Projects My Shoebox Dash Metalflaking + Hidden Radio Laid Off $0 build

Okay I have been thinking alot lately about the front bottom of the doors being rounded so I kept thinking I have seen it before. So are these rounded on the Buster Litton Shoebox?

Also I want to do it without molding the front fenders to the cowl. Thoughts?

 

Heres my take....I once saw that done years ago (maybe 10). The fellow had extendend his rear fender a couple of inches, so that the bumper actually had something to bend around. I was very subtle, but looked very good. Never seen it bone before or since.

 

Hey Buddy how's this?



Put the stock bumper back on got pulled over today becuase they couldn't see my license plate and I wasn't done with the 54. Cop got me in the parking lot of the auto parts store took my license and said he would be back in 15 minutes if I had a light on the back he wouldn't give me a ticket well long story short he never came back and brought it to my house 2 hours later. I waited for an hour there. Also a friend of mine past away and he said the last time we talked how much he hated the bumper so I have to decide what to do I might do his thought as a tribute.

Moved the trunk latch to the bottom

Made brackets to monut the stock latch on the trunk floor and ran a cable to release it. Non-power so if the battery dies I can get into the trunk to jump it and open the doors.

 

awesome work my friend.. love the rear bumper

 

looks nice

 

Thank you fine Sir! Your build has given me hope that I will finish mine some day. I'm getting really close I can taste it. Your build is making me rethink my paint plans! Green? haha just kidding . . . But gloss on the bottom too?

 

hahaha im telling you.. greens the new black! and gloss is the new flat black youre getting real close.. my turn to stay on your ass and keep YOU motivated now! i say gloss it..

 

Turned my 51 hood that was turned into a 50 hood back into a 51 hood!

Luckily they saved the piece that was cut out and never did anything with it. The hood looks to be in really good shape minus the center being filled with happiness aka bondo! Other than cutting the piece out and they ran it like that till the found another 50 hood. I decided to use a 51 hood. I went back and forth about using my rechromed grille and either center turning light or the one that was just a fog light. I figured I have done this much work already why stop up from. So the plan is 54 Pontiac grille and use the 50 turn signal housing with glass leneses I scored off evilbay for $15.

 

Drove to the store to get something to drink damn!!! it's hotter than the sun here today.

Stuck the hood on it needs some love on the driverside. 51 splash pan installed.

Note to self when using a 49-50 hood latch with a 51 hood make sure you tie something the saftey latch so you can open it if you close it! Yup

 

SO I am about to tackle the roof work and find something that doesn't make me very happy. Who puts black tar and plumbers puddy in rust holes then puts a new gasket on?
The whole window channel had dirt in it. No wonder it was so rusty.

Started to cut it off hope this was the worst of it. Think again

This is one hole that had black tar in it under the gasket.

This just shows how much dirt was in the between gasket and window.

That isn't white paint it missing metal. Not making me very happpy right now.

Top is missing metal too!


Another view.


Does anyone ever feel like they bought a parts car sometimes? I did know it was a R@T RQD when I bought it and wanted to save it. I just feel like sometimes it is putting up a huge fight.

 

I know how ya feel at times.
Stick to the fine fight.
I have been on the drivers side for sometime now

 

All patched



Patch piece

Needs a tad bit of grinding. I am going to do it in sections.

 

Repairing the upper window bend.
First step cut strips. Used the left over door skin for it.

Break the metal as tight as you can get it.

Put it in the vice to close the gap to match the original

And then bend over the top to a 45' or so. I just hammered it over the edge of the vice.

I then used the stretcher to match the curve of the window

Welded in

Spots ground down to look factory

 

Pretty nice work there. I am impressed by how every few days, you find a rusted out piece that's even more complex and annoying than the one before ... but you hunker down, get to work, and fix the thing!

I wish you were in PA ... I would keep you busy for a week fixing 2 rusted out daily drivers!

 

Thank you fine Sir!
Well it funny you say that as the wife and I are debating on moving back to the East Coast. But Jersey.

 

The piece I made for the bottom.Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Yes the package tray is out. When I bought the car it was right before it was to be hard chopped and they had cut it out and tossed the pieces. I bought one from someone off Evil bay that cut up a parts car .I bought the doors that are on the Ford from him and when I went to pick them up he had it sitting there and offered it to me for $25 so it was a done deal. Primered

S Mazza look what I get to fix next! I will wait on the package tray as it's easier to stand in the rear window and hammer and dolly with it out.

