Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
- turns
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Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Team Lone Star – Jobs in the Shop
And so it begins................................
It is well documented in my build thread that I met Stuart Smith the proprietor of Lone Star Body Shop after his very generous offer to roll some beads in my quarter panels for me. I remember the first time I ever spoke to him on the phone arranging this session I remarked that I was keen to see his shop. His response was…….Yeh, it is just a workshop mate.
When I eventually ventured down to see him, I walked through a single door that was open to meet him and was blown away by some of his stuff – he just has heaps of cool car stuff.
I already thought that Stuart was a regular contributor to the forum but after a few hours I asked why he didn’t post more as he seemed to have an endless trail of worthwhile content. Basically he is very very busy and by nature a bit humble – not two really good traits for posting on an internet forum. The beads in my quarter panels are almost complete and as it turns out, we have become friends.
After much persuasion he sort of agreed to let me post some of his stuff.
Please be sympathetic with your comments as he doesn’t need to let me do this and from my perspective I am posting another guy’s work so I may make mistakes along the way.
Stuart has a couple of employees that work with him being Gavin (Cords) and Steve and I have encouraged all three to contribute comments once I get the ball rolling. Both Gavin and Steve are ‘car guys’ and gun metal men in their own right.
My plan is to have this thread that covers ‘Jobs in the Shop’ and I will start several others that are more specific eg Pullmax thread – from commissioning to tooling. There seems to be from my observations that people on here are interested in all this type of content??
Anyway, enough waffle………………where to start??
1936 Ford Coupe Ute
Stuart was phoned by a guy name Gabe to rebuild the body of his ute after another body shop sat on it without starting it for months – perhaps it was a bit outside his capabilities. Gabe saw Stuart’s hotrod at Motorex and the rest is history. It should be said that there are many jobs on the go at Lone Star but this job was started mid January 2012 and has progressed at a very fast pace.
The scope of works entailed getting the body to Stage One which was to square up the cab, fabricate a sub structure, quarter panels and tailgate.
From what I can gather the ute had sat in a river bed for many years and looked pretty far gone. It had been picked over very thoroughly and there was a fair bit of damage from when the last parts were picked from it. Being out in the bush people must have just ripped the parts off it. There was a lot of consequential damage from the ute having been picked over
Here is the ute on the trailer as it arrived at the shop - many people commented that it was beyond saving
It was wheeled inside and mounted on a rotisserie to start to assess what was usable
This is the chassis the ute came in on - as the build progressed this chassis was deemed to rusty to use.
The rusty panels were removed and some structure laid to get some measurements off
Lots of damage had to be fixed on the doors and cab before the build could progress too much further. The repairs had to be made to allow the doors to be hung and gapped.
At this stage the cab was bead blasted and treated to a coat of epoxy and repairs begun
Layer by layer the rusty panels inside the footwell were removed and new replacement panels were fabricated.
A new lower cowl panel was needed. A template was made and a panel cut out and shaped. A new die was made for the Pullmax to form the bead that matches the one that runs along the bottom of the door.
Here is Stuart tigging the replacement panel in - pulsed tig generates approx 60% of the heat of oxy to minimise distortion
The B pillar was also restored at this point
Here is Stuart forming the sill panels on the English wheel using a tipping wheel and eurathane lower anvil
And so it begins................................
It is well documented in my build thread that I met Stuart Smith the proprietor of Lone Star Body Shop after his very generous offer to roll some beads in my quarter panels for me. I remember the first time I ever spoke to him on the phone arranging this session I remarked that I was keen to see his shop. His response was…….Yeh, it is just a workshop mate.
When I eventually ventured down to see him, I walked through a single door that was open to meet him and was blown away by some of his stuff – he just has heaps of cool car stuff.
I already thought that Stuart was a regular contributor to the forum but after a few hours I asked why he didn’t post more as he seemed to have an endless trail of worthwhile content. Basically he is very very busy and by nature a bit humble – not two really good traits for posting on an internet forum. The beads in my quarter panels are almost complete and as it turns out, we have become friends.
