Suedes Car Club

General => Project Reports => Topic started by: Eyeball on June 30, 2005 6:35 pm

Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on June 30, 2005 6:35 pm: Ross is just getting started on this one. Plans are for an updated OHV V8 (sounds like it will be a Pontiac) and a possible sub. Ross picked that car up a few weeks ago and has already tore into it. Here are a few pics of what he is starting with.

Ross will update us soon.
Title: RE: SKOFORD
Post by: Eyeball on July 14, 2005 8:13 pm: Update: A Pontiac 400ci backed by a THM400 has been secured for the shoebox. Ross is cleaning it up and removing the front clip of the car so the install can take place in the next few weeks.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on July 20, 2005 5:01 am: July 16th..... front clip removed and getting ready to pull the flathead and slide in the poncho.......
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on February 27, 2006 12:08 am: UPDATE!

Feb 26th

Well a fair amount of time has passed since the last update but plenty of work has been done. The motor is in and is ready to be fired. The front has been lowered by flipping the uprights and adding 1" blocks.

Today the rear was finished with the addition of an s10 rear and 3.5" dearched springs and 4" blocks. Ross pulled it off the jack stands and it fell right down to the snubbers.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on March 02, 2006 8:21 pm: I received a text message from Ross yesterday that the motor has been fired!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on May 17, 2006 3:39 am: Looks like Ross has the rear springs set. I know he had to play with re-arching the springs a few times after the SEVERE dearch that he did on them initially. Plus a cool looking chrome wheel and cap combo. I need to get the details from him on what the caps are for sure.

Ross also has switched to a point type distributor. The Edelbrock intake did not give enough clearance to use the HEI.

There are a few broken exhaust studs that need to be removed from the block yet and THEN the front clip will go back on and we can get some profile pics to see what the stance is.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on December 03, 2006 3:44 am: this car is currently on hiatus
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 19, 2009 6:20 pm: So are the pontiac motor mounts in this thing or is it back to stock??
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on October 19, 2009 9:21 pm: the frame mounts are welded in but 20 minutes and they could be gone for something else
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 19, 2009 11:49 pm: I might put one of those under-head valve gow-jobs in it.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on October 20, 2009 1:25 pm: Quote from: "pinstriper40"
I might put one of those under-head valve gow-jobs in it.

And then run the piss out of it!!! :P
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 20, 2009 3:09 pm: Quote from: "Tom"
Quote from: "pinstriper40"
I might put one of those under-head valve gow-jobs in it.

And then run the piss out of it!!! :P

No!!!!! I'll be going slow. I'll probably keep it under 45 mph just to make sure...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on October 20, 2009 3:34 pm: Quote from: "pinstriper40"
Quote from: "Tom"
Quote from: "pinstriper40"
I might put one of those under-head valve gow-jobs in it.

And then run the piss out of it!!! :P

No!!!!! I'll be going slow. I'll probably keep it under 45 mph just to make sure...

What???? Your never going to blow a head gasket doing 45 mph. :wink:
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on October 21, 2009 1:55 am: id leave it pink
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: camargma on October 21, 2009 4:29 am: I like the pink, very manly.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 21, 2009 5:03 am: I'll leave it pink for the rest of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 21, 2009 10:46 pm: So this is what I want it to look like eventually... but painted.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: 31Rodder on October 21, 2009 11:49 pm: I think I would leave it pink too. there aren't many like that out there.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 22, 2009 12:27 am: Ok, pink it is.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on October 22, 2009 3:30 am: Just think of the possibilities.....you can sell Mary Kay on the side! :lol:
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on October 22, 2009 3:55 am: Quick photoshop jobs for inspiration...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 22, 2009 4:06 am: You guys are all bastards...

But seriously I like the one with the little M.K. behind the front wheel.
sixinarow
:sign3:
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on October 22, 2009 4:10 am: I like the current pink, seriously. You need to touch it all up as best as possible once all the custom touches are done.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on October 22, 2009 4:32 am: coral not pink
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: camargma on October 22, 2009 5:56 am: thats cute.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on October 22, 2009 4:09 pm: Quote from: "pinstriper40"
So this is what I want it to look like eventually... but painted.

