BUILD THREAD “The Juggernaut”

Rktpwrd

Builder of Cool Shjt
Supporting Member
Feb 2, 2015
4,152
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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Then it was finally time for a long awaited mock up on the car. This was a pretty cool moment seeing all our hard work coming together! Note the filler panel that was cut and laid in place temporarily to make up for the now shortened skin.

Ist mockup on car (1).JPG


Ist mockup on car (4).JPG


Ist mockup on car (5).JPG


Ist mockup on car (7).JPG


In preparation for welding in the filler piece, a support was shaped and welded in place out of some 1/4" steel rod, and the sheetmetal edges were prepped.

Fab. & install rear piece (1).JPG


Fab. & install rear piece (2).JPG


The filler was burned in, ground down and finished out. Some minor hammer and dolly work was needed to keep everything happy, but that pretty much finished off the metal work on the topside.

Top side welding completed (2).JPG


Top side welding completed (1).JPG


Top side welding completed (3).JPG


Next up, lots of work to the underside. To be continued, but need a break from staring at the screen...
;)
Thanks guys, will return in a bit!
 
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Rktpwrd

Builder of Cool Shjt
Supporting Member
Feb 2, 2015
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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Content with the shape and fitment on the topside, the attention was now turned to the underside.

Up until now, the factory hood bracing was left in place to ensure the hood didn't warp out of whack and cause all sorts of issues. Now that all the structural integrity was replaced with the tubing and the hood skin reattached, I could trim out the factory hood bracing for the clearance I needed.
As well, I wanted a nice clean appearance under the hood by deleting the hood latch and catch assemblies. So the omission of the hood catch began at this point too.

Underside patches (3).JPG


I began by trimming small amounts of the factory bracing as I went, and filling in any extra holes and ugly stuff as I went.

Underside patches (2).JPG


When it was all said and done, I had removed the last of the factory bracing under the raised area of the cowl section, radiused the corners and finished the edges to give it a factory type appearance.

Underside patches (1).JPG


I was a little concerned that there may not be enough reinforcement or support under the long spans of sheetmetal, so I made the executive decision to make and add 2 more tubes to support these areas.

Adding hoodskin tube supports (1).JPG


Adding hoodskin tube supports (5).JPG


Of course, there's so much more to what was done to the underside than I'm going to cover here, but let's face it: nobody really cares about the underside of a hood, and most likely won't be looking that closely at it anyways!
Lol
At this point, Scotty was getting antsy to get going on the topside again, so we flipped it over and got to it again. The remaining old paint was sanded off down to bare metal, and final finishing touches and details were addressed.

Finished metalwork - top (1).JPG


Finished metalwork - top (5).JPG


The hood was reinstalled on the car, and Scott got busy laying down the initial coats of filler to smooth everything out. These next two pics are probably the best angles of the hood at this point in the process.

100_3823.JPG


100_3824.JPG


At this point however, life got in the way. I turned my attention to other areas of the car, Scott got pulled away to do other things in his life, and any further progress pretty much stopped entirely.
And so it sat. For 3 years!
:(
But as you'll soon find out, sometimes taking a long break like that from a project can give you clarity that you wouldn't otherwise have.
I wouldn't exactly call it procrastination, but getting used to seeing the hood on the car at that point in its build led me to realize that it was a bit lacking in a few areas.
Which, oddly enough now brings you nearly up to date. The next time I update this thread (which will hopefully be in the next day or two), it'll be to cover where I've picked up on this massive undertaking this year, and the steps I've taken to address a few issues that initially went unnoticed.

So, if you're still with me at this point in this long, LONG saga, you are to be commended! Thanks for hanging in there! The next updates from here on out will be considerably shorter.
Thanks for checking in on the build everyone!

Donovan
 
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oldtinsmith

Royal Smart Person
Jun 14, 2010
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Auburn, Michigan
Donovan, you really thought any of us would stop enjoying your posts? Some day soon (I hope!) when the house remodeling is done I can return my shop to metal working residue and away from wood working residue! Looking forward to more of your posts!