After much persuasion he sort of agreed to let me post some of his stuff.
Please be sympathetic with your comments as he doesn’t need to let me do this and from my perspective I am posting another guy’s work so I may make mistakes along the way.
Stuart has a couple of employees that work with him being Gavin (Cords) and Steve and I have encouraged all three to contribute comments once I get the ball rolling. Both Gavin and Steve are ‘car guys’ and gun metal men in their own right.
My plan is to have this thread that covers ‘Jobs in the Shop’ and I will start several others that are more specific eg Pullmax thread – from commissioning to tooling. There seems to be from my observations that people on here are interested in all this type of content??
Anyway, enough waffle………………where to start??
1936 Ford Coupe Ute
Stuart was phoned by a guy name Gabe to rebuild the body of his ute after another body shop sat on it without starting it for months – perhaps it was a bit outside his capabilities. Gabe saw Stuart’s hotrod at Motorex and the rest is history. It should be said that there are many jobs on the go at Lone Star but this job was started mid January 2012 and has progressed at a very fast pace.
The scope of works entailed getting the body to Stage One which was to square up the cab, fabricate a sub structure, quarter panels and tailgate.
From what I can gather the ute had sat in a river bed for many years and looked pretty far gone. It had been picked over very thoroughly and there was a fair bit of damage from when the last parts were picked from it. Being out in the bush people must have just ripped the parts off it. There was a lot of consequential damage from the ute having been picked over
Here is the ute on the trailer as it arrived at the shop - many people commented that it was beyond saving
It was wheeled inside and mounted on a rotisserie to start to assess what was usable
This is the chassis the ute came in on - as the build progressed this chassis was deemed to rusty to use.
The rusty panels were removed and some structure laid to get some measurements off
Lots of damage had to be fixed on the doors and cab before the build could progress too much further. The repairs had to be made to allow the doors to be hung and gapped.
At this stage the cab was bead blasted and treated to a coat of epoxy and repairs begun
Layer by layer the rusty panels inside the footwell were removed and new replacement panels were fabricated.
A new lower cowl panel was needed. A template was made and a panel cut out and shaped. A new die was made for the Pullmax to form the bead that matches the one that runs along the bottom of the door.
Here is Stuart tigging the replacement panel in - pulsed tig generates approx 60% of the heat of oxy to minimise distortion
The B pillar was also restored at this point
Here is Stuart forming the sill panels on the English wheel using a tipping wheel and eurathane lower anvil
"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly"...............Morticia Addams
- hewey
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Great idea, and looking forward to seeing lots of pics.
Pariahs C.C.
- turns
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
After the cab and doors were repaired the cab was mounted onto a new chassis as a solid foundation. This new chassis has a Holden front end with HQ front braked, P76 rotors and the ute will run a Ford Cleveland V8. Doors were hung and the cab was squared up on the chassis
At this stage new quarter panels had to be made. Stuart's folder is not long enough to be able to form these panels. It was at this point Stuart contacted a guy named Jim from Braidwood that he knew through his previous interest in horses. Jim has large brake presses and plans on how to press the radii at the top of the quarter panels. A deal was struck and Stuart worked with Jim to fabricate both quarter panels, tailgate and the panels that are either side of the tailgate. I believe they fabricated two sets, one set for Jim in this session that he intended to sell at a swap meet. Not many pics were taken of this stage.
