Projects Mr. Palumbo's Shoebox project

Yea , the equal-length jobbies are definately a tighter fit . The biggest issue is the "boss" on the block where the pin for the clutch linkage bolts in . I believe if I file/grind it down a bit , it'll fit . Once the headers are bolted on & clear the "boss" , it's not like they'll be moving around or anything . It'd be nice if they had a bit more room at the column , so I may have to make a small relief bend in the column tube .

I'll see if I can dig up a number for you . I haven't bought one for mine yet , but Craig has a shorty on his 351 , so I'll try to remember to write it down for ya .

 

Well , this weekend I worked on something I started months ago ... my trunklid shave-job . Here's the lid I shaved :



I tinned the area ...



Here it is with the tinning done



Here's the lead , all ready to go (only used a couple , BTW)



Melt the lead on , & paddle it out (certainly not my smoothest job , lol . Paying customers get the good stuff , I guess )



Start the filing !



And ya get this ...



and this ...



There are a couple small low spots I'm not really happy with , so I'm gonna go after them the next chance I get . I could've done a video , I guess , but ya would've died of boredom . Besides , I've got a face for radio , lol !

Thanks for looking !

 

looks good! any progress is good progress! glad to see you moving along.

 

Man your really going old skool. I just use old skool bondo

 

looks good keep on

 

I don't have a part number but there is a really short oil filter available, meant for a Volvo. Spins right on to a Ford, probably 2+ inches tall.

 

Fram PH43 is the shorty for FORD that I'm aware of.

 

Lovin' the lead work. Vastly superior to poly fillers especially on things that move. I can't use it on my body though cause it would weight like eight tons.

Seriously, lookin' good Bro! Keep slinging.

 

Nice work!

 

Little by little . The lid is at my joint , so I just had to get on with it , lol !

Yup , I'm an OG son of a gun ! I really want to do as much old-school type stuff as I can . I sling lead at work , so I might as well do it on my own stuff too ...

Thanks , Stefan - nothing as cool as your ride though !

I always used Mann filters on my old Volvos ... I should look up the part # and try it on my car , cause they're good filters .

LOL , eight tons . The shoebox trunklid is heavy enough ... I'm trying not to add TOO much to it . Like you said , lead is really good for body seams & stuff that might flex - much better than bondo-type fillers . I kinda like it also , cause it's the way they did it when they did customs the first time around .

Thanks a lot !

 

looks good bro.

 

Digging the Ol School Leading.. Very nice touch !

 

Thanks , guys

 

This past week I spent some time re-working & tweaking the hinges on my shoebox & getting the doors to line up a bit better . What a dumb arrangement , lol !!

Today I spent a couple hours working on the shoebox laying out the bearclaw (door) latches . I cut out the old latch area on the door , fit up the new latch & tacked my new sheetmetal in place . I had to modify the window track a bit , but other than that , no biggie there .
Then onto the door jamb - I made a new filler plate to fit into the area I cut out of the door post (16 ga.) , that was no biggie to fit up . Then came trying to fit the floating door pin/nut bracket ... that was a bit more work to get just right . Once I was satisfied that it was right , I tacked it all in place & tried it out - success on the first try !!
Next time I get to work on the 'box , I'll finish welding the latch areas , grind 'em off & shoot some pics ... then it's on to the other side ! That will go much easier , right ?!?!

 

Small update -
I finally got over to Craig's and made some progress on my shoebox . We fooled around with the bear claw door latches some more . Craig wanted to weld up the latches on the passenger side to keep his welding "chops" up , while I laid out and cut up the driver's side stuff , so on we went ! Once I had the driver's side ready , I tacked 'em in place then he took over welding them while I ground off the other welds , and so on . In the end , we got 'em working pretty good . Here are a few pics .

Original '49 latches :





The passenger side bear claw setup :





And the driver's side bear claw stuff :







Craig hasn't done much welding since he left our shop a couple years ago , but I think he did a grand job . Just a very small skim of filler (lead ? ) and the jambs will look like factory , and they close much better than before ... and STAY closed , lol !!

Next project will be filling the exterior door handle holes for a smooth look . Stay tuned .

 

Nice upgrade. I should do this as well. I remember doors popping on me back in the day but the latches are 60 years old and slopped out. Not to mention the doors close so much nicer.

 

Did you ever get the oil filter situation taken care of? I did the 90degree adaptor and it worked out great. I have pics if you need them great ride!

 

They already work way better than the stock ones . You'll be glad if ya change 'em out .

Thanks - To be honest , I haven't gotten around to looking into it yet . If you have a pic of the 90* one mounted , post it up ... I'm curious .

 

mine are turning out to be a pain in the ass,looks good!

 

Thanks - What problems are you having ??

Mine were definately a bit more work than I'd been lead to believe , but it was definately an upgrade worth the effort , especially for a 49 . I had a little window channel issue and a b-pillar placement issue with the bear claw "peg" floating nut bracket . Both issues were possible to rectify , but ate up a bit of my time trying to fix 'em . Other than that , not too bad , all things considered .

 

Nice work Allen, dig that lead work!

 

Thanks ! To an extent , I do enjoy doing the leadwork more than I do spreading putty . In certain situations , of course .

 

The latest work - I filled in my outer door handles . Unfortunately I didn't take any before shots , but I did remember to shoot a couple .

I cleaned up the area , then I made up these "plugs" out of 18 gauge , to fill in the handle holes & the lock holes :



I welded them in & sanded off the weld areas :



A thin skim of lead & they're done !

 

Pretty cool! Now all you have to do is figuire out how to get back in the car!

Lookin' good Bro! I have to drop by and watch you lead as my technique is pretty awful but gets the job done. Maybe we can drag you to the shore with us this year. It'd be nice if we all had cars the same year at least one time.

Keep bangin'. Simmers on the way.

 

I had a lot of shoebox fords,LOVED 'em all.they make new wood chisels ..

 

Can't wait to see this on the road- you do great work!

What is going to be your interior and paint plan?

 

Ha Ha - it's easy to get into the car right now ... I've got the side glass out !!
I did some leadwork today at work . I'm keeping my chops up ! I'd like to do the shore trip one of these years . It looks like a good time . Hopefully mine will be on the road for next year's run .

I kinda fell into Shoeboxes while helping my friend with his '50 Box mild custom . I wanted to build a hotrod Model A truck , but this will work out better for me , since I added a (little) passenger a couple years back .
The wood chisel method worked really well for de-seaming - no real damage to the chisel , even the crappy quality one I bought to be sacrificial .

Thanks - I can't wait to see it on the road either , but it'll most likely be another year . I don't wanna rush it , plus I don't have a huge budget & don't want to eat into "common funds" , if ya know what I mean .

I haven't really decided on paint yet . The original color is a dark blue metallic (forget the name right now) , which is a cool color - so that's an option . The only thing with dark colors though , the bodywork better be perfect , or it'll look like donk . My wife wants it to be a gray color with red pinstriping , which would look cool . Might look too much like primer though . White might look cool ... I"M SO CONFUSED , LOL !!!

The interior will be pretty stock-looking with the bench seats & such . I've got a thought on doing something cool with the dash & garnish moldings eventually , but I'm not telling yet , so you'll have to wait & see !

 

Helloooo! Now how in the heck are you going to open your doors!? Sheesh. (P.S. Your hands look worse than mine & I'm 65. Well,maybe not worse.)

 

looking awesome..

 

looks good, glad to see your build finally. i plan on doing the bear claw latches as well glad to have a pics to look at.
i also wanted to see the jamco motor mounts installed so thanks again.
car is looking good