I really like this style but the color should be something other than black, I think. Straight cars with flat paint are just as nice as shiney ones but black is getting boring. Maybe........ pink! Just my .02
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on October 22, 2009 4:24 pm: purple
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 22, 2009 4:43 pm: I was thinking like an emerald green or a stock mid-fifties oldsmobile or cadillac color or something. The Root Beer Brown from Ryan's olds would look good too with some creme striping or something.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: racerjohnson on October 22, 2009 5:13 pm: What ever it is, you should save up 2500 bucks plus materials so Winfield will come out and shoot a fade. Gene would do pink for you in a flash.

OH, this guy said you should paint it pink too. He likes pink things.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: eberhama on October 22, 2009 5:25 pm: You should get the side/roof trim off of this old clunker :) and have it pink with a pearl white roof and cove.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v456/eberhama/PICS013.jpg)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on October 22, 2009 6:19 pm: Here are a few I have saved for reference. I, too, was thinking on a green. Hawthorne Green on top with a Galopigose (spelling) Green on bottom of '53 Buick side trim is what I am shooting for. Hawthorn Green a stock '50 Ford color, very dark like Emerald Green (last pic).
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on October 22, 2009 6:20 pm: Hawthorne Green is the first car, had them loaded backwards.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on October 22, 2009 6:29 pm: Here are a few more examples for your viewing pleasure.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on October 22, 2009 6:33 pm: Couple more.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on October 22, 2009 6:53 pm: Quote from: "eberhama"
You should get the side/roof trim off of this old clunker

Wow........looks like an old forgoten mild custom. Someone should save that one.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: eberhama on October 22, 2009 7:14 pm: Quote from: "Tom"
Wow........looks like an old forgoten mild custom. Someone should save that one.

Its a '50 Crestliner. All that trim is bone stock. It even still has the big $$$ steering wheel in it yet(no horn ring though :().
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Serious on October 23, 2009 3:43 am: holy shit a real live crestliner....
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on October 23, 2009 1:23 pm: Quote from: "eberhama"
Quote from: "Tom"
Wow........looks like an old forgoten mild custom. Someone should save that one.

Its a '50 Crestliner. All that trim is bone stock. It even still has the big $$$ steering wheel in it yet(no horn ring though :().

Yes now that you mention that I recognized the side trim, I just couldn't place what car that came from, that's why I was thinkin' it had been customized. That's has to be rare, I thought Crestliner started in `51 ??
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on October 23, 2009 1:54 pm: Here's a '50 and a '51. All that chrome was stock and even the vinyl top was standard. I think that was the first true vinyl top which was also on a Merc. model.

I remember a guy in Devils Lake had one in pristine shape and drove it to work every day into the '70s. I've always liked them.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on October 23, 2009 2:21 pm: There use to be one out at Al's I have a pic of it somewhere. I guess it could still be there.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on October 23, 2009 4:39 pm: Thanks Jake, there is a difference between the `50 and `51 side trim, something I did not know. I like the `50 the best., as for the vinyl top, not so much!!

Are thouse the right wheel covers?? I asume thery are, have never seen that style before.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on October 26, 2009 1:49 am: They're sharp looking cars, and i wouldn't mind one of those steering wheels, but I still like my pink one better!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on November 16, 2009 2:45 am: Here are a few pics of the shoe box making the trip from Ross' to Driven today.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 18, 2009 7:52 pm: The shoebox is already getting naked. I took out the back window last night and started grinding off the paint... There's lots of shiny sheetmetal under there! Pics up later tonight.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on November 18, 2009 11:17 pm: thats not rust repair
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 18, 2009 11:24 pm: Quote from: "sko_ford"
thats not rust repair

Rust repair will come next. The new rockers, etc.. will be done by the end of my Christmas break.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 20, 2009 2:29 am: The Pink Lady is getting Stripped... and some old-skool windshield removal. Let's just say I gave her the boot. It was fun!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on November 20, 2009 4:53 am: You must be in a creative writing class this year. :albino:

