Ventured out to the cornfield today for an english wheel seminar by Jim, who makes the MetalAce ew kits. The objective was to fabricate a cowl for plowboy's latest creation. It was a lesson for a hack like me to see someone who knows their way around metalworking like Jim. Here's some photo's from today's lesson, there's only 3. The camera's batteries were too low to download, but I'm sure Aaron will have more to add.
Well, let me add some info to this post. I was feeling sickly all last week and didn't do much except lay on the couch and watch reruns of Miami Vice. I was feeling a little more spry on Friday, so Friday night my friend Chris came over to help me put on the sides of the Atomic Punk. I used the roof off of a 54 Olds 4 door and cut it down the middle. The curve of one end seemed to lend itself quite well to form the bottom of the cowl and the lower portion of the body. Manhandling these chunks was definitely a 2 man job. Chris held the panels in place while I tacked welded them in the front to the cowl structure and I used Clecos to hold the panels together.
I then crawled inside the car and cut off the plymouth body right at the beltline where the stanless trim was mounted. I got rid of all those pesky holes at the same time. I then cut off the olds roof skin along the same line and used my handy dandy harbor freight butt welding clamps to hold the panels together. We like our gaps tight in the 217!
I got all of the panels tacked on there and went to bed. Saturday i din't do a damn thing except go out drinking. Ha Ha Ha My buddy Jim Rettick makes Metalace english wheels and said that he wanted to come over and help me shape some metal sometime. Well I thought that since I had to make the cowl this would be a good time to have him come over. So on Sunday he loaded up his toolbox and headed to my place. The first thing we did was make a paper template of what we wanted to make. We gave it a generous amount of extra material all around the edges just in case. Jim played the hero and decided that we would to it all in one piece. Had I done it on my own I probably would have used 3 pieces just because working by yourself it is hard to manage a chunk of that size.
Nobody rules these stinkin' streets at night but YOU!!! Keep at it, Super Spooner...I like this one's NAME, too!!
We transferred the template to a chunk of 18 guage steel and cut it out. We then took the steel to the body and began to roll it roughly around the edges by hand. Jim marked the areas he wanted to stretch out and we took the piece to the sand bag and worked over the corners of the cowl. We used the edge shrinker a lot more than I would have expected to gather some of the extra material that was making the edges wrinkle. At some points there were 3 of us holding the piece as it was kind of awkward. The more you trim down the piece to actual size the better it fits so we crept up on our edges a little more and got it sitting where it needed to be. After smoothing it out several times on the wheel we got it looking quite presentable. I need to do a little finishing on the piece and I hope to do that this week and get it on there by next weekend. Let me tell you using the wheel isn't as easy as it looks! You think the piece is going to go one way and next thing you know, Zing! you aren't anywhere near where you want to be. Big thanks to Jim for coming over and helping me out with the piece. If anyone need an English Wheel or a nice heavy duty bead roller they ought to give Jim a call. http://www.englishwheels.net/
I guess I should mention that Fat hack sent me a Van Halen care package a while back. It had a book, a Guitar Magazine with Eddie in it, and a bootleg Van halen CD. I have been getting all kinds of neat things from other HAMBers this year. Doc sent me a "Country Plowboy" pocket knife and a "plowboy" nudie magazine from 1957 that is apparently an ill fated offshoot of Playboy. Sodbuster gave me a care package at the HAMB drags with Several old Metal Edge magazines, an old Popular Science magazine, and an old car magazine the became issue number one in my old car magazine collection. I think I have 3 now. Ha Ha Ha And the other day I got a package from Fritz with a Sea hag t-shirt. It says "If it smells like fish it must be the Sea Hag". Ha Ha Ha
Is that an SBC with those fake head cover things sitting in that frame, Aaron...you should really try to find an off-brand engine for that bubbletop...it'd be cooler... R-
Plowboy, you're a rock star - no doubt. But how are you planning on surviving a fart in that bubble on a 100* afternoon in Louisville? JH
WOW Aaron, you got to be the EverReadyRodder (bunny) just cranking out hot rods. Looks great and love the cozy cockpit I don't know about the fart part HA HA HA
he kegels... or is that drinks kegs? either way, tight is tight... yaknow, i been thinkin about your AC woa's a lil bit... gonna get hotter than satans marble bag in there, and two tops is gonna be a fuckin pain in the ass... whats about wrappin a belt around the front of the driveshaft? less up and down motion for the compressor lines to worry about, and easier mounting too. depending on the pulley ratio, you could get enough RPM to drive the compressor... food for thought...
TY Doc...I was born at nite...not last nite tho...and I am well aware of what it is... That comment was "tongue-in-cheek"...however, I don't think you could see my tongue... R-
This is awesome to see your next project in the works. Thanks for the updates. I have been thinking of getting a MetalAce wheel for some time.
Man, that looks like my kind of fun! Wish I could have made it, but moving my plans to Saturday and being at your place on Sunday just wouldn't work for me. Jim definitely knows his way around a wheel and a piece of sheetmetal! Great work guys! Tim D.
man! that thing is way cool! cant wait till you start posting the making of the bubble top. Or do you have an outside source for one? R.R.
Roger, I thought they would go well with my fake Buick drums! Ha ha Ha John, I was lazy last night and layed on the couch and watched TV. Ha Ha Ha Yes the cockpit area is going to bi kind of tight. The Bubble circumference is 42 inches right now. I may make an oblong one but I am not sure at this point. Yngrodder told me a stock model A width is 46 inches. If I place the widest part of the bubble where the seats are you should be able to fit 2 people in there still, it will be snug, but you can fit.
The Jalopy Journal
