Thread: Followed Me Home II

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So the PO painted the chassis black, but the differential, ladder bars, brake pedal and extension bar were all painted an "interesting" greenish gray.



He "remembered" that it was an epoxy primer with Eastwood's Aluma Blast, which is an acrylic lacquer which would mean it has to come off before re-spraying. However, the finish would not soften with lacquer thinner or reducer, so I'm going to rough everything with a red scotch brite pad, clean it good and give it a seal coat of good epoxy primer followed by black base & clear.

With the body on the frame I realized that the back end was not seated and noticed that it was sitting on the brake line fittings. A quick look at my '33 confirmed the need for a relief cut which I should have known was necessary, but was done on my roller package from N&N.



With the body back on the frame and down tight I hogged out the holes a bit and got everything bolted down. In that process I noted that the metal internal bracing, which fits at several of the body mount holes, is not bonded to the body anywhere. This structure is at the cowl, and there is a piece of sheet metal welded to the top rear that sort of forms to the top of the cowl but it has a gap of at least 1/4". Seems to me that for the steel to function as an overall stiffener it needs to be bonded to the body. I can use body filler, but there may be a better way?



I had looked at the bracing in the back earlier, but the more I thought about it the less I liked the way it was done. The 1x1 tubing structure braces the door latches, and extends back to wrap across the interior seating area which is fine. What concerned me is the extension that angles back on both sides, anchoring at the rearmost body bolt and extending with a loop across the back just below the trunk opening.





My concern is that any significant impact from the rear is going to push through that bracing into the structure immediately behind the seats, an potentially deforming that structure into the driver/passenger. Since I've been hit twice from the rear, the more I looked at it the less I liked it so it now sits on the shop floor.



This is the revised view from the trunk opening, which is very nearly like my '33 in function.



Monday I'll stop by the metal shop and pick up a couple of pieces of 1/8" strap, nominal 1.5" x 30" and form them to fit the arch of the floor between the two rear body mounts.



Once bolted in place I'll weld it to the tab of the remaining bracing which shows on the left, tying them all together. Any lifting force will have to rip out the entire trunk floor area as opposed to pulling out a small plug around a mounting bolt.

I've got a bit of welding to do, then will be pulling the body again and getting everything out of the way to paint the loose parts of the driveline, and to hit the outside rail of the frame with two or three coats of clear. Once that's done I'll get started mounting the front & rear suspension, and get this chassis on the ground.