Technical Anyone assembled a brookville 3-window body

How sure are you that the firewall/cowl fit is correct? And is the firewall correct height and angle? I needed to redo an aftermarket firewall once that was out of whack and getting it correct height and then angle to frame (so body seal and door fit all worked properly) was a challenge.

 

I agree. I need the door shells to correct this body issue. I will keep calling Kenny at Brookville everyday until I talk to him. He has yet to return my calls and address the issues I have with them.
Brookville Roadster is not a well run machine. I wish I had options like United Pacific bodies.
I want to thank everyone for their help. This is a great forum.

 

I understood what you are saying but that's doesn't seem to be the primary problem here. His A pillar is a V shape with the point of the V being at the bottom of the windshield post. IT is not a relatively straight line like every other body that has been shown. In your drawing the inner line is not straight on his body so it doesn't matter how far forward you pull the lower part if the V isn't fixed it will never be right. Without fixing the A pillar alignment pulling it forward will absolutely align the upper A pillar but then the bottom half will kick forward from the cowl down. Now once the A Pillar is straightened it may very will have to come forward as well but that is certainly not the main issue here IMO.

 

@65standard can you get a picture that gives us a look like this one?

I think we are going to see something like this:

 

Op , not trying to be Negative ,
You Need doors or another body as reference close by !!
Im No help on 3w , but have done a 5 w & roaster , its almost impossible to set /align and put together without all the sheet metal parts, Very , Very few places on 32 that are straight for measurements,
Kenny , I can say if you are only able to call B-V , more likely Kenny is not getting your messages ,

 

@K13

 

Almost looks like, if it were chopped, and the outer posts leaned back, the roof would not need to be lengthened very much.

 

The other thing I will add is looking at this picture, which again is hard to tell because it is not a direct side shot, but the belt line bead on the front looks like it is heading down hill towards the back and not across to meet the one at the back of the door which further indicates to me that the A pillar is bent at the bottom of the window pillar. Put a straight edge on the bottom of that bead and see where it ends up on the other side of the door opening.

 

The arc of the body and angle of the pic can be deceiving.

just get doors on it some how
Then you can diagnose

 

Looks like cowl needs pushed ahead at belt line. That would help with getting pillar angle right. x measure door openings top to bottom and side to side like others have said need doors to get it right

 

I finally talked with Kenny and John at Brookville.

 

I’m starting to think this way too. John from Brookville suggested this after I sent him a whole bunch of build pictures.
I’ll try and remove the firewall and see if the body springs back correcting this A-pillar issue

 

That is what I initially thought and am not disagreeing that it might be whats wrong. What comes to mind is wondering how two panels on opposite sides would both be out of shape without some outside force pulling/pushing them. Maybe weld draw, but can't picture how that happened unless attaching the dashboard or something caused shrinkage. I came up with the idea that maybe measuring some other references would at least produce something to compare to. I took a tape measure on the drivers side and hooked it to the molding for the rear window..........cause it was a convenient place.
Hooked to bottom for a couple of measurements.


Then



Then measured to the flange for the windshield



Then the front edge of the body at the firewall


Then moved the tape measure to the top of the rear window flange


And measured to the upper windshield lip


Ok, not the best way to do it, but probably close enough to compare.

 

Did John get you going? I live near Brookville and Know a lot of the guys there. I am in the middle of a 3 window build myself and with the help of those guys have learned many tricks. Can I help in any Way.
Jess

 

Yes. John was helpful. I followed his advice by unbolting the body from the frame and removing the firewall. That helped the panel relax and let me massage it back where it’s supposed to be.
I appreciate everyone help seeing where the problem is and how to correct it.

 

Nice, Also another trouble area is that it is assumed that the B pillars are at correct
height. if you try and index the body to the B pillars without shaving off the bottom it
will make the back of the body to high. I hope you are having fun with it.
Jess

 

Got your doors yet?

 

I saw something similar to this once on a car that was stored standing "on its nose" meaning firewall toward the ground. Without much support it had buckled just a tad- top of the cowl was an inch or so inward....

 

Porta power at the belt line should fix it. Check the mounting bolts too and maybe shim them up some to help straighten things out.

 

The original firewall should bolt to the original frame and provide the perfect angle for the cowl. Which one was wrong on this car? Was something modified from original?

 

The only issue was the a-pillar was push in about 3/4”. Once I removed the firewall and unbolted the body from the frame like John from brookville suggested, it was easy to push the pillar into its correct position. Then the A-pillar assembly fit

 

Kenny said doors are months away. They are stamped out in Detroit and that company was sold and now he can’t get 3-window doors. He said he has 18 coupe there waiting on doors before they can send them out.
I might have to look for original doors as Kenny said he will have to sue the company or take his dies to another place to get them stamped. Sounds more like years away before I get doors if he goes that route.

 

Looks better. Don’t weld squat until ya find doors

 

Kenny is a personable guy and I met him at the SR Nats. I ordered my body a few months later and scheduled pick up at the following Nats. He delivered it sans the door moldings. Said they had damaged the die and were having problems getting it fixed. Since the moldings aren't cheap and lots of businesses were going under due to the Covid virus, I had some concern. Getting to actually talk to Kenny on the phone is difficult. I guess the day to day stuff keeps him hopping. But in the end he brought my moldings to the following Nationals as I requested. I know its frustrating, but I think he will get it worked out. Sometimes there are just things that take time to get fixed.

 

Kenny is a great guy , we have been dealing directly with him for close to 40 years

 

Does anyone know about the roll down back window? Do I need to cut off this flange by the rear window. It seems like it would be in the way if the back window goes down

also, does the rear window open all the way or just a few inches?

 

Looking down the rear window opening you can see that flange in the way?

 

The lower lip of the window aperture does hang down some; I guess it forms a drip edge for any water ingress to fall into the trough. But yours appears to also have a 90 on it facing forwards. I think that requires removal. The verticals of the wooden frame are screwed through the side wings of the aperture and there if a forward facing flange at the top of the forward face of the trough which sits on the top rear part of the wooden shelf / cross support. This supports the weight of the unit. I replaced my shelf with a box section brace to gain legroom, and my trough sits on that. Looks like you'll need something coming off the rollbar brace. Armed with what's attached to what you'll easily see what is in the way!

Chris

 

Must type faster! I see you have retained the wood! The flange I referred to I think has a slight swing toward the rear. Probably prevents drippage on the lifting mechanism and surrounding woodwork.

Chris

 

Bobby Walden used to have an occasional open house and one of the most interesting jigs in the shop was for assembling the 3W body. You are attempting a monumental task and with perseverance will prevail. Looks like you are gettin good info from Brookville and members here on the H.A.M.B.