My C4 based project
 

Hello everyone, I like to build cars as a hobby. I've built a few using both C4 and C5 components bolted into frames that I fabricated. This week a friend gave me stripped down C4 roller. I have a 50's Kelllison J5 coupe body so I thought that it would be fun to try and put the 2 together.

I finished stripping down the chassis today and test fit the body. The sill width and the distance from the rear wheels to the C4's firewall is just about perfect. The Kellison has a very low roof line so the C4's perimeter frame is an asset here. The car, because it's so light is sitting about 3 inches to high. I think that when it's lowered the wheels will fill the wells pretty good.

The hood was cut to allow for a blower by the previous owner. i will be filling this in and reforming the Kellison style scoop.

I know that not many are fans of a C4 rebody. But, I think this is a little different. If any one is interested in following the build I will post pictures along the way. If not I understand and will fade away. :)

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5bb2bac9.jpg
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Interesting project!

Keep us up to date!!

What year C4 chassis are you using?

I vote for more.

:iagree: :thumbs:

Bill :canadaflag:

:thumbs:

Hey better on the road than a junk yard LOL ... Keep us posted, very cool stuff .

:iagree: :cool:

kellison
 

I have always loved Kellison bodies, This is going to be fun to watch............:thumbs:

Thank you for the support. The roller is a 1984.

Today I did a little more work. To get the body lower and to get a nice rake I cut off the windshield flange.

I took the wheels off and set the frame on 5 inch blocks to simulate ride height. To the top of the roof with the 5 inch ride height is 43 inches.

I shortened the hood by 5.8 inches to fit the C4's 96.2 inch wheelbase.

I set some wheels/tires that I had laying around in front of the body for the pics. I think that it's looking pretty good.

Next step is to make the dash. Then fiberglass work. Having fun.
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Cool project!:thumbs:
Looking forward to the progress pix and reports.

Because the Vette is 71 inches wide and the Kellison body is only 67 inches I was planning on adding flares. But, I decided that I like the clean look of the side of the Kellison body so today I cut it down the middle and widened it by 4 inches. Tomorrow I'll start glassing it together.

I wil be shaping a hood scoop.

The headlights will have clear plexiglas covers.

I'll be fabricating an aluminum grill and side louvers.

The front wheel arch will be enlarged.

Having fun.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...psd985dcdf.jpg

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Very Cool...:thumbs:

Pretty cool, any pictures from behind.

It's difficult to get a picture from the rear in my shop. But, Here is what the back looks like with out it being widened.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...psc59d75e5.jpg

Sorry to see another C 4 gone, but at least the chassis will live on.
What are you going to do to restore structural integrity with the targa steel gone, and the front windshield steel gone. C 4's by virtue of there construction were flexible flyers when the targa was out for cruising. Convertibles had an X brace under the frame. Are you planning a roll cage? It will be interesting to watch the progress. Good luck.

Yes, I will be fabricating a roll cage.

:cool:

:cool:
:lurk:

:thumbs::thumbs: good luck with the project - keep us informed with lots of pics

I definately like the look and the project, like others have stated keep us informed.

How do you get front/rear windows after changing their cutout width?

Great profile on the car!

Concerning the glass.

The Kellison uses a 1947-1952 Studebaker windshield. The glass is flat and molded into a V shape. If I want to keep that look I can have laminated glass cut to full size and fab a jig to hold it. The glass can be heated until it takes the V shape. Or, use 2 separate pieces and have a narrow aluminum center post milled to the correct angle. Laminated glass is DOT legal and the glass shop can label it for me.

The other option I am looking at is a 1953 Studebaker windshield. It just happens to be 4 inches wider than the 52 glass. I think the height is very close. The 53 glass is not flat. It is curved. I will order 1 and see how it fits. Shaping the fiberglass body to fit the 53 glass would not be a problem.


The rear glass is the rear window from a 1948 Buick Roadmaster. I am looking at 3 options.

- cut around the windshield frame and piece it back together. I would fill in the 2 inches per side and blend it into the body.

- make a mold of the new larger opening. The mold would be matched to the contour of the body. From the the mold a polycarbonate window can be formed.

- I'm considering filling in the 4 inch gap in the window opening with a fiberglass strip. This would create a split window. The original Buick glass could be cut in the middle and split. Or the 2 pieces could be molded from polycarbonate.

interesting project, keep us posted.

I spent a few hours today on my project. Because I'm doing so many modifications to the body I've decided to use this body as a plug. Molds will be made so that I can have top quality, lightweight body.

Today I built a structure to support and position the body on the C4 chassis. Though not in the pictures I glued strips of wood that I made from some paneling that I had to the underside of the body where it was widened. This will provide the structure to hold body filler that I will use to fill the space.

I hope to have everything roughed in by Sunday. Then I'll take it to a friends body shop for body prep.

Having fun.
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Who in the heck has the time, money and, more importanly, the skills to do this? Yes, I'm impressed. Yes, I'm a bit jealous. Yes, I want to see more. Thanks for sharing.

Nice project. Kudos.

It would be best to make a new mold of the areas of the body that were split and widened, otherwise you'll most likely have shrinkage on these panels, right down the middle at some point in the future. You would also be able to make new panels and sell them if someone else wanted to do the same type of C4 based project.

Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Because of the extend of the modifications I am making molds for the entire new body and hood. I have a friend that owns a pretty large fiberglass products company. His company will make the molds and then the parts for me. I have a few friends and a son that wants one of these.

