Projects 32 Tudor Build Thread

Looks like a good plan starting with the doors, getting them right, then on to the roof. Doors look great!

 

I got my roof, so I figured I’d give it a go fitting it to the car.

I did some searching before I bought it to see if anyone had used a coupe roof to fix a sedan. I found guys going from a fordor to a coupe. But not from a coupe to a sedan. I was a little nervous dropping almost a grand without knowing for sure the profile would be the same.

It ended up being a smart buy. It fits great and as far as I know it looks right?

The only difference I see is that the hole for the insert is back 1-1/2” farther then the sedan.

Most of the bad chop is fixed and all the brazing is gone. The only part of the brazed in panel left, is the bead line under the window.

I also straightened out the chop. It was 3/8” lower on the driver side at the c-pillar.

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Great job love the look of a good chopped sedan go man go

 

Tons of work but the end result is impressive. How many hours so far?

 

Thanks guys, sometimes I forget how much it’s chopped because I don’t have a stocker to compare it to. Then I look through the the front windshield and realize, it’s hammered.

Shit, I have no idea how many hours. All I can say, is a lot! Its been quite a challenge getting the body to this point. I’ve followed a lot of threads on here of guys saving one and I thought I can I do that. It’s not as easy as I thought.

Saying that, once the header is on. I think I’m at the turning point on this thing.


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Looking great man

 

Beautiful.

 

Great build keep the updates coming.

 

Wow! What a great job saving that chop. Thanks for sharing all your hard work.

 

It was a great idea to make wood patterns for the door chops. I remember Jerry Anolik and Gino's body shop 1952-54 chopped Dodge truck from San Francisco that had the passenger side door chop 1/4" lower than the driver's side.

 

Wow, just Wow.

That takes a lot of talent to pull off.

East TN, did you get the body from Gene's?

Rich

 

The guy I bought off was named Patrick in Surgionsville. He had a lot of cars!!

 

Great chop and profile! Looking forward to following along.

 

I know where and who you got car that from, looking good, keep us posted

 

Thanks, Yep my new buddy Patrick, my dad had a field day checking out all his cars.

He said some local guys looked at it and passed because it was so rough. I guess I’m the only one crazy enough to tackle it. Haha


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looking good Mat, as we conversed earlier, your description of the chase sounds very much familiar in so much as my 5w (a roundy/round car I might add), had changed hands several times over & was seen in various shops with each owner having big plans but was passed over as too rough to build....initially in my own neighborhood I too passed, it was sold, passed around, came back to my neighborhood by none other than "Rocky" here on the H.A.M.B. then sold again north of me by 100 miles. By this time I had purchased another 5w to build a clone of the car I loathed for & had watched win several track championships only to find I had been looking at the very car all along & let it get away… back in the hunt & it gets more involved as it sold again, so enter me with only the owners last name no idea what town. Several trips( 100 mi. mind you) asking around shops etc. finally a library search & a host of names. Bingo! the first call & got a hit, now residing another 100 miles north but not for sale, looked anyway Bummer big time....left info & several months later got a call, another 400 mile round trip & at last back in the neighborhood & a short drive from it's home turf,or should I say dirt as in dirt track..

 

WOW! That's amazing. I would've passed on it too because I don't have anywhere near your skill!

 

Great story, dirt car. If only these old cars could talk.

The story I got on this one. The guy I bought it from, got it out of Asheville NC. It was built in the 50’s as a drag car. The property where it was at had a bunch of cars and the city was on the owner to clean it up. Someone came in and offered to clean property if they could keep the cars. I’ve talked to Patrick who I bought it off of to get his contact info. But he passed away a few years ago. I’d love to know more about it.

I think these images are from when it was in NC.

Thanks Dan hay, I probably should of passed too. I didn’t realize the roof was as bad as it was. And that the back panel was a brazed in mess. But I had made the deal and a thought I’d better figure it out. My dad was actually really positive when we first saw it. He said “you can fix it.” I guess he has more faith in me than I do!




