pontiac wood framing

[Guest pontiac park]

I have been removing the wood framing in the doors of my 1929 pontiac as it had areas that were rotted. I decided to steel the panels in as opposed to renewing the wood. i was taken by the craftmanship of the woodwork inside the doors. I found small wedges, thin crafted pieces of wood glued to the main wood to get the steel panel straight (would be my guess) if the wood was a little out. Removing the wood was a slow process but i approached the job on a try and work out how the framing was installed and try and remove it in the reverse of how it was installed. Im now of the opinion that steeling the doors as i have started doing instead to using wood is a lot less work and does not have to be as precise. I did have 1 door that someone had tried to rewood it (before i owned it) and it was a mess. the door was not straight anymore and that was a direct result of the wooden framing not fitting correctly. this post is only an observation and my comments on what i have done to solve the wood kit problem. I see alot of requests for wood kits and where to purchace them and i am only trying to put out a alternative for others to consider. my tools i have used to create the steel framing are a mig welded, a bench vice with 2 pieces 2 inch angle iron which i clamp my panel steel in between and a 2x4 piece of wood to bend my steel to the right shape. There maybe a couple of pieces where the window mechinism attaches that will need a swage for added strenght but i intend to take a piece of panel steel to my body guy and have him put a series of different swages in it that i can cut out to the lenght of swage i require. just so you know before i start this resto i had only ever used a welder a couple of times with limited sucess. i praticed on a bit of steel, changing settings and checking to see if that the weld had penetrated the steel. You dont have to do a full weld as you cant do a full weld on panel steel as it will warp. tack weld evenly along your work and then go back and tack weld in between your previous welds untill you have completly welded your panel. give it a go, its on the inside so no one can see if its a bit untidy and a grinder can tidy most of it up. someone else may be able to add to this and give me a few pointers to help me as well. i welcome any help as i am still only learning.

Edited July 15, 2012 by pontiac park
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[aussiecowboy]

Be careful mate, even a series of tacks can warp a panel, especially somthing like a door that is quite flat. Once warped it is very hard to get straight again. I have seen guys frame out in steel and then bond the steel to the panel with epoxy or even sikaflex with good results. That way it can be removed if need be, not easily but it can be done. I'm no expert but these cars do flex a bit, if you make the panel too rigid you might start cracking the body, that was the beauty of the timber. Good luck with it.

[keiser31]

Check out this thread where the gentleman changed to a steel structure.

http://forums.aaca.org/f190/32-nash-1063-convertible-sedan-257950.html

[Guest pontiac park]

Check out this thread where the gentleman changed to a steel structure.

http://forums.aaca.org/f190/32-nash-1063-convertible-sedan-257950.html

thanks for the thread. it is very informative. i have a excellent body guy who has agreed to giving me tips on how to steel this truck out without causing the warping and other problems that can occur. one thing i have already found out is you need to tack bracing on before you start removing wood to ensure your panel stays in shape and you must continue to measure check measure check. will post pics after i get the first door steeled out

Edited July 17, 2012 by pontiac park
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[Restorer32]

How do you intend to attach the upholstery given that tacks won't go into steel all that well?

[Guest pontiac park]

How do you intend to attach the upholstery given that tacks won't go into steel all that well?

i intend to use the door card type material and make the door panels. I thought i could then drill holes a series of holes in the steel so i can attach the new door panels using the same push on clips as you find on later model door panels. i removed the upholstery off of these doors and i belive this will work and will look just as nice as orginal.

Edited July 20, 2012 by pontiac park
grammar (see edit history)