Projects Just picked up a 27 Roadster Body

Your first set of pics, #7, looks like you may have a little fibreglass still...

 

Subscribed, I love modifieds, in fact I recently picked up a glass body virtually identical to the one shown in your first post. It has no reveals around the body line or doors. The track nose and pickup bed will not be used. Like you, I'll keep my eyes out for a decent roadster or touring body. Good Luck!

 

Here is the 32 dash in my 27. You can see how it was brazed in when this car was first built in the early 50's. I left it like that.

 

An old guy told me that brazing sheet metal in stress areas is better than mig welding. It will not crack over time he said.... Is that true?

Your dash looks great!

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That original fiberglass body you started with looks pretty good to me! God bless you guys that can un-FU those challenging steel bodies. While you are slicing and dicing, you might want to add a little length.....stock size they are a little cramped unless you are a vertically challenged individual.

 

All I know about that is that this dash was in the car in 1952 and it ain't broke yet. By the way It still has the same SW speedometer, starter button and headlight switch knob.

 

What a boner said:
i left the upper radius at the rear stock and pie cut and filled the sides down to the floor,
which made a straight panel and gave a little extra length and a place to store a couple things.
now if the color gods would give me a hint ?

 

Brazing spreads the loading out. Chr-Mo tube in lightwt. solar/elec cars was brazed, tested for strength at MIT. Worked out fine.

 

That is awesome, wow.

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One of my friends who builds Government vehicles brazes some areas too. Looks like it holds some truth.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Good advice all around, guys. Thanks. I wish I had an update on this body but life got in the way a bit. I hope to have some progress this summer.

 

It’s been way too long since I’ve updated this thread, but I have made some good progress. Got all the bondo off the cowl with a heat gun and a scraper. Amazing how much was on there. The sheet metal looked decent.


My plan was to start with the front, building a subframe, and build back from there. I took the three main parts to the front of the body (firewall, cowl sheet metal, and support frame) to the blaster to get sand blasted. I only have a before picture of all the pieces together.


Next was to build the new subframe. I ended up using 2x2 steel tube. I relief cut it and bent it to match the shape of the original. Not proud of my welds, but hopefully they get the job done. I have been improving slowly throughout this process.

I got the rest of the frame put together based on measurements from the original, and added some support bars to the front for the firewall. Those replaced the supports the original had that were long gone on my body. You can see the little spacers I used on the supports to make up for gaps between the support and the firewall. Not the most elegant solution but it works and things are real solid.



The firewall I had was in great shape, but just needed a little work near one of the feet.





Here’s the firewall and support frame all welded up on the subframe.



The original bodies have a number of strips that tie the firewall into the support rail. I tried to simulate those as best I could.


That support rail attaches to the original subframe at a bit of an angle, so you can see the little angled bases I sliced up to simulate that angle.

I’ll post more progress shortly, as this self quarantine has been great for garage time!

 

Looking great.....going to end up with a nice, strong body!

 

Thanks A Boner.

I was really anxious to get the Hallock style windshield I had test fitted on the body. I know these windshields are a love/hate type of thing, but I personally love them. The windshield I have is from Poliform I believe. It looks identical to the brass “Vee” windshield Speedway sells at a ridiculous price. Mine is made out of aluminum, which I like much better. I was lucky to find this one on Craigslist out of state at a good price. What I don’t love about these is how high the sides are in relation to the middle post. See the pic below with some early test pieces of cardboard in place to get a feel for the shape I wanted. I didn’t end up liking these cardboard test pieces, but the picture gives you a sense for how high the sides are, and how they need to be cut down.



Cutting it down isn’t that simple though, because the sides have a nice curve and double bevel on the tops/sides. It’s hard to see in this picture.



Nevertheless, I took the plunge and cut them down.



With a little work with a grinder and a file, I ended up surprising myself with the results. I got a nice bevel that was pretty consistent from side to side and blended very well with the original shape of the sides.




I then was able to get the correct shape of the glass (at least for now). I tried to follow the curves of the sides and ended up with a slightly curved top. I love it personally.



I have more progress to post tomorrow. Getting this windshield looking right kept me motivated to keep on rolling!

 

Brad,

As I read thru your previous post, I thought. " I think the top of the glass should be curved." Then I scrolled down to see that you were thinking the same way. I like the curve you have, but I would try a couple more before I settled on the final version.

Is the Quickchange you built going in this one, or do I have to order up another one?

 

Hey Bruce. This is the project the quickchange is going in. No need (or cash) for another one for now

The current windshield shape is certainly not set in stone. But I’m liking it for now. Just for giggles, I took a pic of the windshield with the original shaped Lexan and have a matching pic with the current windshield for a side by side. The change is a vast improvement but by no means the final shape. Probably will be tweaked over time.

