The Ford Barn

Ed in Maine · 07-28-2024, 07:10 AM

I am running out of ideas of what has to be done. This car had a lot of rot in the subframe, so I made a new subframe and door pillars out of white oak using very good original patterns. I started the assembly of my 68C two years ago. I started with the cowl and hood. The seams around the hood look perfect. With the cowl in place, I hung the doors. With the doors hung, I placed the wood door pillars on to the subframe, getting good gaps at the pillar and at the sills. At this point I made bracing to hold the pillars in position as I progressed onward with the quarter panels and rear portions of the car. The rear of this car is like a giant sheet metal spring. It did go together but with difficulty. I think this is when I got into trouble.

Yesterday I removed the bracing and as you might suspect, the pillar did not stay put. There is stress placed on the pillars from the sheet metal. I now have a fit problem on both sides at the top or the bottom of the door pillars. On the driver's side, the top of the door hits the door pillar before the bottom comes close to the body sill. On the passenger side, the bottom of the door hits the body sill leaving about 1/4 in. gap at the top. These problems would make it difficult to close the doors. In both cases, you can push on the door and get it into position but of course there is no way to hold it in this position.
There were no indications of any accident trauma to either door.

At this point, I can't visualize what to do to correct the problem. There is virtually no way to brace the pillars in or out to get a good fit with the doors. I my case, if there was a turnbuckle added behind the seat, it would not work. Moving the pillars further apart, would fix one pillar but aggravate the problem on the other side and vice or versa. The original turnbuckles do not make enough change in the door pillars.

If you guys have any suggestions, I would appreciate them. At this point, I may have to dismantle the car, loosing two years worth of work. Even if I decide to take the car apart, at this point, I don't know what to do differently.

Thank you for any suggestions, Ed

07-28-2024, 07:10 AM	#1
Ed in Maine Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cty., ME or Flagler Cty., FL Posts: 1,193	I've Been Kidding Myself, The Assembly of My 31 Cabriolet is a Mess! I am running out of ideas of what has to be done. This car had a lot of rot in the subframe, so I made a new subframe and door pillars out of white oak using very good original patterns. I started the assembly of my 68C two years ago. I started with the cowl and hood. The seams around the hood look perfect. With the cowl in place, I hung the doors. With the doors hung, I placed the wood door pillars on to the subframe, getting good gaps at the pillar and at the sills. At this point I made bracing to hold the pillars in position as I progressed onward with the quarter panels and rear portions of the car. The rear of this car is like a giant sheet metal spring. It did go together but with difficulty. I think this is when I got into trouble. Yesterday I removed the bracing and as you might suspect, the pillar did not stay put. There is stress placed on the pillars from the sheet metal. I now have a fit problem on both sides at the top or the bottom of the door pillars. On the driver's side, the top of the door hits the door pillar before the bottom comes close to the body sill. On the passenger side, the bottom of the door hits the body sill leaving about 1/4 in. gap at the top. These problems would make it difficult to close the doors. In both cases, you can push on the door and get it into position but of course there is no way to hold it in this position. There were no indications of any accident trauma to either door. At this point, I can't visualize what to do to correct the problem. There is virtually no way to brace the pillars in or out to get a good fit with the doors. I my case, if there was a turnbuckle added behind the seat, it would not work. Moving the pillars further apart, would fix one pillar but aggravate the problem on the other side and vice or versa. The original turnbuckles do not make enough change in the door pillars. If you guys have any suggestions, I would appreciate them. At this point, I may have to dismantle the car, loosing two years worth of work. Even if I decide to take the car apart, at this point, I don't know what to do differently. Thank you for any suggestions, Ed