The Ressurection of Daphne - a 1932 DL

[maok]

On 15/07/2017 at 5:29 AM, keiser31 said:

This one shows a bolt in the hole....

 

Not  a bad pic of my missus legs...:)

I purchased this from  a bloke who asked me if I wanted a vacuum port in the bb1. I thought he had tapped that hole.

I use it for tuning with a vacuum gauge.

[Taylormade]

Is this heat ever going to stop?  It was 103 degrees today in central Illinois, with humidity in the nineties.  I tried to get my back fenders on, but honestly almost passed out from the stifling temperatures in my garage - doors open and three fans going.  Very depressing as I'm very close to buttoning up the exterior.  I have all hardware cleaned and painted, new fender welt ready to go, all paintwork finished, but it's just impossible to get much done without cooking myself alive.  I wish I could afford an air conditioned garage.

[Taylormade]

Finished up my running boards.  All new steel made by Thomas Restorations, trim from L and L, rubber from Restoration Supply.  It was a bit fiddly getting everything together - lots of grinding and fitting on the end peices, but everything came out pretty good.  Still needs lots of polishing to get rid of the assembly fingerprints, and the rubber needs cleaning, but they are about ready to be installed.

 

 

 

[Ron Lawson]

Looking good, Getting  closer to completion 

[keiser31]

Beautiful board!

[frank29u]

Really nice work!  You have given me the incentive to "cope" those end pieces like the originals.

Did you glue the mat in place?

[Taylormade]

1 hour ago, frank29u said:

Really nice work!  You have given me the incentive to "cope" those end pieces like the originals.

Did you glue the mat in place?

 

I used contact cement and a rubber roller.  It seemed to work pretty well.

[frank29u]

Thanks, Richard.  Your abilities continue to amaze.

[Taylormade]

Not exactly rocket science and pretty boring, but here is how I finished my running boards.

 

after I cut the rubber mat to size. I clamped half of the rubber in place, making sure everything was lined up.

 

Then I folded the free rubber back.

 

 

Brushed on high strength contact cement after i roughed the surface of the powder coat with sandpaper.

 

 

I let the cement dry for 20 minutes, then rolled it down with a rubber roller.

 

 

After the cement dried for a few hours with a piece of wood clamping  down the rubber...

 

 

...I reversed the process.

 

 

 

 

I let everything dry for a few days and it came out great.

 

[keiser31]

Very nice!

[Taylormade]

Next came the trim pieces.  L and L provided these clips to attach the front trim piece.

 

They fit in slots in the running board.  Luckily, Ed Thomas, who made new boards for me included the slots!

 

 

Next I slipped the front trim piece on.

 

 

Now came the most difficult part of the job - bending the tab on the bottom of the trim piece over the bottom of the running board and the clips.  I got it started with a few careful blows with a hammer.

 

 

After I got it started, I was able to carefully fold it tight with a pair of vise-grips and a wood block to protect the outer surface of the trim.

 

 

Then I fitted the side pieces.  They come flat and don't fit the contour of the front trim piece at all.

 

 

So I had to carefully file the correct contour into them.

 

 

It still needs the bottom edge to be bent under and some polishing and smoothing before final assembly.

 

 

Edited August 16, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history)

[ply33]

20 hours ago, Taylormade said:

Next came the trim pieces.  L and L provided these clips to attach the front trim piece. . .

 

Your workmanship is so much better than mine. I wish you were the person assembled my car instead of me.

[Taylormade]

Thanks, just chugging alone trying to get her done.

[Taylormade]

Good news and bad news today.  First the good -  I got all the bolts, nuts and washers for the running board assembly painted.  They're black, but look gray in the photos.  i painted them first as they are easier to touch up after assembly.  I really wanted to use the original DB bolts, but 90 percent of them broke during disassembly.  I used grade 8 with the markings ground off.

 

 

 

It was amazing to see the running boards drop into place.  All 24 bolt holes lined up perfectly.  Considering the amount of damage to all four fenders, it was wonderful to see everything fit like a glove with no problems at all.  it's also amazing how much more it looks like a car with the running boards in place.

 

 

 

The bad new came as it tried to install the fender welt.  The stuff I bought - through a recommended vendor, highly praised on the site - turned out to be junk.  it may work for routine fender curves, but not for the application on my car.  it was stiff, barely attached together with a cheap plastic "rope" in the middle.  Any attempt to bend it resulted in the fabric bunching up in a wadded mess.  This creates a real problem as the welting separating the running boards from the fenders has to be curved at almost a 90 degree angle to work correctly.  These two shots of welting on an original Dodge Brothers DL illustrate the situation.

 

 

The welting I have simply won't make those bends without wrinkling up, despite cutting slots. v shapes and everything else that's supposed to do the trick.  My welting is supposed to be lacquered cloth, but it looks like cheap vinyl to me.  Looks like I'll have to try and find the correct stuff or go with rubber welt from Steele.

 

 

 

 

[keiser31]

Do I need to send you the stuff that I have so you can finish that car? I will gladly send the two rolls I posted photos of and you can choose from those which you prefer to use. I can't see me using that stuff any time soon. Neither has that crappy plastic in it. It's the good old style stuff.

Edited August 17, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Taylormade]

That would be a godsend!  Sending a PM.

[keiser31]

That is why they call it Dodge BROTHERS.

[Taylormade]

Well, I got the fender welt from John (keiser31) and it's far superior to the junk I bought.  However, try as I might, I just can't get a smooth reverse bend into the welt.  No matter how much I work it, v-notch or slit the material, it wrinkles on any reverse bend.  You can see the top bend is fine, but the lower, reverse