in particular im wondering if anybody has any photo's of where the rails dip into the rear wheel wells. knucklehead and i were mocking up the rails under the body and got to thinking it would be really helpful to see some different ideas as to how the rails "disappear" or cut under the wheel wells into the trunk area... it seems kinda basic, but since we have never put 32 rails under an A it would be helpful if anybody had some pics of ideas they have done or seen. also were starting to get curious about pinching them in the front... any widsom there will be welcomed since were both rookies in advance, thanks.
My frame is stock in the back, but I pinched the rails by the cowl, so I could "mini channel" the body down on the frame an inch to fill the gap between the frame and body. Here are some pix of the early stages, hope they help. Casey
Here's what I did on my 31. Not sure if it would work on a 29 or not. The cut was made so the frame could drop the last 3/4" down in sort of a mini-channel. As you can see, the body needs some finishing along the bottom edge, no pics of that cuz it's not done yet. Be aware too, this area is three thicknesses of body sheet metal thick. Not that it's hard to cut, just so's you know. The blue mark on the frame seen in the first pic is because the frame was cut on the upper and lower horizontal frame pieces and pulled out 3/4" each side and welded. the second pic shows where that was done. You can see as well that the body is held up off the frame by the wheel well kick-in area. Cutting the notch allows it to come down. The body is a Brookville re-pro and set up for a 32 frame so if you're dealing with a stock body, things may be different as you go back. The third pic shows how well the flat bottomed A body fits on the curved 32 frame. You don't need fillers or to cut the 2 degree near the firewall kickup on the 32 frame. Making the 32 frame flat takes a lot of personality out of the car imo. You'll have to make your own body mounts, but that's easily done by cutting one long face off a short piece of 1" x 2" x .120 rectangular tubing which makes a very nice piece of rounded corner channel. The 32 frame was built using stock measurements and in fact was jigged up with front and rear spreaders. The re-pro Model A front crossmember sits in the stock location as well. The only frame changes - aside from home-built crossmembers - were the aforementioned cuts and pulling the rear frame rails out 3/4".
Hi No pinch or any other mods on the frame than cuttin of the rear horns off on mine.. The cowl area of the body was "chopped" from the bottom so it lays on the frame...so not what your looking for. Still this pic fits in "any pics" ??
thanks for all the wisdom... if you have any more pics of that tricky section in the rear right where it kicks into the wheel well i would love to see how that all gets ****oned up... you guys are a big help... thanks
We have done several of these and we take a different approach to the situation. We do the rear the same way everyone else does but we piecut the cowl in front of the doors (about 1 inch above the reveal) so it goes uphill like a deuce. This in combination with sliding the rear rails inside the body does away with the gap between the body and frame and gets the cowl running downhill. We use a 2 inch shortened 32 radiator and cut the side of the shell accordingly. More work but a *****in look. Just another approach.
Here's a couple of pics that should give you an idea of how a 31 fits without pinching the cowl or pie cutting it. Just has to be slid to the right place on the frame. A couple of fwiw's: The wheelbase on a 32 = 106" My 31 has a 105" wheelbase. Stock hood length on a 31 = 31 5/8" Stock hood length on a 32 = 32" My 31's hood length = 32 3/8" Measured down the center of the hood top. So all that stuff means is that the 31 will not end up with an overly short hood so the body can slide forward to the point where it will overlap the frame. Nor does it sit so far back the rear wheel well is not centered on the axle. The slightly longer hood is a subtle touch that most don't notice. By the same token if the hood was an inch short I think it would be very noticeable.
thanks c9, all those dimensions and pics are what i need. so if i understood you correctly you didn't even pinch the front rails? i don't mind pinching it at all, i am curious about the mini channel though... hadn't really thought about it until now... did you have to add anything for the rear gap near the fender wells?
You're welcome. The front frame rails are not pinched. Specs on the frame - except for the 3/4" the frame was moved outward on each side at the rear, the frame is the same as a stock 32. The 3/4" would probably work for you, but paralleling the frame with the inside of the rear wheel wells is a good guide. The mini-channel just sorta happens. There is a tiny gap left between frame and body, but it's difficult to see unless you get down on your hands and knees. The door goes quite a way toward hiding the gap. The front of the body where the built in maple block is, in other words where the front body mount sits on the frame is down on the frame at that point. Once you make the wheel well kick-in cut the body settles in at the rear. The mini-channel that results is about 3/8" over the frame rails. Problem with the A on 32 frame swap is the A's are flat bottomed bodies and the 32 frame is kinda swoopy. There's nothing wrong with doing it the way others have listed, just that to my mind this is the easiest way out. I don't usually take the easy way out, I pulled the crossmembers out of the Deuce Factory frame on my 32 and built new ones 2" further back just so I could use a mechanical fan. I would have preferred not to, but when you gotta, you gotta. They were 1 1/2" x .120 wall round tube, lots of fit etc. and that's one reason I like to use 1" x 2" x .120 wall rectangular tubing now. The only thing I have to do with the wheel well kick-in cutout is weld a folded piece of sheet metal in to finish it off as well as straighten the bottom out for a neater appearance. The pic will give you an idea of how minimal the body/frame gap is.
really appreciate the detailed wisdom... as usual getting some great idea's from the collective hamb experience... GO Steelers
I'm doing a 31 coupe on a og 32 frame now and am interested in this process of pie cutting the cowl. I have seen completion pics but have never seen anything detailing the process. I have it kinda figured out in my head but some pictures for guidance would be amazing.
I did the pie cut on my 28 ended up taking about 5/8" out of the front tapering back to the door post
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