As the ***le says I am well into a build on a 32 chevy 2 door sedan and have some basic and maybe dumb questions, However I want to make sure this build is done right. I purchased the car from a gentleman's son ( he had p***ed away). It came with the suspension already done front and rear from a 87 jaguar. All the welding looks solid and others say by the looks he did an amazing job and had the knowledge (a skill I currently do not posses). I am now into replacing the wood with steel inside the body. I have reached the rear end of the car where it curves and want to know if the parts I am making need to fit said curve perfectly? My next question would it be ok or not ok to weld these new pieces to shell of the car? I have searched the internet for endless hour's searching for information there are many trades secrets I am sure, however if you gentlemen are willing to p*** down the knowledge I would be great appreciative. Cheer's Darrell
If you can wait til tomorrow I can take some shots of what I'm doing, just a few steps ahead of you on replacing the wood. I able not welding the square tubing to the sheetmetal. I am making it removable.
interesting removable? why so? I was thinking if the gl*** got broken by some chance how would I replace it. once I can figure out how to upload pics I will share my progress also
Something like a Hossfeld bender and arbour press would be perfect to shape that contour but not everyone has them.
Well what happens when you need to do body work behind a panel thats obstructed by welds and square tubing. Try not to warp those panels. It doesn't take that much more effort to make it removable. Photos attached show the top runners I made. I pie cut and welded to achieve the angle I wanted. The rear curved piece that follows the corners was a bit involved. I will post some picture of that soon. If you cant fabricate then you should just purchase one of the reproduction wood kits.
I can fabricate just want to make sure I'm building it properly. do your pieces fit the curve perfectly? Fabricating is something i am new to with steel.
I am currently working on a 2dr Chevy also and put together a 32 Chevy coupe, my experience is mostly ford and I draw most my ideas from what I know I was not to concerned with replicating the wood.. For me the concern is mostly how everything fits finished so once the interior is in the garnish fits the windows and nothing looks out of place , so I found it much easier to build everything with 3/4 tubing, and use factory tins but weld them to the body instead of nailing in place .. I think it would be extremely time consuming and very difficult to make all the structure bolt in ... Welding together makes the body extremly rigid....And let's face it ... If it gets in a accident it's going to get screwed up anyway
so the pieces you see that I've made you would weld those right to the body of the car ? this is the part I'm trying to clarify, as someone else told me if i did that when the sun shines on the car after its painted and heats up you will see all those tac welds. is that true or is that ********?
Here are some pics of a 30 A pickup that I did a while back at work. I welded the door post in but everything else is removable. That way I could work the panels after I welded the roof in and I also welded studs to the back of the gutters so they could be bolted on and then the structure bolts in. As for being perfect on the tubing fit I make it close and then in final ***embly we use seam sealer between the tubing and the body to create a flexible but firm joint so that when the body heats up in the sun it doesn't create a funny spot in the paint. On a Chev the body is tacked to the wood so some way of attaching the panels together and to the structure. Jim Ford
No you would not weld to the body pannel You would attach in a similar fashion as the wood was, for instance , that curved piece you just showed would be attached to the the window frames
Awesome input gentleman, I never thought to look at the window trim as being an issue as I was not the one to take it out. Im going to redesign how I was building it. My curved piece is off the body in the middle by more than a quarter inch. I found these pictures online of a shop that did the interior swap like I am. They have far more experience than I do, however I am going to am for there design for at least the back window section. http://www.streetrodsncl***ics.com/32-chevy-sedan.html
Keep the bracing off the outside sheet metal and don't let it touch. As body moves the last think you want is damage being caused from the inside. In critical areas use sikaflex or similar similar to what manufactures use in modern production processes, inner and outer skins in hood, trunk, doors and other areas where metal is sandwiched together. If replacing floors I place beads or patterns in large areas firstly to take the oil can from the panel and to add structural integrity. Simple and looks good when symmetrical. Also make sure you use sound engineering principles with any seat belt or seat mounting positions. Down here open cars can get away with lap belts, however closed cars require 3pt mountings.
