Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Vic1947]

There was also an ugly big hole in the cowl on the driver side that needed a patch. I opened it up some more and made a paper template then cut the patch out of some 18 ga. Drilled a couple of holes into it so that after welding the perimeter I could "spotweld" it to the support behind it.

With the lip pretty much complete, next steps will be to clamp the firewall into place temporarily, modify and mount the map lights, fish the wiring for the lights and dash cam thru the A-pillar then glue the roof on. Doesn't sound like much when you say it fast.

[knomadd]

Nice progress Vic! That jewelers coin punch looks cool. How does it work? Do you slip a piece of sheet metal between the two pieces and use a BFH to drive the punch through it or is it more sophisticated than that? I also appreciate the explanation of the shrinker/stretcher combo and how you made the z panel. Very cool.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Nice progress Vic! That jewelers coin punch looks cool. How does it work? Do you slip a piece of sheet metal between the two pieces and use a BFH to drive the punch through it or is it more sophisticated than that? I also appreciate the explanation of the shrinker/stretcher combo and how you made the z panel. Very cool.

Hey Duane,
The tool is actually meant for soft materials like aluminum, copper, silver and etc. You're correct that you slip the material in the thin slot, position it where you want the hole and if it's soft material, a BFH works great. They don't recommend using it on steel, but so far, it's worked great. I use a light coat of oil on the sheet metal and set everything up in my press. It pushes the punch right thru the metal and then I use a rawhide hammer to tap the coin and the punch out the other side. Only reason I do it this way is I was afraid it might hose up the punch if it caught an edge. Pushing it thru with the press seems to allow it to find its way.

[Low Elco]

Really nice work, Vic. Now I want one of those coin punches! That would have saved me a TON of time over the years. Can't wait for the next installment!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Really nice work, Vic. Now I want one of those coin punches! That would have saved me a TON of time over the years. Can't wait for the next installment!

You're always welcome to borrow mine ...punch out an assortment to have on hand. BTW, after Vern brought Yeller by the other day I ordered up the SensaTrac shocks. They're still in the box, pending a color change. All four shocks and the driveshaft get the body color.

Burned way more time than I planned on the map lights. The original setup had both a slide and a rotary switch right in the middle. Couldn't have that, so I sectioned the housing and the lens to get rid of those parts. Once I had some dimensions, I cut the opening in the inner roof panel to accommodate the revised light assembly. The glue's curing right now, so it will be tomorrow before I know how much I have to massage everything to get it to fit.

[Xeen]

I'm a little surprised you didn't cut off the outter lip of the plastic assembly and mill a new trim bezel out of aluminum with a center seperation strip to cover up the spit in the lense which would also work to secure both halves.
It's not too late to do it!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

I'm a little surprised you didn't cut off the outter lip of the plastic assembly and mill a new trim piece out of aluminum with a center seperation strip to cover up the spit in the lense.
It's not too late to do it!

I do plan to mill a thin aluminum T-strip to go in the gap between the lenses, however, sanding and painting the outer lip will have to do. I guess I could shoot some rattle can aluminum on it.
.
.
.
But probably not.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I do plan to mill a thin aluminum T-strip to go in the gap between the lenses, however, sanding and painting the outer lip will have to do. I guess I could shoot some rattle can aluminum on it.
.
.
.
But probably not.

LOL! Yeah I hear ya, as if you don't have enough stuff to fabricate, adding an aluminum trim bezel into the workload probably isn't very appealing no matter how nice it would look.

[Low Elco]

Now you're just yankin' him, Brian! Please continue. Muahaha!

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Now you're just yankin' him, Brian! Please continue. Muahaha!

ROFL! I just can't help myself.
The thing is I always have big ideas and Vic just happens to have the skills to make it a reality so I figure why not toss it out there into the Vicverse and see what happens.
His idea to sand and paint the plastic bezel will look good too.

[Low Elco]

Them shocks flat work, don't they? Big improvement. I may take you up on making some coins, man that'd make life easier!

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress on the cowl. I have a set of those same type punches somewhere. I used them mostly for cutting plastic shim stock in my former life as a toolmaker. I need to see if I can find them. Haven't used them in 10+ years

[Low Elco]

I know, Vic oughta open up a home for wayward dirtbag hotrodders. My wife would drop me of and leave me. I was lookin' at Tennsmith brakes yesterday just because I had so much fun playing with Vic's! He's a bad influence!

