Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Nice
Puget Dude’s creations and fabrications (Random project thread.)
- Thread starter PugetDude
- Start date
Ohmthis
Well-known member
Puget, that brace turned out great. I know it took some time, but it’s beats the hell out hanging the column off of the dash!
Got a little time this afternoon to work on the dash bracing- needed to get it tied into the cowl on the ends. Used a piece of 1" x 1/8" flat bar to tie into the existing horizontal bracing, drilled to match the bolts Brookville put in.
Then added a short piece of 1/4" x 1-1/4" flat bar to tie into the sculpted tube on the dash, secured it with a 1/4" Rivnut. There were some funky compound angles going on (nothing on a '32 is flat or straight) so I bolted both pieces on and tacked them together in place.
It was an awkward position under the dash, but it would have taken fourteen tries if I tried to mark the angles and positions and weld it outside the car. Would have had a lot more room to work if I had just pulled the engine,but I need it in place to start sorting out the throttle, clutch, shifter, reverse, and choke linkage.
After I stuck them together I took it off, finished welding and added a little 3/16" plate gusset.
They really stiffened up the dash, it's rock solid now. Steering column drop is next. Have something interesting in mind ..
Then added a short piece of 1/4" x 1-1/4" flat bar to tie into the sculpted tube on the dash, secured it with a 1/4" Rivnut. There were some funky compound angles going on (nothing on a '32 is flat or straight) so I bolted both pieces on and tacked them together in place.
It was an awkward position under the dash, but it would have taken fourteen tries if I tried to mark the angles and positions and weld it outside the car. Would have had a lot more room to work if I had just pulled the engine,but I need it in place to start sorting out the throttle, clutch, shifter, reverse, and choke linkage.
After I stuck them together I took it off, finished welding and added a little 3/16" plate gusset.
They really stiffened up the dash, it's rock solid now. Steering column drop is next. Have something interesting in mind ..
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Went down a bit of a rabbit hole... I decided not to use the tilt-up minivan seat from one of my previous rabbit hole excursions.
Bought a couple of steel frame forklift seats with sliders, tilt backs and seat belts on Amazon to see how they fit. I was actually surprised at how nice these are. Fake Rich Corinthian leather, black with red stitching. Perfect size for the Roadster and very comfortable. But, they had steel tube armrests that had to go- and while I was at it I could also modify them a bit to make them look more like old hot rod bomber-seats without sacrificing the tilt and slide functions. It would have been a lot easier to make them fixed, but I want access to the area behind the seats.
Started with the usual CAD program and roughed out the basic shapes. I wanted to do a wrap-around overlay on the existing steel mounts and hinges. Since I had 8 pieces to cut ( 4 seats and 4 backs), I opted to upgrade from the cardboard patterns cut out of the box these came in to 1/8" hardboard patterns this time.
Picked up a remnant of 1/8" aluminum sheet and transferred the hardboard pattern onto it, nesting the pieces to minimize waste. Cut them out with a jigsaw, then bent the corners with my little homemade brake. It did a good job on the shorter pieces, but I ended up cutting a shallow kerf on the inside of the bend for the longer ones- I could ******** spleen trying to bend them without the kerf.
Once I had them all bent I started on the hole patterns, had to work around the existing mounting holes and the tilt hardware.
Used my TCT annular cutters to cut 50-40-30-22mm holes. They went through the 1/8" plate like butter. These long nib markers are great for transferring hole locations; wish I had discovered them years ago.
Once I had everything fitting the way I wanted, I sanded them to 400 grit with the random orbit sander to remove the scratches the jigsaw made plowing through the swarf and bolted one of the seats together with the aluminum overlays. Left the other stock for comparison.
(Seat mounts were covered previously in this thread.)
Stitching and slider detail.
Here they are side by side, before and after.
I will get a photo of them in the car tomorrow. Ran out of time to finish them up today.
These forklift seats were $135/each with Prime shipping on Amazon. Boat seats were considered but most of them are just foam over plastic. These got me all steel frames with spring construction, nice positive locking slides and tilt backs with a map pocket. They fit the little '32 really well, didn't have room for most of the commercially available upholstered buckets. I have just enough room for the emergency brake lever to fit comfortably between them.
Now I can get back to the reverse gear starter linkage I have been trying to sort out (As soon as I get the Christmas lights up...) this was a fun project and a nice break from the linkage mechanism I have been frustrated with.
Bought a couple of steel frame forklift seats with sliders, tilt backs and seat belts on Amazon to see how they fit. I was actually surprised at how nice these are. Fake Rich Corinthian leather, black with red stitching. Perfect size for the Roadster and very comfortable. But, they had steel tube armrests that had to go- and while I was at it I could also modify them a bit to make them look more like old hot rod bomber-seats without sacrificing the tilt and slide functions. It would have been a lot easier to make them fixed, but I want access to the area behind the seats.
Started with the usual CAD program and roughed out the basic shapes. I wanted to do a wrap-around overlay on the existing steel mounts and hinges. Since I had 8 pieces to cut ( 4 seats and 4 backs), I opted to upgrade from the cardboard patterns cut out of the box these came in to 1/8" hardboard patterns this time.
