1941 NEW YORKER

invision · NIAGARA FALLS, ONT

1941 NEW YORKER

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I picked up a 41 Chrysler about 4-1/2 years ago.

I didn't like the front end so I figured I'd simply change the headlights and take the point off the front.

How hard could it be? I started by cutting some fender away and setting a 37 Ford headlight bezel in the hole.

This is when the %#$# hit the fan.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

So I then had to learn metal shaping in order to make a new panel to replace the "buck" I created with the slicing/dicing and bondo.

I went on line and found www.metalmeet.com and www.allmetalshaping . A fellow here in southern Ontario from one of the sites invited me down to his place to twist some steel. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us today.

Anyhow, I made a pattern from my buck and took it along with a blank of metal and got my first panel pounded out.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

After using Ken's equipment, the next order of business was to get some shaping equipment together.

I built a wheel, made a hammer from a baseball bat, a beater bag from an old purse full of sand and a stump (from a stump of coarse).

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Used the new tools to make up a panel for the other side.

I used the same pattern , just flipped it inside out.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

And this is where the trouble started. I was cruising along with the new metal parts. Everything went smooth as silk with no issues.

The reason for the smoothness was that the two panels thus far were simple bowl shapes.

I had to knock off a third piece to use as abuck for the rest of the front snout.

I then got some chicken wire to hold thin strips of metal in place. This buck making system is referred to as a "Burt" buck as it was invented by our fellow Ontarian, Ken Burt.

The strips were tacked together and foil tape spread across them. A bunch of bondo and I had a pretty nice buck.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I made a flexible shape pattern from the buck and started pounding out some more panels.

tc · ST THOMAS, ONT

Nice Work.........

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Very nicely done project,, thanks for the great follow along pics and narration!!

slab · BRANT COUNTY, ONT

I like build threads. I haven't had a chance to play with that kinda fabrication and look forward to the day. Nice work. Enjoyed the pics.

Bradshaw · NORWOOD, ONT

invision wrote:
I never grow tired of looking at your work Pugsy! Thanks for sharing. :) I'd like to drop by sometime to check it out when you get a moment or two.

Cheers!

-- Edited by invision on Sunday 2nd of September 2012 09:41:21 PM

I agree!! Pugsy work is amazing...

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

The next thing to do was to "tip" the bottom flange on the bead roller. This was a scary thing after hundreds of hours work but me and my buddy Mark got it done.

The little lines on the flange are from the shrinker/stretcher to get if back to the correct shape. When its tipped, the piece likes to straighten out.

-- Edited by 123pugsy on Monday 3rd of September 2012 07:55:37 AM

dualquadpete · BLACKSTOCK, ONT

Boy, you got "TALENT" that little lesson you just taught was great.I like how you made the wheel, hammer,beater bag, etc. but how did you "make" the STUMP!!!! That metal forming is a 'lost art' & glad to see someone carrying it on & trying to pass it on to others!!!

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

tc wrote:
Nice Work.........

sasquatch wrote:

Very nicely done project,, thanks for the great follow along pics and narration!!

slab wrote:
I like build threads. I haven't had a chance to play with that kinda fabrication and look forward to the day. Nice work. Enjoyed the pics.

Thanks TC.

Thanks sasquatch. Hopefully I will be able to update right thru to the end. (if that day ever comes)

Thanks slab. Get down to the next metal shaping meet and you'll be pounding out panels before you know it.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

invision wrote:
I never grow tired of looking at your work Pugsy! Thanks for sharing. :) I'd like to drop by sometime to check it out when you get a moment or two.

Cheers!

Thanks Nick.

The door's always open to you and any other members who happen to be in the GTA.

I will make it down to your shop one of these days too. The longer I wait thogh, the more parts you'll have knocked out for me to drool over....

BTW, we could really use a guy like you at our meets.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Bradshaw wrote:
invision wrote:
I never grow tired of looking at your work Pugsy! Thanks for sharing. :) I'd like to drop by sometime to check it out when you get a moment or two.

Cheers!

-- Edited by invision on Sunday 2nd of September 2012 09:41:21 PM
I agree!! Pugsy work is amazing...

Thanks Bradshaw.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

dualquadpete wrote:
Boy, you got "TALENT" that little lesson you just taught was great.I like how you made the wheel, hammer,beater bag, etc. but how did you "make" the STUMP!!!! That metal forming is a 'lost art' & glad to see someone carrying it on & trying to pass it on to others!!!

Thanks Pete.

How did I make the stump? Didn't I tell you? I AM God! LOL.

I was fortunate enough to get tips from a fellow metalshaper before he passed. He was the first to hold a meet in Canada and now I'm trying to carry it on.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I got the 4 pcs for the front knocked out and welded together.

I had a problem when I was shrinking the panels. The weld cracked and I couldn't get enough shrink so I made up a little patch panel and welded it in.

Looking at these pics now, I can see the mistakes that came later and bit be in the a$$.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

The next thing to do was to weld up the first two fender panels. Much easier to planish without the front piece in the way.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Next, it was time to install the front piece.

