Let's see T's with A grill shells!

Okay, mines coming along nicely but not done yet. Chassis is currently blown apart, final welding finished, prepping for paint underway. BUT, since you asked I'll post another. Took this shot a few months ago.




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Nice and Bob looks a cool chap.....clever chap !! JW

 

Thanks man. Yep, bob is indeed a clever chap!


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Thanks Anderson!!! Your car is too bitchin' brother!

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That just looks RIGHT.


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Cool old thread. I found it to be a hit or miss modification. The "A" shell has got to fit the build style. The first time I built my T Bucket, I used an "A" shell because it fit the radiator. Looking back, I should have had my hands surgically removed, the minute I mocked it up. One of those WTF moments and I ignored all I learned as an artist.

 

Agreed Fred, just like a track nose, the car has to be built with a particular style from the beginning. What that style is I don't know, but I know it when I see it.

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Since my pics of mine didn't survive the HAMB update, here's an updated one.

 

update, good to see this thread back again

P5240046 by k1w1rodder posted May 24, 2014 at 1:47 PM

 

Agreed. I don't think an A shell would look all that great on a bucket. Those really need the T shell. But in the pic of that turtle deck T, I think it really looks right. One issue I see as a potential problem, is getting the top of the grill shell to be level with the leading edge of the cowl. I also think the traditional skinny bicycle tires on a bucket don't have enough mass to compliment the A shell. And the amount of axle drop prevalent on buckets works against it as well. Fuller tires, proper cowl alignment, just the right amount of drop, but not too much. And the headlights. Size really does matter. Nothing worse than playing with all the above for hours on end, then finally deciding it just isn't working. But it sure is bitchin when it does.


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Mine is an "A" shell but slightly modified. I de-arched the top a little and removed the peak.



I like it

 

I've always been told the cardinal rule of grille shells is they have to be at or lower than the height of the top of the cowl, but I see a few examples here that are slightly taller and still look nice. Thoughts?

 

I like that rule and have followed it, but as you stated, some cars seem to pull it off. The AG Deuce coupe, being a prime example.

 

i positioned mine so if i ran a hood, the slope of the cowl would flow with the hood on down to the grill shell. i ripped a 2x4 down to 1/8 inch strips and layed them between the cowl and the grill and to come up with a grill height that was pleasing to the eye.

 

It often depends alot on camera angle and position that gives a slightly distorted look. If your too close it doesn't matter how low the shell is it still looks wrong but move away and change camera angle and it can look perfect. Unfortunately you cant always do that with your eyes

 

I think it can be done where it looks good. I have cut 1 1/2" out of the height of mine to make it the proper height and I think it will look good.

 

Perfect.

 

Agreed.


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This is as perfect as it gets!

I love your pickup brother, but in my mind that grill needs to lose a few inches and the headlights need to come down correspondingly. That's just me, don't change it for me. The overall "flow" would improve significantly in my eye. You may get away with an easier mod though by mounting the front of your radiator support rods lower on the radiator. They have so much "uphill" look to them that it confuses the eye and makes the radiator look taller than it is. At least in this photo. I'd never noticed it before.

Agreed with all you said with one exception, see reply to Squablow.

THIS! The designers had purpose in mind when penning our cars. The design is all about "flow" and these era of vehicles "need" that slightly downward slope from the cowl to the radiator. At least in my opinion, which means nothing to anyone but me.

THIS! Again.

Agreed completely. Every single time I see that car (or any of the clones) I want to cry because of that poor grill shell. The bobbed fenders bug me too, but I can live with them. Never been a fan of bobbed fenders.

I agree, but right is right and wrong is wrong. But that IS opinion and we know what those are like... In person, the car HAS to have that "flow" or it can throw off the rest of the car completely. Cameras do distort angles but a good design still looks like a good design.

Yep! Just how they should be done!

Thanks everyone for the input and pictures. My word and viewpoints certainly aren't gospel. Glad we all have differing opinions otherwise we'd all have red '32 highboy roadsters! LOL

 

With the grille shell lowered 1 inch to give the hood line a continuous flow with the beltline.

 

I agree completely. The T cowl has a swooping line that needs to be followed all the way to the radiator shell. The hood line, be it an actual hood or imaginary line, has to follow that path. Otherwise, its a big ole hiccup. For some reason, when I posted, I was imagining the 30-31 model A cowl line that is parallel to the ground. Oh well, the older I get...The T cowl has that curved, downward line. Got to follow those original lines if its going to look like something that belongs on the car.


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I agree with the shell looking high but its only about 3/4 ''. I have to get the bottom tank turned around so I can have the lower radiator hose in the correct place for the SB Chev so I'm going to see if it can be lowered on the mounts. Yes those stay rods do make it look worse than it is and will do something about it later, but that pic doe's make it look way high. Its not a big worry to me as many cars from the fifties were like that and I feel that time has refined our eyes some-what. cheers, JW

 

tanks mang
I chopped my shell and radiator 2-1/2"

I used the tape and eyeball method too

 

Got to thinking on how much I needed to drop the shell. I placed a straight edge on it , use a spirit level and measured down to the chassis, I was surprised to find it was only 1/4''. I can fix that !!
I believe shinny things tend to look bigger JW

 

I'm thinking you should reconsider that. If you look at my pictures you will see that I took into consideration the slight downward slope of the T cowl and made it so that the shell was low enough that a hood ( if I used one) would flow in a smooth line from the cowl to the grille shell following that slope of the cowl.

It looks to me like 1/4" will still leave yours too tall.

 

I will bring it down more if I can which I believe I can. Cheers Eric And Larry. JW

 

Having that board there for perspecitive makes a huge difference, I think the hood rods are throwing it off more than anything. I think if the rods were parallel to the frame or angled down just a bit, the grille wouldn't have to come down much and you'd have the look nailed.

I like your RPU already, a couple tweaks like this would really make it a knockout.

 

Whew!