Does anyone have a source for the nails used to fasten the sheet metal to the wood sills etc.? Restoration Supply has hardened nails with annular shank and Body/pin stainless steel beading nails also Escutcheon Pins stainless by 3/4" long.
Would stainless be better? What are others using?

Have same issue. I have not seen the correct countersunk head hardened body nails suitable to do the work properly. Closest so far has been spring anchor nails used in upholstery. Still looking.

Bob's Automobilia has 3/4" long ring shanked, 15g SS body nails.

http://bobsautomobilia.com/body-and-roof/stainless-steel-body-nails-3-4-long-.-sn-15/

Restoration Supply has the nails you're looking for in 1 1/4, 1, and 7/8" long.

https://www.restorationstuff.com/ec...514&zenid=6to6ou0mg613sv8p27vp4llf43

Lang's Model T has ring shank nails but the heads are not tapered.
I used them on my '27 Model T.
The are NOT soft and really hold.

https://www.modeltford.com/item/B-NAIL1.aspx

I have ordered The FAS026 and FAS031. The FAS026 does not have the tapered head, and the FAS031 is larger diameter than the original. I will see how they look. Thanks

Most of the nails in my 1929 are 5/8" length. Also need 1/2". The 7/8" ( which I bought some of) are also larger diameter.

The nails in my old sills were 1" long. I'm not looking forward to driving these back in from under the car.

It would be possible to fit the FAS026 into an electric or battery drill, and spin the head under side against a grinder to form the countersink on these nails.

So the nails aren't as advertised? I was going to order the same two types as you. Does the FAS031 have the tapered head? I'm starting to think serrated paneling nails are going to do the trick in new wood. They are hard and the head is not that big. Their diameter is less than original though. I need to order nails very soon as I'm putting my Olds DCR body back on the wood frame work in the next week or so.

Anything useful here?

http://www.restorationspecialties.com/2015Catalog/205.pdf
http://www.restorationspecialties.com/index.html

Look at the pricing. I need to buy in the thousands. Question would be who is manufacturing these body nails?

You might want to check out www.mcmaster.com McMaster-Carr is the Engineers Bible of most any parts you may need!
Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard DC Sport Roadster For Sale
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan rolling frame under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

McMaster carr does not carry the countersunk head screw nails. They have flat and domed but Fisher bodies use the countersunk version. I wonder who if anyone makes these?

I saw the price.......

Several months ago I went looking for those countersunk nails and a few other fasteners that were mixed up in the sawdust and sticks that were laying in the bottom of my doors.

That was literally the only promising lead I came up with for body nails.

Let us know what you find.

Part# 7649 looks good. I think I need to call to Restoration Specialties.

Nails are on order, I will post when I receive.

I am pretty sure the ones from restoration supply are correct but at $24 US per 100 and I need over 300 for the cowl area alone? Probably 1000 plus for the whole car and I have three cars to do. I would really like to find out manufacturer and buy bulk and even offer to others at a more reasonable cost if possible.

The countersunk head nail is called a casing head nail and I cannot find anyone who manufactures short ones anymore. I called RS yesterday and the guy who handles that department was out. I was told that the nails they have are NOS and the pricing is correct. I would only use them where they might show like the door jamb edges but even dome headed nails can be used in the jambs and then ground down to the shape of the corner edge. We have to be creative these days because a lot is not available.

Cabboy, 300 nails in the cowl sounds like an awful lot of them. I’ve never pulled out that many on any car I’ve worked on before. The nails used on the door jamb inside edge metal are not casing nails but a flat headed nail and the spacing is usually no closer on the nail lines than 1.5”. 300 nails would be 450” on nailed area or 36’+ of nail line. Maybe the CN cars are different.

Well I counted and on my car the spacing is closer then you mention. Also I inspected all the holes and they are all countersunk. Also I took all these nails out. They were all countersunk. So far the only ones not countersunk on this car were the floor pan nails. Spacing ranges from 1/2" to 1" all over the thing. Believe it or not there are nearly 300 nails in the cowl and surrounding hinge pillar/windshield steel parts. They have to be countersunk underneath or the heads will rub on the steel covering them. This is the car that is in front of me. Looked at my Cabriolet cowl and same thing. If you use a flat nail and then grind it down what is holding? That just does not make sense to me at all.

What is the diameter of the nails needed? The Restoration Supply listing has length and -8. Is that 8 Ga.?

I don't need many. I would really like to get in on this if you do.

The pillar covers are nailed on right on the corners through the body skin. Another way to say it is they are nailed right on the 90 degree corner. You then grind the nail head down to match the angles of the corner.

If you are worried about a thin headed nail raising the underlying metal up enough to effect the skin over it I would suggest using a pointed punch to dent the metal and wood in slightly to help set the nail head deeper.

If your nail holes are that close it probably has something to do with the car having maple versus the ash. Possibly they didn’t feel the maple held the nails as securely as the ash. There are areas here or there that the nails might be less than the 1.5 but very few. On my Olds the lower edge metal has holes right around 2.5 as an average. My cowl has 11 nail holes along the bottom where it get nailed into the sill.

