'34 Plymouth RPU Update - Body Substructure

I have a similar issue with my 31 chevy 3 window. As you all know, chevys had a poorly built wooden, inner structure! I bought the body completely gutted, no floor pans, nothing! I think i have a theory, when i decide to use what ever sized square tubing, i'll have to shim some areas. The areas between the inside sheetmetal and steel tubing about 1/16th, then i'll squirt some expanding foam. I'm worried that by making the inner structure to close to the body will tweak the outside body area, due to flexing.

 

Be conservative with that foam, I have known of people spraying it behind dorjambs in houses, then it expands so much the door won't open/close!

 

Nice work. As for the latches I have used the ones from Suicidedoors.com . I just recently installed them in a 70 Suburban and they worked great. We also suicided the rear door using there hidden hinges. Great product. They offer a latch kit that comes with filler plates, latches, strikers, and actuators if you want to use them. Any questions feel free to give me a call or stop by the shop.

Dave

 

I'll be getting with you when I install the hidden hinges I've got.

 

As long as you install the latches right , you shouldnt have any problems. The factory latches that were in your truck worked and the weren't that great. If the truck is going to be low enough just weld the doors shut. If the Dukes of Hazard can do it why ot you.

 

I have seriously thought about that. Maybe bolt them shut for a while and see how much of a pain in the ass it is.

 

I did the other side of the cowl-doorjamb-windsheild post support last night.


Pretty much the same drill as the other side, nothing really new to see. Now I can curve the rocker panels slightly to match the bottoms of the doors.

You can see in the photo above that the rocker will need some shaping...

The visor is just tacked on, the windsheild posts need some work yet before I can weld in a piece of tubing across the top. After that has been done, I can mount the visor permanently, and fill around it with sheetmatal.

 

look'n good richard, she's get'n there

 

I actually did something over the holliday besides eat and drink beer. Starting to look like a car, and not just a pile of parts. The panel behind the door is a couple of inches longer than the cab will actually be, and the bed will be shorter and mounted a few inches higher.

This thing looks really long, I can't get a good profile shot while it's in the garage. I think I will shorten the wheelbase a bit.


Front wheels still need to be polished. The front frame rails will be trimmed once I put on a water pump and pulleys, and mock-up a grille shell. I am beginning to wonder if I'll ever get my crossmember from Cen-Pen. Probably have to build one from scratch.


The bed will be trimmed to the red line, 46" total. I think I need to grind the whitewall to match the fronts. That's how the whitewall was made on these when I got them from Hurst Racing Rubber, for all the nay-sayers.

 

Looks awesome man.. she's really comming along! Love the wheel and tire combo!

Still not sold on the front Z but looks a little more reasonable in full mockup..

I'm stalled on my dodge a bit since i've been Knee deep in my model T lately. My update projects where a little more ambitious than i originally planned so now i'm thrashing to have her back on the road by early spring. A good thing about that is i can keep watching your progress and have all the details worked out by the time i get back to my dodge . PS. I got a title!

 

I am going to take three or four inches out of the front "Z", now that I have the wheels and tires mounted, I realize I was a little over-zealous.

I got a title, too! Gotta send it to the DMV.

 

glad to hear about your change to the Z.. 3 or 4 inches was exactly what i was thinking!..

Motor will look cool "presenting" itself a little more above the framerails too... Should also make routing your steering box alot easier too..

 

Most definitely! As far as steering, it will be 60s Mopar aluminum manual box, under the dash and out the side for cowl-steering. It already turns the correct way, no need to reverse. I already have the box, just gotta finish beefing up the cowl so I can mount it.

 

It's coming along, looks good. Good choice on the rolling stock.

 

What do y'all think about the difference in the whitewalls? The rears came from Mooneyes, and were different than their photo. They are recaps on new casings, and you can tell by looking at them that the sidewall was cut away to make the whitewall. Don't care to rehash the "grinded whitewall" debate, it's been gone over many times, and I'm not concerned with the tire's strength, but with asthetics. Do you guys remember if they were mis-matched back in the day? Does it jump out as "What the fuck?" or should I leave it as-is?

