VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Wood into body on 34 master 4dr sedan

Need advise a good method for getting the sheet metal around the new wood for this 1934 Master 4 door sedan.

When doing new wood you are doing it backwards to the way the factory did it. They used a jig to construct the the wood frame & then drew the metal around to nail it. You will be putting the wood into the doors piece by piece for example & screwing it in place from the door panel side as opposed to the skin side. Same with the rest of the body...Joe

I have the wood assembled and am going to wrap the sheet metal around it as was done in the factory. This is the only way to get the hidden screws in place. I have repaired and replaced wood on the 34 Chevy but this is the first time I have made and am replacing all the wood in the car. Since the metal is still all together it looks like it will be a challenge to get it all in place. So, that is why I like to get advice from those who have walked this path before.
Thanks to the info.

I'm going to let someone else answer this. I'm not sure you can do what you want to do without cutting the body...Joe

Thanks Joe, I really would rather not have to cut the body. That is the easiest way to get it together but I am concerned about welding near the new wood.

You will have to bend the sheet metal about 90 degrees around the windows in order to get the wood frame into place. After the framing is in place hammer the metal back around and nail it. There is no other way and it's not that difficult.

Ron,

Thank you for that information. Looking things over that is about what I had planned to do. I like to get other points of view to see if there might be another approach.

Just thinking about what your wanting to do scares the heck out of me.

I would think you would have to take the body apart like you say and to do that it should be done on all the factory joining areas. De-leading the joints and carefully drilling the spot welds to seperate the sections.

This is a major undertaking and take a deep breath before , during and after each section of disassembly and assembly.

I wish you all the best of my good thoughts. !!!!!!!!!!

mike

I think all you have to do is cut at the original factory weld above the vent windows, install the wood in the cowl and then slip the rear portion over the wood from the back being careful not to kink it. Look at the 1934 World Fair photo in the G&D.

March 27, 2012:

I now installed the wood inot the body shell. It took a little thinking and a lot of work. I found by taking the front section and rear section and spliting it at the sills, it was easier to install the wood. So, the rear section went in first with the rear window and the roof section attached and the rear sills. Next I worked on getting thr front section including the a "A" pillar and window section attached to the main sills and the side members in place. Then I attached the main sills with the rear sills and worked in getting the "C" pillar with curve section around wheel arch and the rear quarter windows in place. Once I get the body back on the frame I will find out how welle the doors will line up - should be fun.

I am watching what you are posting.......i maybe faced with doing the same thing to a 34 roadster.

mike lynch

Mike,

Gald to answer any questions you have about doing the wood on the 34 Chevy. I have worked on a few but this is the fisrt time and made all the wood for the 34 4 door sedan. So the installation process without cutting up the metal body sections presented a new challenge. Right now I have all the wood in the body and everything fits. The real test will be when I get the body back on the frame and line up the doors.

Einar

This morning I finally got the body of my 34 Chevrolet Sedan back on the frame. I was able to do it alone, with the aid of 2 floor jacks, 2 saw horses, and some 2 x 4 lumber. Took about 2 hours, taking my time not to damage the freshly painted firewall. Now comes getting the bolt holes lined up, then finishing the wood installation for the doors, getting the doors on and aligning the doors to the body. If I am lucky and time permits I should have it all painted by the first of November.

Einar