Hey everyone, I'm almost a year into my model A project and the time has come for me to face some subframe and body issues. For those interested the project started as a rolling chassis I purchased in Vermont last summer I knew from the beginning it was going to be a traditional flathead/3 speed car. I have my rolling chassis almost done now aside from swapping the rear end to hydraulic brakes. It has a 1941 v8 with an f1 tranny I rebuilt to be closed drive so it would fit with my Vern Tardel k member and stock banjo. Up front is a 32 heavy axle with matching 32 wishbone all hung from a posies spring. I purchased my coupe body last November mostly on a whim because I had really wanted a coupe. I knew it needed subframe work, and more importantly I knew that I don't have a lot of experience with welding and body work. But here I am. So now I am looking for some advice on how to go about my repairs. Knowing that the body is missing the subframe by the rear wheel wells and it is also missing the front uprights that go to the firewall I believe. I am aware of the full floor replacements and the full and half patches for the subframe from brookville roadster. I have never mounted a model a body and never attempted serious structural body work before, knowing this I would appreciate some recommendations from the experienced people here! Here are some photos of the damage. Hope the photos uploaded properly Thanks everyone.
the front floor angled panels are called toe boards... the section they rivet to are subfloor extentions... I would buy the correct [10] wooden mounting blocks... from the cowl back the body will bolt through the sub floor cross rails and blocks not the main subrails... make sure your door jams and gaps are ok... measure diagonally from different spots and often... the rear of the body hangs past the end of the frame by a foot, it is supported by a couple foot long sections of mounting blocks... . I have a 36" rear subfloor section for a '30 coupe, I will use it, but am sending pix... the re-enforced holes about halfway back is where the frame ends... will take measurements if you need them as the repops I have are blanks... . there are no flanges on the outside edge of the subrail...
If I had your coupe I'd buy the full length Brookville subrails, but probably only use them from the door posts on back. Hard to tell exactly from your pics, but are the originals solid in the door area? Do the cross measurements like mentioned above, and weld in some diagonal braces to keep it in shape. Make sure to test fit the deck lid as all these loose rearend measurements will have a huge impact on the deck lid opening. Find a nice original rear cross subrail, since the repros don't look quite right. Then measure a few times and cut the new subrails a little long and hold them up into place before making the joint line cut behind the rear door post. Be aware that sometimes the wood block kits might not be perfect, and could still need a little grinding to thin it up, or shims to bulk it up for a perfect fit. Hope your frame is straight!
The attached link shows the whole sub-frame and installation and how this guy went about redoing his http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/bodyassembly.htm.
You need the wood blocks to set the cowl. I would get new sub-rails. It makes it a snap line up the body panels. Joe
Whats the best source for subrails nowadays.. ( quality , fitment , shipping , delivery time ,etc ...) for my '31 Coupe project Stan
Thanks for the advice everyone, i have read as many sub floor repair threads as I could find but everyone's car is rotted a little differently so the opinions are quite helpful. I have started by ordering the body mounting blocks and bolts and will first work to start bolting down the cowl and then cutting and installing the cross rails on the good parts of the subframe. I am thinking that the rear sub frame replacement would be a setup as the area by my doors and forward of that are in good shape. Some more pics of the door area The full floor from brookville is pretty tempting but it doesn't seem completely necessary for my project. I did make sure to check the straightness of the frame before assembling the chassis! Thanks again for the help
Brian, A few years ago I was in the same boat with my '30 coupe wondering what to do. Here's what I ended up doing once I spoke to the guys at Brookville Roadster. They put together a set of subframe rails with just the three cross pieces riveted in and no floor panels. They fit these together in a jig to make sure everything is square. With the H.A.M.B. discount it was half the price your seeing above...maybe a little more these days. They will also deliver anything to the bigger shows for free. I'm lucky enough to live near Carlisle and Hershey. I removed the original subframe from the cowl and B pillar by drilling out the rivets. Started by mounting the cowl and working my way back. I reused my original rear crossmember. Just another option. The guys at Brookville Roadster are great to work with.
brian, what are the long wooden rails for ? they look too high to align the cross channels top to bottom...... thanks
I like that idea, I will give definitely try to give them a call this week, il make sure to post on here if they can do something like that for me Because the subframe is missing in the rear we put the long pieces of wood under it and clamped them to the frame so that the rear sheet metal could be supported and not sag down at all.
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