There have been several posts on hood, door, or other panel alignment especially after replacing sheet metal panels. Here are a couple of pics of how much bracing it takes to pretty much eliminate twisting, creeping or other movement. It's hard to work around but remember that if something moves a 1/16 in one place, that may cause a 1/4 inch gap on the opposite side of, say a door opening. It may seem excessive but the little extra time it takes to install or work around saves much more time and headaches. This is a 37 chevy coupe so it takes more than a pickup cab but not a quarter as much as a convertible. Note the door gap and body molding alignment after the new floor, rockers, firewall, lower cowl, and quarter panel (not done in this pic) have been replaced.
Evan!!!! DUDE!!!!!!! I wish I lived closer and I had the money to have YOU do my truck. Talk about details. All I can say is that I bet YOUR panels fit the way you want them to. You rock. Andy
You're so right about this evan, most people have no idea the amount of bracing that is required when you cut these cars apart. And sometimes an easy outer skin can turn into total sheet metal reconstruction under the skin. To me though the sheet metal replacement part of a build is one of the most fun parts of the entire project.
Impressive Work VERY nice ! . A '37 Chevy Coupe is my dream car . The foreign cars I restored were mostly just sheet metal so we'd tack weld the doors shut to hold the body in perfect alignment , then after all the structural welding was done , cut the tack welds , finish up the body and squirt it . As your pix show , body work is really , really difficult and time consuming . I never mastered any aspect of body & paint .
Nate, you're scaring me! If I could have ANY car in the world, it would be a '37 business coupe! There is nothing more graceful in styling than that! The '38 came close, but no cigar! I came close to that in '72, but settled for a '48 coupe (you've seen the pics). Some would say that the '40 F**d deluxe coupe looked better, but i'd argue with them. I'm still looking for one!
If I'm going with any car that was built in 1937 then it would have to be a ford convertible. That is one of the sexiest cars I have ever seen in my life. They are hard to come by if you're looking for them just sitting in a field and when you do find them they aren't cheap. I'll probably never own one because as you guys know I have to many projects I want to build now like get my truck finished, build a 70 camaro, talk ken out of his panal . We can all dream big right????
All '37's are sexy! Nate, back me up on this! Kevin, find a picture of a '37 Cord! Oh crap, what a chick magnet!
Yep! You got it, bro! Now, if you you want to really get excited, find a '34 Duesenberg with a supercharger!
I know that this is a 39 and a Ford (and no I'm not converting to the ford side, just showing my love for other cars is all) but tell me this isn't a beautiful peice of metal. Also I put a pic of the 70 camaro that dad and I rode in at the good guys show. This car has totally changed my opinion on muscle cars and has made me want to build one. Plus this was the selling point for my air ride. This car had the same setup that I'm putting under my truck and it handled like it was on rails. I thought I'd throw in some other cool looking cars while I was at it.
Found it!!!! Check out the price of that thing in 34. Now that was expensive for the time. http://www.bayberryclassics.com/Pages/vintage/34duesen.htm
okay a few more I can't help but share these photos with you guys. These cars are truly amazing. The 62 corvette was built from four different crashed vettes and the top is off of a 34 ford coupe. He was a magazine feature and is on painless wiring website. Oh yeah the first car had a fully adjustable coilover billestine race suspension under it and did I mention a HEMI!!!!
That's a duesy! When we used to show dad's 34 PU in the '60's, I used to sneak off into the "classics" section and literally drool over the mid 30's duesenburgs, cords and auburns. To think that they could produce that kind of HP, and speed in the 30's is mind blowing. I can't get that excited about today's plastic and air-bag hybrid bastardized vehicles. Sorry, sad, but true!
Out of all the cars from the forties the tucker is the car that blows my mind on the technology that it had. Hydraulic lifters, fuel injection, independent suspension, disc brakes, just to name a few things on it. Here is a cool website that shows the tucker. What a great car. To bad they didn't make it. http://www.tuckerclub.org/index.php
I agree with you on that! Awesome car, awesome movie! go to www.jaylenosgarage.com to check out his video on his 32 duesenburg. $100K just for the supercharger
That is such a cool website. I'm a huge leno fan anyway but the fact that he really does know about the cars and how to work on them is really impressive to me instead of just some rich guy who collects for the hell of it. I think $100k for a supercharger is a little steep, but if you got it might as well spend it.
That's a cool pic you posted. If I were you I would have it blown up and it would be hangin on my wall. At what point did you put the vette motor in this truck. Or is this the same truck? It looks like the same one.
Here's you a two toned Deusy http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z10138/Duesenberg_Model J LaGrande Phaeton/default.aspx
Same truck Dad put the vette motor in it in '57. It's a 265 ci with Duntav race cam and used to run 3 rochester 2bbl carbs on it when we showed it. Ended up winning over 26 trophies with it from drag racing it in the late '50's and showing it in car shows in the early '60's.
