One of the most exciting aspects of any project is when it really starts to take form and begin to actually look like something. For the past year or so, my '29 roadster has slowly begun to look like a car. Starting with two halves of an original roadster body and a set of drawings on my shop floor, I built a custom full-tube chassis, mounted the engine, trans, and suspension, and reunited the body. It's slowly taking shape, but still has yet to actually look like a car due to the lack of wheels and tires and any front sheetmetal. But the latest development in the build is hopefully going to change all that.
Last month, we started the track nose for the front end of the Project Potvin roadster and finished with the two halves hammered out and ready to be welded together. We also covered how the initial shape was developed using a buck made from the front dimensions of the '29. This told us everything we needed to know to get the desired shape and the dimensions necessary to clear the front framehorns and suspension items. And so, with buck in hand, I headed out to Elgin, Illinois, where Sam Waltermire at the Roadster Shop fabricated the first half of the track nose.
When we left off last month, the two finished halves were installed on the buck and clamped securely in place, waiting to be united.
An interesting thing happened once the two halves of the track nose were joined together-the shape became very apparent, whereas before no matter how hard you'd squint or imagine, there was a sense of skepticism about what the finished product would look like. Once those two halves were joined, however, the shape it was taking on was very obvious as you walked around it, and thankfully it was looking good. I've heard horror stories about track noses and how guys have built two or three before finally getting it right, so to say I was a bit nervous right off the bat would be putting it mildly.
All in all, though, it really looked nice once the halves were welded together. A pie cut was taken from both the top and the bottom to get a more streamlined shape, but that was a very minor hiccup and more of a tweak than any kind of major modification or mistake. Once Sam welded the two halves together and knocked down the weld bead, it was treated to some more time in the planishing hammer, perfecting all the high and low spots before it was crated up and shipped out.
With the nose in hand, it was mocked into position on the car and many hours were spent studying the lines of the front end. The hood lines looked like they'd flow from the cowl into the nose as expected and some notching would be necessary to clear the suspension as well, but other than that, everything seemed to gel perfectly. An inner structure will be fabricated to support the hood and nose off the frame and will also serve to mount the radiator over the axle, inside the nose. Dzus buttons will be used to fasten everything into place to ease installation and removal of both the hood and the nose. A grille shell will also be fabricated and fit into the front of the nose to allow airflow through the radiator and into the engine compartment. There's lots more to come, but for now, check out the final installment of this roadster's rhinoplasty.