And there’s the quickchange in the background ready to go...

 

I’d be curious to learn how the cowl sheet metal was was originally assembled. It must have been formed and hammered as it was installed, since both bottoms wrap under the sub frame and the trailing edge wraps around the support rail. That makes taking the cowl portion off and on for fitting nearly impossible. Thankfully, I needed patch panels for the bottom, and I didn’t weld those in until the final fit was perfect. Without the bottom portion, the cowl sheet metal came off and on fairly easily.

I also decided to add some bracing for the windshield mounts. I wasn’t comfortable with bolting it just the the sheet metal. The center post has two studs that mount through the center support, and both sides have three more studs. Two mount through the angled bracing and one mounts to the dash support frame. It now feels real solid all mounted up.


I tried to be mindful of surfaces that wouldn’t be able to be painted once the body was assembled. So I sprayed those areas with rustoleum primer and weld-thru primer where needed.



I ended up making my own patch panels. They were pretty straightforward. Got them welded in finally to officially finish the front part of the body. I have a long way to go (and the harder stuff ahead) but I am feeling good about the progress.






I’ve started with the doors, and I’ll post more on that tomorrow.

 

Brad, good to see updates. The body looks much better already. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

Very nice build! I’m enjoying following your progress.

 

Thanks guys

 

The doors are in reasonable shape, but I am getting them blasted tomorrow and I’ll know for sure what I’m dealing with.



In the meantime, I wanted to try to mount them on the newly completed cowl. The original hinges are in reasonable shape, so I sandblasted those and got some new hardware from Snyder’s.

The driver’s side door fit pretty well. I needed a minor adjustment of the dash support rail.


With that, the door closed more than enough.




The top of the door towards the front is pretty beat up, but it fits and I can rework that area later.


The passenger door took a little more adjusting. The top of the door near the front seemed to have a larger overhang than the driver’s side. This was causing interference when I tried to close it. I marked off a bit to trim and went at it with a cutoff wheel.



That was just enough to get it to close nicely.




Here are some shots of the problem areas of the doors. I’ll tackle. These once they are blasted.

 

After a bit more fiddling with the hinges, it seems the new pins are a bit of a sloppy fit. I may try to tighten up the hinges a bit with a small drift and a hammer. I think if I get it just right I can roll them over a bit without making the opening oval. I wish they made slightly oversized pins. Or better yet, I wish I had a lathe...

 

Sometimes the best solution is the simplest one. My idea about beating the hinge in shape with a drift was not a good one. This was much simpler and worked like a charm. The holes are round enough

 

Got the doors back from the blaster. The passenger door is definitely in nicer overall shape, but has some rust through in the door skin. But the inner structure is pretty solid.


I'm on the fence about whether to just patch this one up a bit or buy a new skin. There are some dents along the top rail that may be difficult to repair without taking the skin off. Has anyone ever had luck taking a skin off and re-using it?

The driver's side door is in worse shape in terms of the main door structure. It is dented pretty badly in a few areas and will need significant patchwork in a few corners. Someone really went to town on the bondo all over this body.




I think I will certainly re-skin the driver's door, but unfortunately, I can't find a source that has the skins in stock. Macs is showing them as "discontinued". I called to inquire as it didn't make sense that they would have the passenger skin but discontinue the driver's. They advised that the "discontinued" designation just means that the supplier did not meet Mac's order, and they told me to check back in early June. It's going to cost over $300 to re-skin both doors, but I think that is the best choice for me at this point. I also like the idea of getting access to the complete door structure for rust-proofing and rebuilding. But again, if it is feasible to reuse the existing door skins, I might give that a try. Anyone have experience with that?

 

My doors were probably in a little better condition than yours but as you can see the bottom 4” or so needed replacing inside and out.
I did pretty much the whole rear and bottom of the body while building my 26 RPU.

 

@Blue One , I have been watching your thread since the beginning, and have learned so much from your posts. Thank you so much for taking the time to share. The way your 27 turned out definitely inspired me to get cracking on mine. I know mine won't end up half as good, but I'll give it my best shot.

Edit: Forgive me. Your 26

 

Brad,
The way I see it is; While your waiting to see if you can get new skins in June, you can take your doors apart, which you will have to do anyway. If you can fix them and put them back together, you don't have to order new ones. If not, you are halfway done.

 

That is a good thought, Bruce. May end up doing that. But I did find a lead on a really nice driver's side door. It needs a little work, but easier work than my driver's door needs. Stay tuned...

 

Waiting............