Hi Guys, I have my coupe body sitting down on my chassis and I am now about to start on reinforcing the body. Unfortunately wood kits are not available for these Holden bodies so I will be using square hollow section steel as reinforcement. The body was not square prior to disassembly so bracing in place would not have been suitable. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to square up the body prior to reinforcing it. I was thinking of using some turnbuckles in different parts to allow me some adjustment if I weld in some braces. Anyone done anything like this? Thanks in advance for your consideration.
Square the frame and use that as a starting point. Make sure doors and deck lid fit. As far apart as that is, get some bracing in to even get a start. Consider 2 square tubes with an overlap, to make the length. if you need to extend or shrink a brace, you can cut the weld between the tubes versus cutting it from the body over and over. Weld some lugs on to use the bracing to push or pull, then reweld.
Helped with a 32 Chevy. Wood gone. Also helped assemble brookville stuff from pieces. Not much there too mount to a chassis there. With the 32 Chevy, we started with the doors. Got the gaps as good as possible. Started tacking in temporary bracing. The rockers were wood. We had a reproduction set. This helped. Since you don’t have any you’ll have to get creative. Did a 33 Plymouth. They have wooden inner rocker pieces. I used what was left of the wood and made a steel set. I’ve used a construction laser and also plum bobs to square bodies with a chassis. Not much help here but good luck
Years ago, I made up an RHS frame for my 34 Chev Coupe Ute. I built the RHS frame directly over the 34 chassis itself. I no longer have the chassis, but I still have the RHS frame. If you can send me measurement of the length of the body from the leading edge of firewall to the leading edge of the wheel well, I can cross check the measurements against the RHS frame.
Thanks for the replies guys, some very good tips. X38 I didn't have any pics of it on the chassis but took these today so this is where it is at. Anthony the rockers were wood and I have attempted to replace them with steel. Bit of a puzzle but hopefully I'll get there and will take the advice and start by setting up the doors, unfortunately the wood in them is pretty bad as well though.
Looks like you have a pretty good start on the bracing. The base of my 33 is somewhat out of square. (all steel floor) The previous owner appearnty didn't use a square or a tape measure, so I'll have to square up on frame the best I can. No way am I going to cut this loose to square up.
Sure looks like you have pretty good handle on it!!! Tubing should be 1 1/2 thick for the body to sit at the right height to install fenders, hood running boards etc . Start with the cowl feet thru the tube .Do you have the rocker sills? I am doing a 33 master at this time ,but I assume the measurments would be different to your standard This is the original wood sub structure from the car that I reproduced in steel .
Joe, I do have the sills, they are a bit rotten but I believe that I have the height correct by the time I have used rubber and the rectangular hollow section steel. I didn't have a clue how it went through to the rear wheel arches but I'm pretty happy with my framing so far, I'll just have to build upon it and get the body all squared up before and welding. Should keep me busy for a while. Thanks for the pics of your floor.
Angle iron or square tube with turnbuckles in the middle work good for pushing & pulling the body around to square it up.
Johnboy 34 that is a great tip for the bracing.I just actually bought some turnbuckles to do that exact thing !!!!
So I must admit I have been a bit slack, watching too much of the cricket on tv but I have managed to do a little on the coupe. I turned up some new bushes for my door hinges so that there is no slack or wiggle room in them as I thought this would be a good starting point. Made the supporting posts for the 'A' and 'B' pillars and started on a bit of the floor section and sills to help hold the body in place with tek screws while attempting to square it up. At this stage the doors don't look like they will ever fit but I now have some turnbuckles in place I can attempt to make some adjustments and see where I go with some tweeks here and there.
Hey Rickybop , happy holidays...great thread...bracing , squaring , tri angulating is body reconstruction 101 ...i used to buy em like this ,,,thats how we cut our teeth and learned these mad car building skills....3 window chevies are cheap compared to fords for sure....
Looking good Meeksie ,the sills.look good ,are you using bear claw or original latches on the doors ??
I'm using the original latches but with 32 Ford dovetails and receivers, I couldn't locate any chevy dovetails the same as my originals.
Smart move on the turnbuckles! I will be doing this to my '33 chevy coupe, same issue, wood floors were completely gone when I found the car.
So I did do a little bit more on my little Chevy. Got some more bracing in and some floors. Next I'll start on the doors now that I have received some bailey channel for the windows. Took the lead out and fit the original drip rails. Gonna put a glovebox in some day. Made some floorpans. Transmission tunnel can do with some improvements but I was too lazy at the time to do any shrinking. Made a bootlid frame and skin.
Way to stay with it. You've turned the corner and making some great progress on the body (at least until cricket season starts!). Excellent craftsmanship on the drip rails, floor and deck lid!
I managed to get my doors steeled out. I decided to keep the vent windows but I have shortened them by about 80mm. I used angle iron and folded up some bits to strengthen the doors a little. Also thought it would be a good idea to put some paint inside them before welding them up. I also had a crack at making some running boards. They still need some work on the transition curve, brackets and reinforcing on the ends but they came out ok.
As many have suggested, build the chassis square, and use turnbuckles, PortaPowers, ratchet straps, etc. to get the body straight and square to fit on it using temporary struts. Measure the door openings carefully so that there is close-to-correct gaps, as recontouring the gaps and door edges it intensive work. Here's pics of an Anglia I did:
Well I moved inside the body to do a little bit of finishing off. I made some pieces to fit pinch weld and rubber inside the car to hopefully help seal it a bit better from wind and rain. Then I had a go at making some new hood sides and blisters. I thought they looked good with just the blisters but to my eyes even better with some louvers that I made. Just need to tidy them up a little and put a bit of strength in behind the rear louvres.
Thank you but you would be excused for thinking that's not the case with so few members offering any comments or bothering to ask a question. Anyways I have had a go at making a new bootlid skin and frame for my little Chev. I still have to join the 2 together but I will wait until I have some paint protection on the inside of each before welding them up. In case water comes inside the louvers I will use windscreen sealant to seal the removable centre panel (not seen). I have also welded some pieces onto the inner frame to direct any water that may come inside. These will be seam sealed after primer is applied and holes will be drilled for the water to run out at the base. Wheeled up a new skin and marked it out for some louvers.
Outstanding work! Did you form those outside pieces in one piece? If so, how? Did you shrink/stretch before tipping the edge that mates with the skin? Or did you cut the blank in an arc to begin with and then tip the flanges?
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