Have a 32 Brookville roadster body that I am working on. I am debating on whether to use additional bracing to strengthen the body and keep it from flexing and possible the doors opening up when I dont want them too. Any thoughts on the subject? How about some pics of what you did to your project. Thanks
Brookville bodies, that are ***embled by Brookville, are good to go as is. You don't need to add any extra bracing.
If braced properly you can tell the difference. I always brace from latch post to latch post, then to the floor. I also brace the cowl. No you don't "have" to brace it but it makes for a more solid feeling car when driving over all kind of road surfaces.
My Brookeville bodied roadster certainly hasnt ever popped the doors, but over rough roads you can feel it moving around a lot, If I were to do another I would Definitely brace the rear quarters /door latch area, that seems to be where the most movement is.
We have ***embled quite a few Brookville 32s and I took an idea fram Eric at Scandanavian Street Rods & SO-Cal and put a 1 inch by 1/4 strap with a 3/8th turn buckle in it going from the top iron brackets back down to the sill in front of the wheel well which keeps the quarter panel in tension and allows for minor tweaking if necessary. Then we build a square frame out of 1 inch 11 gauge square tube and go from sill to sill and on top from the upper panel seam across to the other seam and then put an X inside of the box. We do this after we have all the gaps right and the doors fitting in the hole. It may be overkill but the bodies are really solid and after the upholstery is in nobody knows.
I bent a piece of 1" .125" wall tubing that welded behind the strikers and then to the underside of the panel behind the seat. It was pretty simple, well hidden, and stiffened the area considerably.
Here's the X-brace we put behind the seat , there's also a brace in the cowl that follows the bottom shape of the dash. It's been on the road for about 10K miles , and feels very solid . No problems with the doors .
No pictures but I copied an idea from an old magazine. I welded a piece of 1"X1/8" band iron strap support from the top of the door opening down on an angle and welded it to the rear wheel well. I welded a screen door turnbuckle in the middle so that it could be adjusted perfectly. It's hidden with the upholstery is in. It really makes a difference. It would be very easy to undo if someone wanted to later on. Mine is an original body and i didn't want to add too much.
How about a 1000 words worth. First is what Frisbee at SAR does. Second is the SoCall way. Gotta look through the seat frame to see it all..
Think that'll work on a 'gl*** body? I'm thinking about angle iron on the body behind the strikers, then was thinking of a turnbuckle from that angle iron to the floor, going down and aft. Lost yet?
Mines a gl*** body and is very solid, when i shut the doors people ***ume its a steel body. There is more in the trunk and a similair setup in the cowl.
No reason it shouldn't work with a gl*** body as long as you keep in mind the turnbuckle is for slight tweaks in alignment, not major movement. You want to be sure the piece at the B pillar is secure. Note too in Steve's pic immediately above, you want a member to wrap across from side to side and top to bottom as well. Beautiful stuff Steve!
Mine's part 32 Ford- part Rodbods. Structure is Rodbods tubuliar behind the door jam. It's an X behind the seat. Moves very little.
Good info here... Has anyone gone as far as actually making a sheetmetal panel with beads for the area behind the seat and between the b pillar and seat area? I was thinking of going that route on my Chevy roadster since the damn termites ate every stick of wood in the car... lol
It will be a while 'till I'm ready to brace up my Brookville body, but in looking for ideas I came across this old thread. 'Thought I'd bring it back to the top to see if there are any more pictures of advice anyone has. Thanks.
I can drive my roadster diagonally into a ditch and the doors open and shut just like they do with the car on level ground. 95% of the frames built are very weak in torsion. The best solution is to build somethig like the 33 on frames. Even better is a full crossing X center with a torque box to transmit the diagonal load. The tubular things are very bad joke. Look under a 50's covertable for ideas. The legs need to be full depth and have set of doubler plates or a torque box in the center where the legs meet. My roadster still has a stock K member but I put a torque box and legs behind it.
Can somebody post a clear pic of where you welded the turnbuckle brace to the subrail by the rear wheelwell? Thanks.
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