Nice progress!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 20, 2009 5:16 am: another shot... I'm done for the night.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on November 20, 2009 1:23 pm: At this rate you WILL be ready for the chop in March.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on November 20, 2009 4:28 pm: Body looks damn good! Your lucky yours was still covered with paint.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 20, 2009 5:18 pm: At this rate, I'll be ready for the chop in January. Both my car and Stephan's car will be getting a lot of attention over Christmas break. I hope to have the body completely stripped by Christmas, and then hopefully I'll have most of the metalwork done by the time school starts again in the middle of January. I am lucky the paint was still on it. This has been the first car I've stripped where I don't have to go through 1/16th inch of heavy surface rust to get to shiny metal. It's been a joy.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 21, 2009 12:58 am: Progress...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on November 21, 2009 1:39 am: I bet the shop is a mess with you in there. :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 21, 2009 1:42 am: It's pink... Brian's gonna either laugh or...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sko_ford on November 21, 2009 6:56 am: kick ya in the...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on November 21, 2009 3:33 pm: Good progress Joel. That should keep you busy for a while. :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 24, 2009 4:41 pm: The decklid had a factory recess for the license plate. I didn't want it there, so I cut out the backside of the decklid and started to fix it.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 25, 2009 8:44 pm: I started shaving the door handles today. Once I got the handles out I made a template, transferred that to metal, and welded it in. I also filled the door lock holes and the stock antenna hole. Now on to the other side!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on November 25, 2009 9:03 pm: Hey.......don't slam the doors with the windows up. :D ( yeah, I know the windshield is out.)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on November 25, 2009 9:18 pm: purdy....
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on November 25, 2009 10:17 pm: good stuff!! :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 25, 2009 11:53 pm: Thanks! I got the other side done too. It looks the same so I won't post pics... Now I just have to figure out how to open the doors... I'm leaning towards Lincoln style push buttons hidden somewhere either under the rockers or...? I'm putting door poppers on the rear bottom corner of each door and most likely in the decklid. I want the decklid to be void of handles as well. Next step will be rust repair :roll: and frenching the headlights.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on November 26, 2009 1:21 am: Why would you hide a Lincoln door button? You just need a push button switch to work the solenoids.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: racerjohnson on November 26, 2009 2:28 am: Chasing good ideas i see. Looks good.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on November 26, 2009 5:50 pm: Quote from: "Eyeball"
Why would you hide a Lincoln door button? You just need a push button switch to work the solenoids.

Good point. I'll cross that bridge when it comes. That's why I have club members- to tell me which buttons to push! 8)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: camargma on November 30, 2009 5:27 pm: awesome!!!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on December 04, 2009 3:31 pm: (http://www.palat.com.br/images/customs/sled5.jpg)

Stumbled across shoebox this morning...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on December 04, 2009 5:21 pm: Quote from: "sixinarow"
[Stumbled across shoebox this morning...

Nice..........a hardtop with SS all round. Wounder if the side windows are in??
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 04, 2009 7:23 pm: Quote from: "sixinarow"
(http://www.palat.com.br/images/customs/sled5.jpg)

Stumbled across shoebox this morning...

I'm 99% sure that's Andreas' in digital form. Same trim, hubcaps, headlights, etc... very cool.

I know Andreas' shoebox has working windows in it. I don't know if the rear windows are slide in or roll up. Mine will be slide in and the door windows will be the roll up style.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on December 04, 2009 8:11 pm: So you makin' a hard top out of it?? Yours is a 2 door sedan there calling this a club coupe which has a shorter top. Are the plans on yours to bring the top foward and fill in behind the rear window??
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 04, 2009 10:41 pm: Yes Tom that will be the plan. I believe on Andreas' example he moved the rear window forward 6-8". I have to ask him again. The top ends up having a very similar profile to that of the coupe. I guess you did the job well if others think you started out with a coupe.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 05, 2009 6:52 pm: I know it's a long ways off, but I'm already looking at custom grill(e) ideas for the shoebox. Ideally I'd like either a floater bar of some sort or a '55 desoto grill(e). Here are some ideas that are in my mind right now. The plain bar with the lights on the end is from a '55 chrysler. The other bar with the three small peaks is a '54 chevy accessory grill(e) guard. I could potentially see running either of these seperately or fuse them together.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 05, 2009 7:50 pm: Here's the Desoto grill. It's a little spendier than making a floater bar, but I really like the looks of it.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on December 07, 2009 6:31 pm: I don't know if they have been crushed, but there were a couple of the 54 Chevy accessory bars at Hazers this Summer/Fall on cars in front of the gate.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: AntiBling on December 07, 2009 9:09 pm: Last I saw of them was after he called and left a message for us to go get them, they were sitting in the dumpsters he was using to haul the cars over to the crusher. :(
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 12, 2009 4:08 am: I started to peak the hood today. I took Brian's suggestion and got some 1/4" square stock. I bent it tofit the contour the way I wanted it to and tack welded it in. I then welded from the square stock down onto the hood. I hope to make it super smooth with lead sometime in the future. Plans are to lead the headlights too.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on December 12, 2009 6:38 am: That looks like it worked good. Keep it up!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 12, 2009 6:56 am: I started on the trailing edge of the peak towards the middle of the hood... It got a little wavy but I don't think it's too bad. I'll have a couple spots to try and shrink out or something... I'll have to see how it all turns out before I mess with it too much.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on December 12, 2009 8:33 pm: Looks good! Saw your post on the HAMB and noticed you are looking for headlight frenching rings. I wanna french my headlights too. I looked for quite some time and a couple of weeks finally found a set of steel '52's but I came across these earlier on Egay. Little spendy but so are real '52-'53's. I got lucky and did some machining work for a guy in exchange for a chance to scrounge his junk pile. Anyway check out the link, might be an option. Keep up the good work. BTW: should be getting your steering column out next week or the week after for sure. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390122979848
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on December 12, 2009 8:36 pm: Just found these too: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KUSTOM-CUSTOM-1950-MERCURY-HEADLIGHT-FRENCHING-RINGS_W0QQitemZ290379548372QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439bf846d4
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 12, 2009 9:58 pm: Eyeball had pointed me to those as well- I think I'll go with them. Later on today I'm going to try and fix the hood. It might take a while. Anyone have a sponge they can lend me?
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on December 13, 2009 2:41 am: Keep it up Joel. :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on December 14, 2009 2:01 pm: I think I still have a set of headlight rings for frenching. I won't be able to check till this weekend.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 14, 2009 5:31 pm: Quote from: "JakesBackyard"
Keep it up Joel. :)

