the cool 1958 black Impala as a drag racer and daily driver to high school. I knew that Impala since my brother purchased it new in late 1957. I was the maintenance and caretaker since new. My brother knew a good thing as having a younger enthusiastic teenage brother.

For our Willys build, the temptation was there to go all out with the top dollar purchases and speed parts. That would have shortened our long term build as the money would have gone fast. What we did have was a steady flow of cash to supplement what we could find at our local scrapyards and small speed shops to fit our build needs.

Jnaki

Since we knew a friend with an MGA sporty car and liked his bucket seats, we measured and hunted several yards until finding a nice used set of bucket seats in black. After the adjustments, they fit inside like they were made for the coupe. We were able to move them back as far as possible for more leg room.

After finding a long block SBC motor at another small local speed shop, we had the core of what would be the rest of the build. Then in succession, a Positraction 1956 Chevy complete rear axle set up, Chevy bolt pattern and brakes for the front and a Howard Cam transmission adapter for the SBC/LaSalle transmission. They were all purchased at the local salvage yards and since most were in great shape, the rebuilds were easy and simple. Remember, the oldest thing was the LaSalle transmission and after opening it up, it was in great shape. The 56 Chevy stuff was only a few years old.

With what we had for an income and bank account, we did the best that we could. After the initial build and running of the SBC with only 6 Strombergs, the following year provided more income and a larger savings for the final push to finishing it completely with the next step in more speed and power parts. While it was running the SBC+ Strombergs, monthly outlay was toned down completely as the big purchases were not needed at this time or had already been bought.

So, the money was able to be saved for the next step in going faster and getting the hot rod, street legal, Gas Coupe finished.

1960

 

The 64 Econoline steering column I planned to use was too short so I used 1 1/2" OD
electrical conduit (actually 1.515) and a piece of rattle can for a shim to match up to the
Ford bell.
Made sure my bench was level and put the level on the tubing to make sure the tube was
plumb, tacked and checked and welded.
The Ford bracket was removed and fitted right on.
Cut the tube to length and there's your dinner!

 

When I built my C400 Vicky , I cut the roof off my 33 FORDOR , moved the upper rear body lines forward and eliminated the quarter windows , I wanted a trunklid ,so I used the rear part of the Roof to create the Rear body panel w/trunk opening , my Dad had a huge 38 Chevy coupe trunk leftover from a previous restoration , so I dissected the chevy decklid and fitted to my opening I used a later model truck tailgate latch for the trunk and a Harley Davidson Clutch handle as an opener,had to round the rear door tops to accomodate the shorter roof line , so I had some trashed front doors which I took the tops off to get the pieces I needed for that , same with the rear door garnish mldgs. I used the area above the rear window to create the Package shelf , inverted it ( upside down ) , I re-used almost all of the sheetmetal I removed and since it was from the old FORDOR it was made to fit. There is a lot more to the story , But I think I covered the big stuff here .

 

I have so many part and pieces on this thing. I could bore folks talking about all of the cast off crap that I repurposed.

 

Face it, we are the heart of recycling

 

Never trust those 94 year old Model T door latches. lol

 

LOL. Thought you were going to say she still had not missed it,

Ben

 

love the way you have kept the ford scripts on there....................
bttt

 

.....that was a long sentence.....
But amazing how you utilised everything. And one of the best end results for a car that never was......

 

Thanks Clem . Here is the end result.

 

This is a great thread. Just read through the whole thing again. I like the ingenuity , creativity and repurposing of whatever will work. I am using Honda Civic door latches, Suburban key lock cylinders , a large gate latch and Suburban power door lock actuator for the safety pin on the Essex.

 

I always liked the look of stock wheels painted semi gloss black with hi quality full chrome lug nuts. I never liked the front hubs showing though. I found the answer, chrome grease hub covers.. I put smoke colored plastic lenses at the ends. I think they look nice.. I have the option of changing colors of the center cover..

 

This past summer during my "extended vacation" I was trying to come up with a way to hang my steering column I snagged one from a pick and pull out an 80s Bronco for next to nothing. Not realizing that it was so much bigger than ye ol standard hot rod steering column I couldn't find anything that wouldn't require substantial machining, and at those prices, for the part itself, it didn't seem practical. So I went to the local engine builder and I snagged this connecting rod they were going to throw out got some sheet metal and whipped up this beauty