Wow! Thank you! I don’t know though….Over 40 and still Hot!! is a pretty good one! I do appreciate the compliments. I hope to have the unibody fabrication done by the end of the year! cheers Dave
Thanks for the interest! After a move and a side project that got into the way, I'm starting back into the 507 with frame mock up starting this week! I moved the body buck back inside the shop and will be updating the thread with pics in a few days. More to come.... Cheers Dave
Oh man....I should! Even the estimate is crazy, but I guess with it being the real deal, kind of priceless. More delays due to construction on an in-law-suite and dealing with incompetent subs. Anyway, more soon. I promise!! Cheers Dave
Cheaper to make a deal with the eventual buyer to have it 3-D scanned! I seem to recall your build is going with different materials anyway?
Yes, and I already have the front and rear sections done. Still fine tuning to do, of course. I also have the trim work 3D scanned as well. Still would be a nice thing to have! Cheers Dave
Forward progress! The body skins are laid out and I've joined up the halves with temporary rockers to get the door openings and wheel base correct. The 507's wheel base is 97.6" and I'm at 97.75, so I'm pretty much right there. Now I'll position the wheels and figure out the track with front and back so I can then start ordering parts for the frame. More to come... Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I had two tires mounted and they are the same that I've seen on many 507s, reproduction Michelin 185R - 16 radials. I just had then put on the rim and aired up so I could set them in the wells to get the track width down. I'll take them off when I'm ready to get the wheels powder coated. Frame steel here so I'll start fabricating the frame this weekend after careful measurements and layout. Front and rear suspension set ups are on the way too! More to come... Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login
Some progress made over the last few days. I have the frame laid out but nothing welded yet. Some parts are close to the factory frame while there's a few tweaks to make it stronger of my own design. It'll be rigid for sure. Also fabricated the upper firewall. This mimics the 507. Still a little more to do. Suspension comes tomorrow so I'll start on that over the weekend. Starting to take shape! Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A couple tweaks to the heater box so it replicated the original a little better, and I boxed it in with the toe boards. My whole front end got here safely except the one piece I need to weld things up: the crossmember. Should show up today! Lots of measurements and such to get the frame rails up here level, parallel, and square. Tons of notes and measurements! Once I get things all lined up I'll tack weld it in place and complete the rest of the mock up ensuring squarity (squarity?). After that, I'll weld it up into a solid frame! More to come.... Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looking forward to plenty of "squarity" Fortunately for me, playing with 50-year old mahogany boats, "squarity" is not so much of an issue......"curvity" is better.....
One of the projects I really want to do is build or restore a 30s Chris Craft barrel back. What floating art those are. There's a BMW 507ish boat out there too! Lots of measurements and I've got a front end mocked up. Now to break it all down and weld it solid. After that I'll join it to the side rails. Moving forward!! Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If you haven't already seen this, it's a bit of a trek, but you should consider checking out this 507 auction.....interesting to see if really 'original' as opposed to just old. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27657/preview-lot/5573531/numbers-matchingfitted-with-rudge-wheels-and-optional-hardtopsingle-family-ownership-and-not-seen-publicly-for-over-40-years1957-bmw-507-series-ii-roadster-chassis-no-70059-engine-no-40072/?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_CTC_MOT-CAR_Audrain_2022_1_28062022&cid=20482904&sale= Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ah, you're right. Forgot about that! So, I know the owner of that Blue car. He owns three in his family. A black one that sold at Hersey last year and he sent me photos of this one when I first met him. I visited his third one being restored and got a lot of photos in it's skeleton state. We've been emailing back and forth and he's really excited to see the progress on mine. I'm excited to see it go to auction. I'm headed up to Philly next month to visit the car again and maybe I'll get a chance to sit in the blue one before it goes. I'm about halfway through the frame build! Cheers Dave
Another beautiful example, from Villa D'Este 2021 Image Unavailable, Please Login Dave- any thoughts on colors at this stage?
That's the factory color called Silver Gray. A stunning combo. I've gone back and forth with a few colors but always seem to come back to Papyrus or Feather White (basically, white) with a dark blue interior and top. The other combos I've thought about were the Silver Gray with tan like this one posted, Graphite Metallic with red interior, or a Corvette color Silver Blue with a dark blue interior too. Everytime I come across a car color that appeals to me I write the make and model down then Google the color. I write that down for any future car I may build. There's some nice colors out there. I like Atlas Gray, a Porsche color too. I fabricated up the rear axle 4-link and everything is welded up! Mounting it on the rotisserie and will flip it over to get the final welding done along with smoothing. There's a lot more involved to setting up suspension than I had thought but man it's fun to figure out. A while different realm of car stuff to figure out. More to come... Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your color choices all sound good! (no reds) We specced our Audi S4 in Atlas Gray back in ‘06! Great color. Can’t go wrong with white/navy tho…… Finish up with this car; I need you to build me one as soon as I win the lottery!
Ha! Right! I might build another, but I gotta get through this one first! I got the frame on the rotisserie to finish the welds underneath. Later this week I'll smooth everything over and my rear coil over mounts come in so those will get welded on. Once everything is smooth, back on the ground it goes and I'll start in with firewall, floor pans, trunk, position the seat, steering column, and pedal quadrant. The motor and transmission should be here at the end of the month and I'll get that mocked up too Moving right along! Cheers Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you! No, you didn't miss it. It's changed several times and I've finally decided on a 63 Buick 215 aluminum V8.... Eerily similar to the factory 507 engine. Matted to a T5 with the S-10 tail housing. I've got a 2x2 intake and will mount the generator at the 12 o'clock position along with other mods to make it asthetically similar to the factory 507 engine. I'll start that mock up at the end of the month. Cheers Dave