Moving forward with my Brookville 32 roadster Couple questions what are you doing with the welds in the door jams and trunk jam. Are you just smoothing out a little or ? Also the br*** door hinges are pretty rough on the exposed edge. Are they left like this or ground smooth ?
I prepped/primed one of these a few months ago. I spent hours smoothing burrs and weld flash. Sharp edges on every panel! I was not impressed. Also found some metal distortion at the top of the 1/4s and the panel above the deck lid.
Level -1 - run it as-is, let it rust Level 0 - run it as-is, use Gibbs or scuff to keep it fresh Level 1 - wipe it down with no work, prime and paint Level 2 - scuff the outside, prime and paint Level 3 - file/sand all edges, scuff and shoot Level 4 - file/sand, metalwork bad waves, scuff and shoot Level 5 - full metalwork body, fit all bolt-ons, prime, scuff, shoot Level 6 - full metalwork and fit, block out body, prime, block more, shoot. Level 7 - fully work to best possible fit and straightness, prime and block until it has no imperfections, paint exterior, cut and buff, shoot and seal interior. This is just an off the cuff list. I'm sure you can add more layers. Look at @NealinCA 's or @anothercarguy 's projects for the higher end levels of prep. The end result always reflects the effort put in. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...k-swapmeet-body-the-old-chrome-coupe.1284710/ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...938-ford-club-cabriolet-build-thread.1214234/
I’m handled on the exterior As I have nothing to go by are the hinges left rough or ground smooth I can smooth the welds in the door jams but are they then left as is or another with filler/seam sealed
What is your desire? Look just like the car as it came off the ***embly line? As it looked when it was bought used by a hot rodder years after? A bunch of old beat up parts were gathered and ***embled to a complete body? A perfect show car from the 60s? the 90s? An example of a Brookville body as delivered? It's really up to you.
Really its up to each builder how "finished" they want their final product to be. There are no rules about it.
It depends on top coats that are used, if you’re spending 5-10K on a costume candy colors and show clear you will need to do more body prep than a $50 gallon of tractor paint paint job.
I had my body primed with DP90 by the "guy down the street" that Brookville uses. I then did LEVEL 2 (spent very little/no time on body work) and painted it with base/clear that looks like old Ditzler red-oxide primer. Looks very traditional and I'm really happy with it.
Exactly. The old original bodies were stamped, trimmed and ***embled on a m*** production line. They probably varied a bit more than Brookville, although comparing a 'best' 1932 to a 'worst' 2025 might be the opposite. Your looks very straight and nice.
I'd say that the guys more than answered the question on the br*** hinges. What level of fit and finish are you going for? Remember that the stock hinges didn't have that rough cast finish under the paint in 1932. If you plan to put decent paint on it they have to be prepped to look right with decent paint.
I bought a Brookville '32 Roadster body #248 in 2000. A friend of mine spent 80 plus hours body working the reveals and the entire body on my frame. The doors close with a click and the gaps are what they should be. It's my next project and is ready for paint. The fit is much better than my original roadster and should be a great looking '32 when ***embled.
thank you about the hinge, the only response I received was "did nothing" I have nothing to look at and my other car is gl*** with hidden. I will just move forward and smooth the hinges along with the door jams.
As I say, the build is half the fun as far as time. I bought my frame in 2016 and luckily have another old ride. 2 jobs/4 kids/4 grandkids and life in general seem to be a higher priority, but I do enjoy my time in the shop when I get it. Maybe I will start taking Fridays off again.
SDS, You are correct, its been a long time since we finished the body and the ch***is. But a couple of good deal cars have happened since 2000. I finished a Henry '32 Roadster with a '57 283, '39 gear box and a Columbia in time to participate in the 2008 Pasadena Roadster event. Then my favorite Tri5 Chevy became available, a '55 Delray that I installed my remaining '57 283, a Richmond 5-speed, front disc brakes and a 3:08 rear gear. So now at 81 I'm getting back on the Brookville. Life is good. Ron
That's awesome, good for you - 81 and still at it is all I can hope for. I think most of us are well aware of the "family pause" years. Squeak Bell built my ch***is in 2002 and it didn't roll on the road until 2023. Can we see some pix of the cars you mention?
If this question is about the flats where they bolt to the body, even Packard wasn't finished to the same standards as the sheetmetal. Outside "shell" was nice, inside flanges were just smoothed a little, not perfect. You could buy 4 Fords for the price of the lowest priced Packard. Do with that info as you will.
Do you need to use special primer on the br*** ? Like you're supposed to do on aluminum? Or just sand the with different grades of sandpaper til you like the smoothiscity that's my word? Lol
Primer is supposed to provide a layer of coating to the base material. It 'primes' the material to accept the final coating. This has to do with sealing and adhesion. https://www.painternearme.com/specialty-painting/painting-metal-surfaces/metal-primer-guide Br*** VS other metals, I'd get advise from the supplier of the paint to make sure everything is compatible. Sanding to different levels of smoothness can be for visual and/or mechanical grip of the primer. Again, consult with the paint and primer supplier. You don't want a polished surface to prime/paint. This is probably AI but covers the main points. https://thepaintingadvice.com/how-to-prepare-metal-for-painting/
Cool I went to high school for auto body but it's been a couple years since I painted a car like 5-6 years, I know paint prices are crazy ! My friend is painting his 56 belair the gun metal blue on the new GM trucks and he spent $3478.34 he has 1.5 gallons color, 1.5 gal. clear and thinners and hardeners that's insane!!! I remember when I brazed some patches in my mustang I had to hit the braze with a sandblaster. Cuz body filler won't stick to the br*** welds, learned the hard way .But you could use filler primer on the hinges to it's easier to sand than metal . Never liked powder coat it just doesn't seem right to put a finish on metal without primer. My boat had powder coated rims on a new trailer they lasted 1 season and started to blister. Everything rusts in New England! lol
Get some rattle can SEM Etching primer. You dust a nice coverage coat, let it sit for 5-10 min (temp dependant) then prime as usual. None of this will be heavy given what and where they are. You don't even want the finish side too thick. They flex. The usual suspects apply, sand well, clean well with wax n grease remover, even a hard wash with hot soapy water helps followed by an alcohol wipe. Clean and dry Etch prime and wait 10 min Prime as needed, maybe 2 light coats for hinges. Good luck...
I got to level 6, and at 77 years old, having worked on my '29AA for 52 years, I realized time is running out and I have neither time nor money to get to level 7. I bought up about a dozen rattle cans of Rustoleum forest green and gloss black and went to town on the primered truck. It was never going to be a show-stopper, but you know I'll never worry about chips, dings or s****es. I'll drive it often and won't apologize for the paint job.
Powder coating is technically supposed to have something under it as a barrier substrate because it breathes & oxidizes - typically zinc-plating or a phosphate surface conversion. That's why production powder coating lasts, while most hard use consumer-level applications start to peel after 5 or so years. Another problem with powder coating is that the electro-static charge generates a repellent field on corners (Farraday cage effect). The sharper the corner, the more the effect. this leaves inside and outside corners with less coating than the nominal surfaces and that's where the coating first fails and begins to separate/peel.
The Jalopy Journal
