What Did You Get Today? (Not Model Related)

[Crazy Ed]

  On 11/25/2015 at 1:38 PM, Agent G said:

      Kinda took the Fun outta having the Big Gun huh? 

[W-409]

Today I bought tickets for a Rockabilly-Party that's tomorrow here in Finland. Matchbox and The Greasers will be shakin' the house tomorrow... Can't wait!

 

[426-Hemi]

-I am gonna be stuffed with Turkey bird, & stuffing, mash taters, and only God knows what else, YEAH I'll be a happy modeler after a nap later!

[Joe Handley]

Picked up some O Gauge trees today.

 

 

 

 

[Joe Handley]

And

 

[The70judgeman]

I got all of these things over the week except for the drive shafts. First is the rotating work stand. Not a whole lot to explain there. Second, are the jack stands. I got those to set the truck on to keep the suspension at drive height and to keep the tires from flat spotting. Last, I got the upgraded drive shafts. They're from MIP and all metal. They replace probably the weakest link of the truck. I guess I could mention the all metal bead-lock wheels and new tires too. As well as the roof rack with lights and a headlight/taillight kit. Yes, I know the pics are out of order.

Edited December 8, 2015 by The70judgeman

[martinfan5]

Couple of weeks ago

2u Rack case and 4U rack case, and not pictured is a 10Ft wide by 11FT high lighting truss

Edited December 9, 2015 by martinfan5

[W-409]

I just bought this '62 Chevy II project. It's a lot of work, but that's just what I wanted and it doesn't look too rusty. I will need to convert it from 4D Sedan into 2D Sedan though. I can't start working on it right now, but the work is going to be started in autumn 2016 and it should be on the road again in summer 2017.

Here are two crappy cell phone pics. I'll gotta take some better shots tomorrow when we move it to our other garage waiting for building to start.

[cobraman]

Cool ! I hope you will post photos of your progress. Good luck !

[martinfan5]

  On 12/11/2015 at 8:35 PM, W-409 said:

I just bought this '62 Chevy II project. It's a lot of work, but that's just what I wanted and it doesn't look too rusty. I will need to convert it from 4D Sedan into 2D Sedan though. I can't start working on it right now, but the work is going to be started in autumn 2016 and it should be on the road again in summer 2017.

Here are two crappy cell phone pics. I'll gotta take some better shots tomorrow when we move it to our other garage waiting for building to start.

 

Did you have to import it?, or was it already in Finland?

[W-409]

  On 12/11/2015 at 8:57 PM, cobraman said:

Cool ! I hope you will post photos of your progress. Good luck !

Thanks! Let's see about the pics, if I remember it when I start building, I might post some pics in that 1:1 Car Picture section.

  On 12/12/2015 at 7:00 AM, martinfan5 said:

Did you have to import it?, or was it already in Finland?

Yep it was already here in Finland. I'm pretty sure this has been imported here in '62 when it was new and used as a Taxi. These Chevy IIs, Darts and Valiants were pretty commonly used as Taxis here in Finland and after that many of them have been Hot Rodded in one way or another.

 

[High octane]

Good luck with your new project Niko.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Neat little project car, Niko. Converting that to a 2-door will be some serious work. Do you have a donor for the right structure and sheetmetal, or are you planning to fabricate everything?

On the Chebby-parts front, I just got a pair of old smallblock double-hump 2.02 / 1.94 heads...for free...that came off of a running, not-overheating engine with a bad bottom end. Odds are they're not cracked, but I need to look up the casting numbers and have them magnafluxed before going any farther, and they'll need hardened exhaust seats at some point. 

 

[W-409]

Thanks Nick and Bill! It's a lot of work so when I can start building, I need to stay busy with it.

Bill, it's true that it's a lot of work to convert it into 2D Sedan. I think it's a neat challenge for myself as it's a bit trickier than the relatively large rust repair I did on '60 Impala last winter. I will have to buy two more front doors for 4D Chevy II and then out of those doors and the front doors I have I'll make the doors that are a bit longer and match original 2D Sedan doors. I'm not quite sure how window mechanisms etc will be done, but these 4D to 2D conversions have been done often here in Finland in the '80s when most of the US cars we had were 4D models, so I will have to ask some tips from them. I think I get it figured out and it will look pretty good, but it's a lot of work for sure.

Here are a couple better pictures in daylight:

[Tom Geiger]

I think a four door Chevy II hotrod would be cool enough! 

[unclescott58]

  On 12/13/2015 at 11:26 PM, Tom Geiger said:

I think a four door Chevy II hotrod would be cool enough! 

I agree with Tom. Keep it a 4-door.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

A little quicker of a project, a '90 Ranger, which I'm going to pick up tomorrow.

$25.

[W-409]

  On 12/13/2015 at 11:26 PM, Tom Geiger said:

I think a four door Chevy II hotrod would be cool enough! 

Nah, it's not !

I think the 2D Sedan looks so much better than this Four Door model. Plus that there are already enough 4D Chevy IIs around here and since mine won't have a backseat or anything, the rear doors would be worthless anyway.

