I have a 31 steel back Vicky body. Purchased with a*****py workmanship steel floor and steel structure, no wood in the body now. A steel ribbed roof panel has been well fitted and currently held in with screws. I also have a 32 frame. The Vicky body is going on the 32 frame. The floor as is will be removed. Some of the other structure will be redone. The frame and body floor will be narrowed some at the rear inner fender area. The original floor in the cowl area is present and I plan to retain it. The dilemma is which option to go with on replacing the body floor? Not in any specific order and certainly not limited to these options. But as a I see them... 1. Starting with 31 Sedan full rails, cross members and floor panels. Modify them to fit the 32 frame contour and the differences between the Vicky and Sedan bodies. The Sedan floor is shorter from the rear axle rearward than the Vicky so some extra steel will be needed. But with the narrowed frame / inner fender there will be custom work in this area any way. Coupe floors are similar length as the Vicky, but the doors are much shorter so the Coupe threshold would look less then desirable. 2. Fit 32 floor rails, cross members and panels to the frame and custom fit them as needed to the 31 body. With care when selecting the given body style parts to use, hopefully I could get the best fitting door threshold. The narrowed frame / inner fender well will need custom work here also. 3. Fab up from steel sheet a custom floor. This option to me is the most work and would need the most steel fab equipment I do not have in my shop. I feel that similar to factory wood floor is not a option in my 31 body / 32 frame combination. I am not a fan of using steel tubing of any form, I have seen to many cases of tubing rusting from the inside out. Which option do you like the best, are there other options ? Regards
Dont use square tubing for subframe. No manufacturer felt it necessary to add that much weight to a floor and the next guy will have to cut it out.
The37Kid, thanks for the input. I do have the Miss Vicky build in my watch list and have reviewed all his posts. D-Russ did do top notch work on his build, however he started with bare sheet metal body. Purchased a complete Vicky body wood kit with wooden floor like Henry did in the original Vicky's. D-Russ****embled the complete wooden kit, fit the steel body panels to wooden cage and then converted the wood floor to steel tubing to match the contours of the 32 frame. Pretty much the same idea that I have. Except that I am starting with a body that already is structurally sound with a complete inner structure in steel. I am just not happy with the workmanship in the floor of my body. While my plan is not yet set in concrete, I do at this point plan on leaving the steel tubing cage in place and only reworking the floor from the cowl A pillar rearward. I am not going to spend the cash on a complete Vicky wood kit and then discard the floor. I am also not going to buy any steel tubing. If I do not buy aftermarket floor rails I can have sheet metal cut and bent into "hat" sections for rails and use wood? or hard rubber? blocks at the bolt through crush points similar to how Henry did on the steel floor cars.
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