1930 Kram66

With the top finished I turned my attention to finishing off the inside items that needed to be dealt with .First job was making a trim piece to cover the roof irons on the inside the car. I made them so they can be folded in half to fit in the side curtain storage area behind the back seat 😉. Actually I had to because I only had scrap pieces of top material to work with.😁 Next was fitting the door trims in place. However I decided to make pockets in the front door panels. The finish line is getting close. Cheers Mark.

The original piece was likely made out of multiple sections using finger joints to allow the wood to "curve" around the body. Another option if you can't locate the missing piece would be to use thin marine grade ply wood and laminate the pieces together to form the required shape. Photos from a 1930 Chrysler 66 I restored. A competent woodworker could reproduce this part quite easily.

Continuing on with the top .....Once I was happy with the position of the top main panel, I started tacking it in place at the centre of the rear bow, then slowly stretching and tacking to the left and right until the material was tight around the curve of the rear bow. I then moved to the front and started pulling the material tight from the front centre, like the rear moving gradually outward on each side. Working between the front and back until the material was evenly tensioned all over. Well at least as good as I could get it. 😀 With the top evenly tensioned I next had to deal with the front corners, I started by applying tension to the finished edges of the side panels to pull the edge " in and around" the curve of the front bow. Next was the stressful part of working out where to cut the material to make a neat join on the curved part of the front bow. I did this by stapling/tacking the material previously pulled into place, trying the get the finished trimmed edge where I wanted it to end up. With it in place I then cut the material lengthwise along the line of the top of the bow, about 10"long. Then working with the excess material I pulled it "down and over" the material that was previously stapled in position, then I marked a line where I wanted this material to finish, just over the cut line, then I pulled it " down and over "again and tacked the material in place using the line I made as a guide, finally trimming the material right down close to the line of tacks. All of this was actually not that hard to do, just had to think a bit. 😉 With the main panel now fitting at the front I then went back to the rear to finish tacking the main panel to the rear bow, lastly trimming away the excess covering. With the main panel fitted I added the rear apron thingy and tacked it in position. After final tacking and trimming the excess material away I applied some hidem binding to finish that part off. All that was left to do was to trim the excess material at the front and apply Hidem binding there as well. For a beginner motor trimmer I'm very pleased with how the top turned out. It's far from perfect, just decent. Yes I did finish tacking the hidem binding. ☺️ For me this was a very enjoyable part of my project, it was certainly challenging and frustrating at times, but still a lot of fun to learn something new. Thanks to the forum members who gladly assisted me with their knowledge and experience in the early stages of doing the work on the convertible top. Cheers Mark.

The last major job left to do is to refit the roof structure (hood irons and bows) to the car and to finalise the roof covering. Those of you that have been following my project may recall that I actually completed about 90% of the roof covering some time ago, prior to the car being painted. Really only applying the edging to the completed sewn panels was left to do. The first task was refitting the the roof structure to the car. I unfolded the roof on the floor next to the car. With the help of my trusty, if not reluctant assistant, my wife, we lifted the roof structure onto the mounting points on the car. This is definitely a two person job to avoid damage to the paint work. I did it this way because it was raining the day I had available, otherwise I would have moved the car outside and placed the folded structure on the car and raised it on the car. With the roof structure attached I started by fitting the rear side curtains. I pulled the material" up and out" around the curve of the rear bow to help get rid of most of the wrinkles. With these panels stretched and tacked into their final position, I think I got lucky regarding wrinkles. I then fitted the rear curtain in place. Once I knew it's final position I added 2 press studs on each side to secure the panel to the left and right side curtains. Next I positioned the main top panel on the car to make sure everything lined up, then I finished tacking all the rear curtains in place. Cheers Mark.

Quick follow up regarding spare tyre bracket. As Viv suggested I cut a piece of angle iron to shape and welded a dome nut to it. Much better. ☺️ Cheers Mark.

Thanks Viv, great information as usual. Looks like I have a couple of additional jobs now. ☺️.

First job back after a short break for the holidays was fitting the rear guards/fenders. I'm undecided about leaving body colour on the inside of the guards/fenders - opinion's welcome. Next was fitting and wiring up the tail lamp/number plate assembly. Lastly the spare tyre holder and bumper bar brackets were fitted. Cheers Mark.

