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Copying Custom '60s Running Boards - Relative RestorationFrom the June, 2011 issue of Rod & Custom By Bill Ganahl
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We started with a brand-new... We started with a brand-new pair of reproduction running boards. I installed each one on the truck to make sure they fit properly before cutting them up. Where it was is where it's at these days. It seems like everyone's scouring the country for old, unrestored hot rods or customs from the glory decades. The question that doesn't often get addressed, however, is this: If you do get lucky enough to acquire an old hot rod or show queen with historical provenance, to what extent should you restore it? There are more than a few schools of thought on this topic and, working both for Roy Brizio Street Rods where I've restored cars for Pebble Beach, and at my own shop, where cost is generally more of an issue, I've seen both ends of the spectrum. On one hand, you could simply make sure the mechanicals are in working order, dust it off (or not), and drive it. On the other hand, you could perform a complete, ground-up restoration, making sure every nut and bolt carbon dates to the exact minute the car was originally completed. Or, if you're like David Pozzi, owner of Ron Lepish's Bay Area-bred '41 Ford trophy queen pickup built in the late '50s, you fall somewhere in between. Like many show cars of the '50s and '60s, this pickup has been through quite a few documented (and undocumented) iterations, so it has been altered drastically from its appearance in the '62 Hot Rod Yearbook. Pozzi decided to update the chassis and drivetrain while maintaining the basic original appearance of the truck. After having the crew at Roy Brizio Street Rods build one of their signature chassis, Pozzi sent the truck to Slix Custom Automotive, also in the Bay Area, to complete the restoration. This is where we draw the... This is where we draw the line: Although it's kind of cool to see how they did things back in the day (notice the use of mandrel-bent exhaust tubing), we can't risk using the amount of lead or bondo it would take to smooth these original running boards out. They're a little too crude. One of the major questions always seems to be how much of the original sheetmetal to keep. The body generally has the largest association with the identity of the car, so my inclination is always to keep as much as possible. But sometimes you run into areas that were too poorly modified or repaired
to be acceptable, according to today's standards. The running boards from Pozzi's pickup are a perfect example. These running boards were cobbled together with pieces of exhaust tubing and scrap metal, and were eventually covered in a 1/2 inch of bondo. By today's standards, these practices are slightly less acceptable and Pozzi wants to know that there's a solid foundation underneath the paint on his '41. Here's a look at what we did to make a copy of these custom running boards.  The front of the board required...  The front of the board required two cuts. Essentially, a section will be removed from the center length of the board, and the outer edge will be moved in. The first cut line runs along the second outermost rib, while the inner cut line was based upon the trace mark from the original running board.  Having the original board...  Having the original board to work with is a huge benefit. I could determine where to make the cuts simply by laying the original board over the new one. Of course, we are improving the design slightly, so a few cuts will be different.  Since the corners are radiused,...  Since the corners are radiused, I made some rough marks at the rear end of the board. I purposefully left these cuts long so I could go back and trim them later as needed.  As I said, these cuts are...  As I said, these cuts are rough. I retraced the line slightly inboard of the original mark to compensate for the radius of the outer edge of the board, which will be made from tubing.  You can see the contour of...  You can see the contour of the rear of the board taking shape here. This piece of the board can be discarded.  The first cut at the front...  The first cut at the front of the board runs along the second bead. We are going to use the piece we cut off here for the new outer edge of the modified board.  Based upon the dimensions...  Based upon the dimensions of the original running boards, I could get away with cutting out the entire crossed out area. Since the front flange of the running board already matched the contour of the front fender, I wanted to save the entire front flange.  These two pieces form the...  These two pieces form the bulk of the new running boards. There is plenty of overlap between the two, so now we have to figure out where to attach the outer piece.  Measuring the front was not...  Measuring the front was not so easy; both of the original running boards measured differently here. I decided that the narrower of the two looked better, so I went with that measurement of 7 inches across.  