1931 Chevy 4door into pickup.

Rat Rods Rule

Help Support Rat Rods Rule:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Bamamav said:
I'm liking all but the chain drive steering. :eek: Looks kinda iffy to me, but that's just my two cents.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the good vibes guys. It's been a rough few weeks and bangin on this thing is helping me forget what's in the back of my mind, at least for a few hours a day. Now that the body is mostly done I can start thinking about other things. Plus, I need to get the frame under the car so I can pull the 33 back in the garage. It's been raining way too much this summer and I'm not too fond of it out in the weather.

I understand your thoughts on that Bama. Once I'm done and it's on the road, I'll see how she steers. If I don't feel safe with her, I'll have to figure out something else.
 
A place I worked had a forklift with chain steering, even with new chains and sprockets they could never get the play out of it. Very spooky to drive, it would dart side ti side. Just be careful with it......
 
Thanks guys. I know someone is always watching, just helps to keep the groove and an idea or two when someone else chimes in. I'm always looking for different ideas or better ways to do things. And Sam, the only stuff getting ground down are the window surrounds(so I can put glass in it) and the door jambs so if there is a "bad weld" me or my girl don't get our clothes snagged. Everything else is staying the way it is. I don't like to grind down welds unless I have to because it can ruin the weld's integrity plus I like the way a "pretty" weld looks. And to tie into the raw look of the steel and welds, I'm thinking of having the seat recovered in a chocolate brown leather with thick yellowish orange stitching.

Today I got the welds ground down and decided to clean up all the grinding dust and weld splatter. I didn't realize just how dirty the car had been getting. Not that it matters but I do prefer a clean(ish) work environment. Don't have enough sheet metal left to do my bolt in panel but if I have te cash to do so after next weekend I'll be making a trip down to pick some up.

Question for some, I'm looking at getting an Eastwood flaring tool, the type that has the whole turret deal and optional 37* turret. Has anyone used it and if so, how do you like it? I'm tired of my brake lines coming out like garbage and breaking off the tip of the die. I just havent been able to convince myself into buying it. When I built the 33 I went through 4 of em(luckily warranteed by snap-on) but it sucked having to call him up every other week until I was done.
 
I have the eastwood tool and one of the best tools I have bought. Brake flaring has never been good for me but this made it a breeze
 
I asked a few friends of mine(unfortunately a few thousand miles away) if the had one and liked it. They said best one for the money so looks like I'm gonna be getting one.

Anyhow, found a piece of real rusty sheet metal at work in the scrap pile so I brought it inside, bent all my sides and flanges, and brought her home. Welded up the 2 corners that needed welded, and scrubbed it down with some wd-40, 80 grit, then 180 grit, and finally some extra fine scotchbrite. She ain't perfect by any means but when it's free... It becomes my favorite. After cleaning her up, drilled some holes and mounted it on the roof using some button head screws from my VW days. If you've ever been around any VW, they are the screws that hold all the engine tin together. Gotta stick to my roots ya know. Anyway, here are a few pics of the final(ish) product. I need to figure out a way to attach the front corner. I'm half thinking a piano hinge across it so that all I have to do is pull the screws and it'll just sorta flip down. But I gotta think about it a little more. I also have some thin rubber I'm going to use the seal up between the panel and the roof.

I'm getting long winded here so as I promised a few minutes ago.







 
Well, decided to finally mount the air horn that's been sitting on the shelf for a few years. Picked it up at a military surplus store but didn't have any real plans for it and well, I already have air on this thing so, why not? I'm hoping it clears the floor boards and doesnt fill up too much with crud cause I didn't really have anywhere else concealed to mount it. It'll be kinda funny to see people's reactions when they can't figure out where the noise came from. The second picture is the solenoid valve to actuate it. It's the same type of valve that the bags use to inflate and deflate.



