I see there are some bodies for sale on E-Bay that come unassembled. Are there any good threads or videos on putting one together? It looks like I could save some $$$.
I have two good friend that are both really good fabricators They have both put together brookville bodys and both have said it was a chore. So if you dont have the skills it could be quite daunting.
I too looked at the unassembled bodies on ebay, but i am lacking in the sheetmetal fab skills required to put these together and have a decent fit and finish. So after looking around a bit on here i found @Flop at flop customs in pittsburgh. He gave me a great price on the unassembled body and labor to put it together. He ordered the body panels for my 31 roadster and will start assembling for me here shortly. Flop is a crazy talented guy with a great attention to detail. I cant wait to pick my body up from him as i know it will be top notch.
I'm semi retired so time is not an issue. I have pretty good sheet metal skills. I was an Airframe mechanic and automotive painter. Now I'm a specialty plumber doing filtration. I'd like to see whats involved before I jump in. Thanks for the replys.
I think you're on the right path doing your research first. There is a lot more to it than you'd think. A lot of guys fell into the same trap with glass kit cars. The sales guy told them all they needed was basic tools and they could build it in their garage in their spare time. Well we've all seen how well that works out. Look at some of Flop's threads on here, he does amazing work. If nothing else, PM him to get his opinion on what it takes to get them built right. Good luck. I wish you the best.
I looked at flops threads. Then found a couple of videos on youtube. Nice work. Here's a picture for him, My Diesel. Gone now for two years and will be missed forever. My wife gone for a little over a year. (cancer) and my Karli who's still with me at ten.
Yes, unless you have the patience along with the tools and skills, you'll be bashing your head against a wall trying to assemble a Brookville roadster on your own. There's a lot of tweaking to get everything to fit right, not all reveals' line up, door alignment fitment, quarter panel alignment with rear roll pan, etc. Flop has done a few and is more than capable to put one together, he was even having issues with assembly.
The key is to have a sound or new sub-frame assembly and fixture or frame to mount the sub-frame to.. It's hard to assemble but not as bad as you may think.. Buying unassembled bodies is not that much cheaper than an assembled one... I worked at Brookville Roadster for 4 1/2 years after I retired.. I didn't assemble bodies but saw many go together...
Thanks for the good words folks . Assembly is no joke to get the car fitting and looking proper. Dependent on what you are building you may need a car or cowl for measurements . Also have a 3w to assemble here .
Also this is a car from another shop and you can see the major problems they ran into on a Brookville car http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/glasscock-1932-ford-3-window-chop.933273/
Bodies in pieces are not that big a deal to put back together if you have time and basic skills. The problem with basket case bodies is a lot like basket case anythings they are seldom complete. Compound that by if the person disassembling it had any idea what they were doing or did that just chop it up? But thee are threads showing bodies being reassembled if you search and no doubt someone was really proud and has a You tube or two with them putting one back together. You can only save some cash if you are capable. You don't save a thing if it ends up in someone else's high priced shop getting done for you.
I'll be really interested in how this all goes together. Please keep us posted. However, if all the panels fit well and the reveals line up and the doors fit and the quarters align-is it really still a Model A?
Here's the progress http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1931-ford-roadster-assembly-brookville.1004637/
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