Manky's Pop.

[VALLEYSBOY]

im starting to feel sick

[Plainy Janie]

Someone mention cake?   MMMMmmmmmmm

[Manky Monkey]

 
We talked about using the Pop rear section for the cab when I first bought it, but not personally my taste. That's how the Australian export model, (the Ute), was done. Pete Moore's is on the cover of the new issue of Custom Car, (Nov. 07). And it's green! Desperate's Morris 8 in the Motors, 4 Wheels bit's done by shunting the rear of the body forward too.

http://mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Hotrodpageimages/morris/8.html

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

i think that DD's car is well cool(cos its not instantly recognizable as what it once was)but still looks like a production model,sort of.

[panthershaun]

V8 good light(ish) sound engines, and I think that they are lighter than the V6.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

how could you not want this ?

[Manky Monkey]

 
Seen it at a few shows this year & it's absolutely flawless, beautifully put together, but just not my cup of Earl Grey. Not keen on the domed cab shape. Also unsure about the way the pick up body flows out of the cab bodywork. Much narrower doors than a normal Pop too. I prefer a good old fashioned traditional seperate pick up bed & straight backed cab personally.
'Tis nice though.

[Manky Monkey]

O.K, day 2 of the Pop build saw a different line up of Monkies back in the workshop. Tazet's away for the weekend & Janie & Dave were busy, so then there were 3 -Lunatic, PD & my good self. Flap arrived while we were still in the "Hmmm" stage -standing back, taking a good look at the job in hand & going "Hmmmm". He'd heard we had donuts. He stayed just long enough to plunder our commestible stash then buggered off to play with his Landrover. Nice to see you again anyway mate. Later in the day Mr & Mrs Lunatic Senior also came along to see what we were up to.
So- where do we start then?
Lots more bracing I think. We'd put a basic framework of lightweight tubes in before taking the body off the chassis & cutting the rear section off, but removing the roof would take with it any last semblance of rigidity. So a network of cross braces had to go in to minimise the risk of the whole thing collapsing like a big wobbly car shaped jelly thing.  

[Manky Monkey]

The doors, which we'd previously tack-welded shut, also had to come off at this point, which meant even more tubing. This thing's better braced than the Forth Bridge. 

[Manky Monkey]

The original sills were supplied loose with the car when I bought it & closer inspection revealed why. The front ends had been repaired once before & rotted through again, while the bottoms of the A pillars where the sills attach were made up of 10% wafer thin steel & 90% filler.
I've checked the "Pop Brown's" catalogue & new sills go from 45 quid + VAT each to 95 + VAT, depending on the quality. They do A post repair panels for 85 quid + VAT each.
So we'll repair what we've got with a sheet of new body panel steel from Loony's local supplier for 7 quid delivered.

[Manky Monkey]

I plan to run the Pop with an open sided engine bay -much discussion on the pros & cons of various engines has led me back to the tried & trusted, though boringly predictable, Rover V8 choice. So the inner wings have been junked with just a small spar from their top edge remaining to act as a brace for the bonnet flaps. We've also trimmed back the A post leading edges to suit.

[Manky Monkey]

Luckily, someone's already done a pretty good job of filling the roof panel. After the War steel was in short supply so to save money Ford used a vinyl insert stretched over wooden spars in several of it's 40s & 50s models. A rodders' favourite trick is to use the large flat expanse of steel sheet from a modern car bonnet or van roof. You can see the original opening inside the car here.

[Manky Monkey]

The windscreen pillars had wooden inserts to tack the headlining to.

[Manky Monkey]

I'd planned to go for a 4 inch chop to bring the side windows down to the same height as the rear Moggy Minor one, but a phone call from PantherShaun, as we were literally poised to make the first cut, persuaded me to go for 3 instead. He & his helper, Grizz, were also chopping their Pop today & had stolen an early start on us. He advised me that 3 inches would bring the windscreen down to just over 7 inches tall, (he thinks that's the legal minimum), & that any lower would render the car undrivable. So 3 it was. Thanks Shaun.
Nothing very high tech about the actual cut. We measured halfway up the rear pillars from the swageline on the body, then 1 1/2 inches either side of that centreline to give us 3 inches. Fortunately the same moulded line ran through to the front pillars so they were marked, measured & a horizontal line drawn around each pillar on a band of masking tape.
Let the cutting begin! 

[Manky Monkey]

At this point we realised that if our braces didn't hold the thing as solid as a rock, the 4 corners would be left swinging about in space once the lid was peeled off.
Too late to go back now!