We started this project for a the Syracuse Nationals Back Yard Build off this year, until we were removed from the competition and given a two car showcase in the Ol’ Skool area of the show. The idea was a low budget, bagged rat with loads of one off work. Jump to now and a couple months from when we built the frame the car is getting wired and plumped. Interior sheet metal work is being done and we already can’t wait for spring to be over to take it for a spin.
Where it all began on in mid December. 2x4 rails, Z’d front and rear, plasma cut front rails, we use a drop mount and 4" drop spring behind straight axle setup with friction shocks up front to get it in the weeds and late chevy hardware for brakes/spindles/steering arms. Rear end out of is a bag behind axle setup linked with a panhard bar. Wanted the suspension as simple and tucked in to give room to hide air management underfloor. Steering will be traditional through cowl using a reversed corvair box and a handbuilt steering column setup. Air management is a bar bones 3 gallon tank, single viair compressor, airlift 2600 Dominator bags, and a dual valve setup.
Moved on to setting the mockup 350 into the frame with a th350. Friction shocks mounted and plated. Took an Oldsmobile grill shell and chopped it 4" narrowed it 3" and built a custom bottom and bead roller the leading edge to match the 30 style Ford radiator that we run. Made a quick sheet metal insert with some dimples and spades to go along with Jason’s logo. Then mounted up the turbos and made some simple pipes out the frame with some nice slash cut tips. All stainless 2.5" tube, 3" tips made with tight radius u bends.
Made a mount for the radiator/grill and started to mock up charge piping. Charge piping is 2.5" tube into a set of transition cones that we flipped in and set into the intake. Started to lay out some of the oil lines as well for mockup. Dump tubes received the same large slash cut and have already caused some close calls when working under the car. Rather sharp edges looking you in the face when you roll out on a creeper. Got it all set and finished up the air tank/compressor mount, and put all the goodies on to make it a roller. Wheels and tires are just rollers for now. 16" original ford wires will be used and will be great for never hooking up and producing burnouts.
Next we used some 40s chevy truck headlights and built some domed mounts for them to mount off the frame rails. We wanted the headlights to stay low and have lots of movement to them so the late chevy truck headlights did the trick. Used up an old brass fire extinguisher as a catch can as well. Then we got in the Chevy Performance 350 crate motor and starting to mock everything back up into the frame.
Starting to bolt on all of our accessories and plumb some of the lines on the motor. Got everything in place and started to get ready to place the body over the rails.
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To this point we started to remove all the wood skeleton and replace it all with new metal. When I get home tonight I will post up some more of the progress we have up to date. At this point we are 2 months into the build.
[COLOR=silver][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -
[/COLOR]Custom sheet metal work is what we are passionate about as well. There will be lots of bead rolled detail all over this thing when it rolls out for the first time. We have two full builds going now, as well as a audi airride job. I will try and get up the build for our 33 chevy two door as well for you guys to take a look over.[/SIZE]
So many past projects have gone by without any pictures so now I kind of go overkill. From this point we squared up the body with some temporary braces and centered it to the frame. Started to remove and replace all of the wood substructure using 1"x1" for the main runs and 2"x1" for the pillars. After two nights we had a pile of wood, nails, and screws and a new structured body to work off. Got the back body mounts all made up and took the doors off to frame them out. We also got the “large” center console mocked up. The idea is to have a fighter jet feel and to make the seating feel like you are sunken into the car. Seating will be some aluminum bomber style seats with inlayed cushions. Hosts of aircraft gauges and pieces will consume most of the console and dash area as well as overhead. Anyways on to some progress pictures.
Some more. We were able to reuse the oem door insert and latches. Had some NOS outside handles with the car to that we threw on. All in all it was more of a project to learn how to use our new tubing roller. We ran around 150 ft of 1" square and rolled at least half of that. Taught us how tight we can get with our radiuses with the machine and opened up new possibilities for us. Set us up well for running our floors and interior sheet metal.
