soltz
The Rat Captain
Very Nice!
Look and learn
\\\[P///
Look and learn
\\\[P///
1937 Chevy Coupe
- Thread starter Dr Crankenstein
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rods Rule:
DozerII
Well-known member
Those Highways look a lot like ours down here Doc, it was a tough week for getting around. Progress on the car is looking great.
Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
To avoid guesswork, we took measurements from B-tard's daily driver and duplicated those measurements. No thinking or overthinking required.
My '38? I don't think about it much, but I will when this project comes to an end. (Any day now, according to bob.
) Thanks. Long time, no see. I thought you were dead.
.
DozerII
Well-known member
To avoid guesswork, we took measurements from B-tard's daily driver and duplicated those measurements. No thinking or overthinking required.
My '38? I don't think about it much, but I will when this project comes to an end. (Any day now, according to bob.
Thanks. Long time, no see. I thought you were dead.
.
No not me, been a tough couple weeks, work is crazy busy and the wife's sister who lived next door to us passed away last Sunday.
Sorry for your loss Dozer.
Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
DozerII
Well-known member
Sorry, Glen. If I could take those words back, I would.
.
Hey no problem, and no need to.
DozerII
Well-known member
Thanks Kenny
Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
Still pickin' away at it:
We now have the seat mounts finished, welded and bolted in place. In between time, B-tard broke the shifter out of his stash. It's brand new, never been out of the box... and it's missing some pieces.
We could care less except for the "gate bar", which I highly doubt is common key stock, dimensionally. I'd imagine a bowl of rice and a slow boat from Malaysia will play here, but I'll find out tomorrow what TCI has to say about it...
Moving along, we mocked the shifter's location 22 times and once that was decided, we built a mount for it. Made of 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/8" angle iron, it's a simple boxed frame and a tiny structure, measuring 3" high, 3" wide and 10" long.
With the shifter firmly placed, our attention turned to creating a console. We messed with some 1/4" rod and turned some into scrap.
The problem is width, again. So, we'll likely create more scrap before we arrive at something that doesn't look like hell. My mind's eye sees something GM could have punched out in 1937, no hard lines, soft radiused edges...
.
We now have the seat mounts finished, welded and bolted in place. In between time, B-tard broke the shifter out of his stash. It's brand new, never been out of the box... and it's missing some pieces.
We could care less except for the "gate bar", which I highly doubt is common key stock, dimensionally. I'd imagine a bowl of rice and a slow boat from Malaysia will play here, but I'll find out tomorrow what TCI has to say about it...
Moving along, we mocked the shifter's location 22 times and once that was decided, we built a mount for it. Made of 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/8" angle iron, it's a simple boxed frame and a tiny structure, measuring 3" high, 3" wide and 10" long.
With the shifter firmly placed, our attention turned to creating a console. We messed with some 1/4" rod and turned some into scrap.
The problem is width, again. So, we'll likely create more scrap before we arrive at something that doesn't look like hell. My mind's eye sees something GM could have punched out in 1937, no hard lines, soft radiused edges...
.
Attachments
bob w
Still crazy after all these years!
Looks strong and functional. Good luck with the swoopy, artsy stuff.
Don't keep track of your hours.
Don't keep track of your hours.
zzrodder
It ain't grey hair, it's chrome!
Nice shifter! Same problem I had in my 36 Packard, too skinny, great ideas usually generate some scrap before the final product emerges
DozerII
Well-known member
Gotta hate when something new is missing parts and not gonna work. Scrap from one project usually finishes another project.[P[P
[P[P[P
BillM
Well-known member
That's a good looking shifter there Doc. Good luck with that console, I'll be watching how that works out. I have a hard time fabricating swoopy curved things, I'm much more comfortable with hard square lines - so I'll be watching enviously.
Old Iron
Well-known member
"In between time, B-tard broke the shifter out of his stash. It's brand new, never been out of the box... and it's missing some pieces."
