Modern Bullitt build

[keepat]

Pat...seriously, and I don't mean to come across as "sucking up", but DAMN! You, sir, really know your metal working skills! I am so envious of what you are able to accomplish from start to finish. You merely look at a piece & are able to map it out in your head, much like it would be on paper...then you go ahead & sketch it on paper, transfer it to a blank metal surface & you're off and running! Genius. 

Part of my daily grind is to do damage estimates, because I have a good eye for imperfections & details. I see things that most people miss, and through your photos & comments, I am able to see a bit of what you see when you are transferring angles & dimensions to paper. The thing that separates us is that my brain can't make my hands do what your brain can make your hands do. Make any sense?  For example, I have built two custom Autorama show motorcycles, a few years back, one took 1st place for people's choice (pretty excited that year), and I made many one-off pieces for both bikes. But I made those pieces by envisioning my idea for an item, then cutting/hammering out a bracket, or piece, from what I had in my mind. I never put my idea to paper. So when I see you sketch out your idea on paper & make it happen on metal, to me, that's truly amazing. I wish I could do that.

Anyway, apologies for blathering on, continue with your project. I would really love to see your car, and your work one day.

Thank you for your comments, would love to see a picture of your custom motorcycle.
I have always enjoyed starting from paper and working to cardboard then steel as it helps to prevent/catch mistakes, but somehow I still make my fair share of mistakes ;-)
Thanks again!
Pat

[MxRacer855]

Looks great Pat! Didn't you make carbon fiber bumper brackets at one point?

Jeff

[keepat]

Looks great Pat! Didn't you make carbon fiber bumper brackets at one point?

Jeff

Jeff,

I made a carbon fiber front cross brace that holds the bumprets. It is a wacky shape to try to make out of aluminum.
Thank you
Pat

[keepat]

The right side mounts are bent,  just need to be welded and then the welds ground down. I will test fit when the bumpers return from Paul's chrome before I paint the mounts, I'm sure they will need a little tweaking to fit.
Thanks
Pat

[Lennard]

Master fabricator

[Ryan]

sorry if i missed it but what did you do to suck in the rear bumper? Did you make new brackets or modify the originals?  Looks great as always pat!

[MxRacer855]

 

Looks great Pat! Didn't you make carbon fiber bumper brackets at one point?

Jeff

Jeff,

I made a carbon fiber front cross brace that holds the bumprets. It is a wacky shape to try to make out of aluminum.
Thank you
Pat

[Cncguy]

Not sure if I agree with the aluminum brackets. You might be putting yourself at risk with these. Just because the car is old or a showcar doesn't mean we won't wreck them. But love the build so far.

[keepat]

sorry if i missed it but what did you do to suck in the rear bumper? Did you make new brackets or modify the originals?  Looks great as always pat!

Ryan,
I cut off about a 1/4" off of each end of the bumper and only modified the original bumper brackets to get a better fit.  The back bumper mounts are small and would be easy to remake in aluminum but I'm not sure there would be much of the weight savings.
Thank you
Pat

[alfaitalia]

cncguy...How could he put himself in any extra danger?.....those bumpers are purely cosmetic and aside from stopping you scratching your paint when parking do next to nothing in the event of an actual crash!

[mike69440]

I took a little break from the block sanding and bodywork and started making the aluminum front bumper brackets. Made a paper template of the driver side mounts and was very surprised when I flip the template inside out and it fit perfectly on the passenger side mounts. Need to do some welding and bend up the other 3 mounts.
Thanks
Pat

You are an excellent talented fabricator.  What grade aluminum did you use.  Will you box the brackets?

I used 5000 series aluminum it can be bend without cracking.  Don't plan on boxing it but I will add a few reinforcements for added strength.  Hard to see in the photos but I actually made the large oval slightly bigger than the original so that I can run a 1 1/2" brake cooling hose through it to the disc brakes.
Thank you
Pat

A little weld grinding, heavy bead blast and some good black paint, then only you and the front end springs will know the difference. 15 lbs is 15 lbs 
PS Think about using Stainless hardware and some 1/32" thick reinforced Teflon gasket to mount to prevent electroysis.

[keepat]

 When I add in the weight savings of the carbon fiber cross brace I made it's closer to 20 pounds off the front of the car. That along with the aluminum motor and front suspension I'm looking forward to getting the total weight of this car compared to an original AC charger.  I know I added weight with the frame reinforcements but I think I will still  net about 250 pounds lighter than an original car along with the CG being further aft.  I hope ;-)
Thanks
Pat

[Kern Dog]

cncguy...How could he put himself in any extra danger?.....those bumpers are purely cosmetic and aside from stopping you scratching your paint when parking do next to nothing in the event of an actual crash!

I agree. The bumpers on Pre-1973 American cars sure looked like they were designed for style and not protection. Conversely, the 1974 and later cars looked like they were making up for it....Damn they were big on some cars. Ever see a 75 Ford Maverick? The bumpers looked like they stood off the body by 8 inches or more. You really could bang into someone at 5-8 mph and incur no damage to the body. I'll bet they really did well in the demo derby contests!

[darbgnik]

cncguy...How could he put himself in any extra danger?.....those bumpers are purely cosmetic and aside from stopping you scratching your paint when parking do next to nothing in the event of an actual crash!

I agree. The bumpers on Pre-1973 American cars sure looked like they were designed for style and not protection. Conversely, the 1974 and later cars looked like they were making up for it....Damn they were big on some cars. Ever see a 75 Ford Maverick? The bumpers looked like they stood off the body by 8 inches or more. You really could bang into someone at 5-8 mph and incur no damage to the body. I'll bet they really did well in the demo derby contests!

I was racing a few weeks ago, and one team had a racecar based on an older Volvo , with those huge, safe, Volvo bumpers. The car hit a tire wall head on at 70 mph. Buried it in there. The hood and fenders were mangled pretty bad, but that bumper stayed where it was! It could take a whack!

[keepat]

More primer and block sanding ;-(
Pat

[JB400]

You're having fun and you know it.

[funknut]

Body lines are looking perfect.

[keepat]

You're having fun and you know it.

Yes I admit it, I'm still having fun

Body lines are looking perfect.

Not quite perfect, but we are getting there.
Thank you
Pat

[keepat]

Finished welding up the right side bumper mounts and ground down all the welds. When painted black I think it would hard to tell that they're not original.
Thanks
Pat

[Lennard]

  Great work going on!

[keepat]

Finished the bumper mounts, time to get back to block sanding and bodywork :-(
Thanks
Pat

[MxRacer855]

 

[orange383]

Very impressive!

[Fonzy]

always great following your resto! Keep them updates coming 

[mike69440]

All of you in Florida, hoping for the best!