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My dash is an empty canvas. I’m running a 1978 small block Chevy 305, 200R4 transmission. I have a speedo that will be decorative, and a functional tach. What else would you recommend? I picked up a bunch of multi colored indicator lights from a swap meet, but apart from turn signals, and maybe...

Thank you and I hope so! I can’t be the only person a little burned out on spiderwebs and rat fink.

The Visor: This a tricky one for me. There’s only a handful of Essex hot rods out there, and if they don’t have the stock visor, they can look like a school bus really quick. I knew if I could figure out some embellishments, the visor would hide that giant-ass forehead look. I'm a member of the...

Oh lord yes.

I’m intending on adding an angled wood block/panel/whatever on mine although the body is built square. It’s exactly for ergonomics in my case. I just like something to prop my foot on.

Floors: I have a friend who’s built several cars shared this trick with me. It was a bit more effort, but I felt it would be worth it. I welded sheet metal floor panels to the bottom sides of the body’s framework. I then put a layer of ceramic blanket in each section and capped them with a top...

The grill shell and headlights: By this point in the build, I'd transitioned from an office job, to a professional metal artisan for a bronze foundry. I had a good idea of how to make pretty. I took my inspiration from the 1934 Packard and the 1932 Hudson grill shells. I wanted that heavy...

More Body: The rear section of the chop. The original metal of the Essex is extremely temperamental to weld (hammered **** is more like it) and I've never been satisfied with how the rear seam came out. The finish was rough, and the welds were dodgy at best. Several spots I had to use new...

Thank you for the kind words! I think I’ve rebuilt this car twice from having to go back and make corrections where I botched it. I’m really good at making pretty metalwork but I struggle with getting measurements right. I plan on posting a bunch of the things I made a complete disaster of soon.

More more body: The pretty touches, and a perfect example of how little I know what I'm doing. Here's the first design of my firewall. I love classic type filigree and so I started drawing to fill space and eventually settled here. When I realized that I would have to re-do the entire thing...

More Body: I finished the space between the rounded corner pieces by running a square tube and capping with sheet metal. I only tacked it on the section that touched the original body because the original Essex metal has ALWAYS welded like hammered ****. It burns away like a leaf under a...

More of the Body: The original top to the Essex' were made of wood. I decided to make mine from metal as my wood skills are... meh I made ribs from 1/2" square tube, and then used 3/4 for the pieces that run the length of the car. I was extremely new to the concept of form but I managed to...

The Body: 1927 Essex. 4 suicide doors, (they're discolored because they're aluminum, riveted to steel hinge plates. I rebuilt the front passenger door with a full steel frame and put the original skin back on. Chopped 3". I didn't have a TIG welder for the aluminum parts of the doors so I...

What avenues would you recommend I should take to correct it? There's still a bit of angle on it and a full tank of gas will only add 90 lbs. I think the shocks have 3" of travel total. I'm always hunting for options.

I freely admit, the above photo is totally staged. I've yet to drive, or even start it, but I was too jazzed with how it looked not to get it all posed up. I'll post more pictures of the build. I've been at it awhile, and I have no idea what I'm doing. So I'll start with the my chassis, and...

I’ve been working on it for about 10 years. I just painted it over the week between Xmas and New Years. I plan to post more of the progress pictures here and there, but I thought it would be best to start with a current image next to where an image of what I started with.

I've done several searches and posted in some of the car forums I'm a member of but I keep missing a detail in cowl steering. Using a Model A Sedan as an example: -If the steering box needs to be mounted to a brace that is welded to the frame, how do you put a body on a frame over the brace if...

Fixed some welds I've been going through welding school to get a couple certs and in doing so I've been re-inspecting some of my early amateur welds, and upon closer inspection I was horrified that I ever thought they were good'nuff. So I cut them out and re-welded them proper. Much happier

My garage is clean because I have a third car garage that serves as my workshop!

Hey y'all. I'm currently in the midst of a 1927 Essex sedan build. It's my first build and I'm always fishing for ideas of how things are supposed to go together so I apologize in advance for the forthcoming barage of questions. I attached a few pics of my project. Chears! Dan