The trouble started at the tops of the headlights.

Something just wasn't right but with my lack of metal shaping experience, I figured I could just keep going and knock it around later.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

The next step was to cut off the buck on top of the fender and install the new panels.

That's Mark lifting off the piece of buck in the first pic.

The front end all tacked up. It was a great long weekend when I got this all done, but......

Iwannagofast · ONTARIO

That's LOT of work, nice work.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

slab wrote:
That is cool. Great pics. You make it look real easy!! You and Invision (NICK) have some serious skills. Keep on post'n. I think I 'll have come over and bug both of you guys! I've banged out 65% of a box side/wheel wheels, floor pans etc normal body guy stuff ....but nothing like what you guys are doing. Hats off.

Thanks slab.

You'll have to get up to the next shaping meet.

-- Edited by 123pugsy on Tuesday 4th of September 2012 06:12:24 PM

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Thanks I wanna.

I mocked up some grill openings to check out the look.

Second pic shows it with the hood and a mockup nose attached to it.

I cut out one of the openings and made up a trim angle for the opening and welded it in.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I did up the other side and then found all the problems with the first side.

Nothing a bit of heat and a BFH couldn't take care of.

The last pic is a profile shot of the front snout. Grill bars should be interesting to make.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I was going to leave the thick steel headlight plates in place but the more I looked at the inside welding, the more it drove me crazy.

I made a hammer form and knocked out a new headlight plate.

If you look at the last pic, you'll see why it was making me cookoo.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Here's where everything went wrong. With my lack of experience, I rushed everything. The buck I made was wrong from day one and I made all the panels to match it.

When I had the hood on top of the fenders, I noticed that where the hood edge came down to meet the fenders, the hood was going to have a nice roller coaster shape to it. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

I got the bondo out and made a buck on top of the fender to pull patterns from.

I made up another piece to fit in and of coarse I still have the exact same issue after installing it. This was during the Christmas break and I haven't done much with it since. I spent a little time tapping it around trying to get it right thru the long weekend but its going slow.

slab · BRANT COUNTY, ONT

That is cool. Great pics. You make it look real easy!! You and Invision (NICK) have some serious skills. Keep on post'n. I think I 'll have come over and bug both of you guys! I've banged out 65% of a box side/wheel wheels, floor pans etc normal body guy stuff ....but nothing like what you guys are doing. Hats off.

Iwannagofast · ONTARIO

Unreal. Anyone who can create metal masterpieces has my respect. When is the next meet?, not that I'd be any good at metal shaping, I just wanna meet the folks who can.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Iwannagofast wrote:
Unreal. Anyone who can create metal masterpieces has my respect. When is the next meet?, not that I'd be any good at metal shaping, I just wanna meet the folks who can.

Sometime in April.

We had a pretty good turn out this year. Hope we get a good one next spring as well.

chevyboy · TORONTO, ONTARIO

123pugsy wrote:
Iwannagofast wrote:
Unreal. Anyone who can create metal masterpieces has my respect. When is the next meet?, not that I'd be any good at metal shaping, I just wanna meet the folks who can.
Sometime in April.
We had a pretty good turn out this year. Hope we get a good one next spring as well.

I'll gladly second the fact that you learn lots, and its a great time. Plenty of people turned out with different skill levels, but everyone left with far more knowladge and skill then they showed up with. Hell I never touched a sheet of metal with the intent of shaping it before that day and I went home with a nice bowl.

invision · NIAGARA FALLS, ONT

123pugsy wrote:
Thanks Nick.
The door's always open to you and any other members who happen to be in the GTA.
I will make it down to your shop one of these days too. The longer I wait thogh, the more parts you'll have knocked out for me to drool over....
BTW, we could really use a guy like you at our meets.

Thanks again for the invite. All the panels have been shaped for R2... I'm now in the process of panel assembly and fabricating interior molds. Saying that, it's never to late to drop by. smile Just hold the drool... with this dang humidity we had over the summer it was a challenge to keep the panels from developing surface rust whereever it came in contact with skin.

You had an awesome turnout at your past meet. I wanted to attend, but as you know it wasn't a good time on my end. I'll try again for next year.

Slammed 35 · HOOTERVILLE, ONT

Its great to see your making progress on the 41. Its lookin real good! Awesome build.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Thanks Scot.

I took my deck lid down to Dutch Comstock's meet last summer so I would have a project to work on. I just wanted to take off the skin to remove some dents I made with an exhaust manifold from about seven feet up. DOH!

I ended up stripping all the paint and then sandblasted around the edges. Of coarse where there's bondo, there are holes.

I made a patch across the bottom and then made a piece to cover the hardware holes and rust holes in one shot.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

After a bunch of planishing and shrinking and the shape came out pretty good. A skim of bondo and some high build should take care of any low spots.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I then moved on to the inside panel as ther was a lot of rust issues along the bottom edge.

