New guy. No hearse, but always have my eyes open for the right one.

[Psychoholic]

This is one of my favorite build threads on the HAMB - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=239775

(and this guy is just amazing - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=378992 )

[Guest]

i can't fathom how much a project like that must have cost.

[pyro]

As always. 99.5 of folks in here will sell you a car or parts fair N square. Inquire within, to find out who the .5% A-hole is.

[Otto Baron]

If you don't mind working with something older than 1950, there's a 1947 LaSalle that might still be available in Georgia. No doubt you can possibly find a hearse, where all the things you don't want have already been removed, as your starting point.

[chestypuller]

Thanks much - I appreciate it. Here's some more metal work for you.

This was doing the bumper on the Elky.
Factory fit.


Cutting them apart.

My fit.


not only did I remove width and reangle, I also added a filler piece in to shape it to match the body lines. You can see it welded in, in this picture.

After metal finishing. Still had some futher work to do (polishing mainly) before I shipped them off to chrome. But they then got shipped off and rechromed and turned out freaking sweet. I'll have to find all the final finished pics of that one. Turned out pretty decent.

Sectioning a '70 C10 hood. (see a pattern? I pretty much slightly tweak & rework every panel, on everything I do. )



Skip forward.


And then..

All loaded up on the trailer behind my daily driver.


I TIG most of my stuff. Typically use ER70-S6 filler rod. It leaves a very nice and malleable bead.


Doing yet another hood.








Leaves very little final cleanup work when you do the metal work right, weld it the right way and know how to metal finish them off. Time consuming, but well worth the process, imo.

I've got tons and tons more..but I feel like I'm probably boring most people. So, I'll leave it at that. Thanks again for the welcome.

what do you do to the back sides of your welds? do you just leave them like they are or do you grind down the backsides and clean prep and paint them too?

[garyc]

Thanks guys.

They do focus on the garages mostly and some of the cats with big dollars do own shops that are just jaw droppingly awesome but there is also a lot of fabrication and such that they discuss too. I have yet to tire of seeing tig welds that look like a roll of nickels slid over on its side. A lot of the time there is talk over old lathes and what not which can lead to some pretty wild DIY solutions. I really like the forum and seeing the fab work that some of the guys do but haven't had much time to post there this past year. You might like it, it is a different crowd from the hamb. I don't post on the hamb at all but I do enjoy seeing all the rides those guys have.

Sounds pretty cool, thanks for the heads up. I'll have to check out the forum for sure. Sounds like my kind of place.

I for one never tire of seeing someone with some skill working. You'll find that this forum is rather unique amongst most car forums - we let drama play itself out, we aren't sticklers for subjects (ala - there is really only so much hearse talk you can have), and most are just straight up car people who are into whatever. You could post a thousand pictures of your fabrication and the only thing I'd get bored with is my own lack of skill on the subject.

LOL, sounds good. And I'll definitely keep posting them as I dig the pictures out of their digital black holes on my computer. Seems like a pretty nice & laid back forum for sure. That's a big part of why I registered. From digging around and browsing on and off over the past couple years everybody seems pretty easy going for the most part, and there are a lot of neat projects going on as well, which I like.

Love the Elky!, and the 348/409!
I'm a 58 Chevy guy when I ain't hearsin'!

Thanks much, appreciate it! Gotta love the W motors - just not the cost associated with such. Crazy expensive to build, but they're so dang cool! Any pics of your '58? Those are pretty slick cars too - always wanted one, ever since seeing Toad cruising with Debbie in the white '58 in American Graffiti.

Awesome thread! I love threads that contain cool metal work. When i go across it again, I'll show this really cool thread off the HAMB about a full on Kustom 61 Cadillac. Like.. Full on. I use to have a 60 Bel Air a while ago now, 60/59 Chevy Quarters seem to be the devil when it comes to cars, haha. Oh yeah, Welcome to the forum too!

Thank you much and that sounds like an awesome thread. Love to see it if you come across it again. And yup - the quarters on the '59/60 love to rot and are impossible to find. Shame too, as they're such awesome cars.

This is one of my favorite build threads on the HAMB - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=239775

(and this guy is just amazing - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=378992 )

That Weesner truck is *amazing*. He's building another one right now, off another print - this time a '53ish I want to say. Pearl white, chopped. This one too should / will be nothing short of amazing once it's done! I'll have to see if I can't scrounge up the link somewhere and toss it up here.

what do you do to the back sides of your welds? do you just leave them like they are or do you grind down the backsides and clean prep and paint them too?

They get finished off, just as nice as the top side. Only shot I have handy, but you can see how everything gets finished off. Still needed to be wetsanded and buffed as that was right after I got done spraying it & bolting the latch mechanism back in, but it shows the level of detail throughout. That's the right way to do it, and imo, the only way to do it. Backside should be just as nice as the top. Anything less is a sin on a build like that.



I even had to cut down and rework the front & rear inner braces along with the hood latch assembly in order for the skin to drop down the full amount. That was tricky... in trying to keep the stock appearance but have everything work like it should.

[Psychoholic]

Aight Gary, you've got to stick around now. You've inspired me to do all of the needed metal work on my car myself and I'll be seeking your wisdom (and the rest of the forum too, but you're on the hook with me.) =)

[chestypuller]

how do you get behind all the brackets and such? you cut them out and reweld them in or something? man thats some nice work!