Picked up a remnant of 1/8" aluminum sheet and transferred the hardboard pattern onto it, nesting the pieces to minimize waste. Cut them out with a jigsaw, then bent the corners with my little homemade brake. It did a good job on the shorter pieces, but I ended up cutting a shallow kerf on the inside of the bend for the longer ones- I could ******** spleen trying to bend them without the kerf.
Once I had them all bent I started on the hole patterns, had to work around the existing mounting holes and the tilt hardware.
Used my TCT annular cutters to cut 50-40-30-22mm holes. They went through the 1/8" plate like butter. These long nib markers are great for transferring hole locations; wish I had discovered them years ago.
Once I had everything fitting the way I wanted, I sanded them to 400 grit with the random orbit sander to remove the scratches the jigsaw made plowing through the swarf and bolted one of the seats together with the aluminum overlays. Left the other stock for comparison.
(Seat mounts were covered previously in this thread.)
Stitching and slider detail.
Here they are side by side, before and after.
I will get a photo of them in the car tomorrow. Ran out of time to finish them up today.
These forklift seats were $135/each with Prime shipping on Amazon. Boat seats were considered but most of them are just foam over plastic. These got me all steel frames with spring construction, nice positive locking slides and tilt backs with a map pocket. They fit the little '32 really well, didn't have room for most of the commercially available upholstered buckets. I have just enough room for the emergency brake lever to fit comfortably between them.
Now I can get back to the reverse gear starter linkage I have been trying to sort out (As soon as I get the Christmas lights up...) this was a fun project and a nice break from the linkage mechanism I have been frustrated with.
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Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I have the attention span of a gnat, so I admit to not reading your whole post lol, but is there enough padding so you don’t get hurt if you sit on the edge while getting in and out of the seat?
Just looks like a harsh edge.
Just looks like a harsh edge.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Awesome job on the seats Scott. They look cool as hell with the lightning holes and large radius. I would worry a little about the side bolster getting damaged from the hard edge and entering and egressing the car though. Bolsters seem to get abused by design anyway and I wonder if that hard edge will speed up the wear to the material?
You don't feel the edge when you're sitting in the seat. I concur it could accelerate wear on the rich Corinthian polyurealeather bolster, though. My aluminum is an overlay on the steel factory mounts so not much I I can do to change that, short of cutting them back a bit in the front. Easy to do later if necessary.
I might be more concerned if this was going to be a daily driver, but I doubt it will see 1000 miles/year.
I am watching Amazon Warehouse deals for another seat, if I can find one cheap I will buy it for a spare set of upholstery. And, these fitted covers zip off so I could always have the local upholstery shop replicate them in real Corinthian leather before this car goes into the Smithsonian.
I might be more concerned if this was going to be a daily driver, but I doubt it will see 1000 miles/year.
I am watching Amazon Warehouse deals for another seat, if I can find one cheap I will buy it for a spare set of upholstery. And, these fitted covers zip off so I could always have the local upholstery shop replicate them in real Corinthian leather before this car goes into the Smithsonian.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
Add me to the list of readers concerned about the rough edge wearing on the seat.
I liked the forklift seats as they were, but then I really like what you did with them. Well done. I may have to consider this for a future project.
I liked the forklift seats as they were, but then I really like what you did with them. Well done. I may have to consider this for a future project.
OK, you guys got me thinking ..
Had one set of seat overlays I hadn't mounted up yet, so I spent a few minutes on the top edge with a Scotch Brite Pad on the M12 die grinder and then some white rouge on the Baldor buffer. Now they are really smooth and shine like a diamond in a goat's ***. They should lovingly caress the rich Corinthian polyurealeather now.
Thanks for pointing it out.
I also spent a couple of minutes sanding the inside faces with 180 grit on the RO sander, even though I used a shaviv on the edges of the holes they were still a little rough.
Should be a lot better, I will do the other seat when I pull it out of the car.
Had one set of seat overlays I hadn't mounted up yet, so I spent a few minutes on the top edge with a Scotch Brite Pad on the M12 die grinder and then some white rouge on the Baldor buffer. Now they are really smooth and shine like a diamond in a goat's ***. They should lovingly caress the rich Corinthian polyurealeather now.
Thanks for pointing it out.
I also spent a couple of minutes sanding the inside faces with 180 grit on the RO sander, even though I used a shaviv on the edges of the holes they were still a little rough.
Should be a lot better, I will do the other seat when I pull it out of the car.
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zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Sorry to create more work for ya Scott as the design and execution were spot on. I just worried about that hard edge is all.
shortykorte
Well-known member
Wow, you can put lipstick on a pig.
Great thinking outside the pallet, seat looks great.
Great thinking outside the pallet, seat looks great.
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The seats look great! Love the vintage aircraft style you added 
the back of the seat height looks perfect, its not sticking above the body line and it still looks like you have enough room underneath for the ejector seat pack
the back of the seat height looks perfect, its not sticking above the body line and it still looks like you have enough room underneath for the ejector seat pack Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Son of a b..... those look great! Where do you come up with this stuff??