Doesn't surprise me. I'm building a 63 Nova for a customer and everything (I mean everything) has come in very late, wrong part, missing pieces, broken or damaged on this build.
It's driving me crazy and is taking three times as long to build this ride.
Doesn't surprise me. I'm building a 63 Nova for a customer and everything (I mean everything) has come in very late, wrong part, missing pieces, broken or damaged on this build.
It's driving me crazy and is taking three times as long to build this ride.
Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
Thanks guys. I like the shifter, too... clean and simple, like me. The missing parts are a disappointment, but not a big deal. We'll improvise before we ship it back as the feller at TCI suggested. (That's not happening, period!)
Hours? We're counting years and trying to keep it under a decade.
I'm much better with straight lines and angles, no doubt. There will be scrap, but the tailpan disaster taught me a few lessons I won't soon forget. Call me optimistic, I expect this project to go smoothly.
.
Hours? We're counting years and trying to keep it under a decade.
I'm much better with straight lines and angles, no doubt. There will be scrap, but the tailpan disaster taught me a few lessons I won't soon forget. Call me optimistic, I expect this project to go smoothly.
.
"I expect this project to go smoothly" Famous last words,[ddd
Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
Yesterday, we repaired a piece of equipment for B-tard's golf business, then spent a few hours on the car...
We decided to narrow the console mock up, just at the top where it meets the dashboard. It flared out too much and looked like a frog man's flipper, so we took two inches out of it.
This is how it was. Also evident here, is the odd, but necessary step/notch.
Why the notch, you ask? In order to center the driver with the steering column, the seat had to be moved inboard. Otherwise, It feels like riding a bike sidesaddle. The most sensible and practical fix would be to narrow the seat but we're determined to work with what we have, so we'll push ahead and get around the problem one way or another.
With the basic layout determined, we made a few pieces using the rod skeleton as our guide.
The strips were formed over a chunk of 2''x 6'' fir with a corner rounded off, then the shrinker/stretcher.
Despite the angle of this shot, the upright sections are nearly parallel to each other, though still slightly tapered.
Right down the middle, sort of. Here, the seat is slid all the way back. If you slide the seat all the way forward, it noses into the notch.
We'll continue on this path until something changes our minds. In between time, I play with my crayons and eat a few. (The red ones don't taste like raspberry, by the way.) I'm nobody's artist or 3D designer by any stretch, but that doesn't stop me from butchering a photo or six or twelve.
Crude as crude can be and honestly, quite frustrating. I have an image in my mind that I can't draw for the life of me, but hopefully gives you a clue what I'm thinking and where we're headed, at least for now.
.
We decided to narrow the console mock up, just at the top where it meets the dashboard. It flared out too much and looked like a frog man's flipper, so we took two inches out of it.
This is how it was. Also evident here, is the odd, but necessary step/notch.
Why the notch, you ask? In order to center the driver with the steering column, the seat had to be moved inboard. Otherwise, It feels like riding a bike sidesaddle. The most sensible and practical fix would be to narrow the seat but we're determined to work with what we have, so we'll push ahead and get around the problem one way or another.
With the basic layout determined, we made a few pieces using the rod skeleton as our guide.
The strips were formed over a chunk of 2''x 6'' fir with a corner rounded off, then the shrinker/stretcher.
Despite the angle of this shot, the upright sections are nearly parallel to each other, though still slightly tapered.
Right down the middle, sort of. Here, the seat is slid all the way back. If you slide the seat all the way forward, it noses into the notch.
We'll continue on this path until something changes our minds. In between time, I play with my crayons and eat a few. (The red ones don't taste like raspberry, by the way.) I'm nobody's artist or 3D designer by any stretch, but that doesn't stop me from butchering a photo or six or twelve.
Crude as crude can be and honestly, quite frustrating. I have an image in my mind that I can't draw for the life of me, but hopefully gives you a clue what I'm thinking and where we're headed, at least for now.
.
Attachments
BillM
Well-known member
That's going to look great!