 
So, finally ordered my brake stuff, well the tools and 50' of 3/16" brake line. I'll have to order the hoses and some fittings but I'll at least be able to run the hard lines so I can get the body back on and be able to park the 33 in the garage again. I really don't like it outside with all the rain we've been getting. So while I'm waiting for stuff I decided to clean up the frame rails, make different headlight mounts to bring the lights up higher and mount shocks on the front end, and I'm thinking of making a bolt in crossmember to make the motor mount a bit more solid. The con rods have worked so far for motor mounts but I think something a bit beefier would be better. Haven't decided if I'm going to clean up the inside of the frame rails or not yet but it'll probably happen just so I know I don't have any rubbing issues with the brake and air lines. Need to run up to the hardware store to pick up some more flap discs. Plus, it gives my arms a bit of a break from the grinder, starting to get the shakes in my hands. And it looks like I'm going to have to order a new bag. I got a little over zealous with grinder and nicked it a little. I'm sure it'd still work fine but I'd rather replace it and be safe.
Here's a few pictures.

Right side frame rail.


Left side after 3 hours of grinding.


And top of the left side.


So after I get some more discs ill start on the right side. We'll see how far I get on it today.
 
Got some more flap discs(4 and used em all) and got the right side done. So it looks like I'm going to have to clean up the inside also cause otherwise it looks half a$$ed. But I like the way it turned out. May even get paint or powder someday.





So tomorrow ill grab the shocks I have and start making my headlight and shock mounts. I'm thinking I'll just copy speedway's weld on set. They look good and with the lightening holes they'll go with the frame.
 
Thanks pops, it was a lot of grinding. I wanna say somewhere around 6 hours or so total between grinding and welding some spots up that looked like they may have been thinning out too much. The hardware store was out of my usual discs so I had to settle for dewalt junk so that's why I went through so many. They don't cut as well as my usuals.
 
looks much nicer cleaned up!

I would start with a stone to rough down the welds before using the flappers.. will allow your flappers to last longer as well as speed up the whole process.. just my $0.02
 
CORPO said:
looks much nicer cleaned up!

I would start with a stone to rough down the welds before using the flappers.. will allow your flappers to last longer as well as speed up the whole process.. just my $0.02
Click to expand...

I used a stone on one side but it didn't leave it with a good surface so I switched to the flaps. I'm normally use forney discs and they last a lot longer than the dewalts but those are my only options in this town. What I need to do is buck up and get a 7" grinder and then it wouldn't take nearly as long. But thanks for the responses. I like it more cleaned up also. The rear is going to be hidden by the bed so I'm not touching that.
 
endicott_jb said:
I used a stone on one side but it didn't leave it with a good surface so I switched to the flaps. I'm normally use forney discs and they last a lot longer than the dewalts but those are my only options in this town. What I need to do is buck up and get a 7" grinder and then it wouldn't take nearly as long. But thanks for the responses. I like it more cleaned up also. The rear is going to be hidden by the bed so I'm not touching that.
Click to expand...

I usually rough down with the stone.. not till flush.. I then flush with the flappers.. but everybody has there own techniques...

I did have a 7" grinder that I had a flapper on.. but I burned it out... I have a pile of burnt out tools that need to get scrapped.. the 7" and about 5 4.5" Grinders.. and a 2 drills.. The build has definitely caused some tool casualties...

regardless its worth the extra effort.. but thats easy for me to say.. Im not doing the work!

keep at it
 

Similar threads

M
New guy with a scratch built cab
Replies
10
Views
652
26Troadster
26Troadster
G
My 49 Plymouth coupe build
2
Replies
39
Views
4K
smallfoot
smallfoot
zzrodder
Hercules
33 34 35
Replies
695
Views
59K
smallfoot
smallfoot
G
The Goldcar Story
Replies
8
Views
1K
bob w
bob w
lazarat
Did a hot rod and a chopper disguise a murder?
Replies
2
Views
1K
lazarat
lazarat

Latest posts

Back
Top