Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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I take back every good thing I said about fiberglassing........it's a pain in the neck......and back.......and legs. From bending over the body as much as I have, every muscle is killing me and I am as stiff as a 100 year old. BUT, for all practical purposes, the interior is finally all done. The only thing left is to do the transmission and driveshaft tunnel, and a couple of seat risers, and I can set this body aside for a while until body work begins.

For the past week or so, every picture I have posted looks just like every other one, but I am making progress, honest. Today I got the backrest and all of the side stringers done, and installed some small wood blocks at the base of the sides so that I can use short screws to fasten the upholstery board down.

Here are the pictures of where that all ended up. I decided to call it quits and let the resin cure overnight so that I can cut out the center of the floor tomorrow and start on the tunnel.

I will say one thing........this body is rock solid. And heavy.

In the picture with the black bed liner painted in, I had to do that section now because the backrest plywood is now permanently glassed in place and I will never be able to get back inside there to do it.


Don

Alot of work for things that will never be seen huh? Peace of mind is hard to put a price on. Really looking good, now the tunnel, that snot going to leave alot of room in there is it?

No, it's going to be a little tight, especially in the gas pedal area, but I have picked up more room in the seat area since I narrowed the tunnel. I also am going to put about a three inch riser under the seat that moves my hips up into the wider part of the body, so I picked up some unexpected room there. Originally I was going to just put an upholstered pad on the floor, but the riser will still let me sit deep in the car and yet give me a more comfortable sitting position. My knees can now bend a little more because of the higher seat.

The riser is giving me one other thing to think about. On my '27 I have all the switches except the ignition switch in the seat riser. I actually liked it there, but didn't think I would have room on this T. Now, however, I will have room to put the switches there, so I can simplify the underdash wiring. I have been worried how I was going to connect all that stuff with the limited space under the '23 dash, so this would move most of the wiring to the underseat area, where it is easy to get at. I'll have to take a closer look at that idea.

Don

Looking good, you are going to have to go back to work, so you can get some rest

Originally Posted by Ken Thurm

Looking good, you are going to have to go back to work, so you can get some rest

Thanks Ken, or back to work to get some MONEY !! Good thing I don't plan on living forever, because I'm spending it all right now.

But at least I'll have a hot rod to drive to the poorhouse.


Don

Poorhouse are you coming over to visit Don. Your more then welcome you know but bring the T , I want a ride..

Thanks for the offer. I'll be one of those guys you see with a sign "will work for HI TEST."


I saw a funny one this year at Turkey Run in Daytona. (Daytona has a huge homeless people population) Guy was sitting on curb with a sign and it read......." I won't lie, need BEER." Guess he believes in truth in advertising.


Well, guess it's time to go do some tunnel work.


Don

MY PLAN IS TO BOUNCE MY CHECK TO THE MORTUARY

Originally Posted by brianrupnow

Don---When I built my glass 27T, I framed, cut, hinged and latched both doors---definately not for the faint of heart. They worked fine, and I never had problems with the dreaded "arm pinch from Hell". I had to do this, because even with a 6" channel, that car was high. I am descended from a long line of short fat people, and if I hadn't cut those doors, I would have had to mold in a ladder on both sides of the car. Even as it was, I had to step up onto the track bar ahead of each rear fender, slide my legs in thru the really narrow door, make sure and swing my fat butt in above the door opening, and then kind of "slither" my way down into the seat (which damn near sat on the floor).---Getting out of it required a "reverse slither" to go from the seated position into the upright position to get back out of the damn thing. It was really comfortable once I got setting down in it, but I had to develop a lot of contortionist moves to get in and out. ---Brian

Nice build Brian, are you planning on building anything else in the near future?

Originally Posted by Ken Thurm

MY PLAN IS TO BOUNCE MY CHECK TO THE MORTUARY

I like your style Ken. Better watch they don't come and dig you back up though.


Just got home from the shop, and got quite a bit done on the tunnel today. First thing I did was cut out the driveshaft area and install the steel hoops I had built previously. IT ACTUALLY FIT, as if it was planned or something. That is kind of a first. I bolted it to the floorboard, and eventually will weld it to the frame so it is part of the frame as opposed to being part of the body.

Then I started figuring out how I am going to do the transmission portion of the tunnel. First thing I did was define the shape it needed to be with 1/8 inch round rods. This began to show me what I needed to make the tunnel like to clear all the 350 turbo bumps and also leave room for the shift rod to move back and forth.

From that I went out and got a couple of 8 foot pieces of 1/8 x 1 inch aluminum strips which I shaped into a bunch of hoops to go over the top of the transmission and follow the outline of it. I screwed each one to the top of the floor to hold it in place. After I made and installed a bunch of them I ran some tape over them to give me an idea of what the finished tunnel will look like. Fortunately, I am getting more room than I anticipated. The hump doesn't take up as much room as I feared, and there is actually more room in the gas pedal area than I thought there would be.

Now, the plan is to build a male mold using the aluminum hoops only to give me a pattern to make a bunch of plywood pieces in the exact shape of each hoop. Then I am going to build a male mold by joining them all together, and covering the entire affair with some stretchable fabric. On top of that I can lay up many layers of glass mat until it is stiff enough, and then the male mold will be removed, leaving just the fiberglass tunnel. Those fancy stereo boxes you see them putting in cars to hold speakers are built in this manner, and my kid has some experience doing those, so I am going to pick his brain a little.

Here are some shots of what went on today.

Don

You can only post 5 pictures, so here are the rest. These two pictures show masking tape I put over the hoops to give me a visual of what the final tunnel will look like.


Don

Don didnt youre mom ever tell you not to waste all the tape!

Well, at least I refrained from using the good blue or green stuff.


Don

Don---I would never try and dissuade you from doing lots and lots a' work, but why not just lay some more tape over whats allready there and just lay up 3 or 4 layers of mat over that???---Brian

Ken Thurm---Nah, I'm letting Don be the "buildmeister" for now. I build a hotrod about every 10 years, and since I built the yellow roadster pickup 3 years ago, I should be good for another 7---and then I'll be 67, and too old to build another anyways. I built that 27 T about 11 years ago. I don't really have good garage facilities where I live now, and even though I built the roadster pickup here, I layed awake till 3:00 every morning for a year, afraid I might have set the garage on fire welding---and the garage is under the front bedrooms.----really---I doubt that I will build another hotrod in this lifetime.---Brian