The making of a BAD GIRL

[customFC]

Hey gang.
Thought we would share some pics and info on how we built our new car that we affectionately call  "Miss Behavin' ".
The car was built as a collabarative effort by John Rapinette and myself (Alex Smits) over a period of 13 months.
There have been a few build up threads on the forum that have been closely followed. Yes, we took a bunch of pics during the build that we are going to share here, but let's start by showing pics of the completed car which we debuted at the recent Nationals at Phillip Island.



The car was built as a period Drag Racer, along the lines of the cars that would have competed in the late 60's and early 70's.




Watch over the next few days/weeks as we show where it all started and what we needed to do to put her back on the road. Hopefully I will be able to acknowledge those people and businesses that helped in some way along the way.

Regards
Alex

[Revhead_Fc]

Is that smoke coming from the back wheels i can see awesome car cant wait to see the buld pics maybe next shot you could get the wheels in the air

[cruiser056]

Looking forward ot the pics and the story!!

Michael

[SRVLIVES]

This car is a credit to Alex and John.

If you get the chance, go over it and check out all the cool gear in it... let me know if you guys ever think of selling!

[NES304]

hey mate,
it looks good. fornt bar is different, I like the paint too.
cant wait to see build pics
nes138

[customFC]

7th February 2005.
OK, this is where we started.
As you can see, the car had a lot of panel damage and what can't be seen easily, is the amount of rust. The worst of which was in the floor and subframe.


Check out the right rear of the car. At some point it had had a rear end collision that required some realignment.




Regards
Alex

[fccool59]

were was the car located at this stage, sure has come a long way in a short period of time.
Whats John thinking about there?

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Whats John thinking about there?

He's thinking why the hell did he decide to clean that door with the pressure washer, he blew it clean off and blew the front bench through the other side  

Keep 'em coming Alex, I wish I had more forethought to take more photos during my builds.

[customFC]

For those that are into the numbers, here they are.

FC-225-11254-S
Vehicle is an FC Special Sedan, the 11,254th manufactured in Sydney, NSW.
265-637
The Exterior Trim Code (265) describes this car as Two-Tone: Adobe Beige over Terracotta.
The Interior Trim Code (637) refers to: Black & Turkish Ivory.
253-2053  The Primary (bonnet, guards) colour is Terracotta (in DUCO Lacquer)
256-2031  The secondary colour is Adobe Beige (in DUCO Lacquer)
The vehicle was painted in the Late 1958 scheme style (based on the ID No) This is not the case, as it is painted in the early 1958 scheme.

8-20634-S
The vehicle was assembled during 1958, and was the 19,634th FC (in any bodystyle) assembled in Sydney, NSW.
L504045
Manufacture date (based on engine number) is October 1958

Regards
Alex

[customFC]

To answer a few questions.
The car is located at Ted Lowes place at this point.
John was thinking "I hope there aren't any snakes in there".

Here the car is moved to inside Ted's shed for the start of the work.

This is the end result of the first day (7th Feb '05). Car was pulled apart so we could get a closer look at what we were up against. Many thanks to Craig Alderson (CraigA) who helped with the disassembly.





Regards
Alex

[customFC]

Here's a look at some of the rust. The subframe looking at (through) the front below the battery.

It was around this time that I drew up some concept drawings to help visualise the end result. This allowed us to try some different ideas and paint options. They also allowed us to show potential sponsors what we were putting together.


These drawings developed over a few months, and as you can see, this final version differs slightly from the finished car.
Regards
Alex

[customFC]

The first area to be tackled was the floor. There was extensive rust, requiring the entire rear area to be replaced, including the tailshaft hump, which had rust in the top. We were lucky to pick up an entire rear floor in rust free condition from Craig Jordan....thanks Craig.
The front required patches in both corners, as well as the channel below requiring replacement. Photos are a bit sketchy at this point as I forgot my camera. I did snap off a few with the camera phone of the front left corner. 1st April 2005.

At about the time the floor was complete, Ted had a hoist installed in the shed. This was very handy. Shame we did not have use when the bulk of the work was done. Here John is seen doing the final welding of the drivers side channel. 21st May 2005.



The front and rear ends were tidied up, but were later repainted and in the case of the front, replaced by a unit repainted in 2pak.
Regards
Alex

[parisian62]

Alex,

What a transformation!  Great before and after pics, with the end result is a real eye catcher.  Whats under the bonnet?

Regards,
Stewart

[zulu]

Ditto that, very interesting build up, are they tramp rods I see on the back?
Keep the pics coming.
Gary

[Ed]

Love the build pics... keep them coming.

it's cool to see your vision of the project before hand and then compare it after.

welding shots.. always love these.. do you were glasses when you snap them?

Cheers

Ed

[customFC]

Stewart....it has a warm grey, which you will see fitted soon.
Gary....they are traction rods, as fitted to the hot Holdens of the 60's.
Ed....Welding shots with a slower shutter. I try to hide the brightest part behind a part of the car.
Thanks for the interest.
Regards
Alex

[HARKO]

WOW as I said when I spoke to you guys at the drags it looks and sounds awesome and I love the paint scheme .
I hope this aint to blunt but why did you choose to start on something so rough ,I mean surely something better turns up being so involved with the club .

The outcome was well worth it though and best of all .its swayed from the mainstream..

[customFC]

21st May 2005.
Here's a couple of shots of the completed floor. Underside was wire wheeled then painted with underbody deadener for a versatile finish.



Harko. The project initially was going to be a bit more rough and ready, but with sponsors coming on board, we decided to do the best we could. A better body would have saved us a lot of time, but in the end we are proud that we saved an FC that normally would have been parted out and scrapped.

Regards
Alex

[customFC]

With the floor now complete, we turned our attention to the area next in need of work, the rear of the car. As mentioned earlier, the car had rear end damage. We scored a replacement boot, as the original was bent. The right rear quarter was pumped back out using a porta power, and massaged back into shape. The biffo in the left rear quarter was knocked out, and the "special" holes were welded closed. These pics show the new boot in place and the fine tuning of the gaps.....still a bit of straightening to go. 4th June 2005.




Regards
Alex

[Sheriff]

Good stuff, blokes.   Looking forward to next episode.  Re:  Traction rods/tramp rods - where can you get them, or did you make them up/have them specially made?  Mike