Black Rat 55

[zzrodder]

Originally Posted by DJ3100

I would not have considered that approach - too much work. The fenders came out great. Thanks for posting the photos of the tool.

Yeah, my rolling tool didn't work as well as hoped. It would have been easier to feed thru if both bottom rollers were driven and with a gear reduction, however, I didn't want spend a bunch creating something unproven and unlikely to be used again. I just used materials I had laying around so I only invested my time in it... The big prob with it is that it didn't really stretch the metal - after a pass, I'd adjust the top roller down to give the fender a curve but it ended up rippling the edges. In the end, the biggest contribution the roller made was to give the fender it's profile and the center peak.
If I was to do this again, I think I'd just shape the fender first with the planishing hammer then give it a pass thru the roller at the end, that way the lines of the peak would be crisper and I wouldn't be trying to iron out all those ripples. The final shape still turned out OK and as fenders go, not too hideous...

[DJ3100]

They look great. Do you think using the roller on something like a trailer fender would give you the cross sectional shape without distorting the edges?

[Gastrick]

Super job on those fenders....and the rest of it too.

[zzrodder]

Originally Posted by DJ3100

They look great. Do you think using the roller on something like a trailer fender would give you the cross sectional shape without distorting the edges?

Probably...actually you could just run a trailer fender thru a bead roller - make some custom dies to do a center peak or use a standard die to make a reveal around the edge?
I first got the idea for the rolling machine from an episode of the Biker Buildoff series- there was a team from Austrailia that had one they made and used it to make aluminum bike fenders. Boy, they cranked it thru like nothing, though it was just a simple curved profile - of course that could have just been the magic of TV, editing out the hard work...lol

[DJ3100]

My bead roller and most that I have seen don't have enough throat height put a bead in the center of a fender unless it was a very flat fender. That's probably why your fender shape is so unique.

However it got there the detail on the fenders is excellant, as is everything else on your build.

[zzrodder]

Originally Posted by DJ3100

My bead roller and most that I have seen don't have enough throat height put a bead in the center of a fender unless it was a very flat fender. That's probably why your fender shape is so unique.

However it got there the detail on the fenders is excellant, as is everything else on your build.

Hmmm.. you're right, the throat on my bead roller is too narrow also. So much for that idea... I guess a variant of the roller I made would work better - metal rollers made to closer tolerances and maybe a chain drive to connect the top and bottom rollers for a more positive feed. A future engineering project perhaps.

All disassembled, frame cleaned up to paint and pix with it done, Tremclad (Rustoleum) grey primed and gloss black topcoat.

[zzrodder]

Frame all painted up and assembled, installed the air system and got most of the plumbing done. Painted the grille shell and put in the grille to get a look at it.

[Motorhead]

Four words: out of this world!

Even basic sheet metal work is over my head. I can't imagine how tough it must have been to create a cab like that.

[zzrodder]

Originally Posted by Motorhead

Four words: out of this world!

Even basic sheet metal work is over my head. I can't imagine how tough it must have been to create a cab like that.

Thanks ! It's all relative I guess, I wouldn't have thought of or even tried to create a frame like yours... looking forward to the rest of your build !

Here's some more progress shots, cab and doors, other parts in primer, some pieces already done in black. I'm doing it all in my 20 x 20 garage, just hang a drop sheet to cover the rest of the junk and spray away, them move the finished parts out into my Costco plastic garage. It's a bit of a juggling act but somehow it works.
Dissected a couple of 350's I've been hanging onto for 25+ years, settled on the one on the stand, came out of my 75 Monte Carlo - just a 2 bolt block but it has 194 valve heads. It's going .030 over, flat top pistons, lumpy cam and some basic head porting, yer basic SB Chevy. The other engine was a 74 350 out of my old Blazer a 4 bolt, but damaged the block and gouged the crank badly tearing it down since it was siezed #%@$$!!! Interesting thing about both these engines is that they both suffered from the typical 70's flat cam lobes.. they must have used some really soft cores.

[zzrodder]

Cab and rest of body parts, fenders painted, used Tremclad (Rustoleum) semi gloss black with 1 quart flat black added to the gallon to dull it down a bit. The straight flat black shows marks too easily and weathers too soon for my liking. I mixed a couple different browns to get the chocolate milk shake colour I was looking for and shot the interior with that - it's actually only a little darker than the original interior colour of the 55..