just think how those wheel well look on the underside yikes hopefully it will last half as long as the first conversion wow he cut up a good 52 cad and buick ragtop and HIS is still is on the road ? he just should have not installed the fold down top a no top coversion would have not need the" custom "wheel wells or the drastic door surgery... stated he drove it top down most of the time anyway.. HE'S A HAPPY DUDE ... REMEMBER HE STARTED WITH A ORPHAN CAR AND MADE IT A UGLIER /UNIQUE STEP CHILD TO THE ODDITY OF THE K-F FAMILY! WHEW ..THIS TOOK A LONG TIME TO REVIEW ...
Really don't see what the BFD is here. Some bondo in the fenderwells, where it will never be seen, and isn't (arguably) structual. After seeing some of the hacked up shit posted on here over the years, I don't see what the big stink is. From what i've read about people restoring old customs, his work is completely par for the course for what was being built. Ever read about the Hirohata Merc restoration? Lots of good metal work, and lots of 1 and 2" thick lead. The grille was held together with welding rods! I was reading ""The American Custom Car" by Pat Ganahl, and there was a blurb about a famous 48? Ford custom that was being restored. The guy threw away most of the car because it was such a pile of cobbled-up shit. Most of the old customs disappeared because they self-destructed from being a shitty builds to begin with.
Did you even look at his website? Did you see all of the "repairs" he made to the floorboard? Are you even paying attention to what is being said? Do you understand the concept of quality? It's okay that you don't get it, just stop bringing the fact up.
Hey-is this the car that's on the old cop Caprice or Crown Vic frame? I noticed the K&N. So none of them were like: "What are those shiny lines running down the door and across the top-they got new shiny Bondo now?" LUX- I don't remember you being all that jazzed when you found the bondo 'artistry' I created on Jeepers Creepers. The coolest part of doing it over again in metal is that I'm almost more proud about what's UNDER the paint
It's unsafe becasue the guy cut the top off of a car, a major structural element, and did nothing to reinforce the rest of the body. The wheel wells aren't unsafe just an indication of what kind of thought that went into the whole process.
yes i understand quality ,you havn't seen my cars,and i didn't say i would do that or drive his car , Still dont see how his repairs made it so unsafe , seen alot of shit on here that had only rear brakes , so low to the ground that if they hit anything laying in the road could easily make them loose control but they get praise because it looks good Joe
So you're not getting that floorboards are best not constructed of Bondo? Or maybe that when you cut a top off something and make it a convertible, that pretty seriously weakens it, and maybe a little reinforcement might be in order? It's shoddy workmanship, plain and simple. Kind alike what you're used to seeing in you OSR subscription.
Finally we agree on something. Where we still part company is where you lay equivalency between bondo and steel when there is no equivalence between the two mediums. We could go on all day about the engineering that wasn't done. The combination of all of these "repairs" make the car structurally unsound. That guy lives in CT and they have vehicle inspections where they look for rust and roadworthiness, I cannot imagine letting a heap like that on the road, yet where there is a will there is a way. The compilation of these problems makes the car dangerous. Quality and safety are ways of thinking and really are on the same frequency. It's the "Ah, that'll do..." attitude that get's people hurt or killed. Perhaps it is a result of being in the business that I am in and the responsibilities I have had for others, but I have seen the unhappy results of "That'll do". My whole thing here is taking the time to do it right and don't get deluded into thinking you are some sort of Michaelangelo when clearly you need to go get new glasses.
I dont understand why HAMB members are argueing over someone elses car. Who gives a flying fuck...gayest fucking thread ever.
No I dont....it just amazes the piss out of me how you guys argue over someone else car all day long.
It's because you don't understand the topic, which really is not the car. The car is just a physical example of what the topic actually is. Get it?
