Hooray, My Kid Is Working On His Rod Again !

My Son Dan has been buried at work for the past couple of months, and hasn't had the time or energy to do anything much on his '29. But he has cancelled playing jobs (he's a musician too) for a while to free up some time, and has started hitting on the car again. He's really making headway.

It started off as a '29 Murray bodied Fordor sedan, and he initially chopped it 6 inches and did lots of work to it. But then he found a very nice Tudor body, and didn't want to own two sedans, so he cut up the Fordor and built this roadster pickup out of it. He has hundreds and hundreds of hours in the car, and is a fanatical perfectionist. If he makes a bad weld, it ruins his whole week. That part of him drives me nuts, but I have to admit his work is something I could never be able to do.

Anyway, he pulled the body off of the frame to finish up the floor and rear portion. It had been held on with Cleco fasteners, but last night he got the final welding and metal finishing done on that section. If he keeps going this way, the car will be done for November's Turkey Run in Daytona. I really want to see him make it this year.......we have missed two years worth of deadlines already, and he really deserves to get this car on the street.

Here are some pictures from last night.

Don

looking great !!! y'all do awesome work

Question

Don,
What are those spike things sticking out on the cab in the second picture? It appears they are securing the sheetmetal to the framework. Yes, your son does incredible work!

Rattler

Thanks guys. Those are Cleco fasteners, and they come with a tool, like pliers. You insert them into a hole drilled through two pieces of steel, then release the pliers, and the fastener opens up to hold the pieces together. They are great for temporarily holding stuff in alignment until you bolt or weld it in place,and have been around forever, but are kinda new to me too.

Here is some pictures of the fastener and the tool. The fastener has a spring inside it, and when you squeeze it with the pliers, the tip extends out so you can insert it into the hole. Then when you release it, it contracts and expands, locking the fastener into the hole. Neat way to keep things held in place.

Don

His he gonna leave it bare metal? It would be a shame to cover that primo work with paint. How about a satin clear? Your son is an awesome welder and fabricator.

Thanks guys. No GG, he's gonna have it painted, either gloss black or the same color as the engine (some new Ford truck color that I forget the name of). Since 80 % of the body is new, and the rest was nice, it will be no problem getting it straight enough for paint. A freind who has a body shop is going to paint it as soon as he heals up from neck surgery.

I'm really anxious too, to see this thing finally on the road. Dan has missed 2 years in a row of making it in time for the Turkey Run in November, and this year the car has a good shot at making it. That is, if he can stop making changes to it.

Don

Dan does great work there Don.
When ya gonna get them to register over here?????

Wat's up with all the avatar changing...

Thanks Flat. As much as I don't like saying it, he and I have differing views on rat rods. Let's just say I like them and he is less fond of them. To each his own.

Don

PS: As for Avatar changing, just something to keep me busy. lol

that looks great don, i hope he gets it on the road soon. (don't use the clown avatar dude, creepy......)

donsrods said:

Thanks Flat. As much as I don't like saying it, he and I have differing views on rat rods. Let's just say I like them and he is less fond of them. To each his own.

Click to expand...

He's young. I was the same way too, until I saw the light
Still, doesn't take away from his skill. You must be proud.
Tell him we think his work is the coolest

Don,
I just had to ask about it....

If yall get real bored any time soon, just grab the welder and come on this way. I will even put A/C in the garage.....

Don, Can you put up some chassis pice and maybe a pic with the body on the chassis after he finished the windshied frame. I think the folks would enjoy seeing them.

This is a really nice car. I remember watching his thrash for Daytona on another board back when it was a sedan. I love this car. There is really nice work on it.

just wanted to say that is super nice work!!!!!

Thanks for the nice words guys. Sure Flat, "have sawzall, will travel."

Gastrick, ok, if nobody minds, here are some pictures from the beginning. It will be a little confusing, because it WAS a fordor sedan, and he cut it up to make the roadster pickup out of it.

Here is the sedan after he did a bunch to it already.

You should be proud of him , he has alot of talent and pride in his work

Then he found this tudor body in really nice shape, and decided he didn't want to own two sedans.

Thanks 24, I really am proud of him. He has no idea how much talent God gave him, both musically and car buildingwise.

After we got the tudor home, I started seeing the wheels turning in his head again, and pretty soon I saw masking tape outlining a cut he was thinking of doing on the fordor to turn it into the roadster pickup.

Next time I went to the shop he had cut it up, had the body back on the frame, and was mocking up the new panels he would have to form.

He had to fabricate a whole new subframe to shape the back section of the cab, and this is how he did that.

Then he shaped 18 gauge sheet metal to cover the framework.


He built a framework to support the bed, and he and I bent and bead rolled new panels to make a new bed for it.

That flip up framework supports a metal tonneau cover. We sent it off and had it punched with 224 louvers.