1949 Ford bobber build

[gold03]

I'm doing a four inch chop. I'm not sure about the spacer yet.

How much angle did you need on your A-Pillar Torchie? Did you just angle from your cut line, or did you leave a little extra to grind the angle from?

I had a productive day. My daughters boyfriend gave me a hand all day. Good intuitive helper. He was a big help. just having someone to pass tools and set up stuff is a huge help. My knees are killing me from all the up and down the step.

I'm real happy with the girder so far.

 

[MercuryMac]

Hi Gold03. You cool guys always make things look too easy [cl so I jump right in and-----Whoa, get smart---fast---too late. ------Don't let me slow you down, I'll just keep pickin' away at things at my end. Anyhow, nice job, and keep on tinkering.

 

[Old Iron]

Looks like your girder plan is working out.

 

[Torchie]

I didn't allow extra meat for the A pillar . I just took a little off the backside of the pillar to close up the gap. Didn't need to take much off.
I ended up with a 2" filler piece.(Disclaimer. Your results may be different.)

Glad you had some help. It can be done solo but an extra pair of hands always helps. Funny how none of my daughters BF's are ever car guys.

Looking good! How'd it feel to make the first cut?
Keep going.
Torchie[

 

[gold03]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The first cut is the deepest as they say Torchie, but it felt good to get started. Thanks for the tip on the a pillars.

 

[gold03]

Progress! I extended the relief cuts and got everything lined up. The filler strip is going to be two inches just like Torchie said. I think I will make a template for the filler strip first to see how it wants to be cut. It would be nice if it can be cut in the shear. I'm thinking about using my spot welder to add a strip to the back side of each weld. This will help prevent blow out and give a little more strength. It could bugger up the metal shaping though. I will have to see how it goes.

Here are the photos of how it is all lining up.

 

[Torchie]

Looks good Gold. Much better than mine
Once I get back to it I am going to redo the passenger side roof. Most likely I will extend the relief cuts as well.
When I did my filler piece I cut a strip wider than the opening.
Attached it to the back section with butt clamps and let the front edge of the filler strip go under the front roof section. Ran a sharpie along the edge and got my cut line. Then I used a thin kerf air cut off tool to trim off the extra.
Keep at it. It's just been too bloody hot and humid to do much in the shop lately although I am still collecting parts.
Torchie.[

 

[gold03]

Hey Torchie, it looks good but I haven't started welding yet[ After that I'll likely have it warped all to hell!

Thanks for all of your help. I really learned a lot from you and Gjunction Mike. [cl

With the relief cuts I noticed that when I pulled out the A-pillars, the front roof half actually arched more right beside the door opening. This was relieved by deepening the relief cuts and prying them open about 3/8 ths of and inch at he windshield opening.

I tried to line the two halves of the roof up with the drip rail, but that didn't work as well as the bottom of the door opening area. Of course I will have to move around to get the filler piece in at the gutter. I think I will do some filler strip in the middle, and some clecos on the back wall to start with. A couple of drill screws to hold the rear door cut in place before I start taking off any clamps.

If I had put the rear girder on the inside I think it would have worked a little better. It also wanted to be closer to my cut on the rear half, but I need to be able to work the cut/weld. One or the other would have helped. To get it lined up I used a pipe stand that is all adjustable. That and a piece of 2X6 to push up the rear section. between the rear girder and the cut it still curled down a bit and needs some assistance to get lined up just right.

 

[earthman]

....................[P

 

[Dirtyrat]

Definitely coming together nicely, now, no matter how you do these roofs, that curvature is a royal pain in the rear =)

 

[Torchie]

Definitely coming together nicely, now, no matter how you do these roofs, that curvature is a royal pain in the rear =)

Totaly agree with DR.
Seems like no matter what you do the edge of the roof starts to curl once it is cut.
When I planned mine out I was told that I had access to a 2nd complete roof. I was going to cut mine and then take the front piece from the donor roof with the extra 2 inch's. Would have been a one seem only roof split
Alas..It was not to be, The guy changed his mind.
Your doing great Gold. Keep at it.
Torchie.

 

[gold03]

Thanks for the comments guys. I didn't get anything done today. My so and daughter in law dropped in for a visit. Family time is good its been a while.

