You may recall the shoebox Ford in our February issue that received frenched and leaded headlights. A mild kustom coming together at Brad Masterson's shop, it'll be unchopped and retain its door handles, but a healthy lowering job, as well as those frenched lights, give it the look. Going a step further, the owner, Dave Chavez, opted for molded twin side pipes-a traditional custom trick from the later '50s. It's a look we haven't seen in a while (now we'll get letters!), so we thought you might like to see how it's done. Of course, these are dummy pipes, with the real exhaust system underneath the car. At least this way passengers won't burn their legs when exiting the vehicle!
Wanting to fabricate twin...
Wanting to fabricate twin pipes for each side of the car, Brad selected exhaust tubing with an outside diameter of 1 1/2 inches, which will eventually be chromed.
With the tubing cut to length,...
With the tubing cut to length, Brad tack-welded the 1 3/4-inch tubing together, keeping them parallel to each other. Note one is longer than the other, since they will be stepped.
Using 1/4-inch round stock,...
Using 1/4-inch round stock, Brad tack-welded the end as pictured, and then used oxyacetylene to heat the stock and bend it to follow the previously cut steps.
With the excess trimmed, both...
With the excess trimmed, both sides of the round stock can now be finish-welded to form the beaded edge. Before final welding, a small triangular filler section was added in the valley between the two sections of tubing.
Once fully welded, Mike got...
Once fully welded, Mike got the thankless job of grinding and dressing the welds in preparation for leading, while we moved to the other side of the car where Brad trial-fitted the side pipes to determine the length and where the rear mounting brackets would need to go.
The first bend follows the...
The first bend follows the curvature of the pipes followed by a bend to follow the horizontal section, the process repeated until both steps have what will become the beaded edge.
Once the tubing was welded...
Once the tubing was welded to the rocker panel, it required two bends at the bottom of the front fender to enable the pipes to appear to exit the bodywork. These bends were trimmed from a pair of 1 3/4-inch-diameter, 90-degree bends.
After each bend, Brad tack-welded...
After each bend, Brad tack-welded the stock to the tubing to prevent any movement, and then trimmed the excess.
With the tubing tacked to...
With the tubing tacked to the rocker panel, the bends were trimmed for a good fit using a small air grinder. Once tacked in place, the bends were removed and "adjusted" a few times before Brad was happy with the way they flowed into the straight sections.
Brad elected to slash-cut...
Brad elected to slash-cut the pipes just before the rear wheelwell.
These brackets were welded...
These brackets were welded to the pipe and attach to brackets welded to the inner rocker panel underneath the car. The bracket for the outer side pipe required extra bracing, as it is 2 inches longer than this one and would flex with use, eventually breaking.
With Mike's work done, we...
With Mike's work done, we returned to the driver side where Brad set about preparing to apply lead. He started by tinning the tubing and then melting the lead stick onto the pipes.
We went through the process...
We went through the process of leading in our February issue, so we won't explain it all again here; suffice to say a small paddle was used to shape the lead in the valleys between each tube and between the tubing and the rocker panel.
After some careful paddle...
After some careful paddle work and shaping with files, Brad started sanding the now-molded side pipes in preparation for primer.
Here's a close-up of the front...
Here's a close-up of the front section of the pipes.
Here's a look at the finished...
Here's a look at the finished joint where the bare-metal pipes come together.
The finished article! With...
The finished article! With chromed pipes and the lead work primed, this kustom is another step closer to being ready for final paint.