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My "What Rod"

68K views 270 replies 42 participants last post by  Moggy Paul 
#1 · (Edited)


In the process of being remodelled.

350 Chev powered.

Have I lost my mind, YES and I love it!!!!!!!!!
 
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#79 ·
where did the last few months go??????
Well... Got married, and still moving 15 tons of soil left over from the drive, which had been resting on and around the garage walls. Not turning the run down garage into a real man cave.
Painted 90% of the walls and going to do the inside of the roof this afternoon.
Not sure who put all the junk of the racking... So have to clear all that off and try to break that man instinct of keeping complete rubbish on the shelves, will have to be blindfolded when I put it all in bin bags.

Hopefully tomorrow I will start on the whot rod again.
I say with a heavy heart not sure if Surrey wheels day will be possible.

Plan to sell all the bits and pieces that I have not used, along with my motorhome.
This should allow for funds to get the front spindles, primer, paint and bits and pieces needed to get it on the road.

My heart is with you all struggling to get the rods out for the season, it is this years life ambition and dream.

I am now estimating April at the latest please..............................
 
#80 ·
What a day yesterday,
decided to give the garage roof on the inside a coat of paint thinking it would take an hour or two, well what a numpty.
I was brushing the roof down removing the dregs of the ivy which had taken over the garage in then past few years, before we had bought the place, then covering the paint thirsty inside roof section by section, this started at 3pm and I finished at 8pm and have only done a quarter of the roof.
As the garage looks better and better I have become OCD and noticed tat the old ivy is still between the garage panels and therefore I have gaps, so this too needs rectifying.
So today it will be part two of the inside garage saga, along with the removal of the remaining ivy left on the outside.

My goal is to make the garage the best mancave environment, even my good lady is enjoying the garage now as it is becoming cleaner and warmer.
Thank heaven I used the ivy killer a few months ago as it is a lot easier now to prise the remnants of the walls now.

Happy days in the garage.....
 
#81 ·
Keep going mate!! 'Tis hard work, but will be worth it. Can you use expanding foam in the corners between the walls and roof for speed and simplicity? Save filling properly!

Where in Surrey are you Bud?
 
#82 · (Edited)
Hi Mark,
Thanks mate.
I have bought some pre-formed polystyrene to go between the corrugated roof and the flat topped wall which has bridges the gaps there with some extra foam strips underneath.
On the bigger gaps I have used some rock wool glass insulation.
I have the fascia to replace now as the wood is dried and rotten.
The garage now is 70% done and looks good for now.
I am near Tolworth mate.
 
#83 ·
A really true quote you made earlier in your post...
" The Hot Rodders and drag racing fraternity have the ability to drive and motivate you even when you are having a shitty day."
the guys on this site helped me survive months of treatment for throat cancer i was going through...texts and messages just help you get through the days...im keeping much better now..thats me been up n about for over a year now...and restoring a minor myself...[ my 17th minor...ADDICTION ]
Im hoping to have it ready for the shows this year...though i wonder if im quite ready...

im lovin your build...i used TR6 steels on my scimitar based rod...they have that "wide" wheel look,but are only 6"wide...i think they quite look the part...might suit yours too...165sx15 front with 31"BFG truck radials on the rear...same width wheels,back and front...



cheers...big al
 
#84 ·
HI Al,
Looking good mate. I am glad you are coming through, all the best....
Hot rodding is a tonic and gives you the lift. Plus it is one of the biggest buzzes I have ever had. You are well and truly addicted to the moggies mate.
The first car I ever had was a moggy and this one has taken me full circle.
I have had a problem with the wheels as the stud pattern is mad, it's 4x114.3 which is very limited.
What I have done is have some wheel spacer/adapters made out of aircraft grade alloy. This was not good enough for me so then I had them rear faced and threaded so the new studs fit from the rear and are bonded in. they are adapted to Ford 4 stud pattern so now I have got some of the centre line looking wheels with the holes in.
I have not put them on the car yet as I need tyres for them, so still running the scimitar composite wheels, steel and alloy.

I will post pics soon when I get the new spindles and tyres.