Thanks Jake, I will! Now that x-mas break is coming I'll get a lot done!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 14, 2009 5:32 pm: Quote from: "Tom"
I think I still have a set of headlight rings for frenching. I won't be able to check till this weekend.

Cool... are they like the ones flatheaded posted? If so I want them if they're available. If they're hagans you can keep them...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on December 14, 2009 5:48 pm: no, no, none of that hagans shit! These be genuine Ford.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 15, 2009 1:14 am: Ohhhh! I didn't think you'd have any of hagan's shit.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: racerjohnson on December 19, 2009 9:43 pm: http://www.streetmachineclub.com/Projects/Project.aspx?id=146536

nice car.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 19, 2009 9:46 pm: Pete- I like that a lot too.. I'm now second-guessing hardtopping it... I'm just not sure if I want to or not. As of late I've seen a lot of cool "b-pillared" sedans.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: racerjohnson on December 19, 2009 10:24 pm: Hard top it.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on December 19, 2009 10:46 pm: Well OK then. Hardtop it is. (fo' sho')
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on December 20, 2009 4:58 am: Shoebox Fords were meant to have forward slanting B pillars.....just my personal preference. :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: racerjohnson on December 20, 2009 11:17 am: moved post to separate thread.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Serious on December 20, 2009 11:04 pm: In My opinion, hardtopping it is not worth all the inherant issues., Body Rigidity, Door Strength, and then trying to get it all to seal with custom made stuff.

Im with Jake, Slant the posts, and be done with it. it looks better in my opinion anyways.

The only Hardtopped one i have ever really like is that Purple one that had the buick GS Roof Grafted onto it that was in rod and custom awhile back.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: eberhama on December 21, 2009 1:23 am: I know where theres a '51 vicky hardtop roof sitting in fargo, don't know who owns it or if its for sale, but its been sitting for a long long time. Hmmmmmm.....
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on December 21, 2009 4:08 am: Quote from: "eberhama"
I know where theres a '51 vicky hardtop roof sitting in fargo, don't know who owns it or if its for sale, but its been sitting for a long long time. Hmmmmmm.....

Go on..........
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 09, 2010 4:37 pm: I welded up the two-piece rockers supplied by skoford and they went in pretty well with a little modification. I ended up just cutting off the small tab on the bottom side and not bending it over again... I'll explain later.

They went together nicely and now they're in!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on January 09, 2010 5:25 pm: Glad it worked out.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: racerjohnson on January 09, 2010 7:55 pm: Looks good from here Joel!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 09, 2010 8:35 pm: Last night Brian introduced me to my new girlfriend Beverly. She's throatless, but still gets the job done. I love her!

On a side note, she made me my front fender patch panels and I got the driver's side rocker out- everything will be going in tomorrow.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on January 10, 2010 7:11 am: I got the HF version for Xmas and it really does kick ass! Great tool.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on January 11, 2010 1:51 pm: Quote from: "Eyeball"
I got the HF version for Xmas and it really does kick ass! Great tool.

