Another Build Thread - My '32

[rspears]

(the son - noting Shine's comment here)
what the hell does that mean . why do you always try to start a pissing match with people ? unlike you i have done this for a living not a hobby and have witnessed many aftermarket mfg and suppliers go south after being turned over to kids or being sold off .

Who's trying to start a pissing match with anyone? I was simply pointing out that you had been the first to say that a kid taking over a business doesn't always work out! To that point,

.....even worse passed down to kids who may or may not have the drive and passion to continue.

Why are you so quick to jump down my throat? Am I the only person here who's a hobby builder? I'd say I'm in the majority, not the minority, but apparently you only value comments from "professionals"?

[DA34GUY]

FYI The N&N molds are now here in Oklahoma (Lindsey) Owned by Retro Rods. Same quality as when Duane had N&N and great guys to deal with. Have used over 15 N&N's in the past and never a problem.

[J. Robinson]

OK, so I asked for advice over on the 1932 Ford page on Facebook and got some good input from there also. N&N got good reviews there also, but it's a long way from Titusville, Florida. Bebops also has a good reputation on that site. Overwhelmingly, I was advised to stay away from TRC. Apparently they have made a habit of poor service, bad communication, and missed deadlines. I decided to go with Fat Cat Rods in Crandall, Georgia - they are a Bebops dealer as well as building some of their own bodies. I will have my new 3-window body in about 3 weeks or so.

Meantime, I have some things to do on my Deuce frame. Now that the Track-T is leaving and I have some "pocket change" left after buying the body, I can get the correct front tires, build my shock/headlight mounts, and do some of the finish welding on the steering and suspension. I haven't decided on color for the body yet, but am wondering if anybody on here has tried Alsacorp's "Easy Chrome"? The video on their website is impressive and if it's really that nice I would like to use it on my front axle and radius rods.

[Matthyj]

Jim, I really really reviewed spray on chrome systems, the problems are (the clear coat) can really yellow after time, and the other huge negative is that they are a paint, not a plating so they can scratch, chip and every other negative that paint has, which becomes a issue on suspensions parts. When you are scrubbing off the bugs or a rock hits it it will be the same as hitting paint, fixing the chips would be a issue also.
I think powder coating would be much more durable in the long run, and they get pretty close to chrome especially if you go with their polished ceramic, there are many that advertise in the back of the NSRA magazine and I have seen this companies in person and thought it looked good and durable https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perfo...48473151862620 and was very reasonable. I had a friend do his whole corvettes suspension and it looked nice, more like polished aluminum but lasted til he sold the car. Heck I even checked into doing my own nickle plating.
After carefully considering the alternatives along with maintenance I fell for a chrome axle (yes $$) and fabricating my hairpins out of 304 stainless and polishing them as my frame is stretched and I needed custom lengths anyway, there is a reason that manufacturers are paying the crazy price for having their parts chrome plated (Advance plating is one of the best) or fabricating out of stainless, sadly the look comes with a steep price. I was buying a Heidts superide II years ago and called a chrome shop about plating the a arms, trying to save money instead of buying their stainless option, he told me, "You can buy these in stainless and your calling me to plate them?" From that moment on I realized the value in stainless, looks close to chrome and its repairable. Just my findings anyway, good luck

[40FordDeluxe]

Nice to hear you'll have the body in 3 weeks and you had change to spare to get more parts. That doesn't seem to happen much anymore.

[oldrodder43]

Glad to hear that you are again in 'build mode' Jim. I'm watching. Best of luck to you, my friend. Perley

[stovens]

I second that!

[J. Robinson]

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. I'm waiting on the word to go get the body (probably another week or two), but meantime I ordered and received the goodies to fab' the exhaust system. I already have the polished stainless block-huggers on the engine (got them last year) so now I can button up the exhaust while the body is off instead of lying on my back underneath. I got a kit of 2 1/2 inch pipes and bends from Speedway and then bought mufflers and electric cutouts on Ebay. As usual, I will take pics and write up the process as I navigate the pipes around the torsion bars and over the rear axle.

[J. Robinson]

Just a short update - I've been working on my exhaust system. I'll post some pics later when I have something "picture worthy" to show. Suffice it to say it's a bunch of "trial and error" and an exercise in "cut and try". I won't get my body until late September, so maybe I'll have the chassis fabrication buttoned up by then. Stay tuned...

[J. Robinson]

OK, I have the pipes fab'd up from the headers back to, and over, the rear axle. It was a pain in the arse, but it's done - at least as far as I can go for now. When I get the body I will set it on the chassis and determine how I'm going to modify the rear frame horns; then I'll make the tailpipes to fit.

I have electric cutouts in the system. It was a lot of cut and try and cut and try again, and again, then tack-weld a piece, then repeat with the next piece... Anyway, it's done. It's obvious from the wood blocks that I haven't installed the hangers yet (don't have them), but here is what I have so far.

[34_40]

Good work Jim.
Looks great.

[J. Robinson]

While I had the front of the chassis up on jack stands I had the tires I wanted installed on the front wheels. I went from 215-70s down to 195-60s. When I set the front end on the floor with the new tires I had about 2 inches of ground clearance under the pan and pipes, so I readjusted the torsion bars a couple of splines - problem solved. While I was sweeping out the shop, I took a couple of pics of the chassis so far.

[40FordDeluxe]

Nice work on the exhaust! That stance is killer!

[J. Robinson]

Thanks! To me, stance and proportion are the two most important things that control the looks and "attitude" of a hot rod. If I've got that right already I must be on the right track.

I finally got the hangers on the exhaust pipes, so I can move on to something else. One of the last pieces of fabrication I need to do (until I get the body) is the headlight/front shock mounts. I begin with a piece of 2" x 3" x .120" tubing. After making a pattern similar to the shape of the headlight/shock stanchions on my '31 coupe, I transfer the design to the tubing and cut out two of them.

Next I clamp the pieces side-by-side and grind the final contour. I do this on each side so I end up with two pieces that are identical mirror images of each other. Next I cut and drill two pieces of 3/16" flat steel for the tops. These are 2" square with a 1/2" hole in the center. I weld these onto the stanchions and grind the welds smooth.

Now I cut and drill two small crescent shaped pieces from 1/4" steel plate. These will be welded to the front axle and become the lower shock mounts. I still have two more small pieces to fabricate for the top mount, but I ran out of time today. Stay tuned...

[Driver50x]

Very nice Jim!

Out of curiosity, what did you cut those with? A plasma cutter?