VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Wood Repair Support Group - 56kers beware, big pic

If you have never seen the wooden framework of your '31 Coach, without it's metal skin, here it is in all its glory. Hard to believe the boys at Fisher built over a quarter of a million of these babies.

This wood restoration has been a real adventure, and I am happy to say that this last weekend we were able to successfully install the metal body panels, and everything fit perfectly! It took us about seven hours to get it all fitted, but it was a very satisfying evolution. My hat's off to K.C. Wood for their incredibly high-quality, accurate wood components.

Now all I have to do is drive a few hundred nails and hang the doors...lol...well there are a few more things to do than that, but you get the picture.

If any of you guys are contemplating a similiar evolution, and I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to ask.

Don! Please send me K.C. Wood`s contact number! I`m going to have to do this to a 33 Master 4 dr.

Here is the URL to their website, which is currently being upgraded: K.C. Wood

The owner, Mr. Bill Cartwright, can be reached at 540-789-8264. His rule of thumb is "...if you have to create more than a handful of shavings during the assembly process, then we haven't done our job."

I can testify to the fact that his rule of thumb is right on. He is also incredibly knowledgeable and will help you with any questions you might have during the assembly process.

I'v heard about the wood on the older Chevs, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!! Thanks for sharing.

I got my wood from K C WOOD. I was very pleased.

I am just beginning the instillation of all of the wood on a 32 coupe.
I may need to ask some questions.

Fire away Paul...will send you my phone number...my email address is posted here in my contact info.

Hi Don,
Glad your wood turned out great. I got mine from another person who came well recommended. I think that he must have had a few off days because very few pieces of mine fit correctly and it has taken me several months to get the panels to fit correctly. Yours looks great and I know it really looks good with the metalwork back on.

Hey 1930SportCoupe,

I don't know where this (good-old-boy) "KC" learnt about this Chevy wood but he do know his trade.

Mine looked like a piece of fine furniture. I got the frame rails (1931 spt. coupe) and all of the roof.

Hi Guys
I droped off my 26 1/2 ton by KC WOod in June so he could repro all my wood for me and so that he could make a set of patterns for himself. He took wood apart to make a set of patterns, because this one he did not have. He has a neat little shop tucked into the Blue ridge mountains of VA. and does most of the work with hand tool. He realy went to school for wood carving. I will be going down first week of Sept. to pick my truck up. I actualy only brought him the frame with wood on and front cowl. Drive train and runnig gear I took out so I could work on it while he had the rest. :)

John and Woodbutcher are right-on when they talk about the fit, and how Bill goes about obtaining it. When we did my '31 Coach I sent the lock pillars, both side-roof rails, the rear roof rail, the rear belt rail, and many other pieces to Bill as patterns. When I installed the lock pillar covers there was absolutely no adjustment required. When you look at the complexity of this piece, you understand how accurate it has to be in order to fit. You also realize what a nightmare it would be to adjust a poor one.

Here is a pic of the body installed on the framework. When you take into account that the first pic I posted was taken only two weekends ago, that speaks volumes.

Hey Don,

1. What paint did you use on the wood?
2. Do you use wood screws to attach the panels to the wood?

Thanks for the great picture!

BigBob...

Hi BigBob,

Thanks for the compliments.

1. The original wood appeared to be painted with a thin coat of black laquer. Time had turned it to a dirty shade of brown, but when the body panels were removed we were quite sure it was originally black. Modern automotive paints sometimes react strangely to being applied to wood, so laquer is what my painter recommended and I had good results with it.

2. The body panels were originally attached to the wooden sub-structure with body nails. When I disassembled the body I found three different types of nails that were used. The vast majority were 3/4 inch steel nails that were used around the periphery of the body panels. The side roof rail cover panels are nailed on the inside radius to the crown roof rails, at about 3 inch intervals. They are also used around the rear window opening, along the bottom edge of the cowl and rear quarter lower panels, up and down the hinge and lock pillars, and for most of the nailing tabs on the inside of the body panels. Where the quarter belt bars meet the body, a smaller 1/2 inch steel nailed is used, as the cross section of these pieces are fairly thin. Over the top of the door openings the guys from Fisher used a 1/2 inch decorative round headed nail. When I reassembled the body I used stainless steel body nails that closely matched the originals. For building the wood sub-structure I used stainless steel carriage and step bolts, and stainless steel straight slotted screws. Even though they cannot be seen once the interior is installed, I was not about to use any phillips head screws, or fasteners that did not have the right appearance.

