Scratch Building a Coupe

Rat Rods Rule

Help Support Rat Rods Rule:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
One of the photos show my free set of horns that i found in the back of the Merkur I tested them they are okay. I will use them on the coupe.Also one photo shows the shop clear and then the 2 cars inside it will be cramped but I can do as I did the year before when both cars were inside.My heavy fabrication is done on the coupe just a bunch on the Merkur as I see fit and can afford.
 
Hey Snake, I learned that in Army College in marketing and packaging. If you want some thing to look lower you can add to the width as I have done the fenders and the lower valance. I always liked the stance of these types of cars.
 
Today I started to fabricate a break master cylinder rod that goes into the master. I had to machine a 9/16 hole to fit the break pedal arm. Then I had to machine the hole oblong or rectangle so the brake light switch does not stay on in the static position, I finally got it after many tries now the switch stays off until i put pressure on the pedal. I cant believe it took me most of the day to do all this. The old rod was wrong and made for a booster that i am not using I prefer all manual stuff steering ,brakes etc. Any way I am ready to run some wires to the switch as it is hard to get to. I will make the wires long so I dont have to go back under the dash. I had 5 or 6 brake light switches that hook to the brake pedal arm I picked a 1968 it was made better than the others. That's out of the way except for wiring. maybe tomorrow. Got a few snaps
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5962.jpg
    HPIM5962.jpg
    26.6 KB · Views: 10
  • HPIM5963.jpg
    HPIM5963.jpg
    54.1 KB · Views: 10
  • HPIM5964.jpg
    HPIM5964.jpg
    51.1 KB · Views: 11
  • HPIM5966.jpg
    HPIM5966.jpg
    80.9 KB · Views: 10
  • HPIM5968.jpg
    HPIM5968.jpg
    55.3 KB · Views: 11
  • HPIM5960.jpg
    HPIM5960.jpg
    26.2 KB · Views: 10
Short day for work on the Coupe. I chose to split some wood this AM just some extra for winter they say its going to be bad. It never hurts to be prepared. I then had some time to work on the brake switch and brakes. I wired the switch up and found a problem. The rod that goes in the master was to short not giving me full pedal. I had to machine out a 2 inch piece that slipped over the end on the original and tapered in the master end. That worked okay. I have a photo of the brake pedal lighting a Light so I know it will work now. I added on long wires so I dont have to bang my head under the dash. I then fitted my balance assembly for the master cylinder brake lines. Just to see what I have to do later. I see that I have to tuck the pipes in some more. This will require some bending when i'm ready. have 2 photos
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5969.jpg
    HPIM5969.jpg
    103.6 KB · Views: 19
  • HPIM5970.jpg
    HPIM5970.jpg
    122.1 KB · Views: 20
Last edited:
I didled around today this AM I split more wood cause it was nice out. yesterday it poured 2.5 inches of rain and I stayed out of the shop we had tornado watches etc. I made a Fuse panel cover and got it painted today. Then I made some heavy duty grounds underneath the dash for grounding points of the electrical circuits.
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5973.jpg
    HPIM5973.jpg
    83 KB · Views: 4
  • HPIM5974.jpg
    HPIM5974.jpg
    136.5 KB · Views: 5
Oh and I touched up the horns with some paint before I mount them. I will maybe start to wire a little under the dash. get the grounds attached etc boring stuff. I also grounded the wiper motor as it had a separate wire for that.
 
