Infusing style into an early post-war-styled hot rod is as easy as opening a dusty "lil' book" and peering deep to see what's pressed between the pages. Inspired metal fabrication can instill the feeling of speed into any hot rod.
The interior dash and door area of a Ford Model A are pretty basic, leaving plenty of opportunity to artistically alter its original configuration. To add just a dash of speed and style to the area, the team at the Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop in Greenfield Center, New York, set out to blend the dash and door tops together with the sleek look reminiscent of those seen in '33-36 Ford roadsters. Working with a Brookville Roadster '29, the team began by adding plenty of momentum to its persona by installing a Sellers Equipped windshield and Brookville '32 Ford dash. This prior work included the removal of the stock eyebrow section of the body, which was reworked to accommodate the new windshield as well as peak to the back of the cowl being pie-cut and laid back.
Matt Schmidt, of Rolling Bones...
Matt Schmidt, of Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop, uses 2-inch masking tape applied to the end of the dash and windshield post area. This acts as a release agent for the upcoming plastic mold.
Getting started, team member Matt Schmidt prepared the area to the side of the dash where he would create a mold for the first transition of rolling the dash into the door top. Using 2-inch masking tape, he covered the work area, since the tape would act as a perfect release agent for the mold once completed. After preparing a small amount of plastic body filler, he began to apply it to the area in gradual stages, allowing plenty of drying time between the layers. This step allowed Schmidt to fill the area and build it up in just the right places. Once the plastic had hardened, he followed with a combination flat and half-round file to sculpt the gradual transition from the dash to the beginning of the door top. When satisfied with the mold, it was carefully pried from its place and used as a visual guide to create the panel from steel. Schmidt proceeded with 22-gauge flat stock, cold rolled mild steel to fashion a filler piece. Using a pair of metal shears, he cut out the piece, making sure it was larger than required to allow for needed trimming in obtaining the exact shape. To add a graceful bend to the steel, Schmidt worked with a sandbag and a curved dolly while test-fitting the piece to the dash numerous times till the exact transition was found. With the basic shape attained, he trimmed the piece for a better fit using metal shears and continued with a number of body hammers to establish the correct contours to the end of the dash.
Schmidt forged on to stretch the steel to create some needed compound curves using a homespun anvil anchored in a bench vise while working the filler piece with a blunt point and finishing hammer. Once satisfied with the piece, he used his Millermatic MIG welder to anchor the piece. Wearing eye protection, the welds were then ground smooth using an air-driven disc grinder topped with a 50-grit disc followed by a die grinder.
Schmidt applied a liberal...
Schmidt applied a liberal dose of plastic body filler to the end of the dash and inner windshield post to set up the initial area to be molded; he used a number of layers to achieve the proper depth.
Once the filler had set up,...
Once the filler had set up, he used a combination flat and curved file to craft the transitional shape.
The completed mock-up is now...
The completed mock-up is now ready to be popped off to use as a visual guide to fashion the needed shape from steel.
Schmidt used the plastic mold...
Schmidt used the plastic mold as an example to rough-cut a section of 22-gauge steel for the general shape for the filler panel.
Schmidt used a sandbag and...
Schmidt used a sandbag and dolly to lay the initial curvature into the steel for one of its many test-fits to the dash area.
With the general curve in...
With the general curve in place, shears were used to trim down the filler panel to its proper size.
To properly round the edge...
To properly round the edge of the filler panel to the end of the dash, the small ball-end of a hammer was used to continue to work the proper contour into place.
Using a home-spun anvil, Schmidt...
Using a home-spun anvil, Schmidt used a hammer to stretch the steel and form the needed compound curves to properly match the end side of the dash.
Schmidt first MIG welded the...
Schmidt first MIG welded the filler panel in place. He then followed with a combination of hand files, a disc grinder, and a number of die grinders to complete the job. (Be sure to wear proper eye protection.)
The transition between the...
The transition between the dash and inner windshield post area is seamless and begins to establish the transitional flow into the door top area.
A 4-foot section of standard...
A 4-foot section of standard 1-3/4-inch steel exhaust pipe was used as the base to form the extension. Schmidt added a curve to the pipe to follow the flow of the stock door top.
With trimming marked, the...
With trimming marked, the pipe was first split on the bottom side using an air-driven cutoff-wheel.
The pipe was then laid on...
The pipe was then laid on top of the door to mark the cuts needed for the overall length as well as the initial area to be flattened once the pipe was pried open.
Using a flat dolly, a rubber...
Using a flat dolly, a rubber hammer is used to flatten out the marked curvature of the pipe without denting it. The pipe was worked from front to rear as it was gradually opened up.
The pipe to the door top was...
The pipe to the door top was checked numerous times so as not to distort the curve of the pipe to the door top. One of the tools used to spread the pipe was a pair of duck-billed Vise-Grips; gradually worked up and down the steel to create an even opening.