Yes, this is very similar to how I have done the two Chevys thin wall tubing is fine , you don't have to go overkill , it just needs to help stiffen body , put some tubing in the a pillars and b pillars and maybe make a structure under the rear window to the floor and it will be solid As stated you don't want tubing to come in contact with pannels or to attach , the car will be rigid but is still going to flex somwhat being driven i the window openings allow a little movement in corners ect but a body pannel would surely bend or buckle with any movement
A 32 is a lot like my 36. They are stage coaches covered in sheet metal. I do worry about a collision in my car. I guess it's better than a fibergl*** car. Your work looks fine. I feel you will need to spot weld where the nail holes are in the body ie door frames. You might be able to screw the door frames to your structure with a counter sunk screw. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Dont weld the square tubing to the body panels, use seam sealer as a "soft" bond to keep the panel and structure from rattling, use panel adhesive where you want the body panels stuck hard to the structure. The pro bodymen i know swear by the panel adhesive, some factory collision repairs call for it instead of welding on metal to metal joints. http://www.tcpglobal.com/MMM-38315_2.html?gclid=CMXJ6Y6b2MECFXEQ7AodNmwAPA#.VFQxnBko7qA
Wow ok so I really need to go back to the drawing board then. In more than a few places the car has areas where the new steel is welded to the body, like the door pillars. This was done before me. So moral of the story is. 1. make the pieces fit close to the body but not touching 2. do not weld any new steel to the exterior of the body 3. use some sort of caulking seam sealer between new inner body pieces and exterior of body shell. 4. pay more close attention to how the window trim details fit back in play so everything looks snug sound about right ?
Very informative thread. I'm Starting on a '32 Chevy and the amount of wood in the Chevy was a surprise to me. Hope to see more updates.
DLRIDES- I have been stuck for many months on the roof and have finally decided to fill it in with one from a mini van, I have not made many changes since my last post but do plan to start work again soon
I would want the steel to fit at least as well as the wood did and I would weld it to the body. Not a continuas weld but skip weld it with about 1" welds.
I'd like to know why not weld to body? What flex do you want your body to do? And why do you want to flex your body?
take a look at a jeep, cj/yj etc. they welded the inner panels to the flat outer sheet metal. flexing causes the welds to show. this is why it is better weld the inner panels to edges of the outer sheet metal. the seams or window opening areas are the best place to attach them to.
When I filled the top on my '35 Chevy sedan some time ago, I built a grid out of steel tubing and welded it to the steel brackets that were originally screwed to the top wood. Gentle curves side to side, and the side rails also followed the roof contour. I did not weld it to the outer sheet metal. The roof skin came from an old station wagon with ribs. I left the sound deadener/insulation on the inner side. It was the anti-squeak, anti-rattle filler between the heavier steel tubing and the lighter outer sheet. It is strong enough to stand on. I would not weld the tubing to the outer metal.
Body panels will span different amounts depending on thickness of steel, curves, gauging etc. I see no reason to not weld as you need to. I agree with P&B post 20. 1 inch welds as opposed to spot, but that is just my personal preference. Factory's spot weld, so that should work too. If you wanted to be really technical, you could always take into account the co-effiecent of thermal and linear expansion due to varying metal compositions and end use drivability conditions of differing selected components. - see - don't get technical, - just weld it!
We paint cars to cover the imperfections, - I don't believe that you will see a weld on a hot day or otherwise if a car is painted correctly, unless you use invisible paint...... Some call it clear coat.
As the car does a torsional twist ( as in entering a driveway) it's going to tug and pull on every little spot weld you put on a flat body pannel
After months and months of searching and planning we finally found a donor roof for the project. We opted to use a 64 impala wagon. The best part was it got delivered to my door for $600. It came fully intact with all the interior supports which will use for our interior structure. Seeing I use my hands a great deal at work, snipping out the tabs in the cars roof did not prove to be that problematic just time consuming. eat deal
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