It is great Al that this community can keep others going, love that part of hot rodding.

Thanks for your comments Take care Al

regards
Andy
 
#86 ·
Thanks mark

Second day today of refurbishing the garage fascia which was totally rotten, now extremely over engineered metal frame, clad in steel sheet. Final fettling today.

On the Rod note, have now got the high build primer and the most gorgeous topcoat paint in my possession.
This day is the last day before descending from the garage eaves to the car below.

Just need spindles and tyres now.
 
#87 ·
Had a good day on the rod yesterday, managing to get the door hinge area primed along with the pillar.
I then decided to flatten part of the dash panel for blemishes.
I am very pleased with the progress as you can see clearly the little niggly areas you have missed.
Now half the dash is primed also.
Got onto the nosecone now and it is a mission getting all the black paint off, who needs the gym when you can spend three hours at a time sanding.
It is a major step forward as again I can see a big step forward.
Will be sanding and painting this afternoon.

One issue that has come to light is that the front of the nose cone sits too low. I am going to set the target for making a new mounting mechanism this afternoon.

Happy building all.
 
#88 ·
What have I been up to,
more designs now and major steps forward. Dash now primed and sprayed. The door pillars sprayed and the drivers door sprayed on the forward edge ready for fitting.
The nose cone was a drama as I could not remount the brackets as the doors need to be on to align the wing edges.

Now I have taken the radiator out to mount the nose cone brackets. This has given me the golden opportunity to make a radiator shroud which is now in progress. No need to ask it will be in alloy and rivets will be the feature. I will post some pics soon. I have not come up with a design for the shroud cut outs yet will hopefully have a moment of inspiration as I am hoping to spray the rad' and then mount the panels this week, crossed fingers.

Will post the stages of manufacture.
 
#90 ·
I am afraid not...:sniff:
But am on in almost every day now.
Got the Rad off for nosecone brackets.
The inside now painted so hopefully headlining and trim in today... very crossed fingers, seats in in tomorrow, drivers door and electrics again Sunday.

Still have to mic' up the spindles and get some tyres in order to change the wheels over.

But working pretty hard at it now.
 
#91 ·
Latest Update,

I have spent every hour god sent this weekend and will be using break and lunch times at work to get the Whot rod done.

The interior is pretty much done for now, and can be fettled next winter. I put the drivers door on yesterday and will be getting the passenger one ready and fitted today. Then I can finish lining the nosecone up and welding new brackets for it. once this is done I can get the rad' back in, although I am making an aluminium rad shroud at work to finish the detail there.

Then finish the electrics which should not take too long, just have to make sense of my own diagrams. Make and fit new polycarbonate front windows.

The the biggest hurdle is to get new front axle spindles and rebuild the stubs, fit the new wheel adapters and get some tyres and fit the new wheels.

Not a problem...............oh I forgot one detail, respray the rod, hmmmmmmmm, well I think that will be the easiest part to be honest as I love doing the body work.

The garage is more insulated now but still lots to do, however I am pleased there is no howling gale through it now and the temperatures are soaring just above freezing.

I have many layers of clothing on but can just move my arms still. I knew hot rodding was fun.

Happy Building.
 
#92 ·
Well how did I do?
The drivers door s fitted and closes nicely. Passenger door has had the door card surround finished and is now on the car, however the door aperture needs sanding to allow for a good fit to open and close it, also have to make some hinge spacers for the lower part of the hinge to get the gaps the best I can.

Stripped half the roof paint off, that was a bonus.

Today I made the radiator surround and I think it looks good, will post some pics probably at the weekend. Will make the shims tomorrow.

This weekend I hope to get the door to fit and get the nosecone brackets welded, fit the radiator, maybe a little more if I can will see.
 
#94 ·
I know it is a mission and I will get there, hopefully without going completely mad....The fibre glass doors too are not the best unless the moulds are top quality.

It is lovely to finally get doors that close properly. This week will see the end to doors which try to drag you out of the car when driving.

The radiator shroud is now fully built and I must say I am over the moon with it.
 