I have been lookin' at that one too. They say it doss up to 16 ga. Have you used it on 16 yet??
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on January 11, 2010 2:41 pm: I will have to see if it was 16 or 18. It also cust paper very nice. :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on January 11, 2010 3:43 pm: We'd like a Beverly at school also. Might have to settle for a HF for now. Winfield even suggested a HF as working pretty well.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 20, 2010 4:23 am: The shoebox has been getting a little bit of attention lately. Besides putting the rockers in, I'm doing a little minor metal replacement, body work on the decklid, and a little bit of fun stuff... As stated before, my goal is to get all of the bodywork on the car done before we chop it. Hopefully this will make the job less overwhelming.

Back on topic...

Today I started frenching the headlights with the '52-'54 Ford headlight rings I got from Tom. They were just what I needed Tom, thank you! I will be putting a small peak in the fenders running from the headlight ring to where the fender peaks in an effort to mimic the hood.

I ended up using the stock '49 headlight buckets, but instead of switching tabs, welding nuts on the front side, or doing any of that monkey business, I decided to try to just screw them in from the backside using the stock screws. This worked pretty well, however there was a small gap between the stainless headlight retainer ring and the stainless headlight bezel. Not good. I then trimmed the 1/8" edge off of the headlight buckets and the small tab that originally was the mounting point for the screw that held in the original headlight trim ring. Still with me? Here are some pictures to help explain.

The first one shows the headlight bucket mounted in the fender. Note the screw coming out of the fender instead of going into it. The second photo shows the headlight bucket with 1/8" edge removed compared to the last photo on the right.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 20, 2010 4:29 am: And with the new headlight rings installed...

Still a lot of finish work to do to make them look right... It'll be a week or so before I'm happy with them.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: boristheblade on January 20, 2010 4:47 am: I like it, looks cute!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on January 20, 2010 1:48 pm: Quote from: "pinstriper40"

. They were just what I needed Tom, thank you! I will be putting a small peak in the fenders running from the headlight ring to where the fender peaks in an effort to mimic the hood.

I was wondering if you were going to use the peaks..........glad they worked out for you.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on January 20, 2010 5:51 pm: Cant wait to see the peaks completed, looks great!
On the Chevy I just welded screws a little longer than the stock ones from the front of the lip on the fender, with nuts on the back (will be switched to nylocks when is all said and done). Ill peep at yours when I get in the shop tonight
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Magnet on February 04, 2010 3:18 pm: Its lookin pretty tits! cant wait to see it in person. Ride height is dead balls on!

I think you should call it "Pinky Tuscadero" :-)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 06, 2010 7:51 pm: I know all of you except those that have seen the shoebox in person are eagerly awaiting the next chapter in this romance novel between myself and "sexy sadie" so here goes...

As promised, I've been working slowly but steadily on the headlight area. I decided I needed a peak to mimic the hood, so I used some 1/4" rod again for the basic structure. Once I found the basic line I was going for, I welded in the rod and shaped in some 18g filler panels on each side of the rod so I wouldn't have to use so much lead. I still ran out of lead.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 06, 2010 8:01 pm: The leading process is a funny one. Just getting the hang of it takes about ten minutes or so, and getting good at it takes much longer. RacerJ was the right hand man with this process, and once we figured out who should hold the paddle, torch, or lead, we had it made.* I had pre-tinned the sheetmetal in advance, so all we had to do was start adding the heavy stuff... After about a half hour or forty five minutes, this is what we were looking at. The Driver's side turned out to be a little smoother (we knew what we were doing by then) and although I've got things sort of roughed-in, i won't post up progress pics until tomorrow.

* The easiest way to divide the duties is to have one person man the lead and the other man the paddle and torch. It is much easier to control the heat and paddle it the way you want than to control the lead and explain how you want it shaped.... :)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on February 07, 2010 1:22 am: At-a-boy Joel. Coming along nicely.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 09, 2010 7:13 am: The headlights are starting to look right I think..

Here's a sneak peak for all of you curious cats out there in Koolsville...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: AntiBling on February 09, 2010 7:47 am: Lookin pretty swanky.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on February 09, 2010 1:31 pm: Hey Joel, What tip were you using to melt the lead. I have done some lead work in the past and itâ€™s a fine line between it sticking where you want and running on the floor. I hope you wearing a mask when you grind or file the lead and remember not to lick your fingers. :roll:
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on February 09, 2010 2:02 pm: Looks great Joel.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on February 09, 2010 3:35 pm: "Joel Speed Shop it" has been redefined! Nice work!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on February 09, 2010 3:38 pm: Yeah, leading turned out real nice on the headlights. I really like the peak you put on them. Are you gonna do the same on the seam on the rear quarters? I've been thinking on doing mine that way. Keep it up, man!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on February 09, 2010 3:51 pm: What tip were you using to melt the lead.