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Yeah mostly on shift, but haven’t posted up on the site much lately. Once we got the car set up to the a pillars we started to mess with some of the interior/floor work. Every panel will be hit with some beadrolling mostly with a inlayed or exposed tuck and roll type look. The door panels and center console top will be made of aluminum and will have some spades through out which is jason’s “rodz by ludwin” garage logo. The idea for the door panels was a pinstripped type look to the spades and for the most part came out good. Couple lines I am not real happy with but its in metal and riveted to the car now. It is still a “rat” also. Most of the bead work was done with some new die sets mike “KrazyKid” on shift spun down for me on our new lathe. A mix of step dies and tipping wheels we made up so it gave me some practice with the new die sets. Here is what we have so far. Seats are just sat in for sizing. They will end up with an aluminum surround and inset with some beads and dimple die work. Also started on the roof center console as well. That almost takes us to where we are now with the project. We are waiting on the steering box to continue from the dash forward sheet metal and bracing wise. Also waiting on the carb to show up with our fuel system so we can finish running all the lines.
You’re doing the build thread wrong, you’re supposed to post about your plans for three months, buy a part, take 567 images of it and a disassembled engine bay in a dark one-car garage, then update the thread a year later with the part installed and talk about “as soon as I add the heads / turbo / bags / megasquirt / insertparthere”
lol - dude this thing is incredible. Pretty much a from-scratch build. I love the grillwork and the rolled 1" sq tubing. Looking mint :tup:
Thanks guys. This one is the first time we really messed with dimple die work and we built up our bead roller and put a motor on it so we have been pushing using it as much as possible. Being one of our own cars and not a customers we are trying to get a better understanding of some of our tools and being able to adapt them to what we do. This is the third “rat” we have built in the past year and they are starting to be alot of fun. There is so much room for creative stuff rather than just the mainstream hot rod builds. Don’t get me wrong we love the finished rods just as much and enjoy working on them to. In fact we have a 55 chevy getting some love right now at the body shop waiting to send it back to us. It has all new floors on up and has a fatman fab frame under it with a LSX. All high end everything in that one and its jut as fun to build as these rats are. If its old, low, and loud we are all in with it.
Isn’t that the truth. Honestly I have made that mistake in the past and I can admit it wasn’t the right approach to showing off your work. When you are not working on the project full time, or have the luxury of building it on your “lunch break” at your day job things take forever to materialize. It’s very easy to talk about a project you intend on doing but never do, or worse get knee deep half way through and its never completed. Sometimes it lack of motivation, a hole in your pocket and the money falls out of without you knowing it or simply things change in life.
I crushed my dream, literally, this past year. The shift guys know what I am talking about. I talked up a RWD MK4 Jetta project, started with a built big turbo 1.8t, adapter to a glide, for 8.8… then changed it to a lsx, then lost interest, ran out of money, and started our business. It sat behind the shop. I parted it out. Took the lashing and heat from the community for not getting it done, saying I never finish anything, etc. Then I took a leap forward. Sent whats left of a MINT 2004 GLS shell with 67kmi to the crusher for $200! The biggest swallow of pride ever. BUT. We learned from our mistakes and are progressing our new shop in a direction my brother (dragndoor) and I want to take it. So now it’s time for a little redemption in 2014!
From myself and CRC, we thank you for a warm welcoming into your new (to us) build list. Personally I am going to strive to make a sticky thread or 5 on the page in the next year or so. I already spent 2 days at work sifting through the threads here. It’s like a new light at the end of the tunnel with this site merger. Thank you all again. Mike
Some of the other projects we have going that I will make some build threads for as well just to throw them out here for now. 33 Chevy is mine, its a frame up build on air, chopped, channeled, suicide doors, sbc, ect. The 55 chevy thats off to get the body squared away and painted. A 36 Ford pickup a customer picked up at an estate sale. Its coming in sometime around late april / early May. Getting bagged, channeled, and either a stroker or flathead is going in it. There may also be a big block model T coupe laying around, and some other stuff collecting dust until our new garage goes up next year.
We were able to button up the steering setup the other night and put on the roof panel as well as fabricate up the rear view mirror. Steering is a reverse corvair box with extended shaft, made a simple pitman arm, and handbuilt column. Roof insert we bead rolled to match some of the ribbed profiles on the valve covers and intake and dimple die’d to match. Formed up a sheet metal box for the 7" lcd screen and ran the backup camera on ignition to act as the rearview mirror. Small back windows hard to see out of and the back windows will be paneled so we figured this would be our best bet for seeing out the back.
I already spent 2 days at work sifting through the threads here. It’s like a new light at the end of the tunnel with this site merger. Thank you all again. Mike