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
I know you just put some thermal heat barrier on your inner roof, but I have some "Industrial" insulation you might think about placing on top of that.....
it's about 1/2" thick and is like a heavy fiberglass mat, we use it for insulating blankets on steam pipes,etc.....let me know if you would like a small sheet of it.....
Have a good one!
Ben

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic,
I know you just put some thermal heat barrier on your inner roof, but I have some "Industrial" insulation you might think about placing on top of that.....
it's about 1/2" thick and is like a heavy fiberglass mat, we use it for insulating blankets on steam pipes,etc.....let me know if you would like a small sheet of it.....
Have a good one!
Ben

Thanks for the offer, Ben, but I'll be gluing a headliner up there anyway, so adding more insulation is probably overkill. I'm hoping to install the roof Monday.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

I know, Vic oughta open up a home for wayward dirtbag hotrodders. My wife would drop me of and leave me. I was lookin' at Tennsmith brakes yesterday just because I had so much fun playing with Vic's! He's a bad influence!

Vic has always helped me in any way he can, he is very knowledgable and highly skilled.
I dunno about the dirtbag part though I'm not sure I understand the sentiment but I don't want to put too fine a point on it, I'm sure you will occasionaly run into an unsavory person or two but I have met a lot of good people on the board so far.
I will agree with you that people like Vic with all his knowledge and skill have a tendancy to attract a hotrodder or two.

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Vic has always helped me in any way he can, he is very knowledgable and highly skilled.
I dunno about the dirtbag part though I'm not sure I understand the sentiment but I don't want to put too fine a point on it, I'm sure you will occasionaly run into an unsavory person or two but I have met a lot of good people on the board so far.
I will agree with you that people like Vic with all his knowledge and skill have a tendancy to attract a hotrodder or two.

Vic is a fantastic guy who has been more than gracious in helping both me and my dad on several occasions. I meant no aspersion whatsoever. Believe it, I put myself at the head of the dirtbag hotrodder line. Perhaps a hotrodder day camp? Because if there's gonna be a field trip to Southpaw, I'm first on the bus! That guy's got skills!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Perhaps a hotrodder day camp? Because if there's gonna be a field trip to Southpaw, I'm first on the bus! That guy's got skills!

Amen to that! Maybe we can do a day trip down there this winter when it's too crappy outside to do much else.

[Vic1947]

I had every intention of gluing the roof on this weekend, even to the point I made a special trip to pick up the 3M applicator gun. Was not to be. After fishing the wires up thru the A-pillar, it dawned on me I'd neglected to order the a/v cable that feeds live or stored video to the 7" touchscreen I'll be installing in place of the original radio. Will see if they have one at Best Buy tonight, but if not, I'll order it from Amazon. When it arrives, I can continue on.

To fill the hole in the schedule, I worked on the map lights some more and got them fit into the opening to suit me. Also machined the little T-strip that fits in the gap between the lenses.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

I know, Vic oughta open up a home for wayward dirtbag hotrodders. My wife would drop me of and leave me. I was lookin' at Tennsmith brakes yesterday just because I had so much fun playing with Vic's! He's a bad influence!

Every once in a while my wife gets this look on her face that makes me think there's already one too many hotrodders in this house.

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Every once in a while my wife gets this look on her face that makes me think there's already one too many hotrodders in this house.

Boys, there's your Sig Line, right there.

[Low Elco]

Woo Woo! Roof install! I wanna see details on the dent work in the cab back, and pick up some pointers. That was a PITA on Yeller, but a good learning experience.

[Low Elco]

You know this is gonna turn out cooler than the Streak, just less shiny to deal with. I'm just sayin. Please continue, this is great!

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

You know this is gonna turn out cooler than the Streak, just less shiny to deal with. I'm just sayin. Please continue, this is great!

I agree and this one will be a strong candidate for TOTM when it's completed.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

You know this is gonna turn out cooler than the Streak, just less shiny to deal with. I'm just sayin. Please continue, this is great!

Originally Posted by Xeen

I agree and this one will be a strong candidate for TOTM when it's completed.

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys ...lots of blood, sweat and tears yet to come, though.