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06-04-2021, 08:40 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 36
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Coupe body wood questions
Hi all, I'm building an old school banger-powered hot rod A (which I have a build thread on the HAMB about). We believe the body, a 1930 coupe, was drag raced in the late 50s or early 60s, but was derelict for a long time before being paired with a 1928 chassis, which was then involved in the Houston flood while half-finished before finally ending up in my garage.
This is my first classic car and really the first time I've gotten my hands dirty working on a car. I have a lot of work to do, but I have it running and stopping. My approach is to get the car to drive so I can enjoy it while I work on the body. My header wood is too far gone to securely hold the windshield - in fact all the wood pretty much needs to be replaced. The car has a steel roof that was screwed to the top of the car long ago. While far from perfect, it looks cool, was done around the time period I'm recreating, and speaks to the history of the body as a slap-dash race car, so I want to leave it alone if I can. I suspect if I remove it (which will be an arduous task given the number of screws...) it will take an act of Congress to get it back in place. I have two questions: 1) Do I need the top ribs - ie, are they structural or only there to support the fabric top? 2) Is there a way to do this without removing the top from the car? Thanks in advance. Last edited by trevorsworth; 06-04-2021 at 08:58 PM. |
06-04-2021, 09:14 PM | #2 |
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Location: Southwestern Connecticut
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Re: Coupe body wood questions
That wood, especially the header, give strength and form to the upper part of the car...the windshield, the doors, the wrap-around edges of the roof. The windshield hinge is screwed into that wood.
The header is tricky, but the rest of wood is not a bad job. The wood kits that are available are a pretty straightforward assembly. The reproduction header can need some reshaping on a belt-sander to get it to fit well. The whole job took my father and me a weekend. We stretched the new fabric the next weekend. I got my kit from Ford Wood. https://fordwood.com/ Good luck, Ken
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06-04-2021, 09:25 PM | #3 |
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Re: Coupe body wood questions
Question by Trevorsworth - What wood is needed in Model A Coupe |
06-04-2021, 10:16 PM | #4 |
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Location: Spruce Pine, NC
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Re: Coupe body wood questions
I sure like the look of that "top".
if I were working on a hooptie like this, I'd want to leave it intact. Maybe work from the inside to McGuyver header wood just good enough to support the windshield......
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06-04-2021, 10:53 PM | #5 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2021
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Re: Coupe body wood questions
Quote:
Sadly due to water inundation all the wood is beyond saving. It comes away in chunks easily. Only three of the windshield screws make contact with anything and only two of them have enough material to tighten down. I can't remove the visor easily (the top is screwed to it) but it looks like I can probably finagle the steel header panel out and work the header wood in from the front. But that still leaves the above door wood and the roof support ribs. Were I a better woodworker I'm sure I could simply make up some ribs that screw in from the bottom instead of the top - maybe I can find someone local to help out. I can't be the only one to ever have a conundrum like this. Last edited by trevorsworth; 06-04-2021 at 11:02 PM. |
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06-05-2021, 05:22 PM | #6 |
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Re: Coupe body wood questions
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