Projects Modified Lakester Build (THUNDERCASKET)

Looking great Pat, Definitely some progress for sure !


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Nice work! At first I questioned the round holes but they are growing on me.

 

coming along nicely!

 

Looks great, nice job!

 

The last week or so all threads on the app have sent me back to the beginning of each thread. I started reading yours and got a good laugh ... I've been to your house and I would've never imagined your garage was ever THAT clean !
There is no cure ...


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Pat, looking good man. How did you flare the holes? They are neat like that

 

Dimple punches! Sometimes called Aircraft Punches or Punch & Flare tools. I have 1.5" and 2" I got off Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006K8GL6I

I used them on the seats I made too. They take some muscle, so I use my air ratchet. The OD of the ring on a 1.5" is nearish 2" so I used a 2"-ish HF electrician's punch on the leading row where the curve was deepest on the nose. The flares tend to flatten the material.

 

Mint! I likey

 

Not much new and exciting progress this week but I did get the other side shaped and punched. Next will be to finish it up and figure out mounting.

 

Perfect, Now just a single piece of Duct Tape down the middle and you're done. Seriously that is nice work!

 

HAH! Yeah, I need to do some work in the front. I didn't bend the tabs in past 90° yet to get them to flush up. I ran out of shop time during the storm on my snow day Tuesday and had to switch over to snow removal.

I'm not entirely sure yet how I'm going to approach joining the halves. I know I'm going to make at least one brace for the middle to push some of the material out into shape where the dimples are pulling it flatter and it's far away from the curves of the edges. That will tie it together a little. As far as fusing it together though, that's going to be a little tough because getting at it with a welder in the back is tough. It might even be tough if I had a pinch-welder. I'd prefer not to run a bead down the middle of the outside but that may be what has to happen. I'm open to suggestions.

 

There is a nice stainless trim divider on the split windshield on the '48-'53 Chevy pickups. I plan on using one on the Dodge insert I'm cutting down to fit the Oliver nose. It may take two. Just a thought.

 

Yeah, something like that is an option for sure. I'm leaning away from flash and trim on this car but a cap over that joint would certainly clean up the mess I will probably make of it. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Since some of you have been wondering, I haven't had the gumption to get out into the shop for a few weeks now, for a variety of reasons.

But hopefully with the mild to warm weather moving in, it's going to get a little easier but unfortunately, I'm not even sure where to pick up when I do. I'd like to get the nose DONE so I can move on to something else and get that DONE but at this point, I'm still not entirely sure how to mount the thing to the body.

Ideas might light a fire under my kettle again, so if you've got one, please share it with me!

 

Here's a good list of places to pick up from ...words from the man himself.
Warm weather brings other responsibilities. At least for me it does.
One thing at a time Pat.
Looking good Man.



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Make a list of things to finish. Pick one and and finish it. Before you get through the list you will have figured out how to finish the nose. Just keep going and remember it's your list and you can throw it away any time you want.

 

look at what you have gotten done not what you need to do, it can be overwhelming.
Keep on plugging away, it will happen.

 

How about Zeus fasteners to a frame on the rad and to brackets on the firewall? It'll look fast!
Keep it up, love to see a car like this on the streets in Boston!

 

Thanks, but it's not so much the list of broad strokes as it is the fine strokes to finish them off that hang me up. Getting the nose done and mounted is one and holding the hood down is another. I'm also not sure if I want to cut the shitty flare and mismatched relief out and make new sections on the back of the pieces or just go with it.

See here? I'm not over the moon with the flare or the fut around the engine mount stand here:

I'm trying, I really am, I just hit a spell where it's tough to get out the door and into the shop lately. I worked like a fiend to get the hood and nose done to this point and then just got befuddled trying to figure out how to finish the work.

I still don't really understand those things. I get that they work, I just don't understand HOW yet or how to use them properly. I was looking at Tractor door and hood clasps most recently but Dzus would be a lot nicer. I just don't really grasp what's involved in running with them yet.

And THANK YOU GUYS, you're all helping me get my gumption back.

 

Shape up a cowl bubble piece
With the lakester style you're going with, you could incorporate a sheetmetal cover that starts at the front of the frame rail and continues back ... it would go with the aerodynamic look of lots of the lakester style cars built back in the day.


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Where at? I've got all the tools to make them, I'm just not sure what you mean.

