Hot Rod Lincoln

[foghorn62]

So I had this cool 3D printed Lincoln Zephyr V12 Flathead, with Arden heads by Ron Olsen through Shapeways, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it.  I knew it needed to be some kind of hot rod that would show off the motor, and I had in my head that I wanted to do a build using as many brass and aluminum scratch made parts as possible.  I’ve been intrigued by the Speedster style  hot rods for a while, and I thought a boat tail might be kind of cool, but I also wanted it to be low.

I built up the motor to the point where I could use it for mock ups, and started to mock up some frame rails, using 3/32’ X 3/16” rectangular brass tubing.

Then I picked out some wheels and tires, and using sheet brass, started to shape a body on top of the frame.

The sides are pretty straight, but the compound curves in the top of the boat tail had to be hammered and stretched freehand and soldered on top of the sides.

I soldered a piece of 1/16” solid brass rod along the seams inside the boat tail.

The seams were rounded and the top of the boat tail was smoothed by grinding and hammering.. Basic body shape on frame rails.

The frame had to be slightly Zd just in front of the cockpit to help achieve the desired stance.

Using a 23T grill shell, I shaped a hood by bending a crease into the center of a sheet of brass, and hammering the edges over a solid bar in a vice .  The sides of the hood are slightly curved from front to back, to match to shape that I bent into the frame earlier.  Also in this pic is one of the two headers that were made for the V12.

Two pieces of aluminum tubing were bent to hug along the sides of the body, and rise over the frame step ups, for the exhaust.

At this point I decided to choose a lower profile and skinnier set of front tires which were mocked up onto the dropped front axle, to help further lower the front of the car,  All of the wheels in these pics are temporary.  I will be stringing a complete set of wire wheels similar to the one in back for the final assembly.  Also seen in this pic is a flair that was hammered into the cowl on the driver’s side, and a head rest fairing behind the driver.

A new grill shell was scratch built from brass to take the place of the plastic one I had been using for mock ups. The sides of the body were reshaped at the cockpit.  Also visible here is the dropped front axle.

Time to take a step back and see how the overall shape and stance is coming along.

Up to this point, the frame consisted only of two rails, and a couple of temporary cross members.  It was time to add some structure.  1/16” brass tubing was bent to shape and soldered in.

Coming long.  Time to start working on some suspension parts.

Stainless steel leaf springs, with quick change rear end and solid axle, and friction shocks.

Louvers were punched into the filler pieces between the rear frame rails and the boat tail.

That gets us pretty well up to date.  Rear suspension is complete.  Front suspension will be next when I get back to this build, which I hope will be pretty soon.

Thanks for stopping in.  I really hope you have enjoyed the project so far, and will join me for the completion of this build.

Thanks!

Tim Slesak.

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by foghorn62
Duplicate pic

[89AKurt]

?..... ? .... ? That's darned impressive!  I've done some soldering for copper plumbing and stained glass, but this is another game.

[Bainford]

Wow. Very impressive work, especially your tin work. Cool project, I dig your vision. The car has nice lines and a great look. 
One unfortunate nit-pick is the plug spacing on the Ardun. They should be arranged as three groups of two. 

Looking forward to watching this build come together. 

[slusher]

Amazing project your building...

[Danno]

Incredible. 

??

[Spottedlaurel]

Wow, incredible workmanship! It looks great, and so well-executed.

Imagine what it'd be like to drive - hold on tight!

[Straightliner59]

Oh, man! I love this! You know what would look really good on it? Louvers! ?

[foghorn62]

3 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Oh, man! I love this! You know what would look really good on it? Louvers! ?

Thanks for your suggestion Daniel!  I agree, louvers would look good, except the 12 velocity stacks will poke slightly through the hood, so there won’t be any room for louvers.

[foghorn62]

6 hours ago, Bainford said:

Wow. Very impressive work, especially your tin work. Cool project, I dig your vision. The car has nice lines and a great look. 
One unfortunate nit-pick is the plug spacing on the Ardun. They should be arranged as three groups of two. 

Looking forward to watching this build come together. 

Thanks Trevor!  That is an interesting observation.  I have not seen that configuration.  What is that based on?

[foghorn62]

9 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Wow, incredible workmanship! It looks great, and so well-executed.

Imagine what it'd be like to drive - hold on tight!

