My taillights started as ikea wall sconces , with bit of work and 37 ford lenses this is what you get, gets inquiring minds all the time
Seen this old guy from Texas at the L.A.roaster show with an a cherry red A sedan with a stainless frame he made out of the salad bar square stock he obtained when he demoed a hotel that the salad bar was in he kept it and made the frame.Looked great.
Okay , I'm in. O/T truck, but I used a fold out couch to help me build this top. Bicyle parts, midget race car parts, even a couple of airplane wingtips. Oh, and those stainless spoilers from '70s Suburbans. Motor from a wheelchair lift and who knows what else.
No, obsessive compulsive. It took me 9 years , a few girlfriends, and someone to tell me it was impossible. Turned out, steel was easier than cloth! Who'da knew?
Looking at all this used parts imagination. How can any one say that hot rodders aren't thinking earth first. Seems to me were all green when we build our cars. it's the perfect form of recycling...ghost
I made the deck lid on my T from a '97 Mitsubitchi hood, that I scrounged from the dumpster behind the local car dealer's body shop. A little 1/2" square tubing, two salvaged aircraft 1/4 turn fasteners, the origional hinges, and a little spray can black lacquer, and there it is. pigpen
I will have to post some pics but I a making a yard cart/trailer for me to pull around with my lawn tractor out of an old air compressor, bed frame, 1/2 rebar, and whats left of a spare top from a 51 Ford. So far the parts are cut out and I am fixing to start fabing it up but the total cost will be $0. I am just using up the crap that has been sitting behind my shop for the last couple of years.
No photos yet, but I'm using a Tru-Temper wheelbarrow to make the recess in the firewall for my T Sedan...
yer right. and its amazing how, as old tin gets harder to find, rodders are taking on projects that even restorers reject. with the state of the world economy, it makes sense to get inventive cause it dont cost much.
guess its destined for a life of rods, lol. im glad it cant talk, who knows what its seen! saw a dash made from a buick striaght 8 on a new thread yesterday. very cool.
My mothers cousin has a spoon for brake pedal and a fork for a gas pedal. He also used the arm pieces from a fouton frame to make the exhaust tips for his truck. He liked the gentle bend in them I guess.
This isn't for an auto but I made this chain cover for my mini bike out of an old weed wacker for my Hardly-A-Davidson.
I like the earlier idea of using a urinal cake for an air freshener. Add a sign on the dash that reads, "Laywers & Bankers, Please Don't Eat the Urinal Cakes".........
I built my rockers, lower door sections and grill from grocery store shelves. My shop heater is built from a water heater tank and numerous small projects have been made from the sheet metal surround. I used 2 commercial FM transmitter doors to build a new pan for a kit car project and built a frame from a fabric spreader.
I read an article about a guy who built a 3/4 scale 1937 chevy from scratch and he used old refridgerator doors for sheet metal. It had a toyota 4 banger motor. I saw an old BMW motorcycle where the owner covered the plug wires with braided steel bathroom sink water lines.
no pics because Im at work, but the cover for my cowl steering was made out of an aluminum cake pan. I was having a real hard time finding something with a cone shape and I found it at the thrift store for .50 and my battery box was made out of an old welding cart that I found at the scrap yard. I shortened it a little bit and it works great for holding the battery and tools
O K, it's time for more details for those of us hard up for a 26-7 decklid; how to details, in progress photos, maybe a photo of the hood before you started, template(s), anything would be a help!
Make a square frame to fit inside the T turtle deck opening from 5/8 steel square tubing. I put the slight bend in the square tube by putting two two by fours on the floor about two feet apart, then lowering my other car down on it. The sharper bends are done with a torch, heating the square tubing on one side and slowly pulling it. When you have a frame that matches the contour of the '27 roadster tuttle deck, weld on the original hinge that mates it to the upper panel. Leave a little space for the 20Ga. hood metal to wrap around the frame. The center part of the '97 Mitsubitshi hood has about the right contours for the skin. Cut to size with a jig saw w/ metal cutting blade. Bend the bottom edge over double, leaving about 1/2" on the back side. The bottom edge overlaps the T "below the decklid" panel. Hammer the side edges over the frame that you made going from center out, then hammer the front edge over the same way. Pop rivet or tack weld the skin to the frame as you go. Later on, I added insulation to the inside and covered the back of the finished trunk lid with 18Ga. aluminum, using #12 stainless steel screws. (Drill and tap the backside of the frame). The 1/4 turn aircraft fasteners are added last or you can rig a latch of your choice. Speedway has the aircraft fasteners I think. Normal bodywork and paint (spraycan of course), and there it is. The first one I made a few years ago, used flat sheet metal, which works but doesn't look as good as the factory stamped hood panel. Then there's always the English wheel, if you're rich. pigpen
My brother's 34 flatbed has bed skirts made from the louvered sides of an old 6-foot electronic equipment rack, and they look very cool.
Im bumping this back up. Need to see more cool junk turned into hot rod parts, maybe cause its raining outside, and ive done my grinding in the shop "quota" for the day. Gotter keep them nieghbours happy.