Looks great so far Dave!
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Looks great so far Dave!
Thanks guys, long way to go, just one more little "opportunity" taken care of!!!
I will have to admit that I didn't "share the vision" originally... But, I'll admit now that I do like it. It will really throw some folks off. One of those "somethings different" changes. Cool.
My old pal Lyle was here today, went through much the same thing!!! First, he said "You just can't keep your hands off anything, can you?".... Then, after looking over Mike's Buick and coming back to the '57 he said that I'm probably nuts, but it's going to be a neat car anyway!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:
Heck, might be some sort of untouchable classic to some, but I guess to me it's just another car that I need to do some personalizing on...that's what Hot Rodding is all about!!!!!
I have to admit I'm still in "wait & see" mode for this front section. It's hard for me to grasp much beyond some subtle shaving & tweaking on the front of a 57 Chevy because it's so cool to start with, but I'll keep an open mind.....;):3dSMILE:Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
But as usual, whether I like the end result stylistically or not, the craftsmanship is excellent, as always!!!
I'm trying to keep things subtle, and at the same time build in some aerodynamics.... Mainly trying to stop the air from "piling up" in all the open places on the front end and in the wheel wells... Not sure I've got all the answers for getting this barn door to go thru the air smoothly yet, but I'll keep working on it.... Should see the reaction of the the real Tri-Five guys----they all hate me!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by randyr
It will surely be different and yes... that is what hot roddin' is all about! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
Well, got the panel made for the other side of the hood, did some welding, grinding, and smoothing then shot it with a coat of epoxy primer to keep the surface rust away till I get back to it....
Even had Pepper the Super Guard Dog out there today, he doesn't usually work weekends!!!!
Watched World's fastest Indian last night about Burt Monroe and his 201 mph run at Bonneville! I think the aluminum will come in handy after a salt flats run! :)
Yeah, when Lyle was up yesterday we got to talking about B-Ville again. Should be a blast to go run there, but also on the old bucket list is running a car at Muroc and El Mirage---that's where it all started!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
Heck Dave, I like the vision you have with the Chebbie and that front end work will certainly have the purists screaming bloody hell fire. I wish I could be standing beside you to hear the comments too, it would be a laugh.
Well, nice guy that I am, I guess if my tweaking of a few panels bothers them too much they can give me what I paid for the car, plus all the money I have in time and materials and take it home with them and do it "correct"! (Whatever that is). Heck, they weren't that good of a car when they were brand new! Way I see it, if you're going to all the time and expense of a rebuild might as well change a few things around while you're at it!!!!!!;);)Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiplash23T
I've already done my time in "purist purgatory", spent about 5 years doing numbers correct, all the right hose clamps and chalk mark stuff for customers. Main thing I learned from that is that the majority of the restoration freaks want all their parts at 10% less then they cost me, all the labor should be free, and I should reimburse them for all the time it took me to do their car!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:
Oh and of course if their car doesn't win that Concourse at Pebble Beach for ten years in a row,you have to pay them disappointment money for the next twenty years. Yeah, I have had the pleasure of meeting one or two of those types too Dave. Forgot to mention too, Pepper probably wanted a break from those two angels and decided time in the workshop would be a good escape.
Well, I just hope the head dog in the Guard Dog Union doesn't find out Pepper worked today, Lord knows what that would cost me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL::whacked:Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiplash23T
Looks killer, Dave! Nice looking pooch, too.
Thanks Falcon, pretty much coming out the way I'd planned things. Just like anything else though, as I work on it I keep thinking of more things to do!
The radiator I'll be running is 31" wide tank to tank... The grille opening is larger, gotta wonder how much help downsizing the grill opening would be? I got the two pieces cut out for the front of the right side fender today, maybe have time tomorrow to start putting them on. Also have to finish narrowing up the bumper and get it smoothed out to make a mold for the 'glass bumper.
Turned my two piece bumper back into a one piece bumper today, made a cut on both pieces to account for the amount I moved it in then welded it back together. Now to decide how to finish the grille opening, then make some hood hinges and mold up the 'glass bumper!
I would radius the top and the bottom to look like the 55. Just think it would look better than a square opening
One that I saw somewhere was 3/8 round stock, run horizontally with a 1/4" or 3/16" spacing. The ends passed behind each side. It just looked very neat, simple and clean.
Definitely the opening needs some radius work on the bottom, also need to build in some attach points for the 'glass bumper. The top has to drop enough to hide a cross brace needed between the fenders, and a place to build in the hinges, too...
Thinking similar on the tube grille, just smaller...Tubes will be 3/16" or 1/4" with the vertical bracing done in black so it disappears....
Great minds think alike? LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
My mind has been called a lot of things over the years, but never great!~!!
