Glenn Miller - At Last!

3/27/07

Traditional At Its Finest


Check out these before and after pictues of this chopped, channeled custom 28-29 Roadster. It captures all the aspects of a traditional roadster back in the day. Its like looking at old photos from the "Oakland Roadster Show" days.
I really love the lead treatment on this thing. Check out the cowl sides and rear wheel wells, both have been filled. The exhaust, with flathead ford oil canisters for the baffles. Chrome all over everything. Even the generator was kept and chromed for a nice final finish in the engine bay.
This roadster sports a 50 Olds motor, Early Mercury dash, chopped down 32 grill and cool satin white paint.
Im willing to bet, it will make a feature shot in our well known magazines....You'll see. I would be dissapointed if it didnt.
Read more about this ride on The Jalopy Journal; HAMB. Its a great heart gripping story.
Read on here: Roadster Story

3/19/07

For Sale - EBAY Alert - 50 Chevy Panel


Sitting right now at $600. Chevy panel, 1/2 ton in what looks to be in awesome condtion. This would make a great resto/custom. Paint and drop on WWW tires or even that blackwall with Supremes look.
Here is the link...go get it!

3/17/07

Lead Work: Using lead as body filler - Part 2

Tools Required

To put down lead you need the following items:

1) Sticks of lead as described above, be sure its 70/30 lead. Anything else, I have been told it wont stick very well.


2) A flat or shaped wooden paddle to apply the lead. With this, also some bee's wax, Motor oil or trans fluid to dip your paddle in to keep the lead from sticking. The Motor oil and Trans fluid is an old school trick.



3) A source of heat such as a plumbers' blowlamp, or Benzamatic Map Gas, or Propane. I use Map Gas alot, the heat is just right and easy to find.

4) Flux, or solder paste.

These items will be described as we go on.
More to come!

3/14/07

Rise to your level!

Vintage Metal has been experimenting on a few items and these are some to start with. 2, 4 & 6 inch risers for your 3 bolt intakes.

Make that Edelbrock 2x2 a Thickston "Wanna-be" or turn your dual or triple setup into a step-like setup. How cool would that be?

As of now, VM has them in bare steel. Chrome and Powder Coating will soon be available.

Im sure you ask, how much??? Well, not much to break the bank. 2" - $15, 4" - $20 and 6" - $25.

Triple setups will be sold at a discounted amount.

Email me at chopped50ford@aol.com or post a comment here if your interested.

Keep an eye for more cool stuff to pop up here at Vintage Metal.

In the works, VM's own website.

Thanks for looking.

3/4/07

Lead Work - Using Lead as body filler

Just to be sure we know what we are discussing here, lead loading is also known as "leading", "body solder (ing)" and "wiping metal". These names all refer to the same thing in different countries.
Lead is the old, traditional method of finishing car bodies, while plastic filler is relatively new to the game (40 or so years!). Unfortunately the art of lead loading has died out to a large extent as everyone reaches for the quick, easy, -- no skill needed -- plastic filler. There is also concern about continued use of lead causing a build-up of toxins in the user's body. However, since we will only be doing a few hours worth of working with lead as against a 30 year career in the panel beating business, I think we are relatively safe.



Advantages of Lead
Lead is waterproof, while plastic filler is not. So if you are working on a car over a long period, you may wish to consider using lead rather than plastic filler. If you plastic fill and leave it without painting it, it will gradually absorb moisture. Priming is not enough. I've spoken to several paint manufacturers who state that primer is NOT waterproof. When you do come to paint you will have potential problems from the moisture content within the filler.
Lead will also "bridge" small holes in the metalwork. By small I mean small, not holes you can get your fingers into…Use some common sense here!

A section of a practice door (see picture above) . The lead repair to the right shows signs of needing more lead, as there are some depressions which have not been filled. The hole at the bottom, left, could be cleaned up, and if the remaining metal is sound, could be "bridged" with lead.

Materials
The lead used in lead loading is actually a mixture of lead and tin. The required proportions for motor vehicle work are 70% lead and 30% tin. This sort of lead has a melting point of about 500 degrees F. Remember these proportions, as you may be tempted to use other types of solder, such as plumbers' solder which may have different proportions. The type of lead you need is frequently advertised in the motoring magazines or you could get it from specialist motor factors.
I recommend lead and lead kits from http://www.eastwoodco.com/
I have used plumber's solder and it seems to work all right, (although the melting point is different) but it is best if you stick to the correct lead.

Quantity
Make sure you order plenty of lead because,
a) You will use more than you expect, even when you get it right, and
b) You will put most of it onto the garage floor as you start to learn the skill!

To be continued: Look for my next post on Tools requred for Lead working.

Lets discuss this topic HERE !