Yup Unsafe Remove Roof-glass And Rear Surround Metal. Remove Door Inner Structure -replace With Screwed On Pieces And Patch Wing Window Areas. Remove Wheel Well Structures And Replace With Pliable Metal. Patch(barely) Rusty Weak Floors -trunk. Bondo Weakened Rockers Cut Up/piece Cowl Areas Add Weight Not Stregnth.... ONLY MISSING DUCT TAPE AND CHEWED GUM Looks Kinda Like The First Tucker .. A Show- Mock Up Car At Best If It Were Not For The Photo Documentation It Could Have Gone Big On Ebay /barret Jackson.. 1 Of 3 Known Ragtops...? Can You Visaulize This Car On The Skid Pad Coming Apart At Speed.... Neat
Whatever, dude. Car is not safe and is a prime example of why some people should write checks rather than writing how tos. If you're comfortable with that kinda workmanship, rock on. I'm not, that simple. I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings.
So what if i am a parts store manager ,pays better than the local dealership i wrenched for that screwed you with flag time and warranty work and no my feelings are not hurt , these sites and threads are some times very amusing and some times full of info and i like how excited some get when they dont like what you post . Joe
I have a name for guys like this -- Captain Caveman. But my guess is that he thinks he is doing it right, and in fact improving it over what he did all those years ago. He just doesn't know any better so it would never occur to him to research better methods. I have found some of this same kind of work in my 47. Yeah, it stinks to have to repair what someone else messed up, but that's all part of it. Everytime I see that kind of work I can hear the old "Captain Caveman" yell in my mind... and some of you guys will remember what I am talking about. The car has had the top gone for a long time and it is still together so that says something for it, but I won't judge if it is safe or not since I have not seen the car myself. I can see why there would be concerns though -- it has me wondering too. It's this kind of thing that makes me more determined to help others out whenever I can. I have a neighbor who is re-doing a Truimph convert right now, and I try to go over and offer advice whenever I can. He has seen my cars so he listens and is taking the advice. He is really starting to do some good work, he is learning a lot, and having even more fun in the process. And he is really taking pride in what he is doing too. It's too bad there wasn't someone around to do the same thing for this guy.
its a shame he didnt have the same sort of influences from some one like you ,it may have been some thing he could have really been proud of
Actually, all CT does is check that your VIN matches your paperwork when you first register it. No safety checks for any cars new or old now. The crap I see on the roads around here is amazing.
restorations like that saves ALOT of time for redoing it properly later on ehmmm.. sad to see i like the look of the car though but not the unpro work done...
43% of the people on the HAMB are total fucking wankers. fortunately, that figure climbs to 89% of the general populace, so this place remains a haven for the remaining few... oh, and 31.34% of all statistics are made up on the spot...
And his "hack" craftsmanship lasted 3 decades, it was his daily driver with the roof cut off of it 30 years ago. If it was going to flexi flyer it's way to pieces, it would have done so by now. That's the part certain idiots don't take into account when being elitist, insulting pricks. And considering it'll undoubtably see very limited mileage now, I see no reason to consider it a threat to your or anyone else's safety. Some assclown in a hot rod doing burnouts on the street in a supposedly "safe" car would be more of a threat, but you guys cheer that shit on when vids are posted... The car has a solid frame and the floorboards were plenty solid, just filled in a bit in non structural areas. It's no less safe now than it was when stock, I'd wager. Not like cutting the roof off a unitbody car like, oh, my Comet (even my factory convertible in that case would be more flexible than a full frame Kaiser with the roof cut off...) The car didn't come apart in 30+ years of being cut up. he didn't need the parts that were covered over to be perfect, so he only made them straight enough to work. Anyone lifting the carpet or lookingunder the car woudl see it instantly, so it's not like anything is HIDDEN under many coats of filler. And I sincerely doubt that anyone will be able to purchase the car for another 30 years ANYHOW, considering that he finally got it back after building it the FIRST time. Yeah, WE'D do it differently (I hope), but he built the car for him, not for someone else or to make a quick buck, so the comparisons to making food out of shit that was served to you intentionally is out of line.
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