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Richmond VA 1960 Bugeye Bringing Miss Eva back to life.

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The next step was to roll the new valence.

He sheared a panel that was much larger than the opening. He said many make the mistake of trying to get too close to the final fitment. He trimmed away as much as was left in the end.
There were many fitments prior to this shot.The material has many shapes being worked.
 
He uses the stepper - flanger to create a mating surface that will require little finishing work. He doesn't like to butt weld on pieces like this.

Final fitment using cleco fasteners.

Unfortunately the pictures don't do it justice. On the bottom there is a rolled edge that will be hammered over the support on the underside of the valence.
 
The ragged top edge will be completely hidden by the grille. He is going to work the rest of the bonnet and then I can start on getting it up to par.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought some might like to see the steps involved in working metal on a bonnet application. If you have ever bought replacement panels, many of them require a lot of rework to make them fit.
 
Amazing! Looks so easy and simple - the sign of a true craftsman! keep them coming.
 
A true artist and craftsman. I have a friend who does stuff like that. He is the body guy in a local shop that maintains high $$$ antique race cars from all around the country. Amazing what they can do.
 
Bayless said:
A true artist and craftsman. I have a friend who does stuff like that. He is the body guy in a local shop that maintains high $$$ antique race cars from all around the country. Amazing what they can do.
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He is fun to watch; however, when everyone wants to stop by it is hard for him to get things done. He charged me 6 hours of labor, so that was more than fair in my book.
 
BlueMax said:
Looks nice! Are you running the shroud?
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I am going to have to fabricate one. Looking at some of the new aluminum radiators they look like they are incorporated into them. Also was not sure if it was needed with electric fans if they were used instead.
 
Good question! I wanted to ram the air through the opening pass oil cooler and radiator down the transmission tunnel by keeping the bonnet shroud in place. I'm also using a vertical flow Sereck aluminum radiator with its shroud and a puller electric cooling fan.

P1030544.jpg
 
Love the shop and tools...you've come a long way very fast! I look forward to following along...
 

Weather has broke to where the garage is bearable. Summer activities have slowed and Miss Eva is calling again.
Dont know if others have used 3M weldable primer. It costs like liquid gold, but the paint supplier said it is the e ticket for restoration work. You do have to strip off to bare metal to paint.
 

Installed Roll Bar to be able to roll it over at some point and more importantly I can use it as a lift point with my tractor.
I needed to get the rotisserie off the back of Miss Eva so I could start cutting.

This has always been my biggest concern after getting the bonnet in shape.

I am pretty sure we are going to in the end flange the pieces but I wanted to leave plenty of meat to work with.

The moment of truth to see really what I have to work with in back.

Something to show the wife so she thinks I am heading in the right direction.

We debated trying to make it with the English Wheel at the shop I use. Labor wise there really were too many compound curves and with the license plate area using a piece from England was the most cost efficient way.

There is a really good reason why you really have to take a car down to the base metal. With this one I knew it needed to be dipped or blasted.

 
I know that most people love the Bugeye - Frogeye front end, but for me the ass end is pure beauty. The car as a whole is so cool. The missing door handles, roll up window no trunk, add in the age of the car, it's small size and it is a classic.
There is a good reason the Bugeyes seem to really have taken off. They show up more and more on BAT and Barn Finds. Pricing is reflecting the current fascination from other motorheads. I keep justifying my quest to have one on my terms.
 
Looking good. What's the story on the Jeep pickup in the background? Looks like a nice one!
 
Most people remember these trucks because of what is called the Gladiator Grille.

It is a 1968 Jeep J-2500 Gladiator Thriftside. It was supposed to be a quick paint and wheels, but as most projects became a complete restoration.

Bed was in bad shape so we fabricated one.

Interior is not original design, but the Jeep was so plain that is needed something to give it some spice.

There was not a bolt that went untouched. I drove it about 3-4 times and then parked it. I am in the process of getting it back to running condition. My 32 year old son pointed out that he had never even ridden in it. I drained the fuel and now have it running, but need to bleed the brakes and some minor grounding issues.
People kind of like it when they see.
 
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