I thought I was going to get a lot more done today but I am beat and feeling a little funky. Anyway, I did get a bunch of cleaning done, scraped off the installation from the back of the firewall and got a bunch of rust out of the quarters and cowl, saw a little more sun light that I care to darn it, but it's not too bad. I prepped the B pillars to weld the pieces back on to raise the top up a 1/2".
I had a friend who passed away and stuck this sticker on the dash back then. He loved streetrodding and had a very nice Model A coupe, damn he was a nice guy. CRAP. Anyway, I can't help but be shaken back into reality at how wonderful this life is when I am out there "working" (playing) on my truck and I see this sticker.
I then got my tools out of the shed where they had been buried now for 20 years. I had forgotten the name of the brake and the english wheel, "Dollar stretcher tools". They are "ok" as I have been able to fab some stuff I never would have been able to without them. The English wheel had a very funky lower die on it. I picked up an old fender repair tool from the thirties that had a better one and I had a machine shop turn out the holes for a bearing, as well as the upper wheel. It's much better now, we will see, I'll start playing with it at some point and we will see. I haven't used it since I changed the wheel. The brake wasn't too bad but I use to put my long Vice grip C clamps to keep the center of a long bend tight.
These planishing hammers are really cool, got one along with the Pexco (before they were called Pexco
) bead roller at a body shop going out of business for $25!
The other one along with three "Bodies" and a few dies I got from a customer when I was a paint rep for a trade of a fresh air respirator pump that I got for free so I lucked out big time on these. They are a really neat tool. I need to make a wall mount to hook them too. The English wheel was a "bench mount" and I made the mounts to bolt it to the wall, made a lot more sense. But with the planishing hammer I am going to have to make a cable operated foot control being the hand one makes no sense at all unless you are holding the tool on a fender which is how it was designed to work. But with it mounted on the wall I'll be able to use it like an English wheel holding the metal and stepping on the control to turn it on.
But I just pooped out and couldn't get any more done.
Brian