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Projects Progress on Rocky's 34 coupe..last update 9/30/2020

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Rocky, Jan 12, 2009.

  1. dudley32
    Joined: Jan 2, 2008
    Posts: 2,160

    dudley32
    Member

    forgive me but who is SAR...?
     
  2. chad
    Joined: Jun 22, 2004
    Posts: 1,012

    chad
    Member

  3. we got the last piece of the floor done and installed all the way back to the back end of the body. We're deleting the little flange that runs across the back of the body, just below the last body line.
    Brought the old original rear section of the car down off it's shelf and disassembled it to get the door jambs out of it and all the support pieces at the rear of the body at the tips of the quarters and we removed the cross piece that the deck lid latch attaches to. We also cut the lower back window piece in front of the decklid [has the lower 1/2 of the quarter windows attached to it] off the old quarters and what did we discover? The roadster quarters are about an inch longer than my 5 window quarters! We gotta remove an inch top to bottom just behind the door jambs...
    These are roadster quarters and the roadster doors must be an inch shorter than 5 window doors...
    Plus, the new quarters are a different length from the back body roll [at the base of the top back] to the deck lid opening...gotta make a panel to fill the gap....plus...the hinge pockets are spaced different from coupe to roadster shit.....more time and time is money.
    Still, even with the mismatch of new/old parts? It's still better than trying to work with the old stretched, mangled metal in the old quarters.
    All the parts we took off the old quarters are going next door to be chemically stripped so we'll continue to work only with clean, shiny metal...even if some of it is old original stuff.
    I'm gonna go to one of our local little towns next week to see about buying a much better cowl for the body...love a road trip!
    In other news I was able to buy a big ol' winters champ-style quick change for the car last week. Had to drive 500 miles through an ice/snow storm in the Rocky Goodtime Van [TM] and 500 miles back home to get it but I got the sumbitch home...was able to score a pair of good used wide-5 hubs with disc brake rotors last weekend for it too as I bought it with only a pinion brake rotor....will make a good park brake.
     

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    Last edited: Nov 10, 2010
  4. Looks good Rock!Titus and I were talking about you up here inthe Cities.....it was all good. ;)
     
  5. WTF are you doing in the cities? Oh, I know....you like to ride that great big scary roller coaster in the mall of America, right?
     
  6. got a little more done on the body last night. We cut the tops of the roadster 1/4 off to fit the coupe top rear section onto the quarters and in front of the decklid...lotsa fuckin around. And I bought another cowl that has the good front feet and better lower panels. Behold....
    PS...notice the new 1/4s are about an inch and a half longer than the coupe quarters...gotta cut a slice out next to the door jamb to fit it correctly.
     

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  7. This shot is how we left it at 11 pm...still need to trim the new metal to fit the old...
     

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  8. ss34coupe
    Joined: May 13, 2007
    Posts: 4,239

    ss34coupe
    Member

    Rocky, this is a really interesting build. Keep those pics coming. This will inspire us to build a lot more 5 windows using Steve's quarter panels.
     
  9. cutting the roadster belt line off to weld on the coupe beltline area....we'll use parts from the roadster beltline to repair rust damage on the coupe piece...and a photo of the new cowl....wish he'd left the a-pillars on it
     

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  10. This is cool keep the updates and photos coming.
     
    andrew namminga likes this.
  11. Nice man...........and that rollercoaster rocks! Only they wont let me ride it since I am over 5 feet tall!
     
  12. That's cool Rocky. I know you said the original qtrs. were pretty shot, but were they bad all the way up to the belt line? Just curious why patch panels would not have worked.
     
  13. Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Joined: Apr 20, 2008
    Posts: 4,670

    Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Member

    Hey Rocky, She's coming along real nice.
    That's a killer that roadster quarters are longer than 5/w's. I'd always assumed that roadster and 5/w doors were the same length.

    That's a lot of work shortening up the quarter jambs 1 inch. Did you guys consider pulling the B pillar quarter window posts forward 1 inch, going with stock width doors, and moving the cowl forward 1 inch? Of course, that would leave you to lengthen the rear of the front fenders 1 inch and pick up 1 inch in the roof above the doors during the chop.
     
  14. jangleguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2004
    Posts: 2,668

    jangleguy
    Member

    Coming along nicely, brother. Good to see Jimmy Vaag in action - just in case you guys don't know, Jimmy is a total badass, building some of the nicest cars on Earth - and Rocky's coupe, too.
    The SAR parts sure make life easier, huh? At what point do you think you'd be better off just buying a complete SAR coupe?
    (Steve: Yes, I expect a healthy percentage for this endoresement)
     
  15. ..
    That chunk-o-belt line in the photos is cut from the coupe quarters. We cut 'em off because the back lower top is attached to them. Also, there is a support structure under that piece that we needed. And the panel that runs across in front of the decklid is also attached. It has the decklid hinges welded to it..You can't see the support pieces because we wedged them under the new quarter tops...It's like a damn crosswork puzzle. we'll drill holes in the tops of the 1/4s and rosette weld them under the quarter tops...
     
    wingnutz likes this.
  16. It would also entail shortening the hood and doing more work on the already recessed firewall to clear the 472 caddy....no, I think taking an inch and a half outta the quarters, right next to the jambs will be one of the simplest adjustments to make.....my buddy Jimmy will mig weld that sucker so you'll never ever see the work. I've seen him do it many times.
     
