Johnny Hunkins from Popular Hot Rodding magazine has been using a ton of Eastwood products on his recent 1968 Chevy Nova Project. He sent us over some pics of our Sunset Metallic Orange paint he chose and some early sprayouts of the jambs, trunk, etc, and we think it is going to look great! Keep up the great work and follow Johnny’s progress on his blog. We’re excited to see how this turns out in the end!
Today is a big day for Pile House. It has probably been 20 years or more since this truck has had a solid floor. Since I decided to choose a less-than-common truck, there isn’t much for replacement panels, and since it is a bit of a “mutt” anyways, I opted to just fabricate my own floors with some sheet metal from our friendly local metal shop.
The floor from first glance didn’t look that bad, I mean most of it was still there, which is pretty commendable for how this truck sat for 20+ years. But what you can’t see well in a picture, is how thin the metal left was. So thin it would start to tear if you put any weight on the floor. Because the cab mounts are tied into the front floors, I choose to weld some new pans in. I made sure to tie it into the parts of the truck that are solid, like the firewall and B-pillar.
After some work with the Angle Grinder and the Versa Cut Plasma Cutter I had the old floor out, and I was fabricating the replacement floor.
After cutting out the metal to fit around the transmission and the back of the engine, I got it all welded in place with help from the Eastwood MIG 175. Now that it is tied into the cab mount plates I made, and the firewall, the floor is much, much stronger than before. Once the final drivetrain is in place I’ll be making covers for the openings in the floor and firewall.
Next I will be burning out the holes in the cab mount plates in the floor and in the cab mount towers so that I can bolt the cab on and off of the chassis, then make bolt-on mounts for the front end. Stay tuned!
When I was out to lunch today, this is one of those cars, that even from 100 yards across the parking lot, caught my eye instantly. You see, you just don’t see automotive shapes like this anymore. I eventually followed and found it sitting outside of the local supermarket. Believe it or not this looks to be a real ’69 Mach 1 Mustang. Somewhere underneath the bondo, duct tape, etc there is a legendary Ford Muscle car. I was on a tight schedule and couldn’t wait to chat cars with the owner.. but I can only hope they have plans to restore this car to it’s former glory (it would be convenient having the entire Eastwood inventory minutes from where he grocery shops!).
Here in Eastwood country, (Pottstown, Pa. to those not familiar) we have a great classic car community. Because of that, the sound of rumbling exhausts is common to hear echo through the building as they park out front of our retail store. One of our regulars is Bob F. He used to run a repair shop in the area many years ago and has had a ton of experience restoring classic cars and trucks. In fact Bob even had his hands on a vintage Eastwood delivery van we had at our old headquarters many years ago!
Bob’s latest creation is fresh back from SEMA 2011. That’s right, Bob and his wife took his 1948 Chevy 1/2 ton truck the 2,000+ mile trip to SEMA this year, and it performed perfectly! This says a lot about Bob’s builds, I can’t say I could do that with any of my projects completely stress free!
This truck is able to cruise those distances partially because of his drivetrain choice. With a Chevy 383 mated to a 400 turbo transmission with a Ford 9″ rear with 370 posi, Bob is able to keep up with traffic and get pretty decent fuel mileage on the highway. Of course when he needs to “get-up and go” the engine really opens up and moves this truck!
With age, comes the need for creature comforts. Sure when we were all younger it was cool to have an obnoxiously loud rod with no windows, no heat, and solid suspension, but as the years go on, it takes a toll on you and you’ll find the need for a handful of comforts when making drives like Bob and his wife did! He started with adding the normal comforts that we all take for granted on modern cars, power steering, power brakes and even A/C. But then he went one step further and added cruise control. It’s no wonder Bob loves doing these long cruises! I can say that all of this was added in a non-obtrusive manner and didn’t scream “Gadgets!!” like some other classic vehicles kitted out with modern accessories like he added.
There are loads of subtle mods performed to this truck. Some of which were so well done, you could tell “something” had been done, but hard to put your finger on what exactly it was that he did to make it look so “right”. A few of the highlights for me was changing the front glass to the later single piece windshield and even some of the sheet metal on the front end. Bob also did some chopping of the body/running boards to get the truck looking proper when at ride height. Lastly, my favorite mod was the body trim that Bob fashioned out of brass stock, then had chromed. He drilled, tapped, and added studs to the backside of the trim to secure it to the cab and finish out the OE+ look that he has so expertly done on this truck.
We want to thank Bob for bringing his truck by, and we are glad our products could help bring this truck to the level that it is now at! Keep up the good work Bob, can’t wait to see what you turn out next.
One of the tough parts of being a product designer is that a LOT of your hard work goes unnoticed. No one remembers the hours spent designing, testing, and tweaking to get a product fit to go into production. Luckily we have a great group of guys that do this stuff not only because it pays the bills, but also because they love what they are doing. Our own J.R. had one of his newest products here at Eastwood get some limelight from the Editors at Popular Mechanics Magazine when they picked the Eastwood “Aerosol Injection” system for a 2011 SEMA Editors Choice Award. We are over the moon about this most recent notoriety, and can’t wait for our first batch to hit your hands. It really will make countless jobs in the shop, and around the house much easier. I know you’ll find new uses for it everyday!
Watch this space and our homepage for the full launch of our two new Aerosol Injection products late this year. It’s a must have!
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