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Could not agree more. Those bolsters, with that "race steering wheel" look from the 60's is next level. No matter how many miles she logs each year, the journey is priceless! Call the Smithsonian and see if they can get a Ricardo Montalban in wax for the display!Here's a couple of pics to show how these seats fit in the '32.
Overall, pretty happy with how they turned out. Size is perfect for this little Deuce Roadster.
Not much of a "project" but I did finally get new house numbers put up. I bought the 8" numbers at Industrial Metals; at ~$5 each it wasn't worth taking the time to cut them out of a piece of 12 gauge that I didn't have.
Welded a couple of little 10-24 x 3/4" flat head machine screws on the back of each number to key into the stucco on the column next to the front door.
Installed them with a couple of dabs of Big Stretch Urethane caulk in the holes and on the numbers.
Really changed the look from the old generic 4" Home Depot numbers that were up there before. I took them down when we had the house painted earlier this year, took me a while to get around to replacing them.
Now back to our irregularly scheduled programming.
Welded a couple of little 10-24 x 3/4" flat head machine screws on the back of each number to key into the stucco on the column next to the front door.
Installed them with a couple of dabs of Big Stretch Urethane caulk in the holes and on the numbers.
Really changed the look from the old generic 4" Home Depot numbers that were up there before. I took them down when we had the house painted earlier this year, took me a while to get around to replacing them.
Now back to our irregularly scheduled programming.
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TimeWarpF100
Well-known member
Will you be going to Smithsonian with it?You don't feel the edge when you're sitting in the seat. I concur it could accelerate wear on the rich Corinthian polyurealeather bolster, though. My aluminum is an overlay on the steel factory mounts so not much I I can do to change that, short of cutting them back a bit in the front. Easy to do later if necessary.
I might be more concerned if this was going to be a daily driver, but I doubt it will see 1000 miles/year.
I am watching Amazon Warehouse deals for another seat, if I can find one cheap I will buy it for a spare set of upholstery. And, these fitted covers zip off so I could always have the local upholstery shop replicate them in real Corinthian leather before this car goes into the Smithsonian.
shortykorte
Well-known member
Excuse me sir, that 5 is upside down. 
Thanks for the tip on number supplier. I want to put our number on a large limerock
Thanks for the tip on number supplier. I want to put our number on a large limerock
Ohmthis
Well-known member
Very cool setup on your seats! The holes definitely set off the details. I find that seats that sit higher (truck, keep, and vans) tend to take more abuse on the bolsters. Everyone slides down over the edge while getting out. Your legs are almost parallel to the ground in a car and not putting as much stress on the side. I’m really digging the color stitching as well, nice touch.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The seats turned out great Scott. I love the house numbers as well, nice and clean looking.
Great work as always.
Great work as always.
Monza Harry
Well-known member
Scott the edging posted above would help and add a splash of colour! https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ns-random-project-thread.489201/post-10429425
I am not sure if ⅛" aluminum will bend in a bead roller with tipping dies, but a press break with a narrow slot and a single "tooth" could roll the edge to soften that edge a little. Harry
I am not sure if ⅛" aluminum will bend in a bead roller with tipping dies, but a press break with a narrow slot and a single "tooth" could roll the edge to soften that edge a little. Harry
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I was on the Soarin ride at Hollywood studios today, I looked to my right and thought of you.
Another quick diversion project to keep me from having to re-work the firewall and steering column mount that is too high... (More on that later)
When we moved from WA to AZ we accidentally left a piece of goofy yard art. It was a dog made out of pipe, really simple design, but it had sentimental value to my wife because a good friend gave it to her when we had to put our dog down after a 4- year battle with cancer.
So, since we have two Schnoodles now I thought she might like some new yard art...
Made these out of pipe, rebar, diamond plate, chain, sheet metal, and a couple of ornamental iron balls.
Here are the models:
Back on the '32 next week. Busy holiday season this year...
When we moved from WA to AZ we accidentally left a piece of goofy yard art. It was a dog made out of pipe, really simple design, but it had sentimental value to my wife because a good friend gave it to her when we had to put our dog down after a 4- year battle with cancer.
So, since we have two Schnoodles now I thought she might like some new yard art...
Made these out of pipe, rebar, diamond plate, chain, sheet metal, and a couple of ornamental iron balls.
Here are the models:
Back on the '32 next week. Busy holiday season this year...
manwithtools
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Those are Pawesome!
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
My daughters approve; the butler does nice work!
Ohmthis
Well-known member
Those are some good looking models there! I love hard art, my wife not so much. It might be that I’m not a good artist though.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I think it’s art if it evokes emotion, and I think those two metal puppies fit that description.
shortykorte
Well-known member
Love the yard art.
Unfortunately we only have half schnoodles.
To you and your family….Have a Merry Christmas!!!
Unfortunately we only have half schnoodles.
To you and your family….Have a Merry Christmas!!!