looking into buying a 30 3 window coupe.i'm a novice,and very uninformed.that being said.how much of this car is wood,frame pieces and roof bows.looks like 'a' pillars are wood but how much else.thank you for any info
It's all wood. A & B pillars, sills, the whole thing, including doors and decklid, all framed in wood. There are quite a few different Chrysler models in those years, from chevy size to full size classics. If it still has the engine, look at the first part of the stamped number, driver front, right below headgasket. Also look for a serial number, might be on rt door hingle pillar (A pillar). Somone will look it up.
pic shows body number 361 1890. looks and sounds like a lot to replace wood frame.but i own a forest so wood is free
I don't know for sure about 1930, but by 1932, Chrysler had farmed out all closed car production to the Briggs Body Co., which had transitioned to all-steel construction. The open cars, such as the roadsters, were being built in the old Maxwell Body Works, which still built bodies in the tradition of the carriage builders. My '32 Model PB Plymouth roadster has lots of wood framing -- [/IMG]
...I've been playing around with this '30 Chrysler body (it was a 4 door) and I'll tell you what I found. Rather than using wood for the main structural frame work and having metal nailed onto it ('20's production cars), the '30 Chrysler used a metal frame work for structure and had wood screwed to it for interior upholstery use and for support for window garnishes. The one place that I have found metal 'nailed to wood' is at the roof edges above the doors and windows (like the Model A Ford). As seen below, wood was used on the interior of the 'B' pillar, but it fit into a metal channel between the doors.... The door hinges attached with large screws into the door frames at the 'A' pillar and 'C' pillar (suicide) which are steel....
My 30' Chrysler 3 window had no wood in the doors and "A" pillars, had wood in the "B" pillars, the pocket about the windshield and above the doors and back half around the rear window and a wood structure around the the deck lid. It was an old hot rod from the 60's so someone may have taken some of it out. It doesn't look like there would have been a place for wood in the doors and "A" pillar. The doors are heavy and all steel.
...that's interesting...mine has a big wood slab across the bottom of the doors and around the windows.....
There were so many models, and some where carried over from the 29s. Mopar as well as other companies made running changes through those bad parts of the depression, around 30-32. You will see a mix/match of features on the "in between models". The OP said he saw wood A pillars, so it has to be a wood framed car. It may even be an earlier car like a 29. Pics would help, especially if the rad shell is still there.
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