Thread: Project '49 Shoebox.

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Are you going to keep the wing windows in the doors?

I got a pic of one of those garages in arkyville.

I like the look of this chopped and lowered one

Brick, you are so right about women and their memory. When my ex and I would have an argument she would throw up stuff from 20 years back and be able to quote chapter and verse about what I was wearing that day and where we were. They have us at a disadvantage because we remember stuff for like 5 minutes then our brain makes room for more important things, like car stuff.

Yep, we are going to leave at least the front windwings. Probably not the rear window ones though. That one under the carport looks pretty solid.

Steve, that is about the amount of chop we are doing. We aren't going to slant the pillars but leave them straight up and down. But essentially the same as that one.

Don

Don,
You guys are doing a great job. Chopping that thing must be like chopping a egg
Ken

Thanks Ken. It does have some curves to it that we aren't used to. We did a little more yesterday but didn't get done as much as we hoped.......we ran out of mig gas and ran to Northern (only place open on Sunday). They moved the store and the new one doesn't carry exchange gas yet, so we had to drive to another one that did, which ate up another couple of hours.

And Dan is being his usual picky self, so the top had to come off and on a bunch more times because the "gaps were too big." Looked good to me, but not for him. Then we had to pie cut the bottom posts one more time to get them to line up better yet. He finally got the bottom posts all welded up (forgot my camera at the shop) so we are making progress.

His first new door showed up today and of course it was slightly dented by UPS. Nothing major, just a small oil can dent that we think will pop right back out. We'll run that to the shop tonight but probably not get a lot done as Mondays are his tough day at work and he usually wants to relax when he gets home.

One thing we are finding the more we grind is that the metal under all that surface rust is really nice. No pitting and it shines up great. Media blasting and maybe dipping of the doors should reveal a pretty good car to work with.

Don

Don, (rest after work)tell him that's what old age is for and he will get plenty of reat later on in life. ........LOL
If I rest after work my sisters are ready to call the undertaker ( I can't lay still for to long they think I'm dead.)
Hang the door and take a picture for us.
BradC

Thats going to be sweet, I really think that is cool when they chop the top and chop the front wings too, it's a hell of alot of work but looks "Kewler than Murphys hat!!"

Ya that one in the pic is nice but there is one on the other side of it that still has the bone white paint and had a 428 BBF in it. Everything is still around there in various hiding places, the good ol boys arn't real friendly and cameras are for sure a no-no. I snuck that shot while we where pulling out.

Brick, they might think you are a Revenuer or something if you start bringing that camera out ! Probably what that BBF is for.

Brad, ok, you asked for it. Here are some pictures of the door we hung tonight........well, not actually hung, but propped up in place.

The shipping damage from UPS was a big old oil can dent, but when Dan tapped the backside of the door with his fist it popped right out like it was never there. No wonder, these doors are about twice as thick as today's cars. We stripped the window channels out, removed the hinges, and cut the top off of the door so we could slide it into place to see how it looked. It is going to be a piece of cake to make it fit well, not too much to do to it at all.

It sure made it much easier starting with tudor doors rather than having to put a 6 inch piece into the fordor doors to make them the same. He is also going to use tudor quarter panels so that there will only be a small area to fill in. We took some pictures, the first one shows the difference in length between the fordor doors and the tudor ones. There are also some minor differences between the latch mechanisms on the '49 and '50 doors, but we can graft the correct latches onto the doors when the time comes.

Here is what we got done tonight, not a ton of progress, but progress no less. To be honest, we aren't near the stage where we need the doors yet, but we just had to get one on to see how it was going to look as a tudor.

Don

That looks real nice Don. I like it. You guys don't mess around. A month ago this one wasn't even on the drawing board. There's nothing like a little unexpected side project huh?

Yeah Bill, and some day we may even have one THAT RUNS! It is actually coming along pretty quickly considering that we have only had it for a couple of weeks or so now. It might be tough for Dan to figure which one to drive to Turkey Run next year. We will have to get some advice on how to chose from someone else who has multiple cars........like you.

Did you see the parts I scored from Paul (ratty 46)? I got his flathead, tranny, banjo rear end, and front end assembly that he is not using in redoing his '46. I have been dragging this picture around with me for 50 years, swearing I would clone this car someday. Guess where the parts are going to go. I love the look of this T and am going to do it pretty much as you see it in this picture.

Don

Boy those projects are stacking up! Should be a cool one when done!

I sat in a T similar to that once. It made ya feel like you were going to fall over the windshield at any minute! The vertical steering column was a pain to get your knees around, too... Still, it's a cool look. Is that a 5-gallon can for a gas tank on the back?

Anyway, it would sure be cool if you could find Larry Selmer (if he's still alive) and maybe get some more pics of the original. It would also be interesting to know what happened to the original car.

Dan is going to use 2-door quarters? I just assumed he would use the skins and window frames (modified) off the original rear doors. Are repops available? I'm anxious to see the door post installation. This could change my whole attitude about the usefulness of 4-door cars!

Yep, it sure looks like a 5 gallon laquer thinner can to me too. I bet you are right about the seating position, but I sure do like the stance of this thing. One thing I would do different is to slightly pie cut the frame right at the firewall so it bends downward a little there. That way you wouldn't have to slant channel the body as deeply as he did, yet get the same look.

I have googled Larry Selmer and looked on forum searches, but all I get is Selmer Tennessee and the drag race accident there a while back. I would love to know what happened to the original car too.

As for the sheetmetal on Dans car, he could use a lot of the original 4 door stuff back there, and probably will, but if he uses new quarters from a tudor it saves a lot of sheet metal work and turns it into more of a tudor in reality. He has to cut out that sail panel to get the roof to flow more smoothly, like a tudor, so in that area he will probably use some of the correct panels just to save some fabrication work.

Another thing we are kicking around is setting it on an entire S10 frame, rather than just subframing the original frame. That is still in the talking stages yet, but the reason we are thinking about it is that he has to build a whole new floor anyway because of the modifications he needs to make to let it drop to the ground, so it would be no problem to make the S10 frame fit. Dan also knows the S10 frame well because of airbagging so many of them.

The wheelbase on the extended cab should be close to the 114 inches of the Ford, and we can make it longer or shorter by just cutting the factory welds and sliding the rails in or out. GM just did it that way so they can use the same frame for all their different length trucks. Makes it pretty easy to stretch it out. But that is all just talk right now, and we will probably go back and forth before we make a final decision.

Don

Looking great, Don! I think the full S-10 frame is a great idea, given the circumstances. Probably save you a lot of time and $$ in the long run.

Hey Don
I was browsing ebay today and saw this tudor for sale. These things are gaining in value. Maybe you guys will start a new trend!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-...spagenameZWDVW