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Making a little more progress on the roof.

I’ve been really trying to push my metal skills on this one. I can say, I have even more appreciation for guys that can metal finish a panel. Just to get this side to this point took me hours. Brian Bass and Waldens make it look easy on YouTube! Haha






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Great job on the metalwork, people are gonna think you started with a pristine body!

 

Enjoying your work and thought process on tackling the problems of building your sedan. Thought you might enjoy some photos of a couple chopped sedans we have. Our black sedan seems to be what you are planning

 

I feel I can do a small update.

I got the drivers side quarter window done. This was a area I wasn’t sure how I’d fix. So I’m happy it’s done.

I bought the UPAC quarter window. I used parts of that plus an extra passenger side door top to recreate the reveals and some fabbed pieces for where the drip rail sits.

I’m still waiting on my wood kit for the roof. The longest “2 weeks” ever....I ordered it in April.

I wanted to to have it before I started on the header but I jumped in anyways.

So far, it’s lined up and I have the a-pillars repaired, laid back and lined up to the header. I’m super happy how it’s turning out. The a-pillars were rough and half assed welded and brazed.






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Wow! Lotta work going on there. Looking good!

 

Man just found your build and you are making amazing progress from what you started with.

 

Lookin Good

 

Once you've slanted your posts back, did you realign your hinges? I spent days tweeking the hinges on the current 32 I'm working on. I used heat, a giant crescent wrench, and even cutting and welding. Now the door will swing through a complete arch with zero bind. I thought it would be "good enough" when it was close, but the nice smooth swing after the work is done makes it so much worth it.

 

I did slightly realign the top hinge. But I just used a pipe wrench in the vise the get the pin to drop in when the door was closed.

I did a lot of reading before I decided to lay the pillars back and different ways to do the top hinge. I also messaged 51farmttuck on his chop. He did something similar and told me his car has been together for years without any issues.

When I got the door back on I opened and closed it multiple times. You can feel some drag when the door gets close to 90* from the body. I know the stop won’t let it go that far. I also had my dad watch and neither of us could see any movement in the hinges.

On yours, did you rework the hinge pockets? Or did you just cut and weld the hinge itself?

One thing I did find interesting. Is that the straight rod through both hinges didn’t seem to line up from the factory on the 32. I guess that’s another reason I feel it will work the way it is.


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This project also had the pins drop in just fine en closed, but bind when swung way out. I couldn't stand it so I fixed it. I started by putting a rod through both body hinges and bending them (with a large crescent) to perfect alignment. Then I needed to bend the door side to match. They are faired to the body, so I couldn't just bend them. I had to slice the hinge near the bend, about 90% through, leaving a bit to keep it attached. Then a little tweak, put the pin in and test, and weld up the gap. Work great now.

 

I keep plugging away on this beater. Its actually starting to look like a car.

I’ve got all the rust replaced above the doors. I used what was left of the UPAC roof to fix the drivers side. On the passenger side I made a patch panel with my bead roller, brake, and shrinker/stretcher.


I got the drip rail on the drivers side. I’m pretty happy how it turned out. It was not an easy piece to bend and fit.

I saw a thread on here on how to bend the drip rails using a wood buck. (I can’t remember his name)It worked great. These are also UPAC. They seem to be a dead on match to the original ones. My only complaint is they could be a touch longer. On a sedan you’re only left with a couple extra inches to work with. There is zero room for error.

I also had to rechop the drivers door. When I first did it. I lined the inside of the window channel up. This pushed the door top too far in. Now they are lined up on the outside and pie cut and realigned on the inside. I also had the add a piece on the front door top to remake the top curve. I welding a piece of 16 gauge inside and out them ground and filed it to fit. It worked extremely well. I’m not quite sure why my chop worked out like that. I didn’t see any of the other ones I looked at have to do that.

I’m currently working on getting the passenger side up to where the drivers side is. Then the inside header and I finally get to the roof wood.






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