I bought one of these awhile back but haven't messed with it yet. http://www.eastwood.com/ew-body-soldering-diffuser-tip.html I, too, would be interested in what you used.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 09, 2010 4:32 pm: I'm just using one of those blue propane torch bottles. It works like a charm!
Flatheaded- I won't be putting a peak on the rear quarter, but i will be filling the seam with lead eventually.

Thanks for the compliments- I'm obviously still learning but it's nice to know i'm doing something right!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on February 09, 2010 4:38 pm: Quote from: "pinstriper40"
I'm just using one of those blue propane torch bottles. .

That's what I used. One of the guys at work had one with a hose, so you could set the bottle down and just had the handle and tip in your hand. I have never found one like that when I have been out and about. I'm going to have to check on line.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 25, 2010 5:15 pm: The headlights get a little more attention- I hope to be done with them this week. I still have to finish filing the underside.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on February 25, 2010 6:52 pm: Looking good Joel!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on February 26, 2010 3:33 am: Nice work! That must be Sadie's handy work with the picture machine.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 27, 2010 7:01 pm: Thanks again Jake! Maybe the shoebox can go to NDSCS with me in the fall for primer if that's Kosher?

Stefan- Sadie takes some nice shop pictures, doesn't she? Sure is nice to have a "documenter" around!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on March 20, 2010 2:55 am: Well, here are the last pictures before the chop... I've done a little work to the floor and put some patch panels below the taillights. Thanks to Stefan for the help assembling the front sheetmetal again.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: DeuceKustoms on March 20, 2010 4:32 am: Quote from: "Tom"
Quote from: "pinstriper40"
I'm just using one of those blue propane torch bottles. .

That's what I used. One of the guys at work had one with a hose, so you could set the bottle down and just had the handle and tip in your hand. I have never found one like that when I have been out and about. I'm going to have to check on line.

I saw one of those setups at Northern Tool last time I was there, look on their website.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on March 20, 2010 7:25 pm: It's certainly starting to look like something. Body work so far looks kick ass. Can't wait to see it on Saturday.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on March 22, 2010 1:44 pm: Quote from: "flatheaded"
Can't wait to see it on Saturday.

Great!! Your stopping by, I'll have a beer or two for ya.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on March 22, 2010 5:22 pm: Thanks Josh! I can barely contain myself.... 5 days!
Title: Sneaky Preview
Post by: pinstriper40 on March 22, 2010 9:38 pm: Yesterday was "spring cleaning" at the shop, and since the shop was so clean today, I didn't want to make a mess; I re-installed my headlights and took a few shots for shits and giggles...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on March 23, 2010 4:42 am: Holy Shit! I found a time machine!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on March 23, 2010 5:00 am: That's pretty much the gist of it folks, glad you helped out!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: DeuceKustoms on March 24, 2010 2:17 am: PhotoChop!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Ryan on March 27, 2010 1:51 am: Quote from: "sixinarow"
Holy Shit! I found a time machine!

Hey you forgot the chop the reflection:) Looks awesome...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on April 13, 2010 4:28 pm: How about an update. Todd and I stopped by on Saturday shop was open nobody home. Get the back buttoned up yet?
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on April 13, 2010 8:13 pm: Not yet... Brian and I have to get a weekend together to make the necessary panels. It'll get done in the next couple of weeks...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on April 18, 2010 5:14 pm: Here's a little update! Brian formed the driver's side sail panel yesterday. I trimmed it up and will be welding it in today! Thanks very much Brian!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on April 19, 2010 12:15 am: Very nice work. What's your plan with the doors? Where will you cut the frame off to leave it with the roof?
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Eyeball on April 19, 2010 4:43 am: That's some good lookin' metal work right there I tell ya what.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on April 21, 2010 4:44 am: Great work Brian! Keep at it P40(/49)!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on April 21, 2010 5:28 pm: Quote from: "JakesBackyard"
Very nice work. What's your plan with the doors? Where will you cut the frame off to leave it with the roof?

