Birth of the Blue Missile

[blue missile]

I have redesigned the louver hardware so that it is much more secure.
The upper hinges are longer and have more material that tucks under the gasket. The lower clips now tuck under the vertical and horizontal gasket in the corner. The final piece is a small clip that will go over the gasket at the top right where the stress is at the hinge point and will be held down by the stainless window trim.
I have also continued with the finish out of the louvers themselves. First rage gold, Epoxy primer then, metal glaze, more primer then more glazing compound. Finally I will put base/clear.
Andrew

 

[blue missile]

Yall wanted to see the finished piece, so here it is.
First base, then with clear. I'm sorry to say its not perfect, and of course I couldn't see any of it until the clear went on. But I keep telling myself its just a driver.
Andrew

 

[skypower]

Very cool Andrew. looks great.

 

[Idaho]

Awesome. If the clear highlights minor defects, maybe another coat in matte?

 

[txtopcat]

Very nice looking! And btw those aren't flaws..... they are proof it's a one of a kind, hand made, custom piece of art. If you are that displeased with it I'll take it! LOL

 

[blue missile]

Here it is on the car, no top hinges, still too soft to handle. but it lays down very nicely.
Andrew

 

[txtopcat]

Wow! That looks great.

 

[Idaho]

Better get ready to start taking orders.

 

[blue missile]

Here is the rear shot.
I have already been asked if they are for sale and how much?
Now to the cost.
A lot of the cost is in the carbon and the style of the weave. In order to make them thin enough to be useful there is unidirectonal and med modulus 3K-5harness satin which happens to be $80/yd. So figure $200 in materials. It then took a week to produce the part. I dont know what you guys get paid weekly, so you put a figure in there.
With that in mind I really had no intention of selling these at this point.
BUT! after I get the car completed I was going to talk to some people about a cost effective way to produce these so they aren't ridiculously expensive.
So what we have here is proof of concept, I will follow up on this. By the way they are roughly the thickness of the piece of cardboard at the back of a legal pad.
By the way there is no center "rod" because each of the louvers touches the glass at two points cutting the span into thirds.That tight relationship to the glass was the engineering challenge.
Andrew

 

[blue missile]

Sorry its been a while since my last post, but I have been cleaning out the garage getting rid of the stuff I no longer need for the car and getting ready to move this whole operation to an actual shop.
During the process I have been putting together the first punch list and identifying things I can accomplish with materials on hand.
One of those items was the installation of the final passenger A/C vent under the glove box. When I was laying out the dash there was only room for three regular vents. The vintage air system I will install has four supply outlets so If I could figure out a way to direct the fourth one I could use it.
While cleaning up I came across the squeegee/floor sweep for my shop vac. In a serendipitous moment there was the vent! A piece of sheet metal for a screw flange and it looks like it grew there.
Andrew

 

[Captainkirk]

Sorry its been a while since my last post, but I have been cleaning out the garage getting rid of the stuff I no longer need for the car and getting ready to move this whole operation to an actual shop.
During the process I have been putting together the first punch list and identifying things I can accomplish with materials on hand.
One of those items was the installation of the final passenger A/C vent under the glove box. When I was laying out the dash there was only room for three regular vents. The vintage air system I will install has four supply outlets so If I could figure out a way to direct the fourth one I could use it.
While cleaning up I came across the squeegee/floor sweep for my shop vac. In a serendipitous moment there was the vent! A piece of sheet metal for a screw flange and it looks like it grew there.
Andrew

You, sir, are a friggin' genius!rayer:

 

[txtopcat]

Fantastic creativity! How much will you charge me to help install my Vintage Air system? LOL

 

[blue missile]

Captain, coming from you that means a lot.
TC, once the shop is up and going, I will have a way to help you. Im sure we can do a trade for some help later on one of my up coming projects.
Here is a clue to the next two:
Andrew

 

[Captainkirk]

Andrew......what in blazes you cookin' up now?