Next on the job sheet was fitting the windscreen posts and gaskets. As mentioned in a previous post a while back, I ended up making my own gaskets instead of using reproduction ones. With the posts in place I next fitted a new piece of Laminated glass to the windscreen frame. To set the glass, I placed a length of soft string long enough to go completely around the perimeter of the screen glass in the brass channel that goes on the bottom of the glass, then sliding this onto the glass. With the bottom piece on I next fitted both side pieces. No caulking of any type used. I did however apply wax to the string and inside the brass channel to help water proof it. At this point imagine a piece of glass with three of the four brass strips in place and a bit of string sticking out of the tops of the side brass strips. Next was cutting the string to make a butt join in the centre of the top frame, a spot of glue to hold the ends of the string together then the top brass strip is finally placed in position. With the brass strip applied to the glass, this assembly is then slid into the screen frame itself ( more wax). I must admit this seems an odd way of setting the glass in place, but this was how I found the original glass in the frame , I copied what was previously done. Sorry no pictures - I just forgot to take some 😐. After bolting the completed glass/frame back in place on the vehicle, I fitted the outer weather strips and the inner grab handles and wiper motor. The rear view mirror is just there for effect, it will need to be modified to fit correctly latter. As mentioned in my previous post, I routed the wiring and speedo cable into the cabin, at this point I realised I needed to refit the firewall pad before I went much further. I had made this part a while back and once again like a dummy, did not take any photos of how I did it. To give an idea of its construction- it was made by cutting out the shape of the inside of the cowl from 3/8"thick insulation board with a layer of coconut fibre matting glued to the firewall side of this board. a piece of black vinyl was then glued to the seen side of the pad. I then used 1/4"slotted head bolts and large washers to hold it in place. With the pad in place I could now fit the dash board with Fedco plate, steering column support bracket as well as the instrument cluster 😉, connect the wiring, speedo cable and oil pressure lines as well as the control cables and blinker switch ( I think I need to paint it black or grey, not sure I like the chrome look 😐 ). I chose not to re-nickel plate the garnish moulding around the instrument cluster, the original plating although a bit thin in places is still quite good and has a nice look to it ( notice I did not say the " P" word ). I'm also not going to refinish the steering wheel for much the same reason. Finally to finish off the dash I fitted the upholstery/trim piece that hides the joint of the dash and cowl. Cheers Mark.

Moving along with the reassembly process, next on the list was the bonnet and associated hardware, chrome moulding and cowl lamps. Before I attempted to fit the bonnet, I measured the length of the top and side panels of the bonnet and added 1/4inch to this measurement. Next using this number I adjusted the radiator/cowl assembly to get it close to where it needed to be, adjusting the rods that connect the radiator to the cowl. I also found that I needed to lift the radiator about 1/8 inch on the drivers side as well to get the centre line of the bonnet hinge in the correct position. Originally the bonnet tops were riveted to the centre hinge, I choose to bolt these parts together instead. Before actually mounting the bonnet panels I fitted some cowl lacing to the cowl. The bonnet panels when on without incident and I was happy with the general fit of these parts. Next was adding the lift handle's, rubber corner protectors and hold down buffers- for the buffers I made my own from some block rubber. Also have been fitting the engine related item's to the firewall as well as routing wiring and cable's to the inside ready to hook up to the dash etc. Finally I fitted the chrome moulding and cowl lamps. Just need to do the pin stripe to finish of the bonnet. Cheers Mark.

What's in my garage.... My 32 year old Son. 😀 Well until six months ago at least, when he purchased his first home. So I have been slowly converting it back into a workshop space for myself since. Still a long way to go.

Next on the list was trimming and fitting the tack rail to the rear of the body. Before fitting it I added some trim to the curtain compartment to tidy it up. Then it was back to the sewing machine to make some Hidem binding to finish off the joint between the raised moulding on the body and the tack rail. With the rear compartment close to being finished I turned my attention to the front section of the car. I fitted the seat runners with the intention of getting the front seat in. However I decided to make the front floor mat while I had good access to this area. Next was some cardboard cad work to make a template of the mat. Using this template I cut out the shape required in ribbed rubber matting. I then used polyurethane glue to attach some U channel rubber strip to finish the raw edge of the mat. I also made the trim pieces that go around the gear stick/handbrake and foot pedals. For these I glued the matting to thin sheet metal and once again use U channel to edge them. I still have to sew up a boot for the handbrake lever and finish up these piece before they are fitted for the final time. I also placed some under lay under the rubber to help with heat and noise. Lastly it was mounting and connecting a heavy duty battery isolator. I wanted to mount it in a position that is easily accessed while sitting in the drivers seat. Cheers Mark

This is another option..... Just drill a small hole ( 1/8 inch dia.) right through the centre of the upper most bolt that holds the diff housing cover in place, insert a split pin and that's it. Only downside is the need to occasionally wipe a little oil that weeps from the vent.

When I started this project I had completely different colours in mind ( medium gray body and dark gray Guards/Fenders 😐). However sanity prevailed and I went with an original colour combination, I figured that the designers knew what they were doing, and I do not ! ☺️ Yes, Black for the Guard/Fenders and aprons was standard for 66's. As for the actual process of setting the body I should have gone into more detail, but suffice to say it was as you described, very succinctly. Yes, it does seem a little high in the rear, at the moment, I'm waiting to see what effect putting the car back together has on the rear spring height. Once again thanks for following along. Cheers Mark.

