Tuesday, December 30, 2014

SHOP UPDATE: The 40 2 door is painted






Here is a progress report on a past project. This is Dick's 1940 Deluxe 2 door sedan. I built the chassis and body worked the main body.  A friend of Dick's in Helena painted all the parts. Dick is assembling it as we speak. What a beauty! I can't wait to see it on the road.

Monday, December 29, 2014

SHOP UPDATE: Finishing the chop on the 41














I'm back in the shop working on the 41. I am finishing up the chop on the doors and working over the door gaps. Quality control in 1941 was pretty relaxed. I have 3 40-41 Ford pickups and the door gaps on all 3 are terrible. They obviously weren't to concerned back in the 40s. Things are coming together nicely though. I should be final welding in the next day or so.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

NEW SHOP UPDATE: We are finishing up the new shop.









We are almost finished with the new shop. We worked through Christmas to get the bathroom sanded and painted. I have to sand the trim and get it painted, throw down some sweet tile and it is finished. We finished trimming all the panels in the main shop. And Susi is painting the storage area up top. I need to get the upper lights hung in the booth and we are all but done. I hope to have the heat up and running next week. Thanks for letting me bore everybody with the progress!

Saturday, December 20, 2014

NEW SHOP UPDATE: Weekend progress !!







We are getting really close to finishing " the booth". The bathroom sheet rock is hung and the first coat of mud and tape is finished. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Friday, December 12, 2014

NEW SHOP UPDATE: This evenings progress





I finished the South wall tonight and almost finished the North side. I started on the bathroom wall,
I had to order more J metal to trim the door. I will pick it up Monday. Looks like I am sheet rockin the bathroom interior this weekend. It is starting to get very bright inside. Should be good to work in.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

SHOP UPDATE: How to fix a sprung hinge on a 41 Ford pickup


 Here is a look at the bent lower door hinge. This is very common on old Fords. People tend to hyper extend these doors and damage the lower hinges.
 Here is the door skin removed to access the inner hinge support.
 You can see the upper rivet has been torn through the support allowing movement in the hinge.
 I am heating the hinge so I can straighten it.
 Here is the straightened hinge. I installed the door to check the alignment and made any adjustments needed.
 With the hinge right where I want it, I welded the hinge to the hinge support and installed the door again to check the fit.
 Here is the panel I removed. I hammered and dollied the panel and the bead back into shape.
 I welded some pins on the panel so I can lift the panel back into position and weld it in


This is the finished product after welding and grinding. Door fits great and the hinge is solid as a rock.