Hey Guys. Three years ago, I dragged home this. I wanted a 30 Pickup and a 30 Coupe body. The coupe bodies at the time were way too expensive and one day I saw a 29 Cabriolet for sale. I gave it some thought and realised the quarter panels had a similar shape to the 30 Coupe ones and that with a bit of work they could be re-jigged to fit 30 coupe doors and cowl. The seller specialised in selling Model A panels so I was able to swing a deal on the Cabriolet and a Pickup cab he’d had for sale for a while. After bringing them home, I hastily stored them away, the pickup cab went under the house, while I concentrated on the Cabriolet. When I finally got the time to properly inspect the cab I soon realised what I thought was beaten up rusty panels were actually buckled from a fire. I was less than impressed but determined to rebuild it anyway. Australia is one of the most expensive countries on earth, almost nothing is cheap here, except for one thing steel. Not only is steel cheap here, but it’s top quality so I was able to purchase all the steel required to repair the cab.
One thing that needed to be addressed was the panels that sit above the doors. The one in the image above is from a 29 coupe, while the length and shape is the same, there are major differences between it and the 30 ones. For one thing the 30 ones taper at the front to wrap around the visor. The other difference is the recess that the drip rail fastens to runs horizontal to the door top on the pickup while the coupe ones tapers up. I was able to factor in these differences when shaping up the panels for the pickup but I’m having trouble working out the flange the sits directly above the door frames.
These are what the reproduction ones look like. I am wondering if anyone has a set of these I can get measurements from. I need measurements of the flanges on both sides, including the drop down in the inside edge that attaches to the roof centre. Any help is appreciated.
i have a '30 tudor panel, but am not sure if they have the same width as the truck... will break out the tape measure if needed.. go '34 go !
Hey Guys. I got a bit more done today. I put some more shape into the panel to get it to follow the shape of the cab.
With that done, I was able to carry out the final trimming. It’s a slow process due to the thickness of the steel, 18 gauge rather than the 19 gauge that I have used on other panels.
Dang it mon - ya might be lacking in car parts but yer not in smarts and diligence - keep up the good work Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
If you have the top wood, you can back track off those. Otherwise I can try to measure mine on the inside when I get a chance.
Thanks for the offer, I am interested to see how close the correct stock ones to my improvised panels.
Hey Guys. Another update. I got a bit more done over the weekend. One thing I finally did was put some casters under the timber frame supporting the cab. The wheels are a little too small, “caster wheels are expensive here” but at least I am able to wheel it out of the shed now.
A couple of observations were cast, the main two were that the main roof panel is far too wide at the front, at least a couple of inches. The other is that the header panel I made up is all wrong. To remedy the first one, I will be bolting the above door panels into place and clamping the visor into place.
By doing so, I will be able to measure the distance across from the inside edge of each roof side. With that done I will find the centre of the main panel and mark out the new corrected width and refold it.
You constantly remind me how good I have it here in Maine [USA]… My state had lots of farms around and as the model As aged... lots of tin got pushed / hauled to the lowest section of the farmer's property... swamps, brooks and streams. I do have the Sheetmetal lower edge and 3" of the uprights that have the surrounding reveals... measurements... from a '30-'31 truck rear window...
The Jalopy Journal