I appreciate the comments but I will do it right. I will get the right nails if I have to get them made myself. I have several bodies already lined up to do and I cannot make do.
Thanks.

I did find 1”, blue steel .072 casing head finish nails in bulk. $26.47 per 5lb box. 810 nails per pound. Maze Nails makes them, part HT100. Maybe they’d cut them shorter. The .072 sounds pretty good for diameter.

So I checked out casing nails and they are not correct. Casing nails have a 30 degree head and the original body nails have a 45 degree head. I am presently investigating getting nails made and we will see what happens. I have samples from Restoration Supply and the body of the nail is too large and I would expect splitting to be an issue. Also the RS nails have very bulky heads to them that would require too much grinding. I am not a fan of pounding the nails further into sheet metal as this can cause distortion on panels I spent great amounts of time making straight and smooth.
If you can find them there used to be manufactured nails for attaching No-Sag upholstery seat spring end clamps that are the correct diameter and head shape with a spiral body that are much closer and would hold better but the manufacturer of those ceased production 2-3 years ago.
We will see what I can get made.

Just got an email from the president of Maze Nails. They do not make them shorter but he said they can be snipped to length. (we all know that of course but that is labor intensive. Here is the link:
https://www.mazenails.com/nails/3/21/HT*/trim/interior-trim/hardwood-trim-nails

One good feature of snipped nails, particularly if they are not too tapered, is less tendency to split the wood.

When I was a kid we build our own cabinets and also installed trim. My father, the master carpenter, taught us to snip the ends of the small finish nails. That kept us from drilling pilot holes with an egg beater drill. Then a nail set to sink the head, followed by tinted putty to cover the hole.

Old memories can be pleasant even though the actual event might not have been so much.

The casing nails referred to from Maze are 2" and have a body diameter of .099" As well as having the incorrect taper on the head they are too big in diameter.

what are the spec's for what you are looking for?
Diameter








What are the spec's for what you are looking for?
Diameter?
Length?
Head size and taper angle?
Material?

What are the specs for what you are looking for?
Diameter?
Length?
Head diameter?
Material?

Generally as I don't have my Vernier handy: first size 3/4" with approx. 0.070" shank diameter, 45 degree head at 1/8" diameter. Second size 7/8" length, about 0.080" diameter with same 45 degree head at about 5/32 diameter. These are the two prominent sizes I pulled out of my 1929. There are longer ones used for the aluminum post covers but I have those. Both have serrations on the shanks.

[quote=cabboy]The casing nails referred to from Maze are 2" and have a body diameter of .099" As well as having the incorrect taper on the head they are too big in diameter. [/quotes

Not sure why you said this as I never referred to a 2” nail and I believe I’m the only one who mentioned Maze. Maze has the following as I spoke with the president of the company . The HT100 is 1” long, has the casing type head, a .072 diameter, and made of a harder metal to help prevent bending. I attached the link that shows the HT 100 in an earlier post. They are for hard trim wood(HT, hard trim) or like the president said, they will pull the metal slightly into the wood as the head becomes almost level with the surface. The bent in metal helps hold along with the nail. He said if a customer needs a custom nail these days, they’ll have to go to China to have it made. He told me it wasn’t even worth changing the machine to change length. He also said the equipment to make the old body nails with their specific head is no longer in existence either. I will be ordering a box of the maze nails as they are the closest to original type still manufactured today. Are the heads exact? No, are they close? Yes. As I said earlier, the times have changed and some things can just not be obtained or are not worth the time and money trying to make. Many fellow restorers I converse with agree. I’ve posted the nail info to help others looking for some sort of solution, not to get in an argument or have someone insinuate I suggested an inappropriate solution. This is my last post on this subject.

Know anyone in Kuala Lumpur?

http://www.lazada.com.my/hardened-s...time=1512036984&sc=MdF4&rb=30929

Too bad there isn't a better description...

Interesting and yes more dimensional information would be helpful. Wonder about hardness level for concrete though and holding as these have minimal serrations? I am working on quotes for correct type nails and will advise.

Regarding casing nails.
I was not trying to argue or insinuate anything. I was stating the fact that casing nails heads are not actually correct so people could make informed choices. If 1" are available great but they are still not similar to original. Can someone use them by cutting and using a work around? Sure if they so choose.
All effort and information is appreciated and if anyone seems slighted, well sorry. I have enough correct nails for my car but I have others to do for other people so before I concede and use other types of nails I will investigate all sources.

So what's the consensus on nails to buy to reinstall body on new wood or old wood?

No consensus. Proper nails are not available. Ford suppliers have nails but they do not have the correct head. There is one supplier that have nails close but they are larger diameter and expensive. Casing nails mentioned are again larger diameter and longer and the head angle is not 100%. So use what you can find and work around the deficiencies. I haven't found anyone to make nails for me yet but will be looking but don't expect anything soon.