Dougf
 
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liquidh8

Comic Book Super Hero
Donovan, I love the hood, and had a similar idea to do to mine. But, I didn't have any 4 door or wagon hoods to to use, let alone cut up. So the fiberglass w25 hood was used.

I have done a lot of what you have done, IOW, long breaks in work allowed me to either rethink or come up with a better plan for things I've already done, leading me to redo them, lol. I look forward to your updates, as always, top notch work my friend!
 
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mr evil

Moderator
Moderator
Aug 4, 2009
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Sooke, BC, Canada
Once again, another great update to read!!
 
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Rktpwrd

Builder of Cool Shjt
Supporting Member
Feb 2, 2015
4,152
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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Love this build and the direction it is heading.

Thank you!

Donovan, you really thought any of us would stop enjoying your posts? Some day soon (I hope!) when the house remodeling is done I can return my shop to metal working residue and away from wood working residue! Looking forward to more of your posts!

Dougf

Thanks Doug.
I'm not sure how many people actually take the time to read thru my posts, as not everyone rates or responds to them.
I know they can be a bit long at times, but I've always tried to present them in a fairly concise (and hopefully entertaining) manner, much like reading an article from a car mag.
Hope the home renovations are going well for you, I know you've been working at that for a couple years now. You'll be back to burning metal again before you know it!
:)

Donovan, I love the hood, and had a similar idea to do to mine. But, I didn't have any 4 door or wagon hoods to to use, let alone cut up. So the fiberglass w25 hood was used.

I have done a lot of what you have done, IOW, long breaks in work allowed me to either rethink or come up with a better plan for things I've already done, leading me to redo them, lol. I look forward to your updates, as always, top notch work my friend!

Thank you Jim. Our build styles and tastes seem to be remarkably similar, so I'm not a bit surprised to hear you considered building your own hood too.
I was fortunate enough at the time to discover that sedan hoods were the exact same as coupe hoods as even then the coupes had all but dried up at the local boneyards. The sedans however (at that time at least) were somewhat still available. Even they have disappeared around here now.
:(
I'll give everyone here another day or so to recover from that information bomb I dropped on you all yesterday, and then I'll pick back up on what issues I found with the hood and what I've done so far this season to correct them.
Good to hear from you my friend, thanks for posting!

Once again, another great update to read!!

Rick, how you been sir? Haven't seen or heard much from you lately!
As always, thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know at least the hardcore members are still following along with me!

To everyone else, your comments, observations, thoughts and pretty much any other feedback are always welcome. Feel free to let me know what you think on the hood, car, or anything else for that matter.

Thanks everyone,
Donovan
 
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liquidh8

Comic Book Super Hero
We do have similar tastes and styles for sure! Your hood will be a nice custom piece. I have been battling wavy fiberglass, but I hope to be done soon and add some pics of my own. I personnaly enjoy reading your updates for the reasons you stated. Now, if everyone would just catch up so I can read the next update!
 
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mr evil

Moderator
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Aug 4, 2009
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Oh, I'm always around doing more reading than posting as usual. With the car back together and out cruising a few times this summer, it is now in for winter. Mine is a little by little project and most of what I do on it is pretty routine. Saving here and there for a new power plant and rear gear but that is a way off and again nothing terribly creative lol. After 5 years of a car in bits and pieces, I'm just glad to be able to hop in and drive it again. Thanks for asking Donovan, keep up the great work!
 
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Longroof79

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
G-Body of the Month
Oct 14, 2008
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Donovan,
The hood looks absolutely amazing. I truly envy your fabrication skills. I look forward to your upcoming progress and further updates. Keep up the great work, my friend. You're an inspiration to us all.
 
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O. D. Showtime

Comic Book Super Hero
Feb 6, 2009
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Regina Sask. Canada
Got caught up on the updates last night Donovan....the hood looks great! I echo Jack's statement on your fab skills....all top notch!
 
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