 

I prefer blackwalls with those wheels.

 

i think it looks cool like that man.. i'm actually swapping my l78 on my T for some 820's i picked up over the summer. The sidewall is similar to your slicks and is smaller than the band on the 600's i have on the fronts.. i actually think it looks pretty cool that way..

 

This is amazing.....I can't wait to see it done.

 

Did a little work on the roadster today. Got the bedsides trimmed & mocked up, and the tonneau cover mocked up. This stuff is mostly just tacked in place, I mainly wanted to see where I could fit the tank for the air suspension, the battery, and determine what size fuel tank I can use.


I made the bed 46" square. The bedsides I got had no stake pockets in the front, so I will use some 2" tubing I have laying around.

This plywood needs a little trimming. It will eventually be replaced with a upholstered sheetmetal.


A view from the rear. I hope it comes out good, because this is the view everyone will be seeing!

The diagonal braces will be re-worked to allow the tank to fit better.


It's a little tight, but there is room for the upper links of the triangulated four-link.

While I was at it, I fabbed up a little battery box.

 

I put the battery on the left side, because I have room for a 17 gallon tank, which will weigh a lot more than the battery. This may change, opinions?

 

Got the air tank mounted today.

I made a paper template to match the shape of the tank and cut the brackets.

Here are the tabs on the bed that bolt to the brackets on the tank.
For the bottom mounts, I welded on a couple 3/8" nuts.


Here's the brackets welded to the tank. The brackets are nothing exotic, just 1"x1/8" flat bar. I did drill holes it them, to make the car go faster.



Tank mounted to the bed. I'm not a welder(obviously), I just play one in my garage!

This photo was taken with the camera right at the end of the transmission, there should be just enough room for the driveshaft.

Now that everything is mocked up and tacked in place, it's time to get a real welder in here to finish weld this thing.

 

very cool man.. what are you doing for rear suspension? are you going to try to run the GM 4 link?

PS. Why so timid on the welding? It seems like your doing pretty good. Me, my OA setup, and my millermatic 175 made a roadworthy car, so can you!

 

The rear end is actually a Ford, and I am going to use the factory mounts to run a four-link.

 

Rolled the parts out in the driveway today.

 

I finally got my crossmember from CenPen. I cut about 4 1/2" out of the front "Z". This also shortend the wheelbase. It was getting dark when we took these pics, so it's a little fuzzy. The rear tire is not centered in the bed in this photo(post above), but it was clearer than the others. You can barely make out the 1 1/4" square tube of the "rocker panel", it is touching the ground in front of the rear tire. It will be curved to match the bottom of the door. I will soon be forming my floor bracing, and the back of the cab. I am really in need of the door skins to form my rear "quarter panels" between the doors and bed, hopefully my source will come through soon. I have a grille shell on the way, so I can mock up and mount the front axle. Here's a few photos of the front crossmember.



Getting closer! Damn, I wish I could jump in this thing a go for a ride!

 

Looking good!!!

 

Finished bracing the cowl recently. Ought to be strong enough to support the cowl steering box now.Will be additional bracing when I actually install the box.












(Above)I left room to get a hammer and dolly in here for patching this rust. I figured it would be better to brace the cowl before cutting any more out. New steel will also replace the butchered firewall.




I pie-cut, bent, welded, and grinded the top piece to match contour of the firewall. A little more grinding will be in order before blasting and painting.

 

I also contoured the 1 1/2" sq. tube "rocker panels" to follow the shape of the bottom of the door, and built the structure for the back of the cab, out of 1" sq. tube.




More photos in the suicide door-hidden hinge thread below.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1724979#post1724979

 

I started the floorboards recently.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1793222#post1793222