 

bang it out and use a shrinking disk

 

Hey, at least it's all one piece and not full of holes!

 

So I removed the 8 layers of high build primer. I was starting to think maybe of blasting it but now that I am done. I am pretty happy. Neighbor came over called me a MF'er said he would show me what noise really is and that he would make me sorry. Cops show up 45-1hr later. It was Noon by the way no not midnight but NOON. So they asked me to continue doing what I was doing busted out a sound meter told me I can be 3/4 louder than I was being before I get in trouble. So I said all he would have had to do instead of cussing me out was ask me to keep it down. Instead of knocking off at 1pm like I had planned I continued to go until it was striped. So 2 hours later I almost have a car that is all the same color for the first time since that day after I bought it. Next Monday it is hammer and dolly time to remove all the dents out of the roof. The primer was hiding alot.

 

Call those DONK buddies over and have 'em make just a little more noise... In front of the neighbor's house, of course.

 

It's funny you say that one stopped by right before he got home. If he showed up 45 minutes soon he would have saw the Sanitation truck in front of my house and the guy asking me to work on his 63 Chevy truck. His city truck was brand new as of monday and it already stunk. He was the guy that collects the dead aminals. Yum.
For the record I start working on my Ford at 9am after the baby goes to daycare and stop at 5pm to shower and get ready for him to come home. Not everyday am I noisy. And only monday-friday no weekends and at night.

 

Well its time to start!

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

You helped that same neigbor with welding stands for his aeroplane and he keeps on bitching about the noise?
Does he have mental problems or is he just born as an asshole?
Good luck with the project and that jerk at the next door.

 

I agree that your neighbor is way out of line. (I believe there are 2 separate neighbors in this conversation, and I am referring to the one with the noise complaint.)

That said ... If your houses are really close together, as it seems from the picture, then I can see why he might be upset. Hard to tell exactly how close, though. Does he work nights or something, or is there some reason that working in the middle of the day bothers him? Maybe he is out of work and depressed?

I don't know if there's any sort of olive branch you can offer him without knuckling under, but it might be worth considering that you will soon have a nice shiny, valuable ride sitting right next to his house. So I wouldn't push him too far, just in case. You know?

 

Differnt neighbor. But I have hung curtain rods for his wife because she kept asking him and he never would put them up. When I went to do it as I was packing my tools up he came to do it but it was done and his cordless drill was not charged.
I have also stopped what I was doing to help him move fruniture, let him borrow tools, ladders and let him have anti-freeze and oil for his crappy foreign car.
Our houses are close yes. But we live in the city. He was only home for 15 minutes when he came and went off on me. He's a porter for Amtrak. Not that it changes anything but we own our house and he rents. His house isn't as nice as ours. I have put a lot of work into ours. I own lots of stuff he owns nothing.He sits on the couch and drinks beer and plays video games and I don't drink and work on my house and car. He made a commet to another neighobr that when I finish my car he is going to buy one and work on it to bother me. I think it all comes down to if he handled it differently. Like I told the police yesterday if he came around the corner said hey I had a rough day yesterday can you please keep it down. I would have told him I was about to wrap it up so yeah. It's a double edge sword do I work later and bother all the neighbors or one neighbor. The neighbor that I helped with the stands for his airplane came down after the cops left and said" he is a sit on the couch smoke pot, drink beer and play video games guy. And you are a craftsman." I am a carpenter FYI. I told my wife maybe she needs to go talk to his wife so atleast they can still get along. Even after his douche baggery I hold not grudge.

 

That sucks man.
I remember in my the place I lived before, I had the cops called on me, I had 3 cars, two in the drive way and one in garage. The ones in the drive way where covered with nive actual car covers and kept clean.
But the cops asked for my titles and said I was running a body shop.
I was doing piece work on other cars, but only kept my cars at the house.
Needless to say, the cops would drive by on a reg bases and harass me, even with out the neighbors calling, I would just wave and smile.

But I did go to all my neighbors, bought them gift cards, and said thank you very much for putting up with my noise. IF there was ever an issue, call me and let me know or come by. I asked them if between certain hours was a problem, also again asked them to let me know if its to much for the day, that I need to do my work, and they also need some piece, if we could come to an agreement.