The 7th pic shows where I had to cut the new patch to get the radius the same as the other side of the deck lid. The upholstery will stop about 1/4 -1/2" from this edge and the difference in radii really stood out.

Thanks for looking,

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

slab wrote:
Can you explain the blue paint/lay out dye that you are using? Is that a guide coat of some sort. Are you working out warpage from welding? Very interesting work. I couldn't believe how nice the deck skin looked.

It is layout die I'm using as a guide coat It goes on nice and thin and gives good coverage. I was working out welding warpage and also lumps and bumps from not wheeling the panel to the exact shape before welding it in. Its a real learning curve to try and slow down.

It took quite a while to get smooth with off and on dolly planishing, working with the shrinking disc. Eventually I should be able to do it quicker and I'll save alot of time by not using too much bondo.

-- Edited by 123pugsy on Friday 7th of September 2012 07:24:50 AM

slab · BRANT COUNTY, ONT

Can you explain the blue paint/lay out dye that you are using? Is that a guide coat of some sort. Are you working out warpage from welding? Very interesting work. I couldn't believe how nice the deck skin looked.

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

CHASSIS BUILD

I started the chassis by picking up an IRS from an 04 Cobra. I'm using everything including the calipers and rotors.

Lower control arms and coil springs are being swapped for home made control arms and Alden coilovers.

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Of coarse, I always jump too quick on everything. Suspension parts are not excluded from this habit of mine.

I asked the guy who I got the IRS from if he had the front spindles complete with calipers and rotors and he says "yeah, I do."

So I says" well, throw them in with the rear end along with the rack".

Of coarse, later on it occurs to me that maybe a Mustang is built using struts, DOH!

Seeing as I always go down with the ship, the first thing to do was to fab up a couple of ball joint holders for the spindles.

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I picked up a steelie rim to use for sizing and got going. I used 2 pcs of 1/2" steel welded together so they could be bent with a tight inside corner radius.

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-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 07:23:10 PM

-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 08:32:51 PM

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Thanks Scot.

I got a couple of 7' lengths of 4" square, .100'' wall stainless tubes given to me for a starting point. I got some 2x4" with .120'' wall for the balance of the frame.

FOR ANYONE READING THIS, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE STAINLESS STEEL FOR A DRIVER. THIS SHOULD ONLY BE USED ON A NON DRIVING SHOW CAR.

Since building this chassis, I've discovered stainless steel work hardens as it vibrates and a chassis will shake so much until the metal itself may fracture even if the welds don't come undone.

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I bolted a couple of stands onto the floor for assembly but the most important tool was a scrap piece of glass that's in the pic below. Everything was measured square, corner to corner and the glass was placed across the rails at several points to check for parallel.

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-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 07:18:16 PM

-- Edited by poncho62 on Tuesday 20th of September 2016 05:56:11 AM

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I couldn't get the 2x4 tube bent so I had to make the kickups from 11 ga s/s.

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I made up a couple of reinforcing elbows the same way.

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Welding was done a bit at at time to try to keep warpage to a minimum.

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-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 07:14:02 PM

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

Thanks sasquatch.

Next thing was to get the IRS in position and add brackets for the upper control arms. I had to keep trimming bits of the stock cradle away as I tacked on more control arm brackets.

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I then made a drop rail for the lower arm attachments.

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The front lower arm attachment hit the first crossrail attached to the frame exactly. Looking back, that must have been a fluke. A good one though as that made it easier.

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-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 08:37:59 PM

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

With three points attached on each side, I was able to cut away the rest of the stock cradle.

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The drop was clamped in place and the rear lower attachments were tacked on.

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The rear extension was made and welded in place before the drop rail.

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Mark brought over a motorcycle shock for a visual aid.

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Thanks for looking.

-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 07:09:06 PM

-- Edited by 123pugsy on Sunday 9th of September 2012 07:55:10 PM

123pugsy · MARKHAM, ONT

I welded in a patch where there was some rust damage on the inner panel from the license plate mounting holes. I also added a chunk of 1/4" steel plate for bolting a latch onto.

I then hit the insides of the skin and inner panel with SPI epoxy before joining them back together.

Slammed 35 · HOOTERVILLE, ONT

Once again, amazing work. Good save!

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Beautiful workmanship!!

Thanks again for the great photos of this project!!

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Pugsy, What a great bunch of photo shots of this project.

Very impressive workmanship. !!

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Just bein nosey checking out the background in the pics of your'e shop, wondering,, is that a Logan or Rockwell metal lathe, and i noticed you also have a mill/drill there also. Lol

Shop stuff always attracts interest!!

fatstax · COBOURG, ONT

when i was planning my rat truck frame, i considered using eighth wall tubing but instead i used three sixteen wall, i was concerned my truck wouldnt be heavy enough and might be wonky to drive. have you thought of this? you appear to be using eighth wall. you rod might be pretty light but it looks like it will be like a sports car with higher tech suspension than my build so there may be no need to add weight.

Iwannagofast · ONTARIO

This build has me in a constant state of AWE.