Here are the panels that were done with Jim
The wheel well openings had to be formed and steel out sections fabricated
Here is the die being cut on the scroll saw for the Pullmax that was used earlier to form the lower beads. The same beads were added to the lower edge of the quarter panel
Here are the quarter panels being offered up to the car
The tools that were used to form the SHS for the sub structure come from Pro Tools in Tampa Florida. One tool is called a tube roller used for gradual curves and a pipe bender for forming tighter radius in the SHS. Both tools were approx. ($1500 AUD exc freight)
The substructure fabrication work continued with constant measuring
Some sheetmetal panels were made as infills - dimple dies were used on the holes
From the research that Stuart had done most of the bulkheads behind the seats were dome with SHS too - the factory used wood Stuart opted to use double skinned sheet metal panel to minimise Noise Vibration Harshness. The bulkhead skin that faces the cabin had radial beads formed from the transmission hump
The second skin of the bulkhead that faces the cargo area was formed and the Ford script was added for stiffening
At this stage new quarter panels had to be made. Stuart's folder is not long enough to be able to form these panels. It was at this point Stuart contacted a guy named Jim from Braidwood that he knew through his previous interest in horses. Jim has large brake presses and plans on how to press the radii at the top of the quarter panels. A deal was struck and Stuart worked with Jim to fabricate both quarter panels, tailgate and the panels that are either side of the tailgate. I believe they fabricated two sets, one set for Jim in this session that he intended to sell at a swap meet. Not many pics were taken of this stage.
Here are the panels that were done with Jim
The wheel well openings had to be formed and steel out sections fabricated
Here is the die being cut on the scroll saw for the Pullmax that was used earlier to form the lower beads. The same beads were added to the lower edge of the quarter panel
Here are the quarter panels being offered up to the car
The tools that were used to form the SHS for the sub structure come from Pro Tools in Tampa Florida. One tool is called a tube roller used for gradual curves and a pipe bender for forming tighter radius in the SHS. Both tools were approx. ($1500 AUD exc freight)
The substructure fabrication work continued with constant measuring
Some sheetmetal panels were made as infills - dimple dies were used on the holes
From the research that Stuart had done most of the bulkheads behind the seats were dome with SHS too - the factory used wood Stuart opted to use double skinned sheet metal panel to minimise Noise Vibration Harshness. The bulkhead skin that faces the cabin had radial beads formed from the transmission hump
The second skin of the bulkhead that faces the cargo area was formed and the Ford script was added for stiffening
Last edited by turns on Tue May 01, 2012 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly"...............Morticia Addams
- turns
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
From here panels were formed for the inner quarter panels. These were stepped to allow the cargo side panels to sit in a recess.
Panel underneath the bulkhead - cargo side
Wheel wells were formed from a template taken from the rusty original. These were altered as the owner wants to run a 10 inch rim
Clecos being used to hold the wheel wells in place for welding
Stuart bought a complete Holden Rodeo tailgate that donated it's latch mechanism. Fabricating the tailgate began - there is a lot of work here in the inner skin, gaps, hinges, latches etc. Concealed hinges were part of the plan
From here there was a fair bit of welding to do. Here is Gav welding up the body - you should recognise some pics from the Silicone Bronze welding thread
Panel underneath the bulkhead - cargo side
Wheel wells were formed from a template taken from the rusty original. These were altered as the owner wants to run a 10 inch rim
Clecos being used to hold the wheel wells in place for welding
Stuart bought a complete Holden Rodeo tailgate that donated it's latch mechanism. Fabricating the tailgate began - there is a lot of work here in the inner skin, gaps, hinges, latches etc. Concealed hinges were part of the plan
From here there was a fair bit of welding to do. Here is Gav welding up the body - you should recognise some pics from the Silicone Bronze welding thread
"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly"...............Morticia Addams
- turns
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Infill panels were fabricated to surround the wheel tub
There is alot of detail work in the cargo area to pull everything together
This is the second time I have wirtten this thread as I was timed out and lost my whole thread
Anyway, the 36 Coupe Ute has progressed further than this now and I will do an up date soon. It is hard to believe the car has only been worked on since mid January - progress has been way fast
I have heaps more stuff to add. The 1957 Chev Delivery in the background was getting a five link rear amongst other things and the last time I saw Gav he was steeling out a 1928 Pontiac roadster. That being said I was keen to start the thread with the Coupe ute as I pretty much watched it come out of the ground. I was fairly fast and brief for the scale of the build.
