First Project continued... 37Ford/46International

[kelseydum]

Mocked up the grill again to se if it's still gonna fit. I'm going to change out fans so the radiator will fit.

 

[kelseydum]

Here's a pic of the rear mounts... I had to move them in quite a bit. I can weld pretty good now (right side up), but haven't quite mastered welding upside down (look a little uglier).

... and one to show how low she's sittin'.

 

[Bonehead]

You have got it looking good. It is looking really mean. I dig the grill. (Tell us about welding that tie rod)

 

[kelseydum]

I used the original 37 Ford tie rod, cut about half an inch out of it, put a bolt through the center and tacked it back into place... obviously haven't completely welded it yet. I need to get some new heim joints for the flat plate steering arms or taper the flat arms and get some cheaper tie rod ends like I used for my hairpins.

 

[kelseydum]

Some more progress...

I got my full moon hubcaps.

First, I picked up some wheels (with bad tires) I needed and, I will be buying new tires, but I wanted the old ones so I could test try making my own white walls. I found out that if you go out/in far enough that the white stops and you get a clean line.

Also found some old spoke wheels I may use on the front if I don't want to use the full moons on the front.

 

[kelseydum]

Made my floor frame and got it mostly welded in. Just need to do some touch up welds and grinding and I think I'm ready for a chop.

 

[kelseydum]

Now here is a little piece of my wild side and creative mind at work. I can never be normal! I'm thinking of adding these either all over or in a design on the top of the cab like a mohawk or something as well as the cowl vent and other small accessories. I've got a neat idea in mind for my tailgate too! These are just things that will represent my personality a bit. You can just screw them on. I might use O-rings with them or something to seal them. I got a couple different styles to see what they would look like. There are some cool Claw-Like spikes I want to use on my next project.

 

[kelseydum]

started the chop...

Here is a before and after (mock up). Then I'll show the progress pics.

Before I took 4 inches out.

Mock up after the chop.

Side view before.

Side view after.

 

[kelseydum]

We split the rear section.

Pic from the inside. I decided to cut all the thin sheetmetal first and get my long cuts done. Then I went to work on the pillars. I cut what I could of the cab and doors with the doors closed. Then I opened them to finish the last little bit. Everything surprisingly lined up pretty well.

Pic of thee windshield pillar.

 

[kelseydum]

This is a view from the top of the rear section of the door frame (don't know technical name) looking down. I lined up the outside and tacked it.

Here's how the back window lined up.

Never mind the ugly *** cut... but here is how I fixed the back window issue.

As you can see I cut one main slit here and three smaller slits to help the metal move. Then I just took a hammer and dolly to it until it was where I wanted it. This was my first time to ever use a hammer and dolly and I'm sure most of you could have done much better, but I am proud of it.

 

[kelseydum]

A pic from the inside to see how I got them to line up.

Here is how the slits on the back side look after I took some thin sheet metal and filled the gap, then ground it smooth.

A full view of how it's looking.

I must say I was very nervous before I started but the more I did the more comfortable I was with it. So for those of you who wish to chop your ride... just dive in...THINK A LOT ABOUT IT FIRST THOUGH.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I had already put my floors in and forgot to get pics so those will come soon. I think that helped brace the cab for the chop.

 

[dmw56]

Looking good. Doing the chop is really a lot easier than I expected also. Like you said just dive in and do it.

 

[motorpsykler]

This is a great build. I'm going to build something similar (a 50 Ford F-1). At the moment, I am sharpening my very dull welding skills with my new mig welder by building a welding cart. Your build is helping to build my confidence.

 

[kelseydum]

More of the chopping. This has worked out so well I almost wished I would have taken 4 1/2 instead of four like I had originally marked cause it's starting to look pretty mean. I'm happy with it though. My mentor on my first project here said that I " did pretty gosh darn well for my first chop". I'll take that as a compliment coming from a man that rarely speaks much less compliments my work. One thing I'm still learning is welding and how to keep the metal wet so it doesn't warp. This thin stuff take time to weld good. Anyways, here are some pics...

This was what I had to work with...

... and this is how it came out. I just noticed that the doors are slightly open and it looks kinda weird.

I just have the strip across the top to fill. I think I'm going to use some square tubing or maybe some pieces from the cab corner I cut out to fill the gaps in the door frame.

 

[kelseydum]

Some progress pics.

 

[kelseydum]

Some more progress of the chop. The right side lined up well.

The left side needed some slits cut to relieve where is was trying to bow up. A little hammer and dolley work will fix it up.

 

[kelseydum]

The outside structure turned out really well. There is a slight gutter or the left side of the top but some filler will help that. It really turned out better than I expected.

 

[tiny1]

Looking great .. That back glass is killer i love the way it turned out

 

[Bonehead]

Yep, it is turning out great. I like the back view the best too.

 

[dmw56]

Turned out real nice. That back window is the perfect size. Look forward to seeing more of your build.