Since last time I have refitted the body to the chassis ☺️. Before lowering the body onto the chassis I placed body shims at all mounting positions. Next lowering the body down so it was resting fully on the chassis, then starting in the centre, gradually tightening bolts and checking to see what effect that particular bolt had on the door gaps around the body. Lets say many hours were spent tightening bolts, then loosening said bolt ,then lifting the body to add or remove shims, eventually I got all the gaps fairly decent all round. Over the next week I found that some of the bolts would slacken off some, I suppose as things settled , after a couple of weeks all bolts remained tight. The first job in reassembling the interior was to make a place for the side curtains to live in, behind the back seat. I used some thick vinyl to line this compartment, mainly to protect the body sheet metal from the metal frame's of the side curtains. I will eventually make storage bags, out of left over seat material for the curtains, to help keep everything protected. With that done I fitted the tool/storage box that goes under the rear seat. With that in place I next glued some carpet in the area in front of the rear seat base. I then cut out and bound some carpet for the rear floor. Cheers Mark.

Thank you. Main colour is called Arabian Mocha stone Brown and the raised mouldings a done with a colour called Light fast Maroon. This combination was one of several offered for Chrysler 66's in 1929/30. Cheers Mark.

Since last time I have completed the following tasks. 1. Finished buffing/polishing the front guards/fenders. 2. Mounted the wheels and tyres. 3. Fitted the headlight assembly. 4. Wet sand, compounded and polished all body panels. 5. Positioned and raised on axle stands the body ready for lifting on to the chassis. Before fitting the body back onto the chassis, I want to start applying the pin stripe to the raised moulding on the body while the access is good. Cheers Mark.

Made some good progress since last time. I have completed the wet sanding/ buffing and polishing of the front guards/fenders. Before I could mount them to the chassis I prepared my welting that I made some time back. Using magnets I placed the welting in position and marked all the holes for the bolts that attach the guard to the chassis. Then using a wad punch I punched all the holes required, next I bolted both guards in place. Now with the guards firmly bolted in position I will finish of the machine polishing of them. Cheers Mark.

They are done! With that the paint stage of this restoration is completed. Sprayed 3 coats on the front and rear guards/fenders, also the cowl and tail lamps- nothing else needs to be sprayed ☺️. I'm pleased with how these parts came out, with only few runs on the left rear guard/fender edge. Spraying highly curved surfaces is always challenging, well for me anyway. I intend to let the paint harden up for some time before I wet sand/compound and polish them. Cheers Mark.

Continuing with finishing the chassis sheet metal, I tackled the job of wet sanding, compounding and polishing the side splash aprons. I'm using single stage "Jet Black" paint for all the chassis sheet metal and front and rear guards/fenders. First picture shows what the part looked like off the gun, next shows after sanding with 2000 grit paper and lastly after buffing and polishing. I then fitted the aprons to the chassis, hopefully for the last time. Also, I fitted some "T-shaped " rubber strip to the windscreen frame and then test fitted the completed assembly to the body, to trim the rubber to final size. Cheers Mark.

Quick progress update ....... All wheels and brake drums have been sanded, primed, painted body colour and finally pinstriped.☺️ Cheers Mark.

Just out of curiosity does your car have any letters/ numbers stamped into the bonnet/hood supports?

This week's effort....... 1- Mounted the oil filter/ engine vibration damper and brake fluid canister to the fire wall. I cleaned up and reused the original fasteners for this. 2- Bent up and fitted a fluid line from the brake fluid canister to master cylinder, also made mounting clips for this line. 3- Applied sound/heat insulation to inside of fire wall and the bottom of floor boards. 4- Fitted the sheet metal cover over the fuel tank. For this, I first glued small stripes of nylon webbing to the main chassis cover to stop metal to metal contact on the bottom of the sheet metal cover under it's mounting points. I also need to obtain and fit some small rubber buffers to fit in the front edge of this cover ( in the 4 small holes on the inside edge) as it contacts the underside of the rear tub sheet metal. Cheers Mark.

Since my last post, I started preparing the front and rear guard/fender/wings for priming along with various small items that need to be painted. Got 2 good coats on these items. Then I managed to come down with Covid 😐, which had me down and out for a couple of weeks. I have just started back at work and also back on the Chrysler about a week ago. We have had some good weather here today and I had a day off, so I took the opportunity to get some black paint sprayed on the windscreen frame, headlight buckets and spare wheel carrier. Cheers Mark.

More pictures..... Cheers Mark.

Been busy over the last 4 weeks, had some good weather that coincided with my spare time to get some paint sprayed on at last. For starters, I masked up the body so I could spray some GMH black on the inside panels and floor. A few days later, I sprayed the bonnet and doors for my first attempt at clear over base. I thought that would be easier than jumping straight in on the body. About 5 hours total time spent. I learnt that two tone paint jobs are hard work. Next, I decided to paint the body in separate sections starting with the rear tub. As I wasn't confident I could get it all done in one go, based on my experience on the doors and bonnet. As It turns out that was a good move as I spent about 6 hours just on the rear. A few days later was masking up the rear section and repeating the spraying on the front and middle parts. This actually took me 8 hours to do. Yes, I'm slow 😀. For my first attempt at a full re-spray using clear over base, learning on the job as it were, I am fairly pleased with how it turned out- yes, I got some runs, orange peel and even a bug that managed to find its way on to the bonnet just as I was making the last pass of clear 😐. Next is wet sanding with 1000/2000/3000 grit then compounding and polishing. I will leave the paint to harden up for a few weeks before starting this phase of the job. Cheers Mark.