I'm back to the wonderful old pastime of working on my 1927 Model T Ford Roadster. It is just like old times: I walk into my drafty shop and start fiddling around with tools until I actually feel like I've fixed or built something. It's nice to feel close to being back in the car groove, even though I don't last as long as the pre-injury days! But I get a few precious hours every week to tinker with the clinkers (since the doctors still haven't released me to work). Pictures below show what I've been doing lately with the '27 jalopy.
The above picture shows my completed door panels on the pass. side. I finished the actual door-attached ones last winter, but the rear panels I did in October. Don't worry, the bottom seams are covered when a seat gets installed.
You can see my fiddling with the floor area and the shifter porch/ trans tunnel cover. I still haven't decided what I'm going to finish there.
Here's the rust zone on my driver's door. Both doors need lower patches, so I marked where the replacement panel will fit. I then grabbed some sheet steel (kind freebies from Creer Sheetmetal's scrap!!) and began trimming it to shape on my band saw. I originally made a paper pattern enabling me to trace the shape onto my sheet metal, leaving it long enough to be curved into proper shape and still fit the entire needed area. The piece got it's enjoyable run on my homemade English wheel, where I realized it isn't as easy as I thought it might be. Well, it wasn't that bad...
Speak of the devil, the above picture shows my homemade attempt at an English wheel! This is the tool I used to shape the vertical and horizontal curve of my door's patch panel. I made this baby from a foundation buck that I cut up and reinforced, as well as a trailer jack (adjuster) and a big clunky caster wheel (upper anvil). My friend's dad machined the caster wheel's surface flat, and I welded up this behemoth. It is a far cry from anything any reputable company makes, but it was a fun distraction involved with the old car obsession. And yes, if you're noticing my "reinforcements", the English wheel does flex. (Cough)... too much flex...
But I ended up with this, the lower door patch that will be welded in this weekend! After cutting it from my pattern I formed the curves on the wheel, test fit a million times, formed some more, and finally punched the overlap areas on the top end with my pneumatic tool. It actually fits well! And again, thanks to Creer Sheetmetal for hooking me up with nice pieces from the metal salvage bin. One of the main guys there has a beautiful '39 Ford Coupe that is stunning...Oh Boy!
I will cut the bad zone of each door soon, and make a mirror-image patch panel for the passenger door, too. It is fun, this old car stuff! And I like the idea of making stuff yourself!
The above picture shows my completed door panels on the pass. side. I finished the actual door-attached ones last winter, but the rear panels I did in October. Don't worry, the bottom seams are covered when a seat gets installed.You can see my fiddling with the floor area and the shifter porch/ trans tunnel cover. I still haven't decided what I'm going to finish there.
Here's the rust zone on my driver's door. Both doors need lower patches, so I marked where the replacement panel will fit. I then grabbed some sheet steel (kind freebies from Creer Sheetmetal's scrap!!) and began trimming it to shape on my band saw. I originally made a paper pattern enabling me to trace the shape onto my sheet metal, leaving it long enough to be curved into proper shape and still fit the entire needed area. The piece got it's enjoyable run on my homemade English wheel, where I realized it isn't as easy as I thought it might be. Well, it wasn't that bad...
Speak of the devil, the above picture shows my homemade attempt at an English wheel! This is the tool I used to shape the vertical and horizontal curve of my door's patch panel. I made this baby from a foundation buck that I cut up and reinforced, as well as a trailer jack (adjuster) and a big clunky caster wheel (upper anvil). My friend's dad machined the caster wheel's surface flat, and I welded up this behemoth. It is a far cry from anything any reputable company makes, but it was a fun distraction involved with the old car obsession. And yes, if you're noticing my "reinforcements", the English wheel does flex. (Cough)... too much flex...
But I ended up with this, the lower door patch that will be welded in this weekend! After cutting it from my pattern I formed the curves on the wheel, test fit a million times, formed some more, and finally punched the overlap areas on the top end with my pneumatic tool. It actually fits well! And again, thanks to Creer Sheetmetal for hooking me up with nice pieces from the metal salvage bin. One of the main guys there has a beautiful '39 Ford Coupe that is stunning...Oh Boy!I will cut the bad zone of each door soon, and make a mirror-image patch panel for the passenger door, too. It is fun, this old car stuff! And I like the idea of making stuff yourself!