My friend Joe Brusaschetti working on a 31 Briggs Deluxe Tub. I don't have a before pic of the drivers front fender, but here's the previous "repair" Joe cut out during his restore. The pass fender before and after, and his start on the door skin. Briggs bodies used wood as inner-body structure.
I asked the question on the Custom Tubs thread but didn't get an answer. It looks like this is being restored rather than rodded? Not that it matters. I have always lusted after a 31 Deluxe Phaeton.
My Dad Metal finishing @ 83 yrs of age , most of the real Metal men are gone , but luckily there are some young guys with the inner strength to learn how to do it.
The Briggs Deluxe two door tubs were different than most Model As. Very little metal in the structure, notice the pan below the seat.
Joe's back to work on the 31, concentrating on the rear body section. He's fixing previous (poor) work done by another shop, consisting of patches on the body bottom, lower rear corners, and the entire top body tack strip. This is a restoration so Joe's replicating how Briggs did the tack holes.
Other than the cowl and body skin, virtually everything else is wood held together with nails and screws. The first couple pics show the sub rails without the body panels. I included a few other shots that I took Today. In the second pic, Joe is working on the severely rusted rear seat foot well.
I asked in a previous post, is this being rodded or restored? Not that it matters, but I have seen very few of these rodded, mostly restored examples on the net. I would love to build one as a rod but they are very few and far between.
It is a restoration. Joe has said it would have been easier to build as a rod by replacing the wood with steel. Here's one that sold at the 2019 LARS. I'm not sure the buyer knew what he was getting into.
Some of Joe's latest progress. He finished repairing the floor pan, coated the inside of the body skin, and sealed and painted all the wood body structure. He has some re-assembling to go so he can finish the doors, fit, hardware, and replace a couple patch panels. It's coming along nicely!
Joe's been doing some more work on the 31 Deluxe. The doors have been finished, including lower patch panels (both doors), all wood re-fit and sealed, all the hardware and bracing installed. The final fit can be seen, not an easy job on a wood framed car. All the other internal bracing, top bow hardware is also completed. He's nearing the end with a short list remaining including the hood finish, top bows, and a dozen or so little things. P.S. Merry Christmas everyone, and stay warm.
Although this is a restoration I wanted to post some pictures showing the fit and finish. This quality of fit is extremely difficult on a wood framed car. The car is at the restorers shop being completed, Joe only did the metal work, fab and finish.
The Jalopy Journal
