Thread: Everybody that is currently building a car...

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Sorry for the big size of the photo of the '34 Ford, hope this one turns out better.

Here's one of my frame when I found it, had to add 3 inches to the length, cut down the front crossmember, remove and replace the Four Bar, and change the Pan Hard also.

When I build my next car I'm going to build my own frame from scratch, it would be a lot less work.

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

falconvan, I envy your metal floorpan! I don't reply to this thread much, but I have been working on this firewall problem for a long time and I think it is finally finished enough to move on to installing the steering column. The problem was that the Bebops trans tunnel was so large and the brake pedal so far to the right that I could not get my foot anywhere convenient for an accelerator pedal so at the risk of ruining the whole 'glass body I cut out the tunnel flush with the upper firewall. That left a gaping inverted U-shaped hole at the bottom of the firewall and I messed around with that many different ways; you don't want to know how many different things I tried to patch that hole! Now I have a 16 gauge stainless steel sheet painted body color on the front of the indented 'glass firewall with a (1/4") aluminum plate in the inside to hang things on. The sandwich firewall is now about (1/2") thick and has a number of stainless bolts holding it together. There is about (1/2") or more between the bottom of the firewall and the R700 transmission housing, but of course if I ever need to remove the transmission I will have to unbolt the lower part of the firewall. There is also a sheet of Aluminum house-gutter flashing painted black bent at an angle around the seam of the firewall and the floor to keep out most of any splashes. Of course that also meant that I had to make a plywood floor but I put inner-tube rubber under the plywood and around the shifter opening. The shiny aluminum plate on the left of the brake pedal is where I will mount a foot-pedal dimmer switch, I really dislike the modern column dimmers and need something for my left foot to do. The conclusion is that with a SBC/R700 driveline there is little need for a transmission hump and I was able to salvage some of the 'glass hump for my new floor which is a lot more like the original Model-A floor. There must be an easier way, but I still don't know where my right foot was supposed to go with the original huge trans hump.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don Shillady--Please don't take this as undue criticism, because it is not intended that way at all. You have created a terrible unstable mess by the modifications that you have made to the floor of your roadster. Those fiberglass bodies depend so much on the structural integrity of the floor to keep everything aligned and in place, and you have completely destroyed that by what you have done. The new wooden floor needs to be glassed to the remains of the existing glass floor on both sides,and at the rear. The remains of your tunnel that you have reused needs to be glassed to the new wooden floor, and also to the random peices of aluminum and stainless steel that you now have in there for a firewall.---And the random peices of steel and aluminum need to be glassed to the remains of your fiberglassed firewall. This should be done with at least 3 layers of matt and resin, and should overlap onto all the "new" peices and to the existing floor by at least 4". And the worst of it is, that it should be done on both the inside of the car and on the outside (underneath and on the firewall). You have cobbled together a bunch of peices that will keep your feet of the ground, but will in reality do very little else. I hate to be the bearer of such dreadfull news, and I sincerely hope that some of the other experienced builders like myself will jump in on this thread and verify what I have just told you.---Brian

I am in serious pain, boys. We had our Thanksgiving dinner with our kids yesterday to avoid the family log jam of trying to visit everyone's house in one day. It was great but I ate about ten times what I normally eat and my gut is paying for it today. Seems like before I hit 40 (or maybe before it hit me) I could eat whatever I wanted with no problem. Oh well, a piece of pecan pie and a little Cool Whip sounds like a pretty good breakfast right now.
I did get out early yesterday morning and finally got this thing primered. Not bad; I kind of dig the black primer look. Hopefully i'll get the interior painted tonight. I'll post a few pics if I do.

Falcon a good coat of primer equals thing out . Truck is looking good you've done some major work and made alot of progress . So you think it'll go when you get it finished or are you thinking of some seat time now LOL.

I would have to agree with Brian unfortunately. Another possible solution might be outrigger braces from the frame to the fiberglass body at the rocker panels & door post areas. I'm not sure that would be any easier though.

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Falcon a good coat of primer equals thing out . Truck is looking good you've done some major work and made alot of progress . So you think it'll go when you get it finished or are you thinking of some seat time now LOL.

LOL! OK, I am starting to like this thing. I will have to drive it a little before it goes. I've got a fair amount of bodywork to do on the Plymouth before I need $$$, so maybe after that. Who knows, we'll see when we get there.

I had to do significant bracing on my Brookville steel repro body - including welding most of the originally rivited internal body bracing. I then added 2 rows of 1"x.062 tubing, ran 1x.125 square tubing back to the trunk bracing, replaced the flooboards with a double insulated sandwich panel with .500 square bracing, then added a bunch under the dash. Unfortunately I don't have good digital photos of the underdash bracing but fair photos of the body proper. I did this because the OEM and Brookville bodies ore floppy in their 'native state' There are a couple of more floor braces I could have added and may yet. But it is at least rigid now - very!!!

