Thread: Moving ahead rebuilding my '27 roadster.

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Nothing much has been going on with the 27, still putting the engine together. I got the short block painted black yesterday and today I put the heads on for real. I was holding up ordering the bolt kit to put all the accessories on until I figured out if I wanted polished stainless or black, like the head bolts. Since the engine has mostly aluminum stuff on it I called Summit today and ordered it in black. I like the contrast. Now I can figure out what rockers and pushrods I want and get the top end buttoned up.

Dan has also been putting in some late nights on his interior. He worked last night until about 5 AM and finished up all the door and side panels. Today he is building another aluminum box that will house his stereo remote. I think a stereo in his car will be lost, can't imagine how he will hear it over the headers.

Here are a couple of shots of my engine as it stands, and also Dan's interior. Thanks to Gastrick (Bill) Dan has learned how to buck rivets. Bill was kind enough to exchange lengthy PMs with Dan teaching him how to do it properly. He must have been a good teacher because it came out great. Thanks Bill.

Don

Hey Don ...... even though that one of THOSE other mnfctrs. engines ...... it looks good. As for the tin work in the RPU - jam up baby. Looks great. Did you get the seats from speedway? Of did you guys do them?

Paul

Thanks Paul. No, Dan found a shop in Roswell Ga called Mercurio's Hot Rod Alley,who custom make bomber seats to your specs. He originally had a set of the Speedway ones but the sides are so high it made getting in and out tough, plus he is going to run a 2" chopped top, so it would even be harder to get in. I bought his Speedway seats from him and am going to use them in my 29 RPU when I finally get back on it.

Dan was going to have the same guy do his door and side panels but then he decided to give it a try himself, and so he got with Bill and got some pointers. The seats are pretty cool, the guy did a nice job.

Don

I thought they looked very familiar ...... Milke is a friend & also a Boston guy like me!! I've been to his house & got him to post some of his pix over on RRR. He does a kick ass seat. He's the guy that'll be doing the complete bomber interior on the Ratty 46 ......
He also has a kick ass Model a cpe. that he's fittn' with a HEMI.

If you got them not long ago you also benifited from me hooking Mike up with my water jet guy. He use to cut EVERY piece on those seats by hand ....... like a weeks work of cutting!! It's a bit less now as the water takes alot of the time away from the process.

Kewl.

Paul

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Thanks Paul. No, Dan found a shop in Roswell Ga called Mercurio's Hot Rod Alley,who custom make bomber seats to your specs. He originally had a set of the Speedway ones but the sides are so high it made getting in and out tough, plus he is going to run a 2" chopped top, so it would even be harder to get in. I bought his Speedway seats from him and am going to use them in my 29 RPU when I finally get back on it.

Dan was going to have the same guy do his door and side panels but then he decided to give it a try himself, and so he got with Bill and got some pointers. The seats are pretty cool, the guy did a nice job.

Don

Knocks me out Don, absolutely KNOCKS-ME-OUT!!!!!!

Small world. Mike is a really nice guy according to Dan. Yep, he just got them so they were waterjetted. Still a bunch of work in them. Dan has 3 or 4 weekends in doing the panels so he has a whole new appreciation for the work Mike did.

I'm glad Dan is getting good at aluminum interiors..........I have this drag car in mind and know just the guy to do the interior for me.

Don

I've tried to get Mike to let me do a bit of TIG welding on some of the key spots that would add to the structure & kewlness. I've got a way with the tig torch & aluminum.

Paul

Thanks Richard. Yeah Paul, I've seen some of your tig work on bike parts. You do know your way around a torch. Wish you lived closer. Dan wants someone to teach him the right way to tig. He's gotten so comfortable with the mig that his tig sits in the corner unused.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Thanks to Gastrick (Bill) Dan has learned how to buck rivets. Bill was kind enough to exchange lengthy PMs with Dan teaching him how to do it properly. He must have been a good teacher because it came out great. Thanks Bill.

Don

Nice work as usual.
Sounds like one of those two should do a tech thread so some of the rest of us could learn something about it. I'd sure appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Nice work as usual.
Sounds like one of those two should do a tech thread so some of the rest of us could learn something about it. I'd sure appreciate it.

Bill (Gastrick) is the go-to-guy Bob. He is really something when it comes to those little details like riveting. I hope he does a thread on it (HINT HINT) He has the entire interior, firewall and more done on his 32.......very sharp.

Don

Itoldyouso, one word comes to mind when viewing your projects. Jewelry! Just like watching Ken Thurm's thread, simply awesome!

wowwow >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>wow

Don , Dan's interior, like everything else looks great.
My curiousity got the best of me, so I'll ask even if it might be a stupid question. With the heat you guys get in Florida, do you put some sort of seat cushion on those bomber seats? I can just imagine jumping in there with shorts on after having it parked in the sun for a while.
Also What kind of glare inside the RPU do you get with all that bright metal? My Harley has a ton of chrome the former owner put on it, and believe it or not, on a sunny day, at just the right angle, the gas cap can blind you, even with sun glasses on.
Anyway I guess all of the above is part of what makes his RPU very cool and unique, so like all other things hotrodding, we compromise comfort for function and fun!

Thanks 34 40, Brad, and Steve. Steve, yep he is going to have at least a seat pad made up at some local shop for it. He thinks the back will be ok as is, but the first ride down the road will be the acid test.

As for the glare, I know what you mean. My spoke steering wheel in my 23 acts like a mirror when the sun is behind you and it blinds me even with shades on. Dan and I were just talking about how hot his aluminum interior might get, but he is going to have a top sewn up for it so that shade might help keep it cool........or maybe he will just drive it at night.

I've meant to mention something for a while and keep forgetting. Some of you might wonder why Dan doesn't do his own posting on here and it is not because he doesn't particularly want to it is just that he and I sort of have an unspoken agreement that I stay off of his forum (the HAMB) and he has never posted on any forum other than there. I give him that little bit of privacy and he does the same for me. We live together and see each other every day as it is, so we each need one spot that is all our own. I didn't want anyone to think he was not posting on here for any other reason, and I do think he stops by and lurks just like I lurk on the HAMB but don't post. Lord knows I do enough to embarrass him and Don, so the more I stay away from their forums the better off I am.

I hope Gastrick does one of his excellent tech threads and shows us how to buck rivets, but in case he doesn't see this and do it I will ask Dan to post something, or at least chime in with Bill on his thread. Bill has this down to a science, so it should be a very good thread. Like Dan said, working with aluminum is a refreshing change from steel that rusts the second you touch it, and it is a lot lighter too.

Don

Don ....... so do I. I don't have a friend here in town that is actually into what I'm going for. I find it a slow go without that xtra motivation a friend can provide.

Donna & I are working on a Tampa address in the next year or two.

Paul