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Projects Just another Black Model A

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by rsss396, Sep 17, 2018.

  1. PugetDude
    Joined: Jun 24, 2015
    Posts: 43

    PugetDude
    Member

    This has quickly become one of my favorite HAMB threads. Love the custom touches. Do you have any more details on the 37 headlight buckets? I really like the look of those and would like to plagiarize it on my '32 Roadster.
     
    Nicholas Coe and rsss396 like this.
  2. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    The 36 Packard bucket bottom 1/4 was cut and removed along with the front side metal of the bucket(behind the lens area)
    I then took the 37 ford fender light bucket and installed it inside of it. And tack welded the edges of the Packard bucket to the front edge of the ford.
    This still leaves the bottom of the assembly unfinished because the Packard bucket was not large enough to enclose the 37 ford bucket so I had too bend the bottom metal to shape to the front of the ford bucket and taper down to the end of the Packard’s bucket
    But I also took a set of junk model a headlights and removed the mounts and installed them in the Packard/ford headlight. This now allows me to change headlights very easily by just removing a 1/2 nut. I am going to bed and do have to work late a couple nights this week so give me some time and I will take some pictures of the lights

    Dave




    Just because you spent allot of time on something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw it away and do it right.
     
    Stogy likes this.
  3. PugetDude
    Joined: Jun 24, 2015
    Posts: 43

    PugetDude
    Member

    Thanks, Dave. I've found 37 Ford buckets, lenses and trim rings on eBay; will start looking for a set of 36 Packard buckets. Anyone here on the HAMB have a set (or something dimensionally similar) they'd be willing to part with?
     
    Stogy and rsss396 like this.
  4. WanatahHustler
    Joined: Jul 28, 2018
    Posts: 21

    WanatahHustler
    Member

  5. clem
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 4,190

    clem
    Member

    Wow !

    Glad you backed away from snow mobiles.
    Some neat ideas on your car.
    One of the better builds on here.
    Thanks for sharing.
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  6. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    I like the Packard headlight because it was longer but not to long. You have to watch some of them are way to long for a hot rod
    My finished bucket is at 11.5” without the lens
    The Packard has a chrome piece on the top which is pretty cool except it can be very expensive to chrome the diecast. For the lens I found old aftermarket lens that I think look better than the stock ford lens
    The reflector mount inside does have to be modified because the ford bucket sat back at a angle in the fender, if you run them straight up like I show in my pictures then reflector will pointed to the ground
    I have not worked that out yet but it does not look like it will be any big deal changing the reflectors bracket to work properly


    Just because you spent allot of time on something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw it away and do it right.
     
  7. rustymetal
    Joined: Feb 18, 2003
    Posts: 557

    rustymetal
    Member

    super nice thanks for sharing
     
  8. Doing good Bill how about you?
     
  9. Dave, one detail that stands out to me is the way you used the vette bumperettes. Not at all obvious what they are but once you know.......
     
  10. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    Yeah some may frown that I used a 60-70’s part on a 50’s build but I guarantee I could build something almost exactly like it from a 50’s car bumper. It’s just so hard to find that stuff in a junk yard these days. I bought them for 100.00 and they were in rough shape chrome wise but really no dents
    They were cut down into 3 pieces each for the length and then I narrowed them up for the final size
    I would love to see someone do something like it but maybe a little different using something from the 50’s. Maybe using just a little bit of the end of a dagmar bumper
    The hard part is keeping it small and tasteful if it gets to big then it becomes to overpowering and looks like it should be in a rat rod build
     
    clem likes this.
  11. PugetDude
    Joined: Jun 24, 2015
    Posts: 43

    PugetDude
    Member

    I've been worrying about getting the right diameter on the donor buckets... the '37 trim rings have to fit on the top side ; understand the triangular lobe on the bottom will have to be custom fit.
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  12. About 2 years ago i scrapped some of those bumpers! I believe you pulled it off like a master! I keep going back and looking at the pics, your car just keeps looking better.
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  13. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    If I remember correctly the Packard was about 8-1/4” OD
    Remember you will be cutting the front lip off the donor headlight that you use so now it will become bigger or smaller depending what you need to go around and shape to the 37 ford fender bucket
     
  14. PugetDude
    Joined: Jun 24, 2015
    Posts: 43

    PugetDude
    Member

    Thanks for the dimension, I'll measure the trim rings when they get here and stat searching for a set of 8"+ diameter buckets. If I can't find anything suitable, I can probably make a mold and make them out of fiberglass.
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  15. 08racer
    Joined: Jun 13, 2005
    Posts: 863

    08racer
    Member
    from Gilbert AZ

    Holy WOW man! I need to go take all my crap to the junkyard after seeing this. Perfect Job!!
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  16. 08racer
    Joined: Jun 13, 2005
    Posts: 863

    08racer
    Member
    from Gilbert AZ

  17. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    No that is actually epoxy primer from SPI (southern polyurethane inc). There epoxy goes on with somewhat of a gloss to it
    I painted the SPI single stage urathane black in my garage
    https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/
     