OK, Now I'm done for today.

Got a bit further along with the old and new stuff on the '57 chebbie. I hate everything under the hood painted black, but when that's what the customer wants...... Anyway, got the EFI on the engine and the engine installed. The whole EFI assembly, ECM, and the wiring harness came out of some shop in Michigan. Supposedly all chipped and ready for the engine and cam. Guess we'll find out when we get it fired up. Everything is filthy dirty, but here's a pic anyway.....

Brian, Thanks for your concern. I am counting on the 1" square tubing framework for strength and if you look closely you will see the 4" wide x 1/4" steel plate along the floor on each side of the floor which is welded to the square tubing and is bolted through the 'glass floor into threaded holes in the top of the Brookville frame. The 1" square tubing framework in the Bebops body is quite similar to the framework IC2 shows in his metal body on this same page and I attach an earlier picture which shows the framework. It remains to be seen if there is any firewall shimmy while on the road (as there is in my Firebird convertible even with the added stock GM brace for convertibles) but so far I find the body as rigid as it was before I cut out the tunnel. The original Bebops floor had to be cut out in a jig saw way around the trans anyway because it is flat across the frame and the trans does have a slight hump. The plywood is just above the slight hump and is bolted through the original 'glass floor in several places. Last winter I tried a little reconstructive fiberglass work and it was too cold to set up and led to a mess so what you suggest would have to be postponed until warmer weather anyway. I will shake it good and see how rigid it is. I do agree that maybe over the course of time road vibration will wear the holes through the firewall where the bolts are, so that is worry number one million and one among many others. I will think over what you say and consider if there is anyway I can make the small tunnel any better but one problem is that I will have to wait until warmer weather to do much 'glassing. I have used a heat lamp overnight but it is still a hassle in the cold. Thinking over what you say suggests than maybe I can add a few more bolts through the plywood floor through what is left of the Bebops floor without further 'glassing. The present 1" tubing framework goes across the underside of the cowl as well as along the sides.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Brian, here is what it comes down to, the 1" square tubing across the top of the inside of the cowl as well as the tie in to a steel strip along the underside of the '32-style dash. I do agree that the rear quarter panels were unsteady before I tied them together with a 4" wide x 1/4" plate between them primarily to protect my rumble-seat-gas-tank but the rear became rigid after I tied them together with that plate. Thus the "cross-shimmy" should be foiled by this 1" bar under the top of the cowl and the protective plate in the rear; as I said it still seems rigid to me! I just gave it a good sideways shaking and the only thing that moves is the suspension! Looking at in edit mode, the easiest thing to do would be to bolt in an added cross piece under the dash between the side square tubing, above the indented firewall, but really it is rigid as is. Still, I am planning to put a heater in under the right side of the dash and will need to bolt it to something, so with a little thought a heater mounting bar across the side tubing should carry the weight of the heater and strengthen the cowl from side to side. I would rather do that than mess with further 'glassing since I am better with bolts than fiberglass!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

The truck is coming around nicely falconvan, I love the red you have picked, very nice.
Whats wrong with all black Dave, sure shows off that pretty engine doesn't it? You've got her looking sweet, that engine should push that baby huh?
I am really diggin' seeing all the different constructions of bodys out there, one can expect to be doing alot of reinforcing work when you do one of those I take it?

Brian, Cobbled yes, but very little loss of structural strength as shown in this earlier picture where I thought I had it figured out until Bob noted I needed to have something to mount the steering column and accelerator on. You can see that only a small half moon part of the bottom of the firewall has been removed here. It is hoped/assumed that a carpet will cover the interior after this is finished.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Falcon that cab looks great . Are you going to paint the whole truck or leave the outside black . Great headway can't wait to get some color on my floor.

Dave i wont open the hood of the stang then LOL . Its all factory under there Black bay with a blue engine . . Fastback now that a different story .

I can see by all the posts it was a good weekend for all. I put the trans in the 67 Cpe after being out for 10 years . Its sitting on a jack at the tail housing .Located the bolts and they were allready painted so i'm glad i had that done when i took it out . It was lighter 10 years ago then it was today LOL.

Plans are to get it running so i can turn it around with out pushing on it . I have all new brake , fuel and trans lines waiting in the box .

Looks like everyone had a productive weekend. Don, I wish I had some useful advice to offer but I've never dealt with a full 'glass body so I'll defer to those who have. It definately looks like you've got your thinking cap on, though.
That EFI looks great, Dave. That should make a great driver. Wagons are awesome; I need to do one someday.
It looks like your Stang should bring a nice price, Bobby. Really clean underneath from what I can tell by the pictures.