29 chevy coupe wood structure

I have a 29 coupe which appears to have either a weak frame or the wrong wood material. The wood which is fastened tot the frame and the door hinge mount to appears to be pine. Does anyone know what wood the coupe should be made of, the door be door jams move closer together by nearly 3/8 inch when on the wheels verses when supported ar the inner spring mounts. This squeezes the door frame.

Bill Marble


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Most of the wood used in the structure of these old cars was Northern Maple.

Those cars used a "ladder" frame which has no twist resistance at all. Plus any wood framed car body will flex a lot.

Most rods use a boxed frame with an X member installed, plus have steel to replace the structural wood.

With Ford using mostly ash and oak. Any of these three are good and are about as dimensionally stable after drying as any easily available American wood. Pine is about the worst for water absorption and stability. Take it out - if you can, and only use the pieces for a pattern on good stable wood then start over. Additionally, these cars will flop around a bit regardless. Most sucessful Chebbie rod builders make up a steel tube frame and use the wood in a stove to keep 'em warm while welding up that nice new rigid stucture. Street Rodder Mag had 2 feature articles over the summer on this subject.

Dave

However, even when the frame is boxed, you would be asking a lot to put it up on jack stands under the inner spring perches!


Bill, ANY frame and body is going to bend an awful lot under those circumstances. That is why you always try to put a car on jack stands so that its weight is distributed as close as possible to the way it is when it is on it's wheels. NEVER align or fit parts when the car is on anything but its wheels or on jack stands put where the weight is like it is on its wheels. Under the axles is the best place of course. But as F&J points out, unless your frame has been upgraded by boxing or X member you are working with an "antique" car frame, not a hot rod.

Brian