When you’re building old cars you sometimes have to work with “what you’ve got”, especially when you’re on a tight budget. If you’re building a hot rod using period correct parts you may need to mix and match parts to get something that works for your particular vehicle.
Tag: Hot Rod
How to separate a Transverse or Buggy Spring
If it’s one thing I learned as kid from my dad was that you need to fear and respect the suspension, specifically the springs on a vehicle. They can have a lot of built up tension in them when still mounted together that can be very dangerous if released uncontrollably. […]
Step up your Hammer Game! Using Intermediate Body hammers and Dollies
Back when cars were made of heavy metal and had lots of beautiful curves guys took the time to repair a fender rather than just replace it. Any good metal worker will tell you that you need to match the hammer and dolly as close as possible with the shape of your panel you’re working on. When you’re working on a curvy car like something from the late 1930’s through the 1950’s you will be hard pressed to find a flat panel on the vehicle. This means that you will need to use tools to match. Back in those days the selection of specialty hammers were vast, some being specifically used for one type of car or type of repair!
Build a chassis/fixture Table on a budget
In a effort to make my life easier I decided I would build a table that I could build and modify chassis on in the future. I only had a few simple rules; it needed to be mobile, I needed to be able to easily level it, and it needed to be AFFORDABLE. If you haven’t checked, the metal required to build a heavy fabrication or chassis table new is big bucks. I’d rather save that cash for my project cars and repurpose some metal from my local scrap metal yard.
How to Fit Seat Sliders to Your Hot Rod Seat
The older the car you’re working on, the harder it can be to find usable parts you need. This becomes increasingly difficult when you get into cars that were short production or year runs. The iconic 1932 Ford is the most covenanted cars to build a hot rod out of. Being that they are a one year only body style, parts get expensive quick (especially original parts!). The seat slider mechanisms for an original ’32 Ford seat are as rare as hens teeth and command a pretty penny when you do come across one complete! Recently my friend Ace asked me to help with the task of getting his reupholstered original seat to bolt into the car AND slide easily. I decided to take some photos along the way and show our low-budget (and fairly low tech) fix.
Ditch Those Leaky Header Joints
After you’ve been building and modifying cars for a while there’s some things that you become pretty particular about. It could be just how you like something to look or function, or just an extra step you take to save yourself headaches in the future. One of mine is an exhaust system that’s leak-free and sounds good. I’ve had bad luck over the years of header unions leaking over time. It seems either they crack at the welds or they just fit poorly and leave much to be desired when fitting the rest of the exhaust.
Grand National Roadster Show 2015- The year of Bare Metal?
Our main focus here at Eastwood is to make products that the DIY guy or gal can afford and can produce pro quality work with. In order for us to be sure our products are good enough for you at home, we like to get our products into the hands of high end shops so they can put them to the test. This means our Eastwood “stuff” get used on some pretty high-end vehicles built by these shops. This year the Grand National Roadster Show was chocked-full of EXTREMELY high end vehicles, many of which had Eastwood products used on them! We decided to post up about our three favorite cars by some shops that we’re honored to say use Eastwood products in their builds!
Solid Rivet FAQ
Solid rivets, sometimes called aircraft rivets, are a solid piece of metal with a large head on one side and a straight shaft. They are installed by sliding them in a hole slightly bigger than the shaft, then deforming the protruding shaft to 1 ½ times its size, so it is tight and cannot pull out. They differ from pop rivets in that they are solid, therefor stronger, and use a buck bar and pneumatic gun to install them instead.
The 2014 The Race of Gentlemen Report
 The Race of Gentlemen or “TROG” has by far become my favorite automotive event of the year and this year was no exception. TROG is a perfect example of a small low-key event that’s kept true to their roots. Even with all of the exposure and hype surrounding this […]