'46 Chevy Shorty

[Tango]

And now...a little woodwork --- Howdy All. Just picked up a couple of sheets of marine grade ply to begin some of the woodworking tasks.


This stuff ain't cheap but then, it doesn't come apart if it gets damp either. One sheet of 3mm Okume for finish stuff and a sheet of 1/2" for flooring and some other things.


Still trying to wrap up the work in this compound corner. I'm making a space to store the heavy-duty 30 foot shore cord under the electrical box. Hey...gotta use every cubic inch in a shorty.

ONWARD!

[sdwarf36]

" Hey...gotta use every cubic inch in a shorty."
The term my buddy came up with while building my bus-"you gotta think submarine!"

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, that little round corner at the back of your cord cabinet would make a great hidy hole for say a Beretta 926 and a box of rounds. Its always nice not to be alone.
Jack

[Tango]

Ya...Roger the Submarine thinking!

Jack...have to admit I am a sucker for the
Beretta 96A1 in 40 cal.

May have to sell my 1894 Winchester octagonal but the Beretta would be an easier carry.

[Tango]

Still at it --- Those of you who own buses that have flat, straight walls should thank your lucky stars. This curvy old Art Deco shorty makes even the simplest attachments a real challenge. Best example is probably my door...which is curved along one edge & flat along the other. But her beautifully rounded butt, which is all double compound curves, takes a close second. Simply fabbing and attaching some paneling requires boat building skills that I obviously do NOT possess. But...I am trying anyway.

Example...


Most folks can just tack an off the shelf hunk of wood to the ribs and go from there. Not here. I had to play boat builder and match the rear wall curve plus build in some taper just to get this one wall stud even close.


Still not quite there. It took another half hour of sanding and fitting and sanding and fitting to get this #@!%# stick to the point it could support some paneling.

Back at it today.

ONWARD!

[plfking]

Originally Posted by Tango

.....requires skills that I obviously do NOT possess.

Sorry......but after seeing what you've done on your bus PLUS that 9000 ft handcrafted bench.......I'm not buying this. Pretty sure you could build a 13-sided Rubik's Cube if you really wanted one.

[Tango]

LOL!...Thanks PLK --- My skills definitely have limits. But then, every day is an opportunity to learn something new...right?

Like today. Actually, I have spent TWO days fabricating a simple wooden bracket to attach some interior paneling onto. Maybe 8' long but a royal PITA. All compound curves with varying measures. And with limited woodworking skill and tools...it took WAY longer than it should have.


Take a piece of 2 x 4 and shape it to fit the tapering, rounded corner of a 70 year old skoolie. Piece O cake, right? Not nearly as complicated as it was time consuming. Just cut something close with a jig saw, whittle it with a belt sander...test fit it...then whittle some more until it fits.


Then...when it finally fits (or you get too bored to go on) throw some shellac on it to help keep any water from rotting it away too quickly and stuff it in. It is now glued in place and I will attach the paneling manana.

And I still have the passenger side corner to do.

ONWARD!

[ol trunt]

I presume that 18" piece started out as a 10' 2x4---would have if I'd been trying to make it. Jack

[Tango]

Close Jack...I had a piece of scrap 2x4 about a foot long that served as the basis for this first experiment. Still one more to do for the passenger side. I thought about trying to trace this first one, but nothing on this rig seems to be that symmetrical so I'll just start from scratch again and whittle till it fits.

[Tango]

Rainy & Nasty here...glad to be working indoors --- Finally wrapped up the paneling in the driver side rear corner which allowed me to proceed with my water tanks mount. No room underneath so they go indoors. Won't have to worry much about the plumbing freezing unless I do too.


Fabbed the base mount way back when but could not install it until all the other stuff in that corner was in place. Ground all the nasty, black oxidation off for a clean start on finishing.


A few passes with the Miller, a little paint and...waalaah!...done. Much quicker than all that wooden boat building/paneling nonsense.


From the front. Next comes the containment for three 15 gallon ABS water tanks. That will all sit on top of this mount. Too late today...Manana.

ONWARD!

[bradd]

This is the coolest thing I have ever seen!! What do you plan on doing with it?

[Tango]

Thanks bradd --- This will be my "retirement home"...someday.

Update on the rain. I now have four feet of it in the street outside my studios here in Houston. Just hoping the new workshop the bus is now in is on higher ground. This will be the first Houston frog drowner I have experienced in that space.

PS...the Fire Department just came and did a water rescue on someone in a car outside my building. I'm hoping it eases up soon.

[Phatman]

The work is looking good Tango. The rain is really that bad this morning downtown? I've been watching the weather but we are not getting it on the south side. I thought we could get together this past weekend for a couple of drinks but the gods just wasn't smiling down upon us. Besides, you needed to get all this work done. I've got to see this 46 Shorty. Keep the progress and pix coming.

[Tango]

Roger the rainfall Phatman. So far, the flooding on my street is just short of when Ike blew through and it is still coming down. Not unusual for Houston to get in an hour three times what the whole state of Arizona gets in a year.

Looks like it will be Sunday before we see another dry day.

[Tango]

We had a rather heavy dew this morning.


Just outside my door. And it had gone down a few inches by the time it was light enough to get a shot. Had been up to that cars' windshield.

[cadillackid]

wow that looks like the rain we had in Dallas sunday night.. it was so bad that the hotel I was staying did a room to room walk monday morning because there were so many reports from guests of water on the floor..

they brought in a couple pallets of those blue carpet drying fans.. the DFW even closed down and caused a deluge of people checking in.. sure put my new phone system to the test!
-Christopher

[Tango]

Just a little Texas "sprankle".

[1olfart]

YOU OK Tango? Looks like your area was in the bullseye.

[Phatman]

Originally Posted by Tango

Just a little Texas "sprankle".

Roger that Tango.

[Tango]

Thanks olfart...so far so good --- Found out later there was a woman sitting in that car...in the water...in the dark...waiting for the FD to come rescue her (they did). The water was up to the bottom of the windshield but she could have taken five steps to some high ground. Must be new here. Us locals deal with a little rain like that all the time.

Got a late start today but did get on to prepping the box that will hold my water tanks.


This would be a good time to sing the praises of cold rolled steel. Even more so since I spent the better part of the day grinding scale off this old hot rolled doodad. Made it before I found a cold rolled supplier. Take my word on this...pay the extra for cold rolled. You will be glad you did.


And I still have the inside to do! This will mount onto the frame that that I just welded on top of my driver side wheel well and hold three 15 gallon tanks for fresh water.

ONWARD!