EK morphs into pillarless Coupe .

Harko · Post by **Harko** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:49 am

http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtop ... highlight=
Click and read this thread to learn how the EK was aquired but what you wont read is that Minifc also stored it for a while ,came up with a great plan of bartering when I had drama with the cash and also delivered it to me (As Ive mentioned before Mark ,your bloods worth bottling and your skins worth a fortune

)
As you can see this car was gained through an auction in here - our site.
Truth be known I didnt have any cash at the time and actually when I posted "Im out" I was actually trying to get myself out.
After a very mynute bit of egging on I upped the price then kicked myself for doing so , and I figured somoene would outbid me hence the bantering in the hope it would get another bid

Stoked when I won it none the less and all I could invision was Ratbox's pillarless ,but what some of you dont know is I already have enough work on cars here to last me the next two decades.

so over the next few weeks I spent lots of time on photoshop coming up with a good pic of what I want it to look like.and lots of hours repairing the rust.

And so here starts the build .

This is a bad reference photo because it would seem it has been just filled ,I did clean up the inner area that looks rusty and rust converted it also.

This area is a hard piece to form up due to its concave and rounded curves but fbbad on the forum had let me take ownership of this gem

which unexpectedly had a good piece but on the opposite guard

Here you can see I was hoping to use the inner guard section also but it didnt work out that way , The piece came from further up the guard where it was slightly different and the inner guard had become a different width .
Also the outer curve or radius had tightened up ,I hammered it a little and shortened it a little more than needed so I could build it up with solid weld and shape it instead - worked out awesome.

more to follow..................................................................................

mattymartin · Post by **mattymartin** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:29 am

great work...

looks like your gunna be busy for a while mate...

any pic's of the finished plan...

matty martin

Devilrod · Post by **Devilrod** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:45 pm

Good Stuff I await more progress shots...

captainbill · Post by **captainbill** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:49 pm

Another project.Looks like you like keeping busy harko.You going to do it the same colour.

Harko · Post by **Harko** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:19 pm

Wont be the same color Captain bill ,It will be flat and candy but Ill reveal the color once Im set on it.

Heres more work in progress - Finishing the boot ...

cleaned up for welding .

That boot lock leaves a pretty large hole so I grabbed a tin of holes to fill it back in .

I trimmed it out using a jigsaw and flattened out the punched hole then set it in flush for welding ,got everything clean and zapped it in.

Mephious · Post by **Mephious** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:59 pm

Great thread Harko !!!

Will be good seeing how this vechile evolves mate, having its roots on the site. Mick's pillarless coupe is spot on, it would be great to see another one........ blown !

captainbill · Post by **captainbill** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:36 pm

A tin of holes.good work harko.

Harko · Post by **Harko** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:12 pm

Haha thought it might get a laugh.

There were 26 holes in each guard and the quarters once had a Hollywood tilly kit on it so there were plenty of holes to weld up there too ,I think by the time I get the body in shape Ill be getting scared of the welding it takes to stretch the doors and roof

.
Im going to drop the roof 3 inches on the front pillar and hopefully 3.5 at the rear depending on where it looks right ,Im using the rear glass and slicing between it and the boot and moving it forward then mating it back up to the roof , And although I toyed with the idea of pulling the pillars I think I will spread the roof so it allows the cut screen to fit right and also makes the roof square in shape rather than narrower at the front as per factory .
Id like to make some side glass surrounds from copper channel and have them chromed similar to XM XP falcon coupes ,Ill weld the frames to the roof as you did Ratbox and maybe add a lip to them to accomodate a rubber and the glass can butt up against it.
One area that bothers me is when looking along the doors the front flows out and the rears flow in - so the pillar is about 20mm too wide , Have a look down any EK window line and you will see what I mean.
So when I extend the front door it will head outward

might be able to gain a bit of curve but not much , and I expect to have to cut the window edge off and run the same radius curve right the way along , Anywayz time will tell.
enough blabber heres some pics.

The tilly kit centre area seems to have been bare metalled and painted over with something porus ,Its pitted between the strips - wierd ,Ill get it blasted and smooth it with liquid metal.
But in this pic you will also see the guards lower section has been repaired ,I didnt have any batteries in the camera so I was lucky to have this one ,I took templates of the shape then found something I could roll the metal around ,In this case an axe handle and small fire extinguisher gave me the correct shape

rolled from metal cut out of an FC bonnet

The inner section had rotted away aswell so I utilised a mates folder and some floor guage zinc coated metal so it will last a lifetime.
Ive split the tail lights and am going to extend the fins but not untill the roff comes down and window forward so I can eyeball it ,I like the idea of having the chrome trim a 57 chev has above the light so if anyone can find some please give us a yell

No more bonnet mascot or badges ,15 Holes right there

Then I went under the car / check this out , A hole heap of birdshit welding and nothing stuck , I just pulled it and it came loose but bare in mind this is the crossmember that holds the pickup points for the subframe - bloody scary

Heres what layed beneath ,Another crossmember ha ! Double thickness - strong as

But wait theres more ! I cut that one away to reveal the original member still there and actually in not bad a shape - 3 layers must have been stronger

Its easier just to get rid of the rust so it s"stops"

The new member trial fitted .

And a strengthening kit welded in ,I made this from the old fence they pulled down at my last job ,you can see the yellow enamel remains from what I stripped off ,Its heavy sidewall and perfect for the job..

EK283 · Post by **EK283** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:39 pm

Harko,

It is amazing what you can achieve when you have to!

Ive had a few months off now but when I look at photos like these it just starts motivating me again.

Good work!

Regards Greg

mattymartin · Post by **mattymartin** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:21 am

hey harko,

at this rate, you'll be ready for yamba... great work & awesome pic's

thanks
matty martin

Harko · Post by **Harko** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:43 pm

Harko,

It is amazing what you can achieve when you have to!

When you want to

Cheers Matty ,I think about 2 weeks out is when I will commit myself to anything so I more than likely wont end up there due to payment up front and booking holidays etc.

Both lower guard areas were dodgy so heres what I found on the left guard

I unbolted the rear of the guard and chocked it out to gain access for the repair , I cut the section off and look what else I found

.

So I stalled on the guard and kept the hole there to look through

while I repaired the lower section of the cowl .
I love it though because I had to do more repairs than this cars on an FC I paid 4 grand for , Ive made these before

This shows the new section in and metal putty incase of any pin holes ,These came from the zinc sheet aswell .

mmmmm purdy

And the guard bottom to button it up , I left the lip on the guard longer so I could slowly cut it down and allow it to have an awesome seal against the body .
Ill be replacing this sides sill ,Its not that bad but its had a sill welded on wrong at some stage so it has lost the curve from the door edge down to the swage line , I need it right so when the rear door skin is welded in place it is right .

Scary to look at when you know what to look at ... All bog , no gap .
Ill be cutting up the other sedan tomorrow so this will have to wait .

ValleyMistEK · Post by **ValleyMistEK** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:01 pm

Harko, you MUST be the guy they're referring to in those For Sale ads that say "Restorer's Dream" and when you go to look at the car there's more rust than metal.

Bloody nice work!

Harko · Post by **Harko** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:39 pm

I aint no stinkin restorer

Yeah I dont mind doing it as long as the end product is something to be proud of and didnt break the bank .
Does anyone like my white walls ?

mattymartin · Post by **mattymartin** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 6:14 am

LOL... love em

matty martin

mrs ratbox · Post by **mrs ratbox** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 7:52 am

harko yor pissin' me off

i want so bad to do something else but lack of funds not being able to find a cheap enough starting point and not being alloud to sell the van to fund it