So much has been done since I last posted pics it's frickin' unreal. For those of you that saw the original rusted out POS of a SHELL body we started with, you are going to be amazed at the transition! The drivers side half of the roof, entire cowl section , quarter panel, and door sill areas have been replaced with original Henry steel(thank God for ebay) cause the body was found resting on its roof on the drivers side in a creek bed in Clarksville, Arkansas in 1986. The roofs been filled. The floor was replaced with a new Brookville unit for a 32 Roadster(they look better than the 3W ones). All the door structure had to be fab'd cause there wasn't ANYTHING there. All the wood structure was replaced with 1 inch square steel tubing. Real 3W hinges were found and installed. The top was chopped an additional 2 inches for a total of 5.5 inches in front and 4.5 inches in back and the posts were laid back 18 degrees. There's a pic from inside looking out the front windshield to give you an idea of what it's like to look out of a 4.5 inch windshield! The original firewall was modified ti fit the new 327/4-speed combo. The decklid was punched with 113 louvers, and the hood got 3 rows each for a total of 94 louvers. The bodywork is almost done. Just final block sanding and primer. Karl Skalnik of Skalnik Hot Rods is doing a Hellova job on her and says it MIGHT make it to the HAMB drags! It's going to be fitted for the aircraft seats next week so we can fit the Schroeder side-steering setup. I'm so stoked I can't sleep! More pics coming soon. Larry
Man that chop is wicked! Nothing like a healthy chop to give a coupe a mean, tough look. CAn't wait to see the finished product.
Sorry Paul. Karl says if I want to go to B-ville to take my truck. It's my own fault. It started out as just a simple rat-type build and... I guess I got carried away. I told him I wanted all the door, hood, and trunk gaps perfect. Then the steel structure. Then the body work nice enough to paint it black if I wanted etc, etc. Shoulda stuck with plan A. Larry
That's another sticking spot. The guy that's doing all the aircraft fab work has informed me that to design, engineer, and fab everything I want done to the coupe is going to take 6 months to a year to pull off with his schedule! So I decided to build a dry lakes car with a race car interior for now. All aluminum race car interior panels, etc. The WWII aircraft stuff will be done later. I want to drive the wheels off this sucker now, not wait for his schedule. Larry
Talk about progress! Man that car is looking great. Next time you're snappin' pics, get one of the BBQ sign in the background. I'm a sucker for 2'-4' neon signs. It wouldn't be for sale would it? JH
No problem Harrison. Next time I'm at the shop I'll get some pics of it. With Karl everything's for sale. He's got $$$ so I don't think he'd cow-kill you on the price. I'll let you know. Larry
Larry, Can you get me so close ups of the entire steel door mounting structures. I have a 34 3-W that is in need of this mans talent. That's quite funny how you found that bod in Clarksville, AR. My best friend & his family left So-Cal to move there in 1978 and everytime I'd hear from him I'd tell him to be on the look out for some old tin. I guess that you beat him to it.
No problem Kevin. I've got to go back to get some pics of that BBQ neon sign for Harrison, so I'll just kill two birds with one stone. I can't say enough about Skalnik Hot Rods. The man is 68 years old and all of his buildings/property/equipment is already paid for, so he has very little overhead costs. He has the most amazing fabricator (Bill) that does an unreal amount of work in a very short time. AND THEY ONLY CHARGE $30.00/HOUR SHOP RATE!!!! Unreal! Karl is real laid back and doesn't advertise. His quality and word of mouth gets him all the work he can handle. Honest guys, if you remember the POS gutted shell we started with 4 months ago, you'll appreciate these guys talent. Larry
The pic is too big to post. Can I e-mail this pic to one of you to resize it for me and post it here? Thanks. Larry
C'mon guys. I need someone to post this pic of what the coupe looked like when we started on it. Can someone help me please? Thanks. Larry
The best thing about a POS body is that it doesn't matter what you do to it! I absolutely LOVE that chop, MAN what a look. Send me the pics, I'll resize and post 'em. Danny [email protected]
Thanks alot Danny. CathyH told me to send her the pic to resize. If she has any problems with it, I'll send it to you. I really appreciate all the help. And thanks for the kind words. I can't take any credit for the build. All I do is chase parts and yell: "Work faster damnit!!" alot. Larry
Thanks Cathy. You're the greatest. What you probably can't see in the pic is the amount of rust-thru holes from the cowl light up to the A pillar. Also the major rust in the drivers door sill and major cancer in the drivers side roof section and quarter panel. It's fixed with fresh? old Henry Ford parts now and is as good as new. Karl said I should have named her "Swiss Miss" cause of all the swiss cheese holes in her! I really believe that all 3W coupes should be saved, no matter the condition or the cost of restoration. They ain't makin' 'em anymore. (repro doesn't count). I don't mind telling you when I saw it's condition after sandblasting to bare metal, my heart sank. I thought: " What the HELL have I gotten myself into?" But I am SOOO glad I did this. It has been a labor of love. You guys understand. Larry
that chop is out of this world...a little slit to look out through.. Nice work...way to save it from the elements...
The Jalopy Journal