[Tom Geiger]

  On 12/14/2015 at 7:56 AM, W-409 said:

Nah, it's not !

I think the 2D Sedan looks so much better than this Four Door model. Plus that there are already enough 4D Chevy IIs around here and since mine won't have a backseat or anything, the rear doors would be worthless anyway.

That's the difference between Europe and the USA.  I know you guys got mostly 4 door sedans because of the different tax treatment on 2 door cars. So it's novel to have a 2 door sedan instead of all the 4 door cars still around.  In the USA there was no such issue, so our cars were purchased by preference, and "car guys" were conditioned that they preferred 2 door cars.  So today, I find it cool and different to see 4 door sedans and hardtops being restored and rodded.  This is happening for several reasons.  First economics, 2 door and convertible cars, like '55-57 Chevys, have become costly, and people are working with 4 door cars as a way to get into those years within their budget. Then we have the 'dare to be different' movement where people are seeking out ways to stand out from the crowd.   In the last year, I fell in love with two cars I saw,  a rodded  '34 Ford 4 door sedan that was totally cool and a bone stock '56 Chevy 4 door hardtop. I just loved the lines on it, and it wasn't just another 2 door car.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Glad you're going with the 2-door conversion on the little Chevy, Niko. A lot of work, but really shouldn't be that difficult if you jig and measure everything carefully. The 2-dr sedan is vastly more appealing to me. The 4-dr, no matter how badass it may be, still looks like grandma's car.

                                                             

                                                                                                                       

Edited December 14, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[W-409]

  On 12/14/2015 at 2:36 PM, Tom Geiger said:

That's the difference between Europe and the USA.  I know you guys got mostly 4 door sedans because of the different tax treatment on 2 door cars. So it's novel to have a 2 door sedan instead of all the 4 door cars still around.  In the USA there was no such issue, so our cars were purchased by preference, and "car guys" were conditioned that they preferred 2 door cars.  So today, I find it cool and different to see 4 door sedans and hardtops being restored and rodded.  This is happening for several reasons.  First economics, 2 door and convertible cars, like '55-57 Chevys, have become costly, and people are working with 4 door cars as a way to get into those years within their budget. Then we have the 'dare to be different' movement where people are seeking out ways to stand out from the crowd.   In the last year, I fell in love with two cars I saw,  a rodded  '34 Ford 4 door sedan that was totally cool and a bone stock '56 Chevy 4 door hardtop. I just loved the lines on it, and it wasn't just another 2 door car.

I understand that, I visited in California about a month ago and most of the cars I saw there were 2 door models and four door cars were not seen that often. Here in Finland almost all US cars were 4D models as only few two door models were imported here originally and if one wanted to import an American Car him/herself, the taxes were huge. Then law changed in about '85 or something like that when the taxes on old cars lowered radically, and then it was much cheaper to import old cars from the USA in here. Before that, a bit more rare models like '59 Cadillac for example were VERY rare in here. Nowadays I can say that we have lots of those '59 Cadillacs and other rare models in here and they can be seen often in Cruising Nights. Same time, 2 door cars and Hardtops and Convertibles etc became more common as you could see them very rarely in here before that.

We still have lots of 4D cars in here, but I'd say 2D cars are more common in Cruise Nights etc. I haven't seen many of these Chevy IIs as two door models, though.

  On 12/14/2015 at 4:09 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Glad you're going with the 2-door conversion on the little Chevy, Niko. A lot of work, but really shouldn't be that difficult if you jig and measure everything carefully. The 2-dr sedan is vastly more appealing to me. The 4-dr, no matter how badass it may be, still looks like grandma's car.

                                                             

                                                                                                                       

Yep it's true that the 2D model looks much better and that 4D Sedan has that old Taxi-look even if it was nice otherwise. It will need some careful measuring and cutting, but I believe it can be done. My friend just did the same modifications to his '66 Olds Cutlass and it turned out very nice.

http://tapahtumakuvia.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Tapahtumat 2014/Summer Nationals 19.-20.7.2014/Friday/DSCN5774.JPG?img=smaller

 

[chunkypeanutbutter]

[crazyjim]

Great job on that Ranger, Miles.  It looks so real.

[Ace-Garageguy]

So, Miles...that looks pretty good for $25. What kind of mechanical condition is it in? What engine and gearbox? Looks like it's already been lifted a little too. Nice score.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

It's the Cologne V6, "four with overdrive" five-speed, electronic 4x4, just over 330k miles.

It needs a bit of DIY, for $25, it's no problem. Needs one rear crossmember replace due to a crack, the frame has some flakes but no holes, the rear end locks on the right rear, the brakes are sticky, alternator is toasted, needs wheel arches all around. 

The good? Obviously, the stick shift and 4WD. The rocker panels were replaced before it was parked, and so was the rear bumper (backed into a tree and bent the right step). The cap is a bonus, and the interior is clean. Nice visor with lights, too. 

It needs work, as I said, but if a vehicle doesn't have rust, there must be something wrong with it. 

Edited December 14, 2015 by chunkypeanutbutter