:whacked::whacked::whacked:
Hey Dave, Since your looking for Aero and ain't got nuthin else to do anyway :D, might lay the head lights back 10 degrees and take a couple inches outa the brows.
How much lighter will the glass bumper be than the steel? I know your lookin to shave as much weight as posible
Edit...Double posted site glitch!
That front bumper With all the iron that holds it in place I'd bet its well over 100#
Yeah, headlights are definitely going to be a challenge.... Stock they had that great big trim piece, plus the vent intake on top... Going to take some reshaping and re-sizing to get the openings down to the correct dimension... Gave some thought to getting the size correct, then maybe bend up a lexan cover of some sort??? Not sure, guess I'm just ignoring the top of the fender for now!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by HWORRELL
Charlie, this is the big, heavy one piece bumper with the added on pieces, too. With the irons I'd say it was dang close to 100 lbs.!!!
34-30, I'll use some really high strength matte that I have left over from the Merc's, really light weight and super strong, used to use it on the floorboards and federwells building 'glass cars.... the 'glass bumper and it's attaching hardware will come in under 5 lbs. Adding in everything else that's being removed and replaced with lighter bracing (1" 6061 T-6 aluminum tubing) from the firewall forward the weight reduction will be around 300+ lbs. Still shooting for 2500 lbs. or less wet weight with the car ready to fire!!
PS--Anybody have any use for a '57 Chevy front bumper narrowed up about 1 1/2"???? The purists sure do hate it!
Made up a couple mock up pieces for the ends of the new grille openings. Not sure it's a final design, going to leave them taped in place and look at them for a few days. Lousy angle on the camera, too much stuff in the garage and no room to get things spread out yet.....
Dave, you could lay the headlights back ala 39 Ford. It would change the character of the car and the purists sure wouldn't like it, but I think it would cheat the wind somewhat.
That's still an option I'm considering, Ken....with the huge opening for the headlight trim, bucket, and air vent intake I've also been considering extending and minimizing the headlight opening to put a normal sized headlight bucket in, like maybe the Hagan frenched lights. Not ideal, but it's gotta be better then what the factory built as far as aero is concerned, isn't it?????Quote:
Originally Posted by NTFDAY
I saw one done that way at the Street Rod Nats this year in Springfield. I think they were from a Porsche or Benz or some foreign car. Not exactly my cup of tea for a cruizer though I can see where it would help air flow.
Yeah, that's the challenge in the thing, Ken.... Still want to keep the basic design of the '57, just tweak things around a bit to smooth out the airflow..... I guess if it was easy, everybody would be doing it, huh??? I'll start cutting up some posterboard and mock things up a little one of these days and post some pics....
Thanks a bunch for the input! Keep the ideas coming, I sure do need them!
Maybe you could rig up a light weight lens cover that is fairly easy to attach to airstream the light while racing, but easily removeable for day to day driving to retain the classic look? Kind of like the jet engine intake covers they put on them when on the ground, to keep little crttiers out.
That was one of the first options to be considered, Steve.... Unfortunately my pal Tommy reminded me that a "real Hot Rodder" wouldn't take such a chicken poo-poo way out of an "engineering opportunity", so what could I do then???:LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
Went to the store last week and got 10 new pieces of posterboard to make patterns out of, think I'll just keep messing with the headlight openings and maybe stumble over a plan that smooths things out and looks decent... But meanwhile I do have a piece of clear Lexan laying around to make covers out of.....:o:o
I've had this idea in my mind for a couple'a days but have hesitated sharing it. First because, I've never done it! And second because it isn't my car but... here goes nothing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
How about following the lead of Ford & Chrysler from "back in the day" and give it the "talledaga" treatment? A 1 inch pie wedge from just above the front tires / wheel opening to the front grille top...??..?? This would reduce the frontal area a bit and just drive the purists bonkers!:LOL:
Had that all taped out on the car once.... decided it wouldn't look right without doing something to the roof (think Chezoom), so anyway, that's already been done! Main goal is still to get a ridiculously high top end on the car---and keep it "stock appearing"--which is always up to interpretation, I suppose!!!!! Also thought about sectioning the entire body a few inches, but saving that for a different project.Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
Tunnel the excess air thru the body-----Nascar is only using 6x12 inches for cooling at 200mph speeds!!!!!!!!!remember that any opening is only big enough at max speed----------(???highest speeds need smaller opening)
Can't say that it would "look" right, but apart from laying the headlights back ala Mercedes/'37 Ford, about the only way I can see to improve aero on the barn door front is to push the bumper out about a foot, lay the grille back 4-6", and get the air moving up & over as opposed to pushing. Coupled with below bumper "spoiler" it might cut the air better. Not sure if it can be done to get a look that would in any way "work" visually, but your goal is set pretty high for the stock profile you've got.