A big thanks to Bryan and Doug.

today my good friends Brian and Doug came by to help with the assembly.. all went relatively smoothly, and thanks to my neighbor DUKE I had some good supervision as well.

too busy to shoot photos during the process..

we started at 9am with this







and here it is at about noon in "supermockup"



the floor is still not complete.. BUT, in a previous life I worked for a chassis shop where we built pro streeters and race cars.. I spent a good deal of my time there cutting floors out to prepare for this type of "back half", so this process is similar.. next step will be to fill in the floor's etc..



Of course, my other supervisor, kept tabs on us through the process as well.

GIVING THANKS

Thanksgiving 2008,

I have a great deal to be thankful for.
a very understanding wife, and two great little girls..
a JOB (given the current economic situation)
and, I am thankful..

for simple things...



like ebay..

my friend jack sold this for 487.00



thanks to some dimensions he gave me, and his photo.. I started to make my own!




thanks jack! thanks ebay

IMPRESSIVE

A few quick photos of a part I made a few days ago..

this is the steel panel that mounts to the inside of the front doors, this panel covers and helps hold the window regulator in place..

I had found 1, but it was 200! plus shipping.. which was somewhat more than I was willing to pay for it..

I guess this one will work..

the process is akin to metal stamping.

I simply made the "dies" from plywood, maple and particle board.. and used MULTIPLE large C clamps to attach and squish the two halves of the dies to together.








Still working to trim and finalize this part of the project..

SUCCESS.. Hinges on these

After searching high and low for hinges for the recycled 40 ford woodie I finally decided to succumb to temptation and Modify the stock 1940 ford closed car hinges I have..

Fortunately, I only needed to modify the front door hinges.. as the rear door uses a piano hinge (the stock replacements have also eluded me.)

so a few hours of calculation, cutting.. welding

we're hinged..



ironically. I think that the fit of the front door is better than most stock woodies.. Additionally the action of the door (the opening / closing) is smoother than my convertible..

With one side complete I can remove the hinges and replicate the parts to the other side..

moving on!

SHIFTING into HIGH Gear!

My father has worked in manufacturing his entire life.. Ironically the majority of his employers manufactured products made from stainless steel. So his transition to his own "fabrication" shop has been by no mistake.

Given my fathers predisposition to stainless steel, and the stainless steel steering column I purchased for the Recycled 40 Ford woodie, I felt it only appropriate to make a shifter from the same material.

Having pilfered a piece of 3/4 stainless from Dads shop I set the tapering fixture on my lathe.. and went at it.

The result. A perfectly tapered stainless shifter handle, unlike any other in the world. For an additional touch of class I added a stainless knob that started its life as a drawer pull.


SHIFT!





the shifting mechanism.. was another "recycled" part.. as I had previously purchased a cable shifter from IDIDIT

with some minor modification. I now shift my auto trans.. via the column..