I am semi retired. I have an internet business: www.bigbellybanks.com to sell coin banks for kids that I invented. I doesn't make me rich but it lets me have the time to work on car projects. I have a passion for the old fiberglass sports/race cars of the 50's and 60's.

I've had this body for a number of years and a friend of mine gave me the C4 roller that I am fitting the body to. This gives me something to do during the winter. It's about having fun. A few years ago I built a frame to take C5 suspension and drivetrain. I fit a Cobra body to it. It's a great driver.

I didn't take pictures today but I filled in the window openings from the backside with thin plywood. This helps when making the molds and then laying up the body. Tomorrow I'll fit the door sills of the body to the C4 sills. When the body comes out of the mold it will slide over and rest on the sills.

Personally I think it maybe more than mere passion, but I really appreciate your sharing your work with us. More pictures please ? Any of your Cobra ?

You're probably right. It's more of a sickness that mere passion.

Here are a few pics of my Cobra. It's painted Vette Atomic Orange Effect. I've cleaned up the engine compartment since these pics were taken and routed the air cleaner to the front of the cradle. The engine is an LS6. Trans is a motor mounted Tremec T56. I designed an adapter and had made a conversion for the C5 diff so that it would take a driveshaft. The transaxle won't work in a 90 inch wheel base Cobra. The body is from my friends company. http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...psc232d5cc.jpg


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This is my 23 model T inspired sport rod. Aluminum tub, C5 drivetrain and suspension, hopped up LS6, 6 speed transaxle, 1800 lbs, registered as a street rod. Fun!

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...ortrodside.jpg

Thanks again for sharing. By the way, that Big Belly Bank is really cool. I see one in my near future.

Nice!! :rock:

Great project. I have wondered why the C4's have not been utilized for something like this. Let me know if you are going to be selling the bodies. There are a lot of C4's out there that are too far gone, but the chassis could be saved instead of hitting the salvage yard.
Shawn

Count me among those who are eager to read and see more about this project until it's done!

Live well,

SJW

:lurk:

You are a very talented man. Subscribed :)

I wanted to let everyone know that I won't be posting any updates in the near future. A serious medical situation has come up in my wife's family and we will be out of town for some time. When I am able I will resume my build.

Hope the medical situation improves :blueangel:

Sorry to hear. Best wishes. Family comes first, trust me I know. Hope all works out. My best to you and yours, and our prayers. Well all be here when the time is right.

Prayers for your family. Love the project. We'll be here when you get back

:iagree:
And here I sit agonizing about how to repair a star-shaped 3" crack in my fiberglass hood:ack:
Prayers going out for you and your family sir.

Hello everyone. I returned home last week from being with my wife's parents in Florida. Her mother was seriously ill and we were there to help her. Fortunately she is doing great.

When I got home I went to my shop to check out my project. I was excited to see the Kellison body again and anxious to get back at it. Then, on Friday, I had a major heart attack. Something, that at 57, I was not expecting. Fortunately I was out of town when it happened and ended up minutes from a hospital with a cardiac unit. They saved my life and did a procedure that will hopefully prevent another attack. Life style changes are coming.

I've contacted a friend of mine that is a great body man. He is going to finish the body for me. Then I will have molds pulled. The first body pulled from the molds will be for my build. This will be a slow process. When I have updates I will post them.

In the mean time I'm looking forward to slowing down, spending time with my family, and driving my Cobra Tribute this summer.

Peace, John

As an multi-time member of the heart attack club, I wish you good luck and hope you have a speedy recovery. I've found the most important thing to me now is to enjoy every day (even the crappy ones) and to try to treat my family the best I can. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. :thumbs::cheers:

Wow ... I'm glad you're doing OK. Slowing down and spending time with your family sounds like a great plan :thumbs:

.Looking for updates here, not so much the car but making sure you are doing good and are in good health.

:lurk:

Thank you for checking in on me. To be honest I've not been doing great. I'm a sever diabetic as well as having my recent heart attack. I've been trying to get my health under control and I have been spending time with family. My 9 year old grandson came from MN for the summer. (Im near Lake Placid, NY). We played golf, fished, and spent time at our family lake camp. He left a few days ago. Yesterday was the first day that I went to my shop in awhile.

The C4 roller that I had didn't have any drivetrain. I was concerned about engine clearance so I went to Craigs list awhile ago and looked for a C4. I found a rough but running C4 and bought it for $700.

I stripped the car down and then had the idea that it might be fun to fabricate a roll bar, side impact bars and stiffen the C4 frame with some round tube. Yesterday I stripped out the dash and finished tacking together the round tubing. I'm still going to do the Kellison re-body but I think driving this will be fun.
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man your original project is COOL. i wish you luck.
sorry to hear about all the health stuff....i guess that is life that we all have to deal with. i wish you well, and keep reporting if you make more progress, b/c this is one cool project you are working on.

I'm also sorry to hear of your setbacks, and Hope all gets better for you......But!!!

Your killing me Smalls!!! (ever see the Sand Lot movie?)

I only wish I had the time, talent, and space you have to do all the cool stuff you are up to!! :lurk::cool:

Sorry to hear about your health. I gotta be honest I'd be tempted to drive that as it sits. :D

Wow. I love this project and the skill, passion, inventive intellect varied knowledge, etc. behind this... atop the value of family.

Best to you with the health and all, friend. :flag:

That project looks like it may well be more fun than my up-and-coming 1955 F100 over '84 C4 suspension/drivetrain. One could view the use of beaten down C4 components as a true tribute to the car, versus a loss of one of the 100000 plus, made!