 

[clamor]

I'm trying to work this out in my head, but I think you took a little too much out of your rear Z.

If you're going from a 33" to a 31" tire you're only going to lose 1" in height, because only one of the inches being lost is below the axle centerline. Think of it in regard to belly clearance on your Jeep. If you go from a stock 28" tire to a 33, you don't gain 5" at the skidplate or pumpkin, you get 2.5".

-Chaz

 

[clamor]

Oh, another question. You refer to your front suspension as a suicide mount, or something to that effect. I was trying to understand the terminology a while back and the only thing I could find as a pseudo-definitive definition for a suicide front end was one without brakes. The mount you've got was a transverse leaf with split wishbones. Is that setup also called a suicide...just to confuse us all?

Sorry, not trying to nit pick, just trying to understand it all so that when I actually get to building something what I say is actually what I meant.
:-D

Thanks again, great build & wonderful sheet metal work. The curve girders are GREAT!

-Chaz

 

[Torchie]

Oh, another question. You refer to your front suspension as a suicide mount, or something to that effect. I was trying to understand the terminology a while back and the only thing I could find as a pseudo-definitive definition for a suicide front end was one without brakes. The mount you've got was a transverse leaf with split wishbones. Is that setup also called a suicide...just to confuse us all?

Sorry, not trying to nit pick, just trying to understand it all so that when I actually get to building something what I say is actually what I meant.
:-D

Thanks again, great build & wonderful sheet metal work. The curve girders are GREAT!

-Chaz

Not to hijack Gold03 thread but a "suicide" front end used to refer to a front end that had the axle mounted out in front of the frame using a transverse or buggy spring and usually split wish bones or a hairpin(4Bar) set up. The mounting point was a pad that is welded to a front crossmember. Used to be most most commonly seen in T -bucket style builds.
Torchie

 

[clamor]

Thanks, Torchie!

Sorry for the hijack, Gold.

Carry on, love the grill btw.

-Chaz

 

[gold03]

When I'm determining the tire size I am measuring from the axle centre line to ground. Then multiply by two. I moved the axle centre line down two inches. Axle centre line is now about 15 1/2 inches from ground. With air bags I can move it around a little if needed.

I picked up tires and rims today. Coker classic radials. Bigs and littles set up. It will definitely look a little different on this truck. The fronts are four inches wide, the rears barely six. Skinny and tall. We have guys here with the big fat tires, so I went another direction.We will see how that goes with the big fat old truck, but I just have to keep trimming off the steel if it looks to heavy.

Like Torchie said about the Suicide axle set up. If the bracket breakers off at speed, you loose steering and front braking because there is no longer weight on the front wheels. Result = suicide, or at least dirty shorts

I got a little welding in this morning on the passenger drip rail door filler area. I will need to extend my wind shield relief cuts all the way to the cross cur to get the roof to lay flat and joint up evenly in order to get the drip rail straight I ha to pull the rear roof section out at the filler strip. Thai caused it to flatten a little. To get the front to line up I will need to take out a little. Essentially sectioning the roof into four, just not the usual way.[S

 

[MercuryMac]

I feel for you Gold03, sometimes the frustration level creeps up a bit, but when you get that part finished, it feels even better. You will beat this.
Keep on tinkering.

 

[gold03]

I'm pretty happy with how it's progressing. My progress is slow. Summer is busy for us. We do a lot of "camping" in our RV.

When I think about some of the old Merc chops I've seen, it really puts it in perspective the amount of work that goes into one of those custom cars.

I'm just going to tack everything then hang doors in case I need to make changes. My first door opening looks pretty good for a rookie. First chop so I need to learn as much as I can for the next one.

 

[Torchie]

Where's the pics Brother????
If you talk to an old timer that did or does this kind of stuff they will tell you that we "Youngsters" spend way to much time on trying to get it all perfect prior to body work.
As the former owner of an original early fifities pro done custom I can attest to the fact that those cars have a lot of lead in them.
I hear you on the relief cut. I didn't go all the way up to the cross cut but I am going to do a second relief cut starting at the cross cut and heading towards the windshield. I don't believe that i will have to go all the way to the windshield as it doesn't line up with my original relief cut.
Keep at it. Summer time is tough on the shop time at my house as well.
Torchie.