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The Building of Emerald Tide By Jimmy Hervatin
I know many of you have seen this truck before, but I thought it would be inspirational to some that would like to do a scratch build car. Many of you know I have a commercial fabrication business. So I do metal work everyday, but not on cars. I will admit I have a lot of tools and equipment at my shop that most don't have. I have been buying equipment for about 35 years now, didn't get it all at once. I would always try to use the tools I had to make what ever I was working on. But before I had a laser cutter or a turret punch or a large press brakes, I would job out some of the work. Sometimes you should think about that in a project a little money spent may save you a lot of time or make the end resolute much better. So yes I know I have a advantage over most in that department
Well I was at a car show and bought a drawing from Keith Weesner called Emerald Tide. A Chopped Model A pick- up. Attachment 20957 I got home and hung it on the wall. About 6 months later one day I said to myself "I could build that pretty quick and finally have a hot rod of my own". In no time I said, "I will make out of aluminum so no one will think I just found a really nice truck to start with". I also said to myself "I will make it look as much like the painting as possible and detail it out to the max". The under side of the truck would be as nice as the top. So I had a plan. I think this is very important !!!!!! Think your build out. I had a Model A coupe in the shop at the time, that I had done some work to. I thought I will get the cowl built before it was gone. Attachment 20958 I can't stress enough how much this helped in the build it got me off and running. If you want to build a 32 Ford for example find one you can look at, get dimensions, pull sweeps off of etc. Since I was making the truck out of aluminum (3003- H14) I wanted a strong frame work to attach the panels to. So I decided to use 1-1/2 x1-1/2 x 1/4" steel tubing. This worked better than round as I was going to rivet and glue the aluminum to it. Attachment 20959 The only buck - hammer form I made was for the firewall. I made a book die and pressed the bead in first. Then I put one cut in each upper corner and shaped the top and sides over the buck. Then welded the corners Attachment 20960 Attachment 20961 I bought some repop hinges and installed them. Attachment 20962 I started on the frame next. I mocked everything up on a large welding table. The only piece on the frame I didn't make was the front cross member. But I did cut it apart and lengthen it. Attachment 20963 Attachment 20964 Attachment 20965 Attachment 20966 I wanted the doors to be very strong and safe. I made a steel frame all around the perimeter of the door. I did use repop door latches and power windows. I made crash bars in each door. I took 14ga steel and made it like a wash board in a press brake. I used 2 of them for each door and sandwiched them to together. One panel I had punched about 450 holes in, so I could plug weld the 2 panels together. I put the welds on the inside of the door as I wanted the panel to bow out to the door skin. I powder coated the door frames and glued and screwed the door flanges to the frame. With the doors swinging it was time for the door skins. I should have mentioned that both the L/H & R/H door skins are the same, except for punching the door handle and the hinge holes. Old Henry must have had one stamping die for the door skins. Then in a second operation put the door handle and hinge holes in. I punched the door skin blank out so the book die would register its position for the offset. I annealed just the top window part of the door skin and pressed the offset in. I shaped the panel below the window on the Yoder and planishing hammer. Put the bead in the skin on a pullmax. Now for the window flanges. I glued MDF board together and made a hammer form. I also made hold down bars for clamping it all down while I hammered the flanges. I think I annealed the corners about 6 time before I had them at 90 degrees. I made a second hammer form to turn the flange 90 degree again. This one I put a steel plate on so I would get a very sharp edge. I did not want the MDF to brake down on the edge. The hammer form also had to spilt apart so I could remove it when I was done. Well after all this I tried the fit it was very close but needed a little tweaking. So I shaped on the first hammer form and tried all this again. This time it was a very good fit. I think here I need to give a little advice and say,"If it is not right make it right". I know sometimes we work days on something and then it doesn't come out just right. Well you need to do what ever to make it right. The last thing you want is to have to look at something when you are done and say " I wish I would have fixed that. So put it in reverse and fix things as you go. Here is finished door. Next I started on the rear panel. Note I am working from the front to the back. It was much easier to make the door before the rear panel. I only had to get the cowl to the door to fit. Had I made the rear panel then make the doors you would be locked in to making a door that fit that hole. I first made a book die and pressed the offset in around the window. I made the rear panel much like the door skins. Shaped the panel on the planishing hammer and the bead on the pullmax. I made another hammer form for the rear window. Welded it all together and metal finished it. All looked good I thought till I put the seat in. Well the rear window was to low. I could see to much of the seat back from outside the truck. Well remember me talking about reverse. Well we are going in reverse. The next day I cut the window out and moved it up 1-1/8". Sometimes you just miss a detail. When I was building the truck I knew I was going to paint and upholstered it myself. I was always trying to think the next couple of steps out before I got to them. Example doors what about the door panels. You have to look at the hole project and try and tie everything together. I fell a sleep many of nights in bed trying to plan things out. See welds around window. I continued to work on the cab. Making a removable roof skin and finishing small things. Another thing I would tell you is to get your project outside and look at it, from 25'- 50'- 100' all different angles. See if you like what you see. If not you need to do some changes. One time I pulled it out , I wanted the truck to have more rake. So I did what it took to get more rake. In a garage or small building you just can't get for enough away to see it at all angles. I painted the cab structure. Then I permanently