I've got a '31 Vicky that has ALOT of wood including the subrails and B pillars. The whole skeleton of the car is wood and it's all inter-linked tying it all together. The good news is all the wood is in great shape. The body will be mounted on a custom fabricated square tube frame and 4-point roll bar. Will be running a stroked 348 probably about 400# torque with a T-10. I'm having nightmares about replacing all that wood but I don't know if it will be strong enough for the application. Decision...Leave the wood alone and trust the frame for strength? re-enforce the wood (wrap it in aluminum or light steel ? Replace all or part of the wood with steel? I talked with Randy at LRS frames and he said he wasn't even aware of wood sub-rails until about a month ago. Nobody I talk with is sure how to handle it. Can I get your thoughts on this? Terry
Hey, Wile it's true that the wood is now all intact, and if you were goin with the stock four-banger it would probably last for years, but a 348, last time I checked, is gonna transmit major force throughout the entire vehicle. That wooden frame work is now over 75 years old. Replace the wood with steel tube and do it once. S****ey Devils C.C.
I'm in the same boat with my 1932 Vicky, however you are lucky, they still make a wood kit for the 30-31's. Snyders lists the complete kit at $935.00, maybe you can just buy rails. www.snydersantiqueauto.com If you find a supplier for '32 Vicky wood let me know.
Ran into this issue on the pre and post war MG's over the years. If the wood is good your extremely lucky. The part of the wood the seems to rot first would be the lower sills were there are covered with the sheetmetal. This area, even in dry parts of the country, gets wet from the dew points and condensation and will stay wet for quite a while. You'll have to remove the metal skin to check for damage in the outer sill. Even if the wood is good in these areas you'll probably find that the joints have come unglued over the years and will be in need of rebonding. Most wood frameing had no protection from the elements and were almost never painted or sealed. The pre war Mg's lacked any reinforcement from the body to the frame other than the mounting bolts to the ch***is . Doors would always fly open after hitting the slightest bump in the road. This includes cars with brand new wood. Bodyflex was a major problem . Starting with the model TD they reinforced the cowl with a roll bar tube and used additional attaching points . This helped and the doors would only pop open once a month instead of everyday. Putting in some reinforcement will probably be a good idea. Check with the Model A guys and see what help they may be able to provide. Larry
If you decide to replace part of the current wood structure with new wood pieces you ought to check with the Cubel's at www.fordwood.com They will give you good advice and I think that you can buy just the pieces that you need from them. One caution - the Model A Victorias seem to have a weak joint where the top of the windshield frame meets the top ***embly so you might see if that needs reinforced on your car. Good luck! Oh, check with HAMB member Brent in 10-uh-C (Brent Terry). He owns a Model A restoration shop that turns out very nice work and can give you some good tips as well. His website is at www.model-a-ford.com
If you have a good shop do it, It should be ok. Dont use that Red Oak ****. Use Maple or Ipa. That stuff is rock hard.
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