LOL!!  Exactly WWWEEEEEEE!!!

TS

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by foghorn62

[foghorn62]

4 hours ago, Danno said:

Incredible. 

??

Thanks Danny!

TS

[foghorn62]

5 hours ago, slusher said:

Amazing project your building...

Thanks Carl!

TS

6 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

?..... ? .... ? That's darned impressive!  I've done some soldering for copper plumbing and stained glass, but this is another game.

Thanks Kurt!  When soldering like this, the important thing is to control the heat.  You don’t need a torch like you would for plumbing. I use a small soldering iron, and flux.

[Straightliner59]

1 hour ago, foghorn62 said:

except the 12 velocity stacks will poke slightly through the hood, so there won’t be any room for louvers

Yeah, I can see how that could be an issue.

[TarheelRick]

Whimper, whimper, snivel, snivel, I give up.  Watching a piece of art come together such as this makes me want to give up modeling.  Sir, your work is right on the verge of excellence and your vision is impeccable.  Looking forward to more updates.

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Tim!

Well, if we look up the word "style" in the Webster, this is the picture next to it! 

The engineering, design AND execution are world class, as usual. Since those cars were often refered to as "brass era motorcars", it could remain unpainted in the end, and that would make it even more impressive. 

Bravo!

CT 

[afx]

Great looking project.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Well Tim, I was not very far from the truth, some gems were very well hidden somewhere in the beautiful hills of Vermont but thanks to this forum they are now accessible to be appreciated by the rest of the planet!  It is pure art and craftsmanship my friend, your vision is clear and your creative mind could not be better expressed than with this awesome style exercise!  We are learning something every day and it is obvious that I still have a lot to learn from you my friend, the use of brass among others is one of them... Exquisite!!!

[foghorn62]

2 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

Whimper, whimper, snivel, snivel, I give up.  Watching a piece of art come together such as this makes me want to give up modeling.  Sir, your work is right on the verge of excellence and your vision is impeccable.  Looking forward to more updates.

No no no Ricky, this forum is not about giving up!  It’s about displaying individual creativity, and encouraging others to take a step out of their own comfort zones, and try new ideas that they had previously thought to be too difficult or impractical.  This kind of work is not that difficult.  If you see something you like, don’t hesitate to ask questions, and then try it yourself.  You may surprise yourself at how nice it comes out.

[foghorn62]

2 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Tim!

Well, if we look up the word "style" in the Webster, this is the picture next to it! 

The engineering, design AND execution are world class, as usual. Since those cars were often refered to as "brass era motorcars", it could remain unpainted in the end, and that would make it even more impressive. 

Bravo!

CT 

Thank you once again for your interest and feedback Claud!  Your own talent and creativity blows me away, so reading your comments is very encouraging.  I have given thought to leaving much of this build in bare metal.  When I was posting this thread last evening, I came across the last pic, and thought it might not be bad to just go ahead and call it done.  Obviously, I’m not inclined to do that however, so I will press on.  In all likelihood, the whole car will be painted,   I haven’t completely decided however if I want to do it in a show car finish, or a weathered and driven patina.  This whole build has been an evolutionary process, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see what evolves.

[foghorn62]

2 hours ago, afx said:

Great looking project.

Thank you JC!

[espo]

I'm going to enjoy watching this come together, just like a 1:1 build almost. 

[foghorn62]

2 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Well Tim, I was not very far from the truth, some gems were very well hidden somewhere in the beautiful hills of Vermont but thanks to this forum they are now accessible to be appreciated by the rest of the planet!  It is pure art and craftsmanship my friend, your vision is clear and your creative mind could not be better expressed than with this awesome style exercise!  We are learning something every day and it is obvious that I still have a lot to learn from you my friend, the use of brass among others is one of them... Exquisite!!!

Takes one to know one Francis!

Your Friend, 

The clown on the tricycle.?

[foghorn62]

1 minute ago, espo said:

I'm going to enjoy watching this come together, just like a 1:1 build almost. 

Thanks David!  Glad to have you along for the ride!

[Art Laski]

Tim, thank you for bringing your thread to my attention. I have some panels, much less complex than yours, that I will need to do in brass, so I might pick up a thing or two here , for sure. Outstanding work!

[Dennis Lacy]

Excuse me while I pick my jaw up of the floor!