  17. hot-rod roadster
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,108

    hot-rod roadster
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Omaha Ne.

    Was at Jimmey's place today and got to check out your coupe, coming along nicely. Jimmeys definetly a cool guy and very talented, I love the F1 car hauler he's building for himself. Gary
     
  18. Thanks, Gary...yeah, I gotta put brakes on the car-hauler...maybe this weekend. Here's a really early photo of the hauler's cab. It's chopped above and below the drip rails..sits on an 80s chevy one-ton dually chassis with a mid mounted 454.
     

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  19. Got a little done this Friday evening but I've been sick with a cold...not much gas in the tank. We worked for a few hours removing the old firewall
    [always use a sharp, new spot-weld cutter], cleaning up the hole and mocking up the new one......short night.
     

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  20. Cool man, little steps here on the A as well.
     
  21. Thanks, Trent.....send some updated photos when you can...
    BTW, I bead-blasted and put my trunk hinges in a "special" place so I wouldnt' lose them. Welp, I lost 'em. Damn, I hate getting old and forgetful. Hope they turn up soon.
     
  22. UPDATE:
    The caddy engine turned out to have a busted piston and my flatheads are just not gonna be used in this car. Yup, I'm going with a small block chevy for now....I have all the ingredients to build another 301. I'll build it and slap my S-10 T-5 behind it with the big ol' winters quick change in the rear..
    Got the original center removed from the frame's X and Titus bought it from me. Got a different 33 grille coming too and scored a nice, nice pair of 34 chevy car hood sides...will use a one piece 33 hood top.
    I scored a complete 33 ford hood at a fire sale [all the sheetmetal was burned up and warped badly] to use the outdside edges and weld the chevy hood side centers into the ford outside parts. Love those chevy horizontal louvers...all 3 of 'em.
    Biggest news is.......I FINALLY found a decent pair of doors for the car...they should be here from Florida by next week or so. Now, we can kick the body work into high gear. The lack of doors was hanging us up on permanently placing the 1/4 panels and cowl....how the hell do you do that with no doors to fill the hole?
    .....and the recessed firewall will give the sbc a ton-o-room. I'm entertaining the use of a Poncho V/8 engine later on. Always liked the way they act like a big small block chevy but they're different enough to be kinky.
    Oh yeah...... I redrilled my Lakewood scattershield [welded 1/2" nuts to the inside of it] to accept my late S-10 World Class 4 cylinder tranny. Oh, the old chevy pattern is still there if I dont' like the 4 banger tranny or if it doesn't hold up. I have an 86 Camaro NWC T-5 stored away with the common chevy bolt pattern but I made the floor to work with the S-10 shifter placement so I'll need to bolt up the S-10 tailshaft housing if I use the camaro trannny...hhoping the 4 banger tranny will work ok. I had to tip the tranny a few degrees to one side to redrill the new bolt holes and miss all the existing holes..no sweat. I'll fab up a shifter handle that has a bend to make it come straight up....and I'm fabbing up a removable tranny mount that has an angle for the mount surface...no problem.
    Making it from some 3/16ths plate left over from an old 40 ford pickup project.
    Still plenty to do on Friday nights until the doors arrive. Hell, I'll have to take them next door to the body shop to have them chemically dipped as soon as they get here..That will take a few days in the vat and they'll match all the nice clean sheetmetal on the car now. I love working with non-rusty, clean metal. That's it for now. Sorry...no photos until I can find some of the crazy hood sides...
     
  23. looks like you're moving right along ROCKY,,,
    hopefully I'll get to see you this summer,,,

    xoxoxo
    miss hootch
     
  24. jangleguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2004
    Posts: 2,668

    jangleguy
    Member

    Reworking the floor to accept a more manly trans might be a good use of your spare time at this point. Just my opinion - I have trust issues with those trannys, especially behind a 301 at 7,300 RPM. There - I said it.
     
  25. Hey Hootch...how 'bout the HAMB drags, eh?
     
  26. And I thought my life was difficult!?
     
  27. "Twobridges" usta catch a ride home from class when he was in high school, with this kid in an 85 camaro Z-28 with a 305. That kid would load up the car with 4 guys and just beat the car to death......layin rubber, powershifting etc etc.....the car lasted forever! He finally blew the clutch but replaced it and he beat on it a few more years. That T-5 never broke and I'm gonna have about 2700 lbs with semi-skinny tires on the ol' 34 coupe...I'll take my chances and remember, I got a spare tranny. 'Sides, I NEVER drive a car hard.[​IMG]
     
  28. jangleguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2004
    Posts: 2,668

    jangleguy
    Member

    Okay (never argue with your big brother - in public, anyway).
    I will, however, state for the record: There's no comparison between a smogger 305 and a Gosson Bros. 301...
     
  29. hahhaaa, sound like the Sentinel and I arguing..........!
     
  30. Only I am the older one and always right!
     

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