1949 Bentley Boattail Speedster

[Sam_Fear]

Well?

 

[brad]

what Sam said![P

 

[earthman]

 

[Sam_Fear]

Wow. I'm not sure if your supposed to drive it or have sex with it! [dr

 

[andreasklapp]

i'm gonna put this one up. i'm sure it's already somewhere on the board here. i think it's glass though:

and anybody that ain't got nothing nice to say is just jealous because they don't have the (time,skill,imagination,talent,etc.)to do it themselves.if i ever get good enough at bodywork i'll make one, till then i'll just have to admire yours.

 

[Flipper_1938]

i'm gonna put this one up. i'm sure it's already somewhere on the board here. i think it's glass though:

and anybody that ain't got nothing nice to say is just jealous because they don't have the (time,skill,imagination,talent,etc.)to do it themselves.if i ever get good enough at bodywork i'll make one, till then i'll just have to admire yours.

I'm pretty sure that is one of the Blastolene cars. If it is, it is the one with the GMC V12...and am pretty sure the body is aluminum.

edit: it is

http://www.blastolene.com/b702_f.html

 

[jfg455]

And much hornynist ensued........

 

[brad]

WOW[dr

 

[PA41]

Uhhh? I hope that ain't ****.... Wheww--son!!


Nothing going on from my corner this week, For some reason those fellows that pay me $30/hr to play solitaire and to talk about cars on the N-R-Net decided I needed to WORK all weekend! --Heat and dry pays hell with pumps and such-almost as bad as flood. Lots of down equipment and my key hands are on vacation - had to earn my keep--(or at least look the part)...

Some of my work this week took me by the Harbor Freight thought--Got me an air over hydralic 20 ton jack to try and make a fender press, and a planishing hammer and a throatless shear!! I really need to make the front of the rear fenders, so thought I'd gather up some more tin pounder tools. Now all I gotta do is learn how to use them, and get a bigger shop to but em in!!.

I go out to the shop almost every night and tinker a little, but nothing serious, mainly just look at the car and think.--. Its kind of a shame someone with mediocre skills like me, is doing this car. This thing could be something with a real craftsman doing the deal. By the looks of the fender peaks of that black car above--that may have happened -- it may be a Bentley--nothing much really new in the world..

PA41

 

[DJ3100]

I have the HF planishing hammer - it works pretty well. The dies are actually hardened on mine. LOUD, though.

The air/hyd cylinder will work pretty well for sheet metal forming, but be prepared - they move verrrrry slowly. That is good when you're actually trying to move metal, but when you're getting it set up it takes a while. Of course, it's better than pumping a bottle jack.

 

[brad]

Hey PA, how about sum more pics of the rear fenders [cl[Plater Brad

 

[PA41]

Yo Brad--Good to talk with ya the other day man--Junk Rules!!

I don't have any fresh pix--works eating me up! 12 hrs in 100 degrees today--rough on an old fat man-so no rat progress till I get the work problems fixed. (May be a while).

Heres a little before and dureing and after shots to where I am now though.

Thanks for the interest and help guys--I'll get back on this when I can--life sure can get in the way of fun!! I'll be sure and post any thing I do get done.

PA41

 

[PA41]

Just a little bit of shop time today, 4 hours or so for the whole week.. I was planning for more, but Spike TV had a 'Band of Brothers' marathon, and I vegged out in front of the tube half the day..

I Extended the lower part of the brake pedal assembly to get a quicker/shorter pedal stroke, and added a return spring. Finished the steering wheel/shaft and burned it in with a quick release wheel--not needed really, just a habit of mine for some reason. It is a good anti-theft device, and it makes it easy to work under the dash.. Also reworked a seat mount--I went to get the other seat outta the Toyota, but something hissed at me ( the second time!) and I wasn't in the mood to run some critter out of the car today, so went in and watched the tube.. Yeah--I'm a sissy--It's probably a **** or a possum or cat, but I bailed.


PA41

 

[hotrod preacher]

gonna hafta update us PA, you've been bumped all the way back to page 3....

better get goin, the watermelon festival/car cruise is just around the corner

 

[cosmic12]

Well, I've been outa touch for a while myself, more of those pesky BS daily life things, but it looks to me that you made some great progress!!!!!
It looks great[cl

 

[PA41]

I haven't been doing much good with the project lately. I did cut the front lower side panels from some 14ga -- Had to wet the grass down in front of the shop ( no rain in a month here) and drag the plasma cutter out there and burn them out- 14 is heavy stuff to mess with-worked out pretty good.

The rest is messing with the front of the rear fenders--See next post. Heres a couple pix of the front side lowers, and one of my ChiCom throatless shear--new toy--works great!!

PA41

 

[Flipper_1938]

yeah, a throatless shear is a cool tool to have. I wonder how I really ever did sheetmetal work without one....actually I do remember fighting jigsaws, sawsalls and nibblers. My cheapie shear was a great purchase.

Oh yeah, its a good idea to drill a 1/4 hole through the upper portion so you can "lock" it with a 1/4 20 nut and bolt. Keeps little kids from getting fingers cut off and neighbors from using it to cut 1/4 rods.

 

[PA41]

The front of my rear fenders are a problem I've been trying to get around--looking for a quick N dirty--easy fix-- no such thing. It looks like I'll have to hand build the front 1/2 of each fender to get it to look right. Big job--month or two it looks like. I tried to use the door skin and tie it together at the top, but it looked wrong--see pix--, so I just decided to do the metal bending small sections approach again--Will try the press/mold thing I think.

The first pic is where I was trying to use a VW fender to cover some of the front--looked crappy, so tried to use the door skin and a piece up top to tie it together--same results, so just took it all off (last pic) and will gear up and build me a center ridge down the middle of the fender with some 14 ga left over, buy a sheet of 18 ga. and build each side to it like the rear half is done..

That pretty much knocks the summer driving plan out though, so no watermellon cruzeing through the park with a speedster this year..

Thanks for the interest and comments guys--I'll keep you posted on the fender progress. Gonna be kinda slow hobbying though--still haven't slacked off at work yet. For some reason they expect me to EARN my wages!!? It looks like it'll be fall before it slacks off.

PA41

 

[PA41]

yeah, a throatless shear is a cool tool to have. I wonder how I really ever did sheetmetal work without one....actually I do remember fighting jigsaws, sawsalls and nibblers. My cheapie shear was a great purchase.

Oh yeah, its a good idea to drill a 1/4 hole through the upper portion so you can "lock" it with a 1/4 20 nut and bolt. Keeps little kids from getting fingers cut off and neighbors from using it to cut 1/4 rods.

Good idea about the safety issue--that thing could chop a finger off in a flash...

It takes more room than I really have, I really need a big cutting table, but the shear is SO much better than the chopsaw and thin 4.5" cutoff wheels. The plasma cutter cuts sheetmetal well, but the fire and smoke issues are limitations--I have breathing problems anyway, and the smoke seems to be a real potential hazard to me. Vaporized metal just can't be good for your lungs.. Also my shop is a fire trap--already set fire to it a number of times--no need to push my luck.

I've read bad comments on the quality of the tool. It's sloppy looking, but functions well enough for my needs to be an asset to the project. It's low buck, and I don't have high expectations for the import tools, so I'm OK using them. I'll never be a professional, or have the skills where this sort of tool holds me back, so it's all blue sky for me.

PA41

 

[Flipper_1938]

My shear is mounted on its own stand. It is a post with a weighted base. When we need it, we drag it out. When we don't it is slid out of the way.

We also did a small vise on a stand like that. It is pretty darn handy too.