fastened all the panels to it. I made the bed of the truck. The three parts of the body that I didn't make were the grille shell, the lower part of the dash, and the tailgate. I made the headers. Polished them as I was making them. They were ready to go in the plating tank when I was done with them. Here are some pic of the air cleaners, I made one out of MDF and had some cast up. Then machined them up. I punched the tops out on the turret punch. Then use doming die's in the pullmax for a slight dome I wanted a bullet grille insert for the grille shell. So I designed a screen like panel that I could fasten each bullet to with a screw from the back. I laser cut the screen.I had the bullets made on a screw machine out of stainless steel. The grille has 410 bullets. I made a 1/4" outside frame for the screen panel, polished it and had the whole thing chromed and blacked out the screen. Here is picture of the battery box I made with disconnect inside. Battery box next to fuel tank. I had ground the entire engine and transmission down smooth before they were rebuilt. Well one year from when I started, I took it to the NSRA nats in Louisville KY,in 2009 in bare aluminum. Went to some more show over the next 2 months. Keith Wessner got to see it. That's Keith Wessner on the left my son Jimmie and me. I even got picked as one of the top 100 , a contest that Street Rodder magazine put on and the truck wasn't even done. I was very surprised at that. Well enough going to shows I wanted to have the truck done for the next summer. The next thing I did was to start on the interior. I wanted to do a 50's -60's style. I wanted a insert in the headliner and a full panel behind the seat. So I shaped some aluminum panels got them all mounted and sanded them so the glue would stick. In the headliner panel the center comes out so it can be covered separately. It has studs on it so it bolts back together before installing it. I made door panels and kick panels. I redid all the seat foam to get it down low and for the style I wanted. I then started sewing and covering all the panels . I made all the chrome accent trim pieces in the interior. I wanted the interior and everything put together before disassembly for paint , so there would be no surprises when it went back together. After disassembly I polished all the parts that were going to be chrome plated. Here are some in the works. I made a special dolly for the cab so I could turn it on its back for priming and painting and buffing. I had the frame on a rotisserie for painting. I made a adapter for the bed so I could paint it on the rotisserie to. The engine and transmission were painted. Cab being painted. Then final assembly began. Finished Well it took me 2 years about 3000 hours but it was finished. I finally had build myself a hotrod. It was June 2010 I still had the summer to take it to the shows. I never would have dreamed that this truck would be such a hit. I know it is not everyone style. But I guess it was something so different that people would look and then not believe it was handmade. I know some of you may have seen the build on the H.A.M.B. When I was working on it my friend Rick Bales would come by and check me out. He came by one day with his camera and took some pictures and asked if he could do a thread of it on the H.A.M.B.. I really didn't know what he was talking about, but I said sure if you want. Well that was really a neat thing he did for me. I think it got over 100,000 hits. Allot of people new the truck before they ever seen it. I am very new to this social media thing. This is actually the first time I put the story together myself on the build. I do have to say the internet has let us show the world what ever and see allot of things we would never get the chance to see. I am sure we are all glad we have a site like this to put our projects on. Well it made it on the 2010 Street Rodder cover. Good-Guys Gazette cover. And was picked again for a 2010 Street Rodder Top 100 hundred pick. But this time won the Top #1 spot for 2010. I won a trip to the 2011 SEMA show, trophy and leather jacket. The truck was also featured in Coker Tire ads. Well that's a quick run down of the build. Hope I didn't ramble on to much, and yes I am working on another build. I will do a thread on it and get you caught up on where I am on it.
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Work Hard & Dream Big Jimmy Hervatin |
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Thanks for posting this Jimmy. I saw your truck and talked to you at Goodguys in Kansas City.
It is outstanding. Mike |
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very nice work!!!
I would love to see a close up shot of the one "step" die that you are using in the third photo of a power hammer. I was told that you can't use that type of die. Can you use it to put a step in the middle of a panel where there is not an opening as there appears to be in that photo? Thanks, Terry
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Terry |
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Attachments
Well hells bells went and preveiwed the post when I started and that must of took those pictures out. Didn't want to lose it after 2 hours of loading, so I posted it maybe some top dog can fix it. Here are pictures I lost.
Well hope these can out .
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Work Hard & Dream Big Jimmy Hervatin |
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Saw it on the hamb,
Even happier to see it on the metalshaping boards. Gary
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Gary |
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Great post Jimmy, Thanks for sharing it with all of us.
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Luke Johnson L J Customs & Blasting |
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Very cool!
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I think 99% of the general population has no idea truly how much work all this really is. Especially work at this level. There are several pictures on this thread that aren't on the Hamb thread so this was a nice treat. Thanks for posting. You have no idea how much this project inspires me to try to shape something outside my comfort zone.
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Thank You, excellent post and explanations ,Gerry
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Gerry Miller |
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Droool.. really appreciate the tips and time spent on posting!
SUPER nice paint booth!!!!
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Brent Click |
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