Jake- the doors will be cut at the bottom of the A pillar much like Buster Litton's car. That will be one of the next steps...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on April 25, 2010 4:00 am: Sexy Sadie got herself some teeth... I worked out a deal with guy from Kansas to get this beautiful '55 Desoto grille from him... One more step closer to being a "bellybutton" shoebox! :lol:
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: boristheblade on April 30, 2010 2:10 am: Don't you dare ruin that nice chop with that bucktooth hillbilly grill treatment that you posted earlier!

Sexy Sadie would turn into Mater's pregnant girlfriend in the next CARS movie.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on April 30, 2010 5:18 am: Quote from: "boristheblade"
Don't you dare ruin that nice chop with that bucktooth hillbilly grill treatment that you posted earlier!

Sexy Sadie would turn into Mater's pregnant girlfriend in the next CARS movie.

I'm looking into other options... Until then, you can build your shoebox the way you want to... I still think this is awesome!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: AntiBling on April 30, 2010 5:38 am: I concur with borris on this matter I still think it would be cool to have my own midget though
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on April 30, 2010 11:22 pm: Quote from: "pinstriper40"
Sexy Sadie got herself some teeth... I worked out a deal with guy from Kansas to get this beautiful '55 Desoto grille from him... One more step closer to being a "bellybutton" shoebox! :lol:

Lucky son-of-a .................. that one looks like a good one. I found one at the swap meet at last years BTT50's but had to pass on it cause I didn't have enough cash left. I'd like to do the same treatment to my shoebox but they seem to be getting scares. As far as I am concerned, nothing screams custom shoebox like a desoto grill.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Serious on May 01, 2010 10:24 pm: flatheaded, i have a pretty nice 55 Desoto Grille ..... we could probably work something out.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on May 03, 2010 2:39 am: Aaron- I didn't remember that you had one- I think you even mentioned it to me! Doh! Well anyway, I think I may have found a solution... Keep the 7 small teeth and mount it as a floater. I think it fits the bottom valance curvature well. Whattya think?

Flatheaded- I think you're right- a Desoto grille in a shoebox, to me anyway, screams "KUSTOM"!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on May 03, 2010 1:27 pm: Josh, I think Robbin's Uncle ( the one that works at the state ) has a Desoto with I think a Hemi. By the whole car for what you would pay for just the grill.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on May 07, 2010 4:54 pm: Here's a little bit of progress. The door tops are ready to weld to the body. The A pillar/door problem with angles and where it's cut and all that is fixed. This morning I taped up the "windows" for a hypothetical design. Taping the windows was a quick job and isn't perfect, so use your imagination. I'd like to get more done on saturday.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on May 07, 2010 5:12 pm: Whoops! I got back to my computer, started looking at the pictures, and realized I missed a few things...

Old School photoshop!
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on August 27, 2010 3:25 am: I stumbled across these trim ideas for the shoebox... I really haven't even thought about trim, and it will be a long time before I even think about changing the trim. But, as someone once said, "Damn if that don't look good!"... Opinions?
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: JakesBackyard on August 27, 2010 5:43 am: Quote from: "pinstriper40"
I stumbled across these trim ideas for the shoebox... I really haven't even thought about trim, and it will be a long time before I even think about changing the trim. But, as someone once said, "Damn if that don't look good!"... Opinions?

I'll stick my foot in....I like the concept, but I think the real thing is too thick of a moulding. Looks kind of bulky on the real car versus the rendering.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: flatheaded on August 27, 2010 4:16 pm: To be honest I kinda like the stock trim. Really simply and not too big like Jake said. Others that I am fond of are from '55-'56 Pontiac & shortened '59 Pontiac, '53 Buick (my favorite and on this years X-mas list), and '56 Chevrolet. One I came across not too long ago on the HAMB was the stock pieces off a '51 Ford but they replaced the piece right behind the door with a '57 Desoto down sweep and then continued with the wrap around pieces on the rear quarter and around the bottom of the trunk. I'll try and find some pics.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: tracywiedrich on August 27, 2010 4:57 pm: I had a older guy call me once for trim off a 55 chev fourdoor, he said years ago that was a real common choice for a shoebox, had to be fourdoor though...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on August 27, 2010 6:51 pm: I'll agree with you there Jake- the trim on the real car is about 1/2" too thick. I do like the pontiac trim on shoeboxes too... I'll stick with stock trim for now.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: sixinarow on August 31, 2010 6:13 pm: I love the 55 Chevy trim on shoeboxes.
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee254/designisgraphic/lee12x24.jpg)
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: DeuceKustoms on September 01, 2010 3:44 am: Quote from: "flatheaded"
To be honest I kinda like the stock trim. Really simply and not too big like Jake said. Others that I am fond of are from '55-'56 Pontiac & shortened '59 Pontiac, '53 Buick (my favorite and on this years X-mas list), and '56 Chevrolet. One I came across not too long ago on the HAMB was the stock pieces off a '51 Ford but they replaced the piece right behind the door with a '57 Desoto down sweep and then continued with the wrap around pieces on the rear quarter and around the bottom of the trunk. I'll try and find some pics.