The large number of nails used in the body structure is one of the things many restorers complain about, as they frequently find that they have to drill pilot holes, as Ash is a very hard wood to nail. I found that I had to drill very few pilot holes; I just used the old trick of dulling the nail heads slighty on a metal surface. For some reason this keeps the wood from splitting. If I had to drill a pilot hole I just cut the head off of a one inch nail of identical diameter, stuck it in my electric drill, and used it as a "drill bit".

Hope this helps.

Thanks a million, Don!

I would never have guessed that nails hold your 31 Coach together.

I'm really Looking forward to more pictures as you progress.

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all of the kind words!

Don,
That photo of the wood frame looks great, and I can't wait to get it on the KC Wood web page. I really enjoyed working on your '31 Coach restoration with you; I got some good feedback and learned some really valuable info! Plus, you were able to add to my collection of wood part patterns. All in all, you were an exceptional customer and I look forward to our continued working relationship. I'm still trying to get a handle on this internet/webpage/computer thing and I appreciate your help and imput and content ideas for our web page. Talk to you soon.

Woodbutcher!
I didn't know that I'd run in to you here. Your truck wood is looking great. Most of it is finished except for the tricky stuff around the doors and windows. I think you'll like it. See you in September, I'll have the beer this time!

Mr. G in Atlanta,
I'm glad our parts worked out for you. I didn't hear back from you so I had to assume that you were happy with them. Before starting KC Wood 15 years ago I spent years in the furniture industry in both management and production so your comment that our parts look like "fine furniture" brings a warm glow to me. Thanks! Bill Cartwright/KC Wood

Hi Bill,

Here is another shot of your workmanship...really hated to paint it:

Hi Bill,
I had talked with you about doing my wood but you were covered up. By the time I got my wood from the "other guy", I would have received yours. What pics I see of your work look great. It's too late to go back now. My door roof rails had the holes for the door pillars made wrong. So this made the whole top sheet metal not fit along with the roof slats and all the wood in the top. I said numerous cuss words every day for months.

Glad everyone elses wood came out great and the pics look great also.

Hi 1930,
Sorry to hear about the problems you had with the fit. When I first realized I had to replace the wood in my '31, I had many a sleepless night trying to decide what to do, where to find the wood, etc. That is the primary reason I started this thread, as I wanted to have a place for individuals who were facing a similiar task to go to get information, exchange ideas, etc.

As you already know this can be a very daunting task, even if the wooden components are very high quality. It also takes patience and requires a good working knowledge of the construction techniques required to build the wooden framework, without the elaborate jigs that were used by the factory; you get all of that, and more, from Bill Cartwright.

When I posted here several months ago on this subject, your words of encouragement helped me to decide to go ahead with the work, and I really thank you for that. I also exchanged quite a few ideas on the subject with JYD, who really helped me make some of the hard decisions to just "bite the bullet" and do it right.

If I can pass that favor along to just one other VCCA member facing a similiar task, then maybe it's less sleepless nights for them, and another vintage Chevy get's saved from the hot rodders torch. In any case it's a win :) .

Hey Bill glad to see you come on board. There is many a discusion on wood. Your expertize will always be welcome here. Look back through the threads and you will find much.
John :) :)

Don,
Thanks for the reply. I am glad that went ahead and did your car. I am also glad that you got, from what I can tell, the best wood. I feel the same as you. I had many people want me to hotrod this car. I just couldn't see it. It has been in my family since new and I want it to look like it did when it was first bought.

If I can help you or anyone or at least give my experiences so far, please feel free to email me.

See the USA in your Chevrolet!!

After reading this thread. when the day comes that i replace the wood in my 31 4dr special sedan. i am going to KC.

Hello 1930 Sport Coupe
It sounds like you had a tough time with your restoration. I am glad you stuck with it and were able to make it all work out. Especially since the car has been in your family for so long. Maybe if you ever do another old Chevy restoration we can help make it a more pleasant experience.
I noticed that you hail from Alabama. I was born in Mobile and brought up in the little town of Grand Bay just inland a little from Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. Some of my customers say they detect a southern accent but I sound normal to me. Till next time, Bill

Thought I would post these here to assist restorers with correct wood component terminology. They are taken from the original 1926-1931 Fisher Body Service Manual, which is available as a reprint from the folks at Crank'en Hope (tel: 412-459-8853).

I highly recommend it to you.

bump for Grego

How can you tell that your metal will fit your wood without hanging it as you go?I've been trying to install a wood kit in my Coupe for about 12 years and give up many times.I'm back at it again so any advise would be appreciated.