Squirrel and I spent the day in tucson today using a buddies louver press punching a few holes in a hood and lid, A first for both of us
Was it easier or harder than you thought to press louvers? How long did it take you and how many did you press? We need details!
The hood came out nice, the rear lid was a bit more challenging. But it looks neat sitting on the car. It took us a long time to get going, but punching them goes pretty quick once you get started. Probably did 150? or thereabouts. A wood framed rumble lid gets heavy after a while. The hard part is knowing what it'll look like when you're done, so you put them all in the right place. It helps if you can see, so bring your reading glasses.
MANNNNNNN. I seriously want my hood punched up. I can't afford it at the moment, But Damnit do i want it.
A thread about doing some louvers for the first time, and one small pic taken from 10' away? How about some pics of the final project, i/we need more pics...please
Hardest part about doing louvers is the layout! It's like th old wheeze that applies to almost any buisness: you pay me 5.00 to swing the hammer, 25.00 to know where to hit! The other big deal with louvering is that you only get one chance to get it right. People ask me all the time what do I do if I "mess up"? The answer is "NO". Just an example of layout. For some reason I'm having a problem loading pictures. I'll put a batch up in about a half hour when I get back. Weird... They did load! Some of layout, partially done, during, and line up for a punch.
Yeah, running the press for just a little bit sure gives me a lot more respect for the guys that do it "for real" Fortunately this car is just an old hot rod, so minor screwups are ok.
I think what the world needs is more louvers. I had them in my HOT ROD Datsun pickup in the 80's and have 150 or so in the hood on my 49 chevy. .75 cents each! I think the price has gone up since then.
I have had my press for a bout twenty years now, but back in the early eighties, I actually made the gamble whether to pay the electricity bill or get more louvers punched from this press for one of my VW projects... 'course they turned my electicity off, in August, at 120 degrees out side! Louvers are a curious disease...
Hey Chip! (need louvers) Just out of curiousity,,,,did ya ever get your power turned back on yet? lolololololol Crow.
Oh yea! But it was along hot week until next pay day! You would have thought that my 18 year old tail had learned a lesson, but a year later I did the same thing for a set of Weber 48 IDA carbs! Try explaining that to then new, live in girlfriend!
Steve where is the do it yourself louver place in Tuscon? I will be Phoenix and Tucson area for R&R around the 5th-9th of Nov and may swing by SV if you'll be around. Squirrel do you have any pics of the finished products? Looks like you guys had a good time. Jesse
The Jalopy Journal
