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Show RECONSTRUCT AN OLD AUTOMOBILE Rebuilding of Old Car Is Far More Intricate Than Is Usually Considered. UTMOST CARE IS ESSENTIAL Scale Drawing of Chassis and New Body Should First Be Made to In-sure In-sure Correct Fit Sheet Iron Is Commonly Usd. The desire of most owners of old cars is to "cut it down" and make a "racer" out of it, or at any rate provide pro-vide the old chassis with a body that will create the impression of power RAEXATOR INdOSED ,MOLOlNOv ,CKt30t.lN6 IN SHEO; I TANK rZrZs WWtELS INCLOSED vv--""' With disks OPE Ml Mfi CUT IN 'TIRE AND LUQ&JU DtSK OPPOSITE VALV jStt COMFARTMCKT. HINOC GUT FROM TvV J I T "" ' L Old hood O n . 'j- B hasp r U U TOP VIEW OF REAR Rebuilding an Old Automobile Is Rather Wore Intricste Than Is Usually Considered, but by Using Care the Results Will Amply Repay Re-pay the Effort. and speed. Many such attempts are foredoomed to failure, because the body is designed with no reference to drawings, patterns or the tool equipment equip-ment Involved. Preliminary to anything else, a scale drawing -of the chassis and the new body -should be made, and after the builder has established, to his own satisfaction, that the new body will fit the chassis, then only should the actual work be undertaken. However, a complete set of full-sized paper patterns pat-terns should be made; with these the builder can determine whether the parts will fit together correctly, and at the same time rectify any errors of calculation, or judgment, that may have been made in the preliminary scale drawing. The illustration shows a body that possesses straight lines throughout, as ' it rs easier to work the sheet metal with sharp, angular lines than any j other way, but the variety of design is infinite, and Is only limited by the skill, -cash and facilities at the command com-mand of the builder. Use Sheet Iron. The material most commonly used is No. 18 or 20 gauge sheet Iron, although al-though the lighter and more expensive aluminum can be used as well as a Mghter-gauge Iron, hot the latter Is inadvisable. For work of the kind shown in the drawing, the most essential essen-tial tools will consist of a wooden mallet, mal-let, tin shears and riveting and soldering sol-dering equipment. Most amateur builders fall into the error of trying to apply the component parts of the body to a wooden frame with nails, which Invariably results In a botched and unsatisfactory Job. Disk Wheels Not Likid. Disk wheels are merely sheet-metal disks bolted to both sides of the wheels, with an opening for access to the tire valve. Such wheels, on the average light car. are not to be particularly par-ticularly commended, however, as they are not entirely satisfactory, and at the same lime detract from that "low. rakNh" apvi-irance usually sought. It should be remembered that the aim is to build a neat, individual automobile auto-mobile hi'dy and not a b.i;t.i and that, hen-fore, the use of rivets and nails 'or clo-inn sea-us should he shunned, -inco b"th give pi'sirive evid,-n.-e of n amateur's handiwork. I'opular Mechanics M.-cazine. |