VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Wood dimensions for my old truck

I have been trying to find a source to get prints and or measurements for the wood for my 1930 LR 1 1/2 ton truck. One fellow suggested calling Chevrolet and talking to someone there and that they would send me the information. I did that and ended up with a bunch of photocopies of stuff I really didn't need.
Does anyone have any other suggestions. I just want to get them for rest of the cab. I already got 2 kits for the doors from KC Wood. I asked them about dimensions and he said they don't have them. They make the pieces as needed and get the part that needs copying and measures and cuts it then.
Any help would be appreciated.

Did you try Auto Wood Restoration in Hanna, Indiana? :confused:

I don't believe that any of the drawings for any of the wood in Chevrolets has survived. There may be someone that has made drawings. If so if they will come forward then they can be used by others. All the wood reproduction guys copy original wood and fabricate missing pieces by trial and error. Making cardboard patterns to fit the sheet metal and then transferring to wood is a good way to make unknown parts. A copy of a Fisher Body Manual will show the type of joints used. They may not be the exact parts that are needed but will give the types used in different locations. If you use similar joints then the wood structure will be as strong as the original.

Just spent one day making the main sills for a '28 Coach that had an amateur restoration 30 years ago. Some parts look like they were fabricated with an axe. And all those that were replaced back then were from dimension lumber (read: pine). Replacing with oak.

"Some parts look like they were fabricated with an axe."

The wood parts must have been made by "Fiberglass and Wood" when they were in business. :eek: :eek:

Are there any restored "1930 LR 1 1/2 ton trucks" out there? If so maybe someone can take measurements for future reference, would be something the VCCA would like to have I would think.

Thanks fellas. Guess there's no easy way out of this one. All my original parts seem to be missing corners for the most part.
I'll just have to go get my trusty tape measure and my Boy Scout ax and start cutting.
While I have your attention.
Any ideas on where I might find door sills. One of mine is made from aluminum siding and the other is only half of one. I do know someone who works at a metal fabrication company but I didn't want to bother him about this.
Thanks again. :p

Cartunman, Here is a site that may be helpful to you. Tom has been working on his 29 1 1/2 ton for quite a while now and may have the info thaty you require.
www.rustychevy.com

Skipper,
The guy that I bought the car from said that "it was an amateur restoration". I did not really how amateur it was until I got it taken apart. Skill saw and axe seem to be the only wood working tools in his shop. To make the 1 3/4" thickness of the main sills he nailed 1/4" plywood to the bottom of a piece of dimension lumber (read: pine 2 x ? that today is only 1 1/2" thick). If he had used 1931 dimension lumber it would have been 1 3/4" and in the 50s 1 5/8" thick. Sorta like the potato chip bag that has less and less chips seams like every day. And I ain't eating any.

Also found that your our old buddy Jim Rodman may have goofed. Looks like a groove is missing from the front door posts. Called him and left a message to call back but have not heard from him yet. Maybe even the wood god can mess up. Join the crowd and let the first that never made a mistake to cast the first stone. Then we are justified to stone him to death for lying.

Ya, I had a couple of problems on the wood kit for my 1930 coupe as well, but nothing major. The corners of the kick-ups on the rear of the main sills were squared off instead of rounded. I called Jim on this and he checked his patterns. He confirmed that the corners on the kick-ups should have been round instead of square. I was able to fix that easily. Also, found that the rear corners of the side roof rails were too thick because the roof sheet metal would not fit into place. I removed 3/8" from the corners of both side roof rails and then the roof sheet metal fit like a dream. All the rest of the wood kit fit like a glove and the complete kit was a real pleasure to put together. :cool2:

Same with some parts I got for the top on my '32, but much prefer that the parts are too large than too small. Lot easier to remove some wood then to put some back...