winter in england

the winter in Wolverhampton has been rough this year. ice and snow everywhere. walking was hard enough let alone riding your chop. lets hope the summer rules! time to get the jobs done on the chop. ps think i might burn some more tires to get this global warming thing booming.

chilli and friends!

this is what happens when you get a load of friends and a big pot of chilli! cheers pike and suze!

pickup build #14

ok so here we have the pickup. it took a long time but it now has a mot and were on the road! a lot of people wont like it but it don't matter. there all dicks. still lots to finish off, like windows, interior etc. all in good time. if one person gets inspired enough off this to get out and make a car or bike it was all worth it. let me know on deadheadlights@hotmail.com would be sweet to hear from you!

al

pickup build #13

this pic shows the pickup bad starting to take shape. at this point i took it for a spin to see how it felt on the road. its fun when you get over 30 mph and all the grinding dust goes in your eyes. metal dust to the eye ball. yeah love it!

pickup build #12

patch work to fill the gaps was the biggest ball ache. its like you work all night and when you stand back it looks the friggin same! just keep at it and try to keep focused.

pickup build #11

side view of the cab. i had to keep wheeling this piece of shit out to get the lines right. its all about the lines baby

pickup build #10

here is a look though the front screen. if you remember looking through the letter box as a kid, it will give you some idea of what i was thinking. you can see the wire welder used for tacking (a big help if your by yourself) and grinder for grinding. i spent many an hour sat in the driving seat making car noises at this point. this gave me the push to get moving! brummmmm!

pickup build #9

the back of the cab is shaping up. the main problem i have is not having enough room to stand back from the car to check the profile. with no help from anyone its hard to hold things in place for welding. you get there in the end but just take you twice as long. i hate that feeling when you tack something in to stand back and think, nar its pissed! its got to come off again, pisspuddle!

pickup build #8

here is my back end. note how dirty it is, har har. im using some free beetle door skins to make the back of the cab. so far its cost me the welding gas, welding rods and square tubing for the sub frame. cheap as a young bird waiting for mama bird to come back to the nest.

pickup build #7

so here is a pick of my front end, que jokes. its going to be a back breaking ride. scoot down and hang on! lots of time was spent lining shit up. my eyes looked like two golf balls at this point.

pickup build #6

the B posts needed lots of work to strengthen the cab. i made a subframe to put the strength back into the shell. when you cut the roof off you need to do something man. this went from the back axle to the front.

yeah the welding has got this mother looking like a Frankenstein monster. dont think ill be working for jimmy shine this year. oh well fook it, least this way you earn your car.

pickup build #5

after the A posts were welded in the outer roof skin had to be patched in to fit the roof line. this took abit of over the knee bending. one day i will have a wheeling machine and will look back on these days and laugh until a little bit of urine comes out.

pickup build #4

the smaba roof needed slicing and dicing to fit the thin beetle roof line. this pic shows the readjustment of the A posts after sectioning. most of the measuring was just eye balled. if it looked right, its right etc.........

pickup build #3

the plan was to use the original beetle roof chopped up to make the pickup cab. this was until a good friend of mine rang to say he had the very front and back of a split screen samba van. sticking these together would make a wild cab! the pic shows the high quality tools used in the build. note stick holding up the roof.

pickup build #2

so you have you cheap bug. how far you go customizing is up to you. alot of these vw rod things seem to be the wings removed and a wheel base extender put on the front. you can get kits which just bolt onto where your beam goes. this looks ok but i wanted a pick up truck. i also wanted to build it as a 1st timer would, in a one car garage with only hand tools. this aint gonna be a show winner, just a cheap and fun! as the pic shows ive cut the roof off and an going to cut the back of the shell off behind the seats.

pickup build #1

the pickup build..i have always loved open wheeled cars. vintage race cars and hot rods give me that special feeling only a fellow perv would understand. my dream is to own an early model A 5 window ford hot rod. you know the score dropped i beam, v8 Flathead, chopped, channeled, juice breaks, blah blah blah. i have no money and not much time so had to look other places for a four wheel shit machine. being a life long motorcyclist i love air cooled engines. enter the vw beetle. yeah i know they're famous for stupid hippies driving them and real hotrodders hate them but i think the bug would be a perfect start for a cheap bit of fun car. ive never really listened to people when they tell me what bike is cool and whats not( i ride a panther) make your own rules! so same for cars. the beetle has the wheels sticking out of the main body so with abit of cutting we could be onto somthing.
Now let me just explain why im putting all this crap on here, i believe that the old bike/car scene needs the young folk to carry it on. a lot of the vintage bike runs i go on seem to be mainly geezers in there 50s upwards. the car shows could follow suit if we dont encourage and teach young peeps how to build their rides. so here is the how-to car section (bike to follow soon). i think the custom beetle is a good stepping stone for young hotrodders to get into the scene. if you scrap a 70s bug by cutting it up beyond repair it don't matter. if a 1st timer cut up a 32 thats a piece of history gone! i know they do fiberglass copies which a young rodder could stick a small engine (pinto) into but i think steel wins over plastic. lets cut up a car!

barn find!

one sunny but cold winters day i was traveling south on the a49. near an air field there is a forest with lots of old abandoned buildings. ive always liked old run down buildings so was trying to look at them out of the corner of my eye whilst driving. i caught a glimpse of what looked to be a stripped down car in one building. i started to fantasize about what i could be. i was thinking old ford maybe model a or b? then i was trying to plan how to get it home, trailer etc. i passed it about 2 more times before i decided i needed to stop. i parked up and wandered through the thick woodland to the spooky barn. i started to think of horror films. hum.. no one knows im here, better make this quick! when i went through the door it wasn't a model a waiting for a resto. this was my dream car....... its still there......

new dice shirt!

them fellas over at dice have a new shirt out for all you 70's biker/art loving mothers! im defo gona buy one so go fuck yourself! luv al

dice party!

the chaps at dice have a party comming up to release their latest mag. you should make it! should be a wild happening!