1964 Dodge A-100 Hot rod sort of rat rod build thread.

Looking good brother.  Have you thought about bonding the wood to a subfloor of sealed marine plywood that already has the fasteners installed?  There would be no bolt holes to drill in the wood that would be showing.

 
Looking good brother.  Have you thought about bonding the wood to a subfloor of sealed marine plywood that already has the fasteners installed?  There would be no bolt holes to drill in the wood that would be showing.
So funny. You read my mind. For sure I was thinking about attaching to some plywood after fiberglassing it. Not sure what you mean by the fasteners installed. There will probably be a 1" box frame for the different sections of the bed. Then I would run screws up through the bottom through holes in the box into the plywood. 

 
So funny. You read my mind. For sure I was thinking about attaching to some plywood after fiberglassing it. Not sure what you mean by the fasteners installed. There will probably be a 1" box frame for the different sections of the bed. Then I would run screws up through the bottom through holes in the box into the plywood. 
Countersunk fasteners with countersunk nuts through the plywood.  Barn wood stuck to the plywood with adhesive then the entire assembly attached to the brackets with nuts and washers.  You could just screw it from the bottom, but bolts would hold better.

 
Countersunk fasteners with countersunk nuts through the plywood.  Barn wood stuck to the plywood with adhesive then the entire assembly attached to the brackets with nuts and washers.  You could just screw it from the bottom, but bolts would hold better.


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So yesterday I decided I wanted something different for the x-brace in the exterior roll bar. I wanted something I've never seen done before. So my thought was two plates of steel plasma cut like this. Then weld in a tube between each hole. Then lay flat steel all the way around the edges to tie it all together. Metal finish it completely so it looks like a manufactured piece. Metric crap ton of work to build it but I think it would be damn cool. I don't think I necessarily have to go 120 wall with this although getting real thin to think might try warp around with all the welding.

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Here is a very crude drawing showing where the intercooler will be. The core alone from Bell Intercoolers is 28" long, 7.7 wide, and 3.5 inches thick. It is a big boy to keep the intake air temps low for 600 HP. I will also have a scoop taking in fresh air traveling along the roof. The intercooler core will be laid flat so from the side you will see 3.5 inches vertically.

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Looks like Mittler bros has the biggest dimple die which is 3".  4.5 outer at the top of the taper. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mbt-1310-309  There are a millions ways to do it but I want to do panels along the side of each bed panel.  Very crude 10 second drawing just for the concept. Of course after the wheel wells are done. I want to be able to see the patina on the inside of the bed instead of covering that up.  Those will be a lot of work as well. Make like this process. He makes some really cool stuff by hand. 






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The floor will come up at least 2 1/2 inches with the box tubing and wood for the bed. So not much space between that and the bottom of the headers. Still If I throw something in that small bed area I don't want it to slide off because the frame will be open in the center below the motor. Although the bed area on both sides may be unusable due to the heat from the headers. Need to wrap anything up in an asbestos blanket lol. Still want to be able to carry lawn chairs and an awning to a car show or other stuff. Storage may end up in the back. In the end I might just stand a piece vertically like this with dimple die holes so small stuff would not fall through.  

Been thinking about weight bias for this truck. I have choices for the fuel tank, battery, hydroboost, oil coolers, etc and where to mount them. Regular c5-6 Corvettes are in the 48/52 to 50/50 range. The new C8 Corvette is 60 rear 40 front. With this truck so narrow at the front (60") I wonder if it will be better to put the fuel tank way in back and maybe the battery as well. Try shoot for a minimum of 55% on the rear tires. Weight of the motor is not far back from center and the cage is going to add a lot of weight up front.  Once the cage is build I have a full motor in the shop I can put in the truck and then try round up some scales. Any opinions out there for weight bias? 

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If I do the cross brace with the new design I am thinking simplify the panels along the bed. Still purchase the 3" dimple die. Top of the taper for each hole would be 4 1/2. So make the panels shown in red 6 1/2 inches tall. This just gives a barrier so something can't slide over into the bed side. Leave about an inch between each piece and the wheel wells.  Keeps it simple and you can still see all the patina on the inner side panels. 

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The more weight moved from front to the rear, the more fun the wheel stander becomes! 

 
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Had so much fun building the guitar and amp that tomorrow I have fun little project to add a little bit of art to the truck. Involves some #50 chain and 4 sprockets. 



 
Got these built. Full days project today. Set the welder on pulse and 50 amps. Flat foot the pedal and let it slowly pulse four times before feeding in any rod. Those welds will be sort of hidden and hard to see which is the goal. Welded both sides to hopefully give it enough strength. I am beat. Time to go home and do some cardio rehab. LOL. Coming up on 3 years since my heart attack. I still try work out every other day. Heart doc is putting me on the treadmill to stress test me in a week or so. If I pass that with flying colors he won't need to do the X-ray more invasive and detailed process. However they do that. Whether they use dye or whatever. I think I should kill it.

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3/16 plate steel. It is starting to rust just from the cooler and the moisture and I think I'm just going to leave it. I blued the metal and you can see it when the light hits it at the right angle. I think it's pretty cool.

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JMHO, but if there was no mandated requirement, I would keep this under the bed rail height.  I get the purpose & need to goto the top of the cage in the cab, but...............  IMO, it takes away from the awesomeness going on in the bed....

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