blind pew

Thanks- Yes- I called Tony at battleship linoleum and he is sending out some samples. Thanks!

I LIKE the Chevy 350 V8 in a chevrolet woodie (mine has one too). Being able to drive your car anywhere in the country with a very reliable drivetrain, steering, and disc brakes is nice.

Why interested in the number, just out of curiosity? I have a '48 Chevrolet (also a '49 T&C convert, '41 International, and a '47 chevrolet country club coupe for my woodies), which I think is pretty cool. Keep in mind that rarity in woodies does not necessarily translate into higher value. My '41 International KB3 is one of three or four remaining, but that does not mean its worth a bunch. As a matter of fact, I would offer that it would be below the average in woodie pricing. The good thing about a more common make is PARTS. There are TONS of chevrolet and ford parts for post war cars, such that you will rarely, if ever, be in a bind to find replacement parts. That is not true for a Packard or an International. So................................................... be happy that your woodie is more common, as it will save you from having to scrounge/fabricate/improvise parts!! I think I still have a bunch of '48 Chevrolet spare parts laying around one of my barns back in Iowa (along with a bunch of other car parts). PS- Eric Clapton's favorite car is a '48 Chevrolet woodie. His wife is from Ohio and they have driven the damn thing cross country.

I've got all my stuff at my farm, which is about 300 miles away (just left yesterday). That's where I have my woodshop and the woodie. I'll get back there within a few weeks and post some pics. Thanks very much for the input, guys!

Holy crap! That is quite a machine! Yes- for those of you who have done (and will do) a lot of finger joints, that is something that can be very useful. For us "hackers", it is out of our league as far as skill set and expense for limited use. Tom- those are beautiful joints for a table saw and dado blade! I have been practicing the last few evenings using the Porter Cable jig and a 1" and 1.5" straight cut router bit. This actually makes nice looking, easily reproducible joints with very little fuss and can be mastered quickly, which is important in not wasting tons of nice ash. Thanks for the inputs!

After talking to Dave (New old wood), who has a tremendous amount of knowledge regarding finger joints and has himself a spiffy finger joint machine, I have concluded that a bush leaguer like me should probably stick to using a jig to create joints, if one is going to pursue finger joints. Dave is additionally a very nice guy (runs Simply Southern Woodworking) for any of you seeking to have parts made or an entire woodie rebuilt. I will ALWAYS rely upon an expert like Dave when I want something to look super spiffy or there is any degree of three dimensional curvature, but doing the wood on simpler stuff is just fun to do (not to the extent that Tom Boehm does either) for amateurs. Porter Cable has a nice jig that clamps the wood in place very nicely and allows one to make end-to-end finger joints (although it is made specifically for box joints in making dovetail drawers and boxes) using the jig and a straight or v-groove router bit. The depth of the "teeth" using that method is maximally one inch, given the maximal cutting depth of the router bit with either the straight or v-groove bit. Of course, one cannot achieve the nice, long, narrow "teeth" of the old finger joints that were made on most of the woodies originally. I am somewhat lucky, in that the International I am doing now had very few finger joints. Those that were present were intact with the original wood (thank you barn storage and lack of voracious termites). Apparently there is not a cutter/router bit available to use mortals that can create such finger joints. The best approximation is a true finger joint cutting machine and blade system, which is prohibitively expensive (and big) unless you are going to be doing those joints on MULTIPLE projects. Most of us are probably only going to restore 1-2 woodies during our lifetimes, which makes such a purchase somewhat impractical. The router finger joint bits as well as using a dado blade on a table saw requires very small adjustments and quite a bit of trial and error to achieve a product which looks good and useable. The finger joint jig and use of a straight or v-groove router bit to make shorter "toothed", yet easier and more readily reproducible finger joints appears to be the route for your standard idiot, like myself, who delves into such things for amusement and not self torture. My project really does not require finger joints not already in place, but I wanted to add some ash pieces on the rear interior walls which would look cool with finger joints, thus the interest. Feel free to disagree/scoff/laugh or whatever; however, those are the conclusions I have drawn which would make finger joints with the least hassle, reproducibility and frustration for one who does not routinely make them. Like Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations"!

I've been reading what I can about finger joints on the web and here. My project does not require finger joints, as those the wood was fine on the areas that had finger joints. I was thinking about joining some interior wood in the rear for fun. However, it appears as though the options for creating them are somewhat unclear. 1. Jig-template: I have the Porter Cole jig that is designed for box joints, but can be used for end-to-end square tooth finger joints. While they are not the nice, narrow fingered joints that are seen on the cars, they can work and are pretty easy with that jig. 2. Finger joint router bit: I have not used these before. I have been reading about them and it appears there are a few problems- a. people appear to have difficulty with getting the joints to match up properly. I have seen the use of thin pieces of plastic to raise the second piece of wood to properly form the joint, although this takes some trial and error. b. raising the router bit by a small amount to create the adjoining joint in the second piece of wood. Apparently this adjustment can be very, very small. c. there is concern for the safety with some of the adjustable bits, which some people have said have come apart in some instances d. The maximum heigth of these bits appears to be 1.5 inches, which would limit the width of the joint that can be used. 3. Using a table saw and a jig 4. A commerical finger joint machine: appears to be cost prohibitive for the small amount of time I would be using it. Rather than experiment with a process that would lead to failure (and expense with a dead end project) I would rather pursue the option that is most reliable and used by those of you who have performed them successfully and start to practice/get experienced with that method. Any thoughts would be appreciated!!!!

No ideas? I know most here prefer to use varnish and hold some disdain for urethanes, which is cool. Certainly the varnishes are more traditional and create than nice, soft amber appearance. I use marine urethanes as they are a little tougher than varnish and probably provide better UV protection.