A little more done today I mounted the fuse panel did some wiring and taping. Plus I screed the rest of the dash along the bottom to the tubing. Plus I fabricated a mount for the speedo cable that has a electric device that was used for the turbo so I have to have that to keep the speedo cable spliced together to have the speedometer work.
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5978.jpg
    HPIM5978.jpg
    107 KB · Views: 22
  • HPIM5979.jpg
    HPIM5979.jpg
    98.1 KB · Views: 27
  • HPIM5980.jpg
    HPIM5980.jpg
    110.6 KB · Views: 23
Small things done, I hung the horns on each side of the radiator shell on the outside of the radiator. I have them wired and tested them through a 40 amp relay which I will use. These horns sound are Alto I really dont care for the sound. I had a 1964 Ford Galaxie that had the best sounding Horns I ever had. I put them an my last hot rod a 1948 Ford Coupe. I dont remember what the sound was called but I loved them. You cant have everything these horns were free. One less thing to do. I also started a holder for 8 or ten relays I retrieved from the Merkur I will install these under the dash somewhere and use them as I need them. They will take a female spade terminal ends nice. Something else I wont have to buy. That's all I did today I spent the morning putting away my wood splitter for the winter Got 2 photos..
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5981.jpg
    HPIM5981.jpg
    136.4 KB · Views: 16
  • HPIM5982.jpg
    HPIM5982.jpg
    94 KB · Views: 17
Last edited:
In the photos I later turned the horns Horizontal I didn't want the open horn facing up cause of water etc. The relay holder is a inch pine board I will use aluminium flashing strips bent to hold them on the board and then putting a screw on each side. I will have 2 rows hung vertically when finished. I tested one and it was really rigid with the aluminium strips.
 
More boring work and tiny headway. I finished the relay board and gave it a coat of paint it will need 2. I installed a 1/4 inch thick brass plate for a bus bar. I also drilled and tapped many holes to put eye terminal ends to the plate as needed. The amp capacity of the plate is more than ample and it is supported off the wood by 3/8th of an inch with stand offs. Only a few of the relays will be working at the same time anyway. I may not even use em but I have them if needed later on.
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5983.jpg
    HPIM5983.jpg
    135.3 KB · Views: 13
  • HPIM5984.jpg
    HPIM5984.jpg
    73 KB · Views: 14
  • HPIM5985.jpg
    HPIM5985.jpg
    112.6 KB · Views: 12
Today I made a mount for my starter relay. It has a coat of paint to stop the sheet metal from rusting, Ill put it in tomorrow. I experimented to day after sharpening my hole saw cutter on stainless steel. It cut pretty good I sharpened them on a diamond wheel i had, I did it by hand, I loaned them out once and the fella dulled all of them drilling a stainless sink. he used to fast of a drill speed and no lubrication. I used the low speed and reg oil on my drill press and made 4 nice holes in stainless steel sheet. I will use part of this for my gauges maybe. Not a high production day but I moved forward at a Turtles pace. Got a few snaps
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5987.jpg
    HPIM5987.jpg
    59.4 KB · Views: 9
  • HPIM5988.jpg
    HPIM5988.jpg
    69.8 KB · Views: 9
  • HPIM5989.jpg
    HPIM5989.jpg
    66.1 KB · Views: 10
  • HPIM5990.jpg
    HPIM5990.jpg
    90.2 KB · Views: 12
Well I decided not to use the stainless gauge holder panels. I installed 3 gauge holes in the dash to hold the gauges. I also fitted the starter relay mount and wired the starter cable to the solenoid. plus I wired all the hot 12+ pigtails to the relays. That was if for today.
 

Attachments

  • HPIM5995.jpg
    HPIM5995.jpg
    81.7 KB · Views: 10
  • HPIM5996.jpg
    HPIM5996.jpg
    86.8 KB · Views: 11
  • HPIM5997.jpg
    HPIM5997.jpg
    90.4 KB · Views: 16
  • HPIM5998.jpg
    HPIM5998.jpg
    97.9 KB · Views: 22
Real boring day all spent most of the day slicing the same gauge wires together soldering and shrink tubing. I ran the rear brake light wires to the rear. I ran them up through the hard-liner area on the drivers side above the door. Then I ran a wire to the left front for my headlamps when i get them. I managed to splice enough 12 gauge wire to get this done. I ran a test on the wire in the rear brake light and they work nice., I also hooked up my dash lights but will have to wait for a Light switch and hook em up for keeps. No photos of this stuff you wouldn't be able to see what I done. Tomorrow I will make an adaptor plate to hold the Dash light dimmer switch. Some of the same tomorrow. My power source is a 12 volt 10 amp battery charger I made years ago.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top