In order to make all of the...  In order to make all of the necessary cuts, I had to cut through the bracing underneath the boards. These will be capped off and finished before paint.  I simply eyeballed the outer...  I simply eyeballed the outer edge and placed it approximately at the same position as the original board.  According to the original...  According to the original running boards, the outer bead of the outer section lines up perfectly with the inner bead of the inner section. I clamped the rear sections of the pieces together based upon this measurement.  The second cut, shown here,...  The second cut, shown here, was along the inside of the innermost bead. This entire piece will be discarded.  Once clamped in place, I marked...  Once clamped in place, I marked the edge of the outer piece in order to cut the inner piece to make my seam.  Once the mark was cut, I tacked...  Once the mark was cut, I tacked the two halves together. Since the top surface of the boards is perfectly flat, I turned them over and clamped them flat to the table.  After cutting the tubing,...  After cutting the tubing, I welded the ends together, making sure that the contour of the curves matched the original running board.  In order to finish the side...  In order to finish the side of the new "S" curve, I broke a 90-degree edge on a piece of sheetmetal, and used the shrinker stretcher to match it to the curvature of the running board.  This shows a close-up of how...  This shows a close-up of how the rear beads on each piece line up, and how I let part of the seam overlap the mount brace in order to leave the brace longer.  I then cut the tubing into...  I then cut the tubing into quarters lengthwise, which left me with this piece, perfectly contoured to the new edge of the board.  Once the shape matched, I...  Once the shape matched, I tacked the new side panel in place, completing the basic shape of the rear of the new running board.  With the outer edge of the...  With the outer edge of the new board in place, I focused on finishing the rear "S" curve of the board. In homage to the original craftsman, I used 2-inch exhaust tubing. I marked the cuts where necessary to achieve the proper "S" shape of the board.  After trimming the edge of...  After trimming the edge of the board for a precise fit, I tacked the curve in place, making sure that the ends lined up with the radii of the running board edges.  Unlike the rear of the board,...  Unlike the rear of the board, the curve of the front is irregular, so tubing cannot be used to provide the necessary shape.  I used the new piece of sheetmetal...  I used the new piece of sheetmetal to determine what part of the new running board needed to be cut out and how much new material would need to be fabricated.  With all of the material removed,...  With all of the material removed, and the front outer edge trimmed to match the filler piece, the edge of the board is taking shape.  Again, I broke a 90-degree...  Again, I broke a 90-degree edge on a piece of sheetmetal and used the stretcher to match the shape of the original running board.  With marks in place, I cut...  With marks in place, I cut out the minimal amount necessary, but you can see that the front of the board became slightly more complicated than the rear "S" curve.  Since we couldn't use tubing,...  Since we couldn't use tubing, I had to hammer the proper radius into this front side panel using a simple tube dolly.  Holding the dolly underneath...  Holding the dolly underneath the radius on the edge of the running board, I was able to smooth out the radius and match it exactly to the radius in the stamping of the reproduction running boards.  Once fitted, I tacked the...  Once fitted, I tacked the side panel in place. The other half of the radius will be hammered into the next filler panel.  Before welding up any of the...  Before welding up any of the seams, I installed the running boards on the truck to make sure they still fit the body and frame correctly, and to make sure they looked right.  The last piece required a...  The last piece required a few cuts and some fitting. I simply traced the opening onto the sheetmetal and trimmed it to fit.  You'll notice that the front...  You'll notice that the front edge of the running board has been cut and retacked in place here. There is a small step here in the stock running board, which I eliminated by cutting and butt-welding the two pieces.  After some welding, hammering,...  After some welding, hammering, and grinding, here's the finished product. Just like the original in appearance, but far better constructed.  Once tacked in place, the...  Once tacked in place, the outer edge of the patch piece needed to be contoured to match the radius of the side panel. Again, I used the tube dolly.
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Roy Brizio Street Rods
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