Thread: 34 Chevy wood to metal

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I wish I could lie to you and tell you this is an easy job, but it isn't. My Son is building a Fordor Model A sedan, and the Fordors had all wood inner structures like yours. He cut it all out and replaced it with steel tubing, mostly square and rectangular. Just tonight at dinner he was saying this was the worst job he has tackled, and he wishes he had started with a 2 door, because they have all metal inner structures. But his Fordor will be cool when done. Here is what he did:

1) To maintain body alignment during the replacement phase, he first built a wooden platform out of a 2 X 4 frame and topped with a piece of 5/8 plywood. This gave him a stable base to work from. He marked it in exact squares every couple of inches, and drew a centerline down the center.

2) He then screwed the body to the wooden platform, and made it completely square to the platform, so the body was in total alignment. He cut out all of the wood, and first built the subframe stucture, and then filled in the uprights with hand formed tubing to exactly fit into the contours of the body. In essence, he built a skeleton of steel tubing that held the skin of the body.

3) After the tubing was in, the skin is welded to the framework, and he now has a very strong Fordor body.

You will use hundreds of feet of tubing, and use miles of mig wire. He became a very proficient welder when he was done, because he laid down miles of welds.

He still has to form the top bows, which will be bent to conform to the curvature of the body.

To bend the square tubing he cut tons of slices, bent it, then welded up each slit.

I wouldn't have had the energy to tackle this project, but he has done a good job on it. I'm not trying to discourage you, and this is what needs to be done to your Chevy, because of it's wood structure.

I am posting some pix of the platform and the subframe as it was being built. Hope these help you, and good luck.

Don