junkskunk's 52 ford

okay I promised to do a build thread, so here I go. [dr. I am starting with the first three pics I originally posted to show where I came from and where I am going; thanks to great community of the best rat rodders on the planet! I am learning so much about this adventure. I realized that a rat rod is not just an old vehicle that is cut up, throw a motor in and ride off into the sunset. No, I am engineering a new vehicle out of old parts.

Today I did my braces and took the doors off. Thanks all of you who gave great advice,I used a 1 inch strap to pull in the bottom of the doors, made tabs to get the proper gap around the doors, then braced the inside of the truck as I was shown, (kinda). it helped out great especially when I didn't have enough braces and I easily welded the tabs back on, fixed the braces and was able to pull the doors off with no problem. here's a few pics of the braces and doors off.

ok, now that the doors are underway I have a decision to make for the next step, I can weld the roof or rechop, I would like to make it a removable hard top convertible.If I do htat the roof would basically become something i put on for show and keep the rain out. I am thinking about rechopping it maybe 3 or 4 more inches. something crazy! currently it is chopped 4 inches. what do you think?

ok I have decided to rechop the roof one more inch and leave it on for now maybe later I'll cut it off completely. I started welding up the roof and encountered a problem already, the roof does not match the top door sill in the curve, now I have to cut the few tacks I started and fix this problem , now I see why guys chop the door first. Oh well I'll try to fix it this weekend, also have to go the local u-pull-it junk yard and see what they have I can use. Also need to get some more metal for the suspension and new body mounts. Here are some pics of the rechop and yes the truck is about the same height as the fence behind it, just over 3.5 ft. tall.

Things left to do:
Finish roof and door chop
Weld on brackets for body mounts
Front and rear suspension with airbags
Steering wheel and pedals
Engine and transmission
Wiring and lights
Wheel and tires

Keep at it man, you'll get it how you want it... eventually.

Probably should clean up all those leaves so you don't have a fire on your hands... Safety first, you know... lol

bell said:

Keep at it man, you'll get it how you want it... eventually.

Probably should clean up all those leaves so you don't have a fire on your hands... Safety first, you know... lol

Click to expand...

but burning leaves smell so good [cl

seriously, looks like you have a serious project on your hands, but you are making progress, keep it up!

I missed this. I was hoping you would start a build thread.

Use the tops of the door frames clamped to the roof as a guide to line up the door openings. Pay close attention to the windshield opening - if you distort it much you won't get glass to sit flat.

It'll be easier to adjust the door window frames to match the door opening rather than visa versa. Try to keep it as close as possible though.

Don't do frame or critical welding work with a 110v MIG. How much of a welder are you? Maybe you already know about stitch welding and such.

Honestly, seeing that stuff only riveted together pretty much freaked us all out. I see now you were just doing mock up. Keep at it!

If you haven't seen HotRodPreacher's thread How to Chop a Top...My Way , check it out. Might give you some ideas.

Looking good and can't wait to follow along!

Toad

And once again - buy Tex Smith's "How To Chop Tops". Mandatory reading for any hot rod library.
You will learn a lot...

thanks for checking out my build guys, okay the rivet looking things are self tapping screws I used to line everything up so I could see the truck put together. I'll check out hot rod preacher's thread today, I went to the junk yard this morning and got two more hinges for the passenger side of the truck, and two trailing arm things off a Saturn rear. Would they make good two links? They are 2 ft. Long and seem really sturdy. I'll post pics

Sam fear, I am using a stick welder. I did not think it would work at first but it is doing the job. I read hrp's top chop thread but I am a little ahead of him. I guess I am showing the wrong way to do this but I will get it finished and looking good too thanks for the help.

sorry I forgot to upload pic

ok upload not working will try later

okay I have been really busy working on my truck since I last posted but I am still welding both the top and sides of the truck, I am taking my time and only tacking a little at a time. I don't want to warp the metal at all. I have almost finished the cab but won't post any pics until I have finished completely. Hopefully by the end of this week the cab will be finished then on to putting the doors back on. [dr

Looking great!!!
Glad you started a build thread!
Your roof looks EXACTLY like what mine did! Learn from me and be super careful with that 1/2" strip in the middle. That thin little piece will get hot fast and twist and warp all over the place!

Since your in auto body paint, your probably going to be anal about how it all comes together
Ima gomna cheat on mine prior to sati. Black paint and use eastwoods leadless body solder to correct some of my errors.

I those your frame rails coming through the cab? Have you tried setting a piece of wood across and pretending you have a seat to see there the top of your head will be?
I'd hate to see you get so far, then find you won't fit in the truck. Then you'll HAVE to make it a convertible

well, jmc, I am not going to be so anal about the way it all turns out because this is supposed to be fun to build not to be a show car. I have many flaws in it so far but this is my first rat rod build so I am learning as I go. Yes I have sat in it and yes I barely fit, I have no head room left, so I guess I will have to build a strong center console since I will be leaning on it a little so my head doesn't bang the roof every time I hit a bump. I am going for the most chopped up rat on the coast and there are quite a few down here. I recently went to a rat rod show and saw some insane rats but no one had a truck as cut up as mine, I feel really proud of myself. I am also going to get a little artsy with the suspension and use a stop sign post as my two link on the front end. It will be safe first and then look really trick. A few pics of the roof welded up. OK I cheated a bit and simply welded my filler metal from the bottom, I will later use something like metal to metal body filler ti fill it in. I'm in a hurry but I can live with it.

Lookin good..I still haven't found the time or courage to hack the roof off of mine

what is that thing in the middle of the roof?[S


please, do not leave it there, it ruins the nice flowing lines of the roof, and l hate to see that since you have put all that work into making it look nice otherwise.

it takes away from the overall look of the truck chop.

Later