The Ford Barn

fundytides · 06-15-2018, 07:24 AM

I am reassembling a 31 Roadster body that was taken apart years ago. In the process, a different cowl was spliced on to the body by cutting off the original sub-frame part way in the door opening and welding on the sub-frame for the replacement cowl. The doors were not on it at the time and it appears that the measuring was not done accurately. I am trying to fit doors to the body and find that the doors will not fit properly. One "hole" is too narrow and the other is a bit too wide. Does anybody have a drawing that shows the exact measurement for the bottom width of the door opening or could supply the measurement from a sub-frame that has not been molested? There isn't another 31 Roadster in my immediate area that I can reference. I have the body mounted on the chassis and have cut one of the original welds and there appears to be enough "slop" in the body to frame mounting holes to move the joint far enough to correct the problem. I could do it just to fit the doors but I would rather have the correct measurement.

john in illinois · 06-15-2018, 08:34 AM

Since the door openings are modified I would fit the doors rather than rely on figures from another car. There are too many variables in fitting doors.

John

Mike Peters · 06-15-2018, 04:25 PM

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Since the door openings are modified I would fit the doors rather than rely on figures from another car. There are too many variables in fitting doors.

John

John's advice is good. I just finished fitting four Phaeton doors on a body that has been dissasembled, including rivets, for a very long time. Body parts were a combination of components from at least two different bodies, one a 28 with inside door handles and the other a 29 with outside door handles. Fitting two doors is difficult. Four Phaeton doors is worse. In the end, the only thing that matters will be the finished product. I worked all last winter to get mine to fit, and the right front door still isn't perfect, but latches well.

Be sure you have a straight frame!!!!! Run a tight string along the top of your frame to check for straight before mounting body. If your frame is not straight, your doors may never work no matter how much you tweak the subrails, hinges, body blocks, etc. It's a slow process, but will pay off in the end when your doors latch and fit nicely.

06-15-2018, 07:24 AM	#1
fundytides Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 480	Sub-frame splice I am reassembling a 31 Roadster body that was taken apart years ago. In the process, a different cowl was spliced on to the body by cutting off the original sub-frame part way in the door opening and welding on the sub-frame for the replacement cowl. The doors were not on it at the time and it appears that the measuring was not done accurately. I am trying to fit doors to the body and find that the doors will not fit properly. One "hole" is too narrow and the other is a bit too wide. Does anybody have a drawing that shows the exact measurement for the bottom width of the door opening or could supply the measurement from a sub-frame that has not been molested? There isn't another 31 Roadster in my immediate area that I can reference. I have the body mounted on the chassis and have cut one of the original welds and there appears to be enough "slop" in the body to frame mounting holes to move the joint far enough to correct the problem. I could do it just to fit the doors but I would rather have the correct measurement.

06-15-2018, 08:34 AM	#2
john in illinois Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Illinois Posts: 2,184	Re: Sub-frame splice Since the door openings are modified I would fit the doors rather than rely on figures from another car. There are too many variables in fitting doors. John

06-15-2018, 04:25 PM	#3
Mike Peters Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: South East Wisconsin Posts: 1,279	Re: Sub-frame splice Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Since the door openings are modified I would fit the doors rather than rely on figures from another car. There are too many variables in fitting doors. John John's advice is good. I just finished fitting four Phaeton doors on a body that has been dissasembled, including rivets, for a very long time. Body parts were a combination of components from at least two different bodies, one a 28 with inside door handles and the other a 29 with outside door handles. Fitting two doors is difficult. Four Phaeton doors is worse. In the end, the only thing that matters will be the finished product. I worked all last winter to get mine to fit, and the right front door still isn't perfect, but latches well. Be sure you have a straight frame!!!!! Run a tight string along the top of your frame to check for straight before mounting body. If your frame is not straight, your doors may never work no matter how much you tweak the subrails, hinges, body blocks, etc. It's a slow process, but will pay off in the end when your doors latch and fit nicely.