Currently I'm beating my brains trying to figure out if I want to deal with the Dzus install. Those things look like an enormous PITA with all the drilling, countersinking, and riveting.

Is there no easy way to install captive Dzus for something like this? I was hoping I could just hog out big holes and tack in pre-loaded plates but everything I see so far leaves a lot of drilling, riveting, and maybe sinking to be done.

Am I missing something?

 

The nice thing about dzus is, being an aircraft style fastener you can really snug a panel down. So rattling is minimal. They make a bunch of different styles of dimpling mandrels, here is one, http://www.racereadyproducts.com/fabrication-tools/dzus-fastner-tools/
If there is not a thread on dzus perhaps its time to start one. Can you bracket in a pivot between the frame horns that mounts under your custom made schnoz and tip it forward, dzus with a couple fasteners along the cowl. I was going to do a similar set up and use a pair of truck door hinges.
Just an idea, that and 4.00 can get you a coffee at start bucks, ha ha

 

I'll do a sketch and post a pic. That's how I've done every part of my car... I have to put it on paper to make it make sense.
But something along the lines of this
Plus a blister over the motor mounts to hide them.

That being said, are you running any type of chin under the nose ? Similar to the shape of the front of the hood ?


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Those aren't formed blisters. That's what you get when you take two 40' hoods and put them together.

I actually don't need clearance in that area. Everything clears the nose I've built. I'm just not happy with the flare I made at the end of the piece and that somehow my pattern ended up an inch off where it's cut to clear the engine mount risers.

The driver side has not been flared, so I COULD re- make the passenger side, but that is a lot of work that's not progress. SO my options are to try to shrink it back down (also a lot of work) OR cut the flared section out and replace it with new steel (which would be tight because the flare starts probably less than a half inch from the punched holes. This is why it's a good idea to test an idea like this on scrap first; I just got carried away.

I may actually hit the area with some paint so I can really see how shitty/good it actually is.

But the idea of the flare was to help PULL air out and away after the fan so I don't end up with as much high pressure in the engine bay, under the hood, and against the firewall.

The simple solution I'm working on now is to take a piece of 18ga and do a mild S brake to it to put an angled lip at the back of the punched holes and another angled flap protruding from the side by the coil mount, then clone it to the other side. I would also make a filler piece for that 1x2" gap that's driving me nuts.

But maybe the flare isn't that bad and I should keep it???

 

That is what I referring to as the front part to cover the frame rail and tie it into the blister over the motor mount.


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Ah, gocha, I haven't decided what's going on with the horns yet so that's another stage/project at this point. The horns aren't entirely straight so I want to cut them off, but I haven't figured out my shock and headlight mounts yet so I haven't cut them since I may need some meat there.

I'm running 36 headlights, so, that seems to complicate things as far as mounting goes; they have that wide pad that goes up into a relief in the bottom instead of just the ball to deal with.

But I'll either brake or roll a filler piece when I've got it sorted. At one point early in the build, I was going to narrow a F1 nose piece and put it in there but That might be more work than it's worth with what I've got put together right now.

 

Ok, I got back to work over the weekend. Lots of it was just fiddling around and figuring out what to do, but, I did DO some of it.

The nose mounting is finally happening. I landed on just making a couple plates to hold the bottom corners where they meet the engine mounts. I used a piece of 3" flat that had a bit of a curve to it already and it seems to have worked out nicely. I ran out of stock, but the plan for the top is to use some narrow flat or perforated strap to run from the firewall to the radiator support which I can screw the top of the nose to.

 

Pat, looking good bud. Everytime I get overwhelmed with my project I write down what needs to get done, or tweaked, or re-done. Then I will pick one-do it-and then check it off the list. Most times I will fix one thing but that fix created four other problems so the list goes out the window! Still moving forward (or sideways)

 

Thanks, Ron!

Yeah, I'm chipping away again at least. Having that nose ON there now is a big step. So is having a plan to finish that up. Once I get the nose secured fully, then I can figure out the hood and move back to the rest of the body, the engine, and everything else.

I only scored a couple smalls for this car at Fitchburg yesterday unfortunately, so my pick list for parts is still long for this car and the other one I'm putting together to send down the road.

 

Pat what do you need for the car ? I have some stuff I'm not planning on using for my car.


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