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Yeah it's looking like a car according to the wife! I got lucky on the hood, as it was in a friend's attic! There's nothing quite like a long hood to denote power and speed! It's amazing all this is on a "lowly" '37 115C chassis!

This is how much I'll have to add to the top and the front of the grille to get it to fit the hood:

Here's how well the edges of the "tombstone" fit between the grille and the hood:

Driver's side:




Passenger's side:




I need to buy more vise grips!!

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Yup, it's starting to come together real well! I have a friend that works for a construction company that buys a lot of sheetmetal and can get me 18 gauge plain steel sheets in 4'X10' for $50 a pop. I'm thinking 3 sheets will be enough, one for the floor, one for the top of the boattail, and one for the sides. The nice thing is, they have a metal fabrication shop so when I get to that point, I can make cardboard templates for all my pieces and they can cut and shape them for me, as well as adding stiffening ribs to the floor. I probably won't get that far until next spring, as I'm working front to back and want to get the grille, hood, cowl, and front fenders all sorted out first.

Eric,

Found this video on the Site of our new Hungarian member, Blitz.http://blitzgarage.hu/index.php

Thought of you immediately.

blitzgarage.hu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=9

Not much progress lately since it's been cold here, so I figured I'd pick up the search for parts again for the Speedster. Today I picked up a "new" head for the Speedster, the price was right (free) but it's going to take a little work to be able to use it, if I can even use it. If not, it'll make a nice wall hanger for the garage:

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For those that are interested, here's a comparison of the 359 aluminum head next to a '53 327 head and the '48 356 head, in order:

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Closeup of the 359 chamber:

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Compared to the original 356 chamber:

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It'll take a little welding and grinding to get it to work, my friend told me that the reason why he removed it was the intake valves were hitting the head, which you can see in the combustion chamber pic. It looks like there's enough metal to shave enough off of the inside of the chamber to get the clearance needed. There's also a little corrosion around a couple of the water passages that will need welded up, so we'll see if I can even use it. If not, then it's back to a stock cast iron head. Judging by the looks of it, I think I can use it. We'll see!