Thanks, Tom !

Yikes- that sounds very labor intensive and a royal PITA. I am more of a "slash and burn" guy.

In refinishing the woodwork on my International, I bleached the wood X2 with the "A and B" bleach treatment. When sanded, the wood looked new. However, if I applied an oil based varnish, the wood darkened excessively (after drying of course). My Dad (93) used to run a paint store and did quite a bit of furniture finishing on the side through his career. He suggested (after the bleach and sanding) using one initial coat of a water based clear urethane, allowing to dry, sand, and then apply as many coats of oil base as you want. This really seemed to get a nice effect with the wood still slightly toned and not dark at all. The frame is a little lighter than my other woodies (3), but I like it. So I have 7 coats of oil based urethane and one coat of water based. I've sanded between each coat and am on 600 grit. The finish looks great (to my eye) and glassy smooth on both the ash and the mahogany plywood panels. The question is................... how many coats of exterior urethane (for those guys who use marine urethane rather than varnish) do you guys use for the exterior? Is there a downside (other than time) for more than 12 coats? I essentially have an infinite amount of time, as this is a retirement project that I started well before retirement. I know some say urethane gives a "cold" and "blue" hue to wood, but I like the look. PS- This is being built as a resto-mod driver, therefore "original" appearance is not at a premium, although I am maintaining all the woodwork pretty much as it was originally. Mechanically, I simply don't trust old split rims, drum brakes, gear steering, old under powered engines, and knee shocks if I drive a car 300-400 miles in a single trip.

I agree- This workmanship is better than original. My '41 International I'm doing has essentially no finger joints at all (that's the way it was made and I have all the original exterior and interior wood, all except for two smaller pieces were fine with no rot). I'm thinking about adding some additional ash pieces on the interior around the rear interior fenders with finger joints just for fun, as they look cool. Lovely work!

That looks great! Unfortunately, I don't have any contacts to get linoleum grooved. I guess I will have to go with ungrooved linoleum.

Thanks, guys!!!

Just wondering if anyone is aware of any sources for grooved battleship linoleum? Was thinking about having uncovered wooden floors in my International project, but decided the linoleum would be better. Mechanical parts pretty much finished on the international and about half way done with the wood. It's slow but sure. Having a little trouble with the A833 manual transmission and a hurst 4 speed shifter. Am able to get reverse as well as 3 and 4, but not 1 and 2. It will take a little more work! Thanks!

Wow- that is quite the "daily driver"!

George Coleman ran Green Valentine Autos, which sold woodies. George got into some financial difficulties in about 2001, where he had presumably sold some woodies and had not delivered the cars and/or did not send the money to the owners. I had actually bought a couple of woodies from George in the 90s and had no problems. He called me up in 2001 and was seeking a "loan" or "fronting" $300K for some woodie deals he was working on. Of course, I declined, as I would never make an unsecured loan. There were some angry customers and woodie owners for whom he had brokered some woodie sales. Kind of a sad tale. He was always nice to me and I personally had no problems. Regarding the history of the vehicle, I guess I am a little ignorant here. I have run the VIN numbers on different cars and have been able to find several previous owners. Also with the VIN number, you should be able to tell where it was manufactured and contact GM to find the dealership the car was delivered to from the manufacturer. There is a National Motor Vehicle Title Information site that can help determining owners of the car. Also, as you know the previous owner is from North Carolina, contact the North Carolina DMV to find the previous owner(s). As much as everyone hates dealing with the DMV, they can be a wealth of information. This can lead you to a trail of different DMVs to find the chain of ownership in different states.

Yup- I've seen his work on my '49 T&C and it's amazing. Hand sanding it will be!

Thanks! Sounds like the hand sanding wins! Again, the idea was to take a lot of time with it as a project, so I don't have a strong incentive to do anything rapidly with it. I had to kind of get it running, braking, steering, shifting sooner to be able to move it easier. That is pretty much done and I just have finishing out the wood, gauges and electrical, and the top. I removed all the metal (except the cowl) body parts and sent them to a painter, so they are done. I can take as long as I want with every piece and just want it done properly. Oddly, the ash framing was in fantastic condition and only had to replace a few pieces.

Well.............................. I guess I will just sand it by hand and bleach it again! Thanks for the advice about avoiding the electric sanders! I've never liked the orbital sanders and thought there must be something better. Oh well........................... I'll have plenty of time to hand sand! Thanks!!!

I am at the stage of sanding my International woodie project. Mechanicals mostly done with just wiring/guages remaining and painting the cowl. I was wondering what type of sander would be best. This will involve sanding the stripped and bleached framing as well as the newly created plywood panels. I haven't been thrilled with the cheaper palm sanders and want to get a sander that will create a better finish product as well as faster/easier to use. Everything is stripped and bleached with the exception of the interior roof slats, which are in good shape and remain in situ. Cost is not an issue. Thanks for any help!!!!

Hmmmm....................... I guess I didn't consider smells coming up. I may reconsider the wood floor. I like the pole- it looks good. I was thinking about metal, but yours looks cool.

Wow- thanks! That looks great! I see what you are saying about the masonite. That looks stunning (and prob better than mahogany plywood). You've really done some beautiful work there. I was wondering about that support pole.................I thought it would be all metal. It looks a lot better made out of wood anyway. Did you consider leaving the wood floors "bare" and just refinishing them? I was thinking about that, but really like the linoleum you have put down. Thank you VERY MUCH for the photos. That has answered several of my questions regarding the interior!

That looks great! Do you have photos of the interior? Yes- It is a Campbell body on the IH. I've got all the wood repaired and the plywood panels cut and varnished. The body parts have been removed and are painted.

The tag on my '48 chevrolet and '41 international are on the inside above the tailgate windows in the center.