Now in my house, I worked outside like you last summer I went to my neighbors and explained to them what I was going to be doing and again gave them my number and said for any reason you need me to stop for the day, feel free to call me. They felt fine being that I took there thoughts and feelings into consideration. They often came by to see the progress. The only bad thing, my two neighbors on either side have small dogs that bark all day at the wind or a grasshopper fart, so there is a good with the bad. Oh well.

Maybe walk over and do that to him, if he is a douche about it, screw him, atleast you did your part.

My biggest issue is roommates now, its my house and I rent it part of it out. He is like your neighbor, gets off work, sits and watches tv and plays video games. Fortunately its my place, and I say these are the hours I will be out there in the garage.
These kind of people I dont get, there is more to life. I have invited him out to learn things, and nope. Him and his wife are my best friends so we put up with eachother and consider eachothers feelings on the subject.

Offer the guy a beer, and show him what your doing and your plans. Maybe he will get excited on it once he see and really knows what going on.

 

Offered a beer offered to fix his explorer if he went to autozone and rented the part. He donated it instead of fixing it all it was was the fuel pump. Told him what I was doing and when. He even asked why I was working on my car. HeTold him I want to be done before Mooneyes Dec 8th. I bought my car from a cop he stops by every once in a while. He told me before to close the gate and the cops can't ask for titles or whatever.They can however ask if they are your cars or if you are working on them to sell them. Then the rules change. The cars are all mine 2 Henry J's and my wife's 51 Chevy in the garage. I think it boils down to not having any hobbies being unhappy with his job or something. AND NO VIDEO GAMES ARE NOT A GROWN ASS MAN HOBBY. My wife use to work for a video game company and I still think that. I don't play them could care less about them. To each their own but I could care less about them. My hobbies are my family and building stuff.
About the gift card idea we make cookies every few months and give them to the neighbors. My wife use to sell cakes, cupcakes and cookies for extra money. She has a cheese cake that is out of this world. During his rant yesterday he brought up stuff that happened two years ago when I was the one working nights and he didn't live there then. I have never called the cops on him for his loud parties. I did report the other neighbor a few years ago to the dog catcher for leaving her 5 dogs out locked in the driveway when it was 102 outside with no water no shade and they were barking so much threw up and the others would eat it. It wasn't cool of her.
This was when he said I was working on the car to the cops on Monday. How loud can you get with this guy?

I am over it and he will have to as he said "deal with it in his way and show me who will make real noise and make me sorry" I told the cops that and they asked if I felt like it was a threat. I said no because I didn't want him to get into trouble.

 

Sucks man.

On another note, I am trying to get mine ready for Mooneyes as well.

 

Let's talk shop safety HAHA. So the nut on the grinder sheared off and my shrinking wheel of death did this! For the record I bought new disc it came in the mail had a small wobble to it so the person asked me to make sure it was mounted correctly. Borrowed my favorite neighbor's grinder. Turned it on nut sheared off the disc hit me in the chest rolled down my arm took a bit out of my hand hit my other hand and fell on the ground and spun for a minute laughing at me. I looked at my hand thought oh shit grabbed a clean rag out of the huge costco rag the neighbor across the street bought me for pulling the electrical to the panel at his house with him as a thank you gift. Ran inside cleaned it dripped lots of blood. Walked down to Ray's house knocked on his door asked if he would look at it. He said if I am asking him we are going to the hospital because he knows me too well. Came back changed my bloody clothes cleaned the blood up so the wife wouldn't be mad. Texted my wife saying I can't pick her up at the airport that there is a problem. Text her the picture. Go to the VA hospital they are awesome by the way. Let an intern stitch me up they thanked me.( 7 stitches inside 9 outside) The surgeon says I should play the lottery because it cut to the tendon and didn't even scratch it. So I guess the lesson is if your wheel of mangling death has a wobble don't mount it send it back get a new one and don't chance the injury.

 

The same happened to me with the nut sheering. I didn't get hit like you tho. The nut was a mixed soft metal. Not sure if yours was, I bought a better one that cost 15 bucks at home depot.

My disk had a wobble also, it was cause I didn't center It right. But from the time it sheered, I watch where my body is in relation to the disc.

Hope all goes well, be careful with infection.