My Restoration Begins
The main issue I have with this car is the rotting
internal wood structure and then everything else. The roof of the car
is one slab of plywood so no real body integrity. My plan is to repair
or reframe this car as close to original construction as humanly possible
and as well as my carpentry & mechanical skills will allow. I guess my
first step is to get this car on a level plane and assess the workload.
The good news is that my garage floor is in excellent shape for the task at
hand. I jacked the frame up on four identical jack stands. Even
though the floor is perfectly level I did have to raise the back jack stands
up one additional notch to get the car on a level plane ? At this
point I am not sure if this is a problem but we will see as we expose more
of the support structure.
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The body skins are horribly aligned. As an example.., Sitting on the jack stands my driver side door doesn't want to close for a number of reasons including the center post position.
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I will be removing all the interior covering to reveal what's left of the original frame. |
I spent a day stripping out the interior of the car to get a better idea of what I am up against. As I pealed back the onion the results weren't encouraging. There was very little original wood framing left. Nothing in the roof was original and little of the floor is original either.
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My plan at the moment is to start in the back and work toward the front. I have a pretty good idea of what pieces are missing and if I can scrape up half of a structural piece I can create a full duplicate. I have been collecting info for the past number of years so at the moment even though things look daunting I am feeling pretty confident. We will see... |
Just so you don't think I am insane.
I am using the 1926-1932 (150 page) Fisher Body Service Manual as a guide for my project.
The theory and practical application is the same, of course the dimensions of the pieces will vary but the techniques for assembly and repair are solid.
The 1926-32 Fisher Body Service Manual is extremely detailed showing wood joining types, techniques, and repair processes across all body types from coupe to 4 door sedans. It even includes repairing dents in the metal skins.
Of course dimensionally incorrect for my 29 Plymouth but; the structural elements are exactly correct in number and types of support components. Without this book it would be all guess work with it I can now understand and recreate the structure using what is left of the old, along with a better understanding of what should exist. It's like replacing a wall of a building once you understand the construction technique along with the remains of the existing wall. Hopefully this makes sense.