Upcoming Winter Project

As if I don't have my hands full enough as it is trying to get the Ford finished this winter, I recently picked up this 1964 Triumph project. I hope to start this in January so I have time to get it ready for the Autorama in March. I plan to upgrade all the electronics, build some custom handle bars, replace the back half of the frame with a new bolt on hard tail from David Bird, add custom headlight, tail light and a one of a kind oil tank. This will be long, low and mean when its done so stay tuned.

Ford Update - More Lead

Tyler and I finished up the remaining lead work that needed to be finished. This time around I took a few more pictures of the process.

Here you can see how it started out with the new ring welded in place and ground down. Notice how the profile of the fender and new ring are not continuous. The lead will provide a smooth transition between the two.

Here are the tools used.
Flux - used to prep the surface and give something for the lead to stick to.

Paddles - Used to shape the lead and move it around. The paddles are dipped in wax to keep the lead from sticking to the wood.

Lead - This is the actual lead which is technically an 80/20 mix of lead and tin.

First step is to heat up the surface and with the flux brushed on.

Next is "tinning" the surface with a small amount of lead. Since the surace is warm the lead will melt on contact and once a small amount is acquired you rub the lead into the surface with a rag to embed the lead.

Once the surface is properly tinned it's just a matter of melting the lead and spreading it with the paddles to the desired shape. This is much akin to frosting a cake.


Then you use a body file to smooth out surface and remove any areas of high build.


When the process is complete you have a smooth uniform surface.

Spotted...

Saw this cool old work truck on 13th East this weekend. Just like the one Tyson has been looking for.


Spotted this nice T-Bird in the store parking lot today.

Lead Sled Official

It's now official...I own a true lead sled. By that I mean that my car has actual lead in it just like they did back in the day. We did this to bridge the gap that was created when we welded the new headlights rings to the fenders and extended the facia out about 1.5". While it's not 100% done yet it already looks much better.

It's a pretty cool process of tinning the metal which preps the base for the lead to stick, then heating the metal and the 1/4lb lead stick with a torch until the lead becomes molten, at that point you use wooden paddles of different shapes to spread the lead around and shape it until it cools. Once all the lead is in place you use a long file to remove the excess and smooth it all out.

GJ's XS650

After several failed attempts to shoot GJ's Yamaha XS650, everything came together tonight so we could finally get it done. The secret location worked out perfectly and it was smooth sailing all the way. Here's the final first image with more to come later as I have time to work on them.

Ford Update

It's been about 12 weeks worth of weekends and a few weeknights of work so far. I'm looking forward to being able to take a break once the chop is done. Finally got the wheels and tires on the car 2 weeks ago and rolled it outside to get a good look at the progress.






The back window is about 97% done, just a small section on the passenger side to finish but I got it welded up finally.





We got the drivers door top finished yesterday, cut all the body bracing out and got the rear package tray tacked back in place. It's starting to look like a complete car again.

Go Phish!

Every so often I get a phishing spam email and wonder how someone could be dumb enough to actually fall for these. The English is so poorly written it's just humorous. They make me chuckle. Here's the one I got this morning in all its all caps glory. Don't forget to mention your attorney to put everyone at ease. I wouldn't want to send my money to just anyone.

DEAR FRIEND, I AM MR BAYO ADIGUN, THE OWNER OF BELLING COMPANY. IN MY COUNTRY, I HAVE 10 PLOTS OF LAND THAT CONTAINS UNTOUCHED CRUDE OIL PETROLEUM, ALSO I WANT TO SELL THESE PLOT OF LAND AT THE RATE OF €475,000(EUR).
SO IF INTERESTED IN THE BUYING OF THE CRUDE PETROLEUM OIL LAND, I WILL LIKE YOU EMAIL ME BACK TO GIVE YOU THE FOLLOWING DETAIL'S OF THE LAND AND IT ANALYSIS.

ALL PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE THROUGH MY COMPANY'S ATTORNEY, AND AFTER ALL NECCESSARY PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED, YOU WILL BE GIVEN AN ALLOCATION ON THE PLOTS OF LAND PURCHASED.

CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVATE INVESTORS ARE HIGHLY WELCOMED.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANTICIPATED RESPONSE
REGARDS,
MR. BAYO ADIGUN