Gray Goats Rod and Custom

 The next step involves making boxing plates and extensions for the frame horns that will support the rear mounted fuel tank. A pattern was made and the four pieces needed were painstakingly cut trimmed and ground until they fit and the tack welded to form the top of the rear frame rails

Well progress continues on the 27 C Bucket.  Today the second bend was made in the frame rails at the firewall changing the taper so that the rails are the appropriate distance apart to allow the grill shell to fit in its design location.  As soon as time allows the front frame member will be made and tacked in.  At that point I'll be waiting for some custom cut rear frame horns I made patterns for.  Until then here are some shots of the frame as of today     

 So over the last tow days various methods were employed to cut the almost 5' strips from each side of the 2x4 frame material necessary to produce the taper I desired.  Diamond blades in a skill saw and abrasive blades were tried but the steel kept pinching the blades.  I tried a scroll saw and that was ok but SLOW going and very hard to keep straight cuts for almost 5 feet.   Finally I resorted to cut off wheels in my grinder and with proper care was able to achieve very nice lines. The rail on the right is finished and ready to weld.  As you can see the seam is straight and plenty tight for a good weld.  The C clamp and the two bar clamps hole the top of the rail straight against another piece of steel in preparation for tack welding. How necessary are all the clamps? This is what happened after cutting the wedge from side one and making the first cut on side two.  The 2" outside edges moved toward each other 1 3/4"!

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!   

  When I bought the ends I used to make the fuel tank I bought three with the intent of using one as an air cleaner cover.  I had no idea how HEAVY they would be!  I still wanted the shape but knew there was no way I wanted to put that much weight on top of the carb.  So improvise it is.  I used the remaining tank section to make a mold Following the wax and application of part-all I laid in two layers of 3/4 oz matt and ended up with an almost exact replica of the shape I wanted but in a part weighing only a tiny fraction of the original steel unit :).  It did require a small amount of filler and sanding  After a little primer was on it was ready to go on the shelf until the day I'm ready to put it to use