    08racer likes this.
  18. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    Ok here is some pics of the headlights I grafted together using the 37 ford fender buckets and 36 Packard headlight. Unfortunately I do not have fabrication pictures so I will just have to explain or answer any questions you have.
    Unfortunately these buckets have to be repainted because I had them laying on a table with the face pointed down. Well the brackets only held the front edges of the headlight about 1/2” off the table, and while the paint flowed really well on the headlights main body it did not around the edges near the table, so.... I had some thin spots and even some runs.
    Like I mentioned before I removed about 1/4 of the Packard’s bottom and all of the front lip where the headlight lens is .
    I was then able to easily form it around the outer edge of the 37 ford buckets edge, but not interfering with the fords front bucket lip and bezel clips. But since the Packard headlight is not big enough to completely go around the fords bucket, you must create the bottom V of the headlight. I did it in multiple pieces in a lobster tail style fashion.
    Unless you have specialized tools and skills this would be next to impossible to do in one piece, and I have neither of them so I did it in pieces. You have compound curves happening which makes it hard to do, so the smaller pieces make it a little easier but ultimately it did take body filler to give it a flowing shape. In the bottom V a mount must be incorporated and it must be very strong since these headlights can get pretty heavy. So the headlight mounts were taken from a 30-31 model a headlight, I used a heavier gauge steel on the V pieces to better tie in the mount with rest of the headlight. Everything is welded in with no rivets like a typical model a headlight.
    As you will see in the pictures the lower v follows the ford bucket shape but that does create a strange spot on the very bottom where the bezel screw bracket is. I left it so the bracket could technically be seen if you were laying on the ground looking up. But once installed on the car nobody will see it. That’s how I did but obviously the lower shell of the headlight could be shaped to enclose it. If you look at the headlight and it looks a little odd, it is because I did not install the reflector yet, and everything is black behind the lens. The lens I used are old aftermarket lens that IMO look better than the factory lens. When you look at the bezel it does stand out from the OD of the headlight, I was aware of this and decided it did not look bad, I am sure a good metal man could have made a step all the way around the outside to better fit the bezel to but I just did not have the time for this step since I ultimately did not finish painting all the pieces until the end of October.
    I did notice even though I followed the outside shell of the 37 ford bucket, the bezel was still slightly different in areas creating small gaps, but again it was very small and for the most part these areas were on the lower part of the headlight so it very hard to see. I think the color black does help in this area, a light color may look worse so consider the quality of the fit depending on what color you are using.

    Dave



    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]


    Just because you spent allot of time on something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw it away and do it right.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2018
    Blues4U, mgtstumpy, Stogy and 4 others like this.
  19. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]





    Just because you spent allot of time on something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw it away and do it right.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2018
    tb33anda3rd, mgtstumpy, brEad and 9 others like this.
  20. rsss396
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 130

    rsss396
    Member

    As you may have noticed, the diecast chrome strip on top needs refinished. I did not notice until tonight the clearance between the alternator and headlight is tight so I will have to run a longer belt to swing the alternator up and away from it, I have been running the shortest belt to keep it low and less noticeable
    Dave

    Just because you spent allot of time on something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw it away and do it right.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2018
    brEad likes this.
  21. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,013

    belair
    Member

    Great stance, KILLER work on the dash flowing into the doors, great engine, flawless execution. Really nice car, it's easy to see a lot of hard work, commitment and taste (often the missing ingredient) went into the build. Congrats.
     
    the oil soup and rsss396 like this.
  22. PugetDude
    Joined: Jun 24, 2015
    Posts: 43

    PugetDude
    Member

    rss396, Thanks for the detailed posts. I really like the look of those 37 headlights, will attempt something similar...
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  23. 54reno
    Joined: Dec 4, 2009
    Posts: 139

    54reno
    Member

    Beautifully awesome lights!
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  24. Doc.
    Joined: Jul 16, 2005
    Posts: 3,558

    Doc.
    Member Emeritus

    That's a whole lotta nice going on there. Beautiful.
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  25. mountaingoat64
    Joined: Aug 5, 2012
    Posts: 3

    mountaingoat64
    Member
    from california

    Beautiful ride , congrats on a job well done !
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  26. zz29
    Joined: Sep 7, 2017
    Posts: 258

    zz29
    Member

    rsss396 likes this.
  27. Car
    Joined: Nov 22, 2011
    Posts: 83

    Car
    Member
    from the desert

    Love the lights!
     
    rsss396 likes this.
  28. Cleveland Coupe
    Joined: Aug 16, 2008
    Posts: 72

    Cleveland Coupe
    Member

    rsss396 likes this.
  29. classiccarjack
    Joined: Jun 30, 2009
    Posts: 1,465

    classiccarjack
    Member

    lukescoupe likes this.
  30. PugetDude
    Joined: Jun 24, 2015
    Posts: 43

    PugetDude
    Member

    Really nice work on the headlights. I've rounded up most of the parts I'm going to need to try my own set. Couldn't find Packard lights, So I'm going to use 38-39 Ford truck headlights. .
    Love the parts cabinet in the background, looks like you've been on the Garage Journal, too...
     

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