I hope you enjoy the build
cheers Turns
There is alot of detail work in the cargo area to pull everything together
This is the second time I have wirtten this thread as I was timed out and lost my whole thread
Anyway, the 36 Coupe Ute has progressed further than this now and I will do an up date soon. It is hard to believe the car has only been worked on since mid January - progress has been way fast
I have heaps more stuff to add. The 1957 Chev Delivery in the background was getting a five link rear amongst other things and the last time I saw Gav he was steeling out a 1928 Pontiac roadster. That being said I was keen to start the thread with the Coupe ute as I pretty much watched it come out of the ground. I was fairly fast and brief for the scale of the build.
I hope you enjoy the build
cheers Turns
"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly"...............Morticia Addams
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Thanks for the writeup(s).
Great to see what is not too far gone, lots of skill and I bet your learning alot.
Keep up the good work
Great to see what is not too far gone, lots of skill and I bet your learning alot.
Keep up the good work
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Awesome work on the ute there guys, thanks for sharing
Looking forward to more updates.
Looking forward to more updates.
"Obviously your ambition outweighs your talent" Casey Stoner to Valentino Rossi. 03/04/2011
- Kustom Kolour
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Thanks for taking the time Turns
And thanks for sharing Stuart
Threads like this are inspirational and what makes this site so great
KK
And thanks for sharing Stuart
Threads like this are inspirational and what makes this site so great
KK
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
WOW Turns, you have even impressed me with what you have put out there, I guess I am always "moving forward", and to some degree, you are numbed to what has already been done, the intensity of solving the next riddle prevents me from reflecting back on what has been achieved so far.
Thanks for your input here, there is a body of work just in assembling this all into a sequence that flows, then posting it here, to have it lost to the ether when the connection times out...
I will bring something to the surface later today...
Thanks for your input here, there is a body of work just in assembling this all into a sequence that flows, then posting it here, to have it lost to the ether when the connection times out...
I will bring something to the surface later today...
Stuart Smith
Sheetmetal Whisperer
It just works...
VIEW MY WEBSITE- http://www.lonestarbodyshop.com.au
It's easy to make simple look complex but it's difficult to make complex look simple
Sheetmetal Whisperer
It just works...
VIEW MY WEBSITE- http://www.lonestarbodyshop.com.au
It's easy to make simple look complex but it's difficult to make complex look simple
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
A fantastic thread!
Thanks for making the effort to post this Turns. Thanks also to Stuart for allowing us to see this. I'll be following this thread for sure
Thanks for making the effort to post this Turns. Thanks also to Stuart for allowing us to see this. I'll be following this thread for sure
- customfc
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Amazing, simply amazing!
Thanks for sharing the pics and buildup.
Can't wait for the next update.
Regards
Alex
Thanks for sharing the pics and buildup.
Can't wait for the next update.
Regards
Alex
- Theyeti
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Two thumbs up on this thread,
Pariahs C.C.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong
What Could Possibly Go Wrong
- woody28A
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Firstly to Turns, what a well documented and set out post. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do that.
Secondly to Stuart, that really is starting to come up real nice. The owner must be impressed with both the progress and the standard of workmanship.
Looks I might had to visit again to check out the "on the job" progress of the "apprentice".
Secondly to Stuart, that really is starting to come up real nice. The owner must be impressed with both the progress and the standard of workmanship.
Looks I might had to visit again to check out the "on the job" progress of the "apprentice".
Remember this life is a test. If it had been a real life you would have received further instructions on where to go and what to do!!!!!
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Re: Team Lone Star - All Thriller, No Filler
Great thread Turns, we need more of this stuff from more people! Hint, hint people!
Dave Petrusma