Gray Goats Rod and Custom

So the layout has begun, Because the body is not standard neither is the frame, and it requires a special custom frame where nothing is at a 90 degree angle.  Even the rear end which appears to be 90 degrees has a small angle between the rear cross member and the side rails.   A second angle brings the side rails closer together from the front door frame to the front cowl edge.  From there forward a small angle back outward will keep the side rails the appropriate distance apart for the late 30s grill shell.  More to follow so stay tuned!   

 In section one the top of the cowl was molded, and in section two progress continued with the upper cowl face.  Today we continue with the upper body edge from the cowl running around to the center of the back.  You will note that the cowl top is being re-done and included in the side mold.  The cowl top, when removed had wrinkles in the gelcoat which would have transferred to every body made in the future. Another detail visible in the following is the foam dam on the inner edge of the buck As with the initial section chair sliders were added to the inner surface of each dam and clay was added around them to keep resin from running under them and a thin bead of clay was also placed at the edges where dam walls meet. Again orange gelcoat followed several layers of was and part-all and glass were ready on the passenger side!  

  Below is the next section of the mold.  Having started with the upper cowl I moved on to the face of the cowl/fire-wall.  Like the cowl top dams were made by adhering wood to tape surfaces and then topping them with foam dams.  One step I forgot to mention was that the edge of each dam is sealed to the body with a very thin roll of clay smashed between the dam and the surface to prevent resin from leaking past the dam. As with the previous section a special mold grade gelcoat was applied Followed by the application of multiple layers of glass as before Next time we go down the sides!

So begins section one on making the mold.  For the mold I used isophalic resin due to it's strength and resilience.  The process begins with the buck having been sanded to a straight and flaw free condition before receiving 4 to 5 coats of wax.  At that point once the location of the dams (the areas where the mold will part) the area outside of the area to be covered is covered in tape to protect it for the next step. Hot glue was then used to secure wood blocks to which foam strips are in turn glued to support the upcoming fiberglass layup. If you look closely you will see small white buttons.  These are chair sliders and when the mold is made will produce "keys"  that will align the mold sections when they are assembled to form a complete mold The area inside of the dams was then coated with "Part-all" before orange tooling gel-coat was applied followed by two layers of 3/4 oz fiberglass matt, two layers of 1 1/2 oz matt and finally two layers of 2 oz matt....

  Here is a look at the interior before disassembly and another after the interior was removed As you can see there is rust on both passenger and drivers side floors.  Fortunately the damage is limited to the floor boards and not the present in the support channels beneath.  There is other rust but it is relatively minor Here is what was found beneath the passenger side trunk edge.  Several small holes but fortunately the rust is from the inside out.  Apparently the water gathered beneath the rubber strip and rusted it's way through.  Fortunately the area should be easy to repair and is one of only a couple of areas needing repair. Here is the final area that will need repaired.  On the pillar next to the rear pillar there are several holes of various sizes spread down along the straight section and continuing onto the rear panel below the window.  None of these is connected to the other and again I am fortunate that the holes are small and in a m...

It seems I skipped a step showing you the red version before showing you the interim stage where the body spent a week or so at a friends paint shop getting a coat of epoxy paint.  Also included below are a couple of shots showing the body lines I added.  

  This is the final product, a 27 Chevrolet firewall blended into the modified body.  This is how it got there... I started with the smoothed firewall on the modified body and puzzled for quite a while about how to add the Chevrolet style firewall I wanted.  Eventually I decided to mold in an original 27/28 firewall that I bought out of the mid-west. It started out with a good bit of surface rust and quite a few holes but once patched filled primed and sanded it was ready to install.  I cut out a section of the cowl and grafted in the newly restored piece and after a good bit of finish work...