Thread: ’32 3W Coupe roller package advise/opinions wanted

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Originally Posted by new 32 roadster

I would not buy a So-Cal frame again. Mine was too narrow in the back for a stock tank or spreader bar.

It is a fairly well known FACT that most reproduction 1932 Ford frames are purposely built a little more narrow than what Henry Ford did. The reproduction fiberglass bodies are thicker in the rocker area and have trouble getting on a dead on original frame. TCI frames have the same issue. It is way easier to make a chassis a little more narrow ( user friendly ) than dead on.

That's why I have a copy of the original Ford 32 Frame blueprint ... and ... always use a original set of rails in a frame jig.

Just another two cents worth. I "refurbished" a '47 Ford Convertible but did not respect the weak transmission. I handpainted a very solid '31 Fordor with a brush but did not realize the eventual value of the car. I went through many "family cars", mostly station wagons while the kids were young and then I did buy and fix a running but incorrectly assembled Sand Rover dune buggy and went through several VW engines and then went through four engines in a '66 Beetle (one with a Judson supercharger on the street) then restored a MG midget from a hulk with a tree growing up through it, all the while keeping track of the early Deuce 'glass replicas hoping some day to have a Deuce roadster but it was always out of the economic picture so I decided that it would be cheaper to build a '29 and chose the Bebops with a one-piece floor-fender unit. Anyway based on a very precise Brookville frame it was a real JOY so assemble the dropped axle front end and paint the frame and then get the fittings welded onto a Maverick rear and at that point it did seem that it would be cheap to finish when I found a velour seat from a Dodge van that fits exactly for only $15! I only spent about $1500 on the engine, another $1400 on a beefed up 700R4 and $650 to refit the ring and pinion and bearings in the Maverick rear. Paint was only $1800 but needs touchup. Then the nitty gritty problems started to show up with details. I was comforted by IC2 who admitted he had multiples of items which he tried and my shop is accumulating multiple useless items that did not work out. The point is that if you shop around for the paint job you should be able to do it for $2000 or less but the details can be overwhelming. At present I am starting to grit my teeth and accept the challenge that Bob has mentioned: barring a health problem I am going to finish this project!!!!!! I thought I had enough experience with previous projects to attempt a complete build but I never imagined all the detailed problems. In particular if you repair or restore a production model you just buy parts and bolt them on. When you build a 'glass car almost every piece has to be figured out in your head and hand fitted, usually with a rat tail file! The constant engineering of smaller parts has made me weary several times, BUT I will finsh this project as long as my health permits! Sooo you can do it, it will take longer than you think and it will cost a lot more than you think BUT the main thing is to have the mental tenacity to get past one small bracket design after another and another. I think I am past most of these bracket design problems and I am learning to depend more and more on purchas of stuff that is engineered by the aftermarket folks but eventually you have to make some stuff fit on your own or get a pro to do it. So far the only stuff I have farmed out was the paint, the ring-and-pinion change in the rear and three small welding jobs by a local guy who has a roving welding truck. The main thing I am saying here is that at some point you either have to farm out some of the job OR be able to make/adapt your own brackets and nitty gritty fitting of stuff that "almost fits". The work that Ken Sturm shows is out of this world in complexity and high quality workmanship, but when you sit in yout shop/garage and just have to visualize a bracket for some dingus just bear down and think/visualize how to do it the simplest practical way and if you can buy an adapter that will help but eventually some stuff has to be fabricated! You can do it, but be prepared to make many, many adaptations. Good Luck, I wish I could afford a Deuce but my job is to get this roadster finished. Just to stir the pot, take a look at the Bebops 3W coupe, I think their quality is average but I have found their phone support to be friendly and helpful.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder