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replacing wood in mid 30's car bodies

4K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  MARTINSR 
#1 ·
how difficult is it to replace the wood in the doors and other parts of the mid 30's GM cars? do they make kits to replace it with metal? I am looking at a couple 36-37 cars that have wood in the doors.
 
#2 ·
We did my brothers 22 Buick Roadster mostly with square tubing. Bend some, but left most straight and didn't try to replicate the wood, but only what the wood was doing, you understand?

The wood was made exactly the shape of the outer skin. We let the skin retain it's shape while welding the tube to the inner fold of the skin just as it was nailed to the wood. So the fact that there is a gap behind the metal where the skin bows out doesn't matter, it's attached to that folded piece and supports the body just as the wood did, only better.

I worked on a 37 Chevy years ago where the guy took patterns off the wood and created every piece in metal, with holes punched in the metal mostly for looks but maybe thinking about lightening? Anyway, that sucker was a work of art! HOLY CRAP it was a shame to cover it with the interior trim. But that was a whole different thing, kinda easy, just copy the wood. It took a heck of a lot longer than what we did though.

Brian
 

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#5 ·
1937 still has wood, that's the main reason I have a '38. At the time I was looking, I preferred the vertical grille of the '37, but the '38 has grown on me and I really like it now. There were less '38 coupes made too, so it's more RARE...;)
1940 is a nice design too. First year of the "alligator" hood, meaning 1 piece, rear hinged, but still the pod look of the headlights. I was close to buying a '40 gasser before I bought the '38 I have.
1941, the headlights migrated further into the fenders and it lost the "pod" look of the earlier years.
 
#4 ·
bending curves in Sq tubing

some places curved tubing workes better. when I did most of the nash roadster I used my harbor freight pipe bender . I used square tubing but only had dies for round pipe . I just held the Square tube flat and made many small bends sliding the tube about an inch at a time until I matched my cardboard patterns. Read Dewey's eBook by clicking the link at the top of the page. for some gradual bends he made a plywood form and screwed it to side of his garage and used a come-a -long.
 

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#9 ·
steel is the deal

One big advantage of using steel is it's easier to add additional bracing in a hotrod.Dave, Irelandschild has lots of pictures here on hotrodders of his model A roadster build.Aditional steel bracing in the cowl aea for sturdy steering column and around the cockpit, from the door openings around behind the seat. Our 36 Pontiac , original straight 8 is very solid, was never termite food.
 
#10 ·
One big advantage of using steel is it's easier to add additional bracing in a hotrod.Dave, Irelandschild has lots of pictures here on hotrodders of his model A roadster build.Aditional steel bracing in the cowl aea for sturdy steering column and around the cockpit, from the door openings around behind the seat. Our 36 Pontiac , original straight 8 is very solid, was never termite food.

Thanks for the reminder of my many hours of strengthening that floppy steel car body:thumbup:

I added flat, angle, round and square steel tubing from the cowl to the back of the trunk - and bent what needed it with a couple conduit tubing benders. It was then all MIG welded up. Here's some of it:



And ......... some of it behind the cowl:



Dave W
 
#12 ·
These are photos I took of a car being built by Ron Covell back around 1993 at the GNRS when it was in Oakland just a few miles from my house. :( (it's now about 450 miles away in SoCa)

I will never forget talking with Ron there at the car when my brother said something like "I wish I could build a car like this" and the humble Ron Covell said "You can, of course you can" and went on to explain how to accomplish it. A true master fabricator with a heart. What a great guy. He went on to having classes just a few years later. That car went on to win the "America's most beautiful Roadster" award the next year.

Brian
 

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