I might know a guy with a set of 59 pontiac side trim for sale...
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on September 22, 2010 6:51 am: Nuthin' fancy today... just an update for those of you out there in Koolsville who happen to miss the shoebox. I put most of the car in primer just to stop the never-ceasing rustmonster that lives in the shop. Fergus Falls must have higher humidity than Fargo, because as soon as I brought the shoe here it flashed over fast.

I've been formulating a mercury style grille surround in my laboratory. The R&D process has been going slow but is almost complete, and the surround itself is about 2/3 done.

In other news, I mustered the courage to cut into the '55 Desoto grille today, and I'm happy to report the aesthetics have been improved. I took enough out of the middle to line it back up again- something like 5.5". I'm looking for a nice middle tooth that doesn't need to be rechromed. I'm willing to trade the broken one and pay some out of pocket Aaron, so let me know if you have one.

Well, that's that.
Title: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Serious on September 24, 2010 5:44 am: i am actually in need of a center tooth also joel.
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: boristheblade on January 27, 2011 9:27 pm: I do believe this thread needs updating.
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 02, 2011 3:06 pm: I would if I could but the shoebox hasn't gotten any attention since June- the thread that really needs to be updated is the '40 thread. I'll see if I can get on that...
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: tokyo on July 21, 2011 10:05 pm: This build is really well documented...for trim - there is soo much to look at and modify I would definitely wait on that. Nice desoto modification.

Are your plans to run a stock interior?
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 15, 2013 1:56 am: Quote from: tokyo on July 21, 2011 10:05 pm
This build is really well documented...for trim - there is soo much to look at and modify I would definitely wait on that. Nice desoto modification.

Are your plans to run a stock interior?
Thanks Tokyo! I will not be running a stock interior ;)
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 15, 2013 2:05 am: Ok, so last night I put together the taillight housing idea that I have had in my head for the last couple of weeks. In the end, it'll take just two bolts to install each taillight. No screws, no "proper alignment" issues... no B.S.

I wanted to be able to mount the taillights in through the trunk, without having any visible fasteners, but also to do it in a way that some Shadetree Engineer from the past would have done it. I came up with a simple "taillight tensioning" system that consists of three basic pieces. A backplate, a top plate, and a bottom plate. Eventually, the top and bottom plates will be welded to the body when I form the rear taillight sections. The backplate is designed to simply slide into place from the inside of the trunk, with the taillight lens.

First, I made the backplate. I just used 1/4" round rod in the shape of the taillight lens, but a bit bigger so it would seal nicely later on. This piece will eventually hold the pigtail and lights as well. I haven't gotten that far yet. I put a tab on the top and bottom of the backplate with a 5/16" nut welded to each tab. These nuts are the basis for my tensioning system. I simply put a bolt through each one, and tighten in down onto my top and bottom plate. This holds the taillight in.

Please refer to photos.
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Tom on January 15, 2013 1:44 pm: The lens.............. 54 Merc??
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Wowcars on January 15, 2013 2:05 pm: Looks well thought out. Nice job.
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on January 16, 2013 1:45 am: Yes Tom the lenses are '54 Merc. I was debating between them and '55 lincoln, but the '54 merc taillights are much more reasonably priced.

Thanks Ryan! I hope they're as functional as I plan for them to be.
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Fordman1 on January 21, 2013 9:22 pm: Really nice work so far. Interesting that most of the other cars posted in this thread I also have saved into a folder for Shoeboxes!
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 03, 2013 5:39 pm: Thank You! I think a good lookin' 'box is a good lookin' 'box...
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: Kustom Dallas on February 04, 2013 5:28 am: Toke
Title: Re: Pinstriper49's 49 Shoebox (Formerly SKOFORD'S)
Post by: pinstriper40 on February 22, 2013 6:10 pm: Anything constructive to say Dallas?