#97 ·
The latest Update is so:

Firstly Woz there were major problems with the door posts and I have now rectified them after hours of cutting moving and re-welding.

The radiator was out so I decided to tidy it up with a new shroud instead of the metal bar which was connecting the fan to the radiator mounting.



Now I had to make a trusty template and start metal crafting. I used to just try measurements and then do a lot by eye, this works but now it is so much easier just a bit of cardboard and transfer everything over onto the metal.



Now the template is together I transferred all the measurements and shapes onto the sheet.



Then came the multi-section build which came about because I wanted the assembly to wrap around the radiator more. I am sorry I did not take any more pictures of the steps of assembly.

But the finished article looks like this, well when I took this pic I had just rubbed an area of paint of the roof of the car so it is a shade dusty.



Now I have the drivers door which closes sweetly, the passenger door which fits and closes well but needs some cosmetics as I had to slice through the window surround also to get it to look the best it can with gaps.

So very happy that the doors are on the car now.

I have stripped a lot of paint off the roof and am doing so on the rest of the body, bit-by-bit.

I will be welding the nosecone brackets on next, which will mean I can then rebuild the front of the car and fit the radiator.

I am pretty happy with the progress this week and will be setting the targets for next week too.
 
#108 ·
i may be wrong, but im thinking you have lost a lot of surface area over the rad by boxing it in like that ... if the fan was on the rear,the boxing would help the fan draw air through... but on the front, air will be prevented from passing over the full width of the rad when driving only being able to cool the circular fan area!

as i say i may be wrong

ian
 
#100 ·
OK so the doors and the surrounding bodywork is taking a little longer but they will all be worth it.

I have got the doors to fit the best I can and the body is being blended now with all the welding done.

What a job getting all the old paint off the body, so much clogged sandpaper, now using a coarse file to get through the top layer its like a layer of plastic.

Decided that the rear lights have to be fettled as I am not pleased with the way they look, all for the good.

Have spent hours getting the motor home ready for sale, a little more time and it will be on the market.

Keep looking at the hot rod timetable and trying to get the car ready.

Will be measuring spindles next week and pricing new tyres up.

Getting very exciting now as the big jobs start to get tackled. So pleased the doors are not far off though this was one of the jobs I had been dreading for so long.

Happy building all.
 
#101 ·
Ok right,
spent many hours on the rod and it is moving forward as I am setting big goals.
Have stripped over a half of the car back down to primer and metal in places. Have some work to do making good in places, but I love this work just need some good music and plenty of time in the man cave.

Have welded on the flip front brackets, just need to take it off and weld the inside of it too.
The stub axles are nearly finished I have just got to wait for some parts from Graham Walkers for the Scimitar front suspension.

So very pleased this weekend. I need to look at tyres and sizes next week as I am moving from 14" wheels to 15" and need to convert the tyres sizes for the fit in the spaces, arches and turning circle etc.

I have been using an online tyre calculator which is great so will look into getting them very soon.
I hope to get the car primed by the end of next week, so targets are this and fast.
 
#102 ·
Andy you're doing a brilliant job mate. On the paint stripping front I've found that one of those twisted knot wire cup brushes mounted in an angle grinder is great. Strips the paint a treat without gouging the metal they also last heaps longer than sandpaper.

Keep up the good work.

How long before you will be "finished".

Jon
 
#103 ·
HI Jon,
thanks mate. I would love to use the twisted knot wire brushes they are fantastic however, being that my whot rod is such a mixture of materials with a large percentage of glass fibre I can't. So unfortunately it is mostly by hand or sander.

I have been using wet and dry grade 60 paper and this is good but still clogs.

As for finish, I would love to have it ready for the road by the end of the month. I have to get tyres next which is the last real hurdle, that is with the purse strings. If we manage to sell the motorhome we will be out definitely next month.

as far as work on it goes,this week will take it forward a long way. I will hope to work my fingers to the bone this week and have all the paint off, hopefully by Saturday, then on Sunday primer will be on the cards.

I see many rods around me taking to the road and I am just working as hard as possible.

Hope everyone out there is meeting their targets and will be out soon.
 
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