 

[blue missile]

Well,
I know you read the story, I really want the first car I was denied, only it will get the original block from the Missile with a front motor plate. and one of the club members sent a post from the DFW area about a strange vehicle I could turn into the Band transport.
The first one can be found being driven by inspector Morse, the second one might have been used on an ectoplasmatic house call.
Andrew

 

[Captainkirk]

Andrew....where'd you get off to? We're getting worried!

 

[blue missile]

Unfortunately Captain my wife's mother passed away last Friday.
Its been kind of hectic around here. I think well be stabilized by Friday.
In the mean time no one offered a guess as to what the up coming projects were based on the clues.
It appears that one of them may no longer be available, it was a 1959 Dodge Coronet ambulance that was going to get the original 340 out of the Missile.
So I have turned my attention to the other one. Back in 73 as the story goes I really wanted a 1959 MK9 Jaguar I would look out of my window at the dorm and see every day.
I am now in a position to pursue that desire. I took four years to plan the Missile project before I turned a single wrench, so the planning for the Jag has started.
I have looked into all the problems that are common to jags of that age and I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I should replace the drivetrain and the electrical system which are known to be problematic.
I went on a generic hunt for vehicles that are similar in size and scope to the Jag and what vehicle do you think I found with the same wheelbase, the same width and the same length?
Wait for it..............the Chrysler 300!!
They both have a 120" wheelbase, are 196" long and 75" wide. actually the 300 is 74"wide.
So I'll cut the body off of both and drop the Jag body onto the 300 chassis and drive train and interior.
I will probably use a couple of front seats from a Cadillac CTS with the built in three-point seat belts built in, I will also fit the drop down back seat trays in to the back of them.
All of the woodwork will be stain matched, I have already contacted a manufacturer of the real burlwood dress up kits for the 300 and they are willing to provide me with a stamped kit with the adhesive back but no finish on the wood. If you can put the pics together in your mind you'll kind of see where Im going.
Andrew
The end result will be a pearl white Jaguar 300C SRT with a maroon interior and all the modern conveniences.

 

[PanGasket]

oh wow. that'll be crazy!

There's a guy in Duluth, GA who owns the original Ghostbusters Caddy ambulance. Original bill of sale to the studio and all. It still runs and drives and is in good shape. I have a pic of it somewhere...

 

[blue missile]

I just got a text that the coronet ambulance was sold and is no longer available.
Oh well.
Andrew

 

[blue missile]

Wanting to find something to do for the car during this rainy day, I found the remote filter adapter in a box of plumbing stuff and I decided to "port" it and try to eliminate the hard 90* places in the passages. I used a dremel and some aluminum filled epoxy to make the transitions as smooth as possible.
Sorry I forgot to take before pics.
Andrew

 

[blue missile]

Well the weather has cooled off and the rain has finally stopped. I am now trying to find things I can accomplish with MOH (materials on hand). So im back to blocking and priming. I really wanted to pay someone else to do this, but Im working on raising funds for the big items like the motor and a different tranny.
Andrew

 

[HemiDenny]

I just got a text that the coronet ambulance was sold and is no longer available.
Oh well.
Andrew

should I throw away my suspension drawings?

 

[blue missile]

Denny you never get rid of part of a knowledge base! Im also looking at a 34 plymouth, but I havent given up on a "Bandmobile"yet. First I have to get a shop put together, working in the driveway has hit the point of diminishing returns.
Andrew

 

[Captainkirk]

Denny you never get rid of part of a knowledge base! Im also looking at a 34 plymouth, but I havent given up on a "Bandmobile"yet. First I have to get a shop put together, working in the driveway has hit the point of diminishing returns.
Andrew

Yeah, I could see that happening.:wack:

 

[blue missile]

Here is the latest,
I'm still blocking the car, but the majority of the car is blocked to 220, it will get another coat of epoxy primer as the filler and blocked with 320.
In between blocking sessions Im putting together the components for the FLIR system. The camera arrived first. It was a standard size exterior camera about the size of a 44 oz cup. Its now 2"x3"x5". It will be bolted to the bottom of the top plate of the operable part of the hood scoop. It has a zero lux/IR element and a 12mm lens, based on the lighting specs it should be good for 100 yards.
Andrew