Technical steel model a owners/gurus advice wanted..

hi all, im from the uk and really need some help with an issue on my car :

let me explain :

ive got a rough 31 pickup body what i based my build around. i blasted it earlier this year and started on finishing the steelwork, when it came to test fit and chop the windshield frame i noticed that for come reason it was nearly an inch too far forward at the top..








being as i thought it was just a rough body i decided to bring the pillars forward to meet the screen..




thinking it wouldn't make too much noticeable difference anywhere and seemed like the most relevant thing to do..






from the side i wasn't so keen on the slight slant forward but i decided to live with it




the main issues have come when its been time to fit the roof panel ( from a volvo) as the model a roof tapers inwards going towards the front of the car, that extra distance the a pillar or more-so the visor has travelled means the the curved panels above the door no longer line up and are far to narrow to meet the outside edge of the visor, i have tried to sheet metal the gap and it would need a ton of filler to build the gap or re- adjusting the curved panels which currently fit great to the doors ( not really wanting to do that) before i moved the pillars forward it all lined up pretty close, now im a mile out



i currently plan to remove the visor, narrow the width of the a pillars slightly tapering up, then narrow the visor again see if i can get it anywhere near, but before i do that, can any model a fanatics see anything wrong with the windscreen/ panel under visor fitment? any obvious mistakes i have missed?? im sure all rodders have been in a pickle like this and if it ends up me taking all the extensions to the pillars out and starting again im happy to!















those are old pics like a said and i have to problem taking a big step backwards if it means going forwards it will be right, part of me cant help thinking that small piece of angle iron might be facing the wrong way and thats where the extra gap is coming from..

thanks for looking

anthony

 

To me, you should have moved the A pillar back, not forward. By moving the A pillar forward, you created more problems as far as alignment is concerned. As you stated, the curved roof panels are to short to reach the correct position. Your best bet is to cut loose what you have already done, align as much as you can, tack weld in place, and go from there.

 

Well Anthony, Your last photo shows up best as to whats wrong. That thin angle iron is correct. The rest should also be flat, not angled down. Also you need a decent piece of wood full width left to right with the shape/ contour of the filler panel under the sunvisor. Also the sunvisor is not welded or filled to the top of the door post.Look up some Model A suppliers and you might see who sells that piece of wood or at least what it looks like.
PS, Nick types faster.

 

I believe where you got screwed up here is that almost looks like the wrong header panel for it. the ridge that sticks down for the window frame backing needs to move back for sure.... The A pillars were correct to begin with. Move it back and I think another thing that stands out is the metal rib that runs from side to side should be looked at, it almost looks as if someone relocated it to be used for the windshield to bolt on directly instead of the header panel. You know what... Pull the damn header panel off and bolt the windshield up to that metal rib going side to side, see how that fits.

 

The sedan i built for reference of where that cross beam is supposed to sit.... It basically sits where it bolts or rivets into those two triangle supports on the top on each side.

 

How are the doors fitting? They may tell you where the cowl / A pillars go.

 

thanks for the replies it has really helped me see the issue,

ill get cutting and working on it this weekend and keep you all posted, im going to bite the bullet and strip it all back, revert the a pillars to stock and make a part to hold the head panel upright, then see where we are from there, ill keep you posted on how im getting on

thanks again

anthony

 

Hi Anthony

I have a steel A coupe with a repro header panel. Your header panel needed to be narrowed and moved back.

When narrowed it should sit almost vertical. The front of the header panel should be about 1/2 inch back into the a pillars. Your last pic has 2 sets of bolts the most forward set that you are using to hold the windscreen frame should be moved back to where the rear set of bolt is - there should be only 1 line of bolts and that is the ones that are at the rear.

There is a wood piece that everything gets nailed to but you don't need it if you are welding in the top as you are. When it all is aligned in the right place there id no gap.

Hope I explained this ok - solution is to narrow the header, move it back and return A pillars to stock position.

 

thanks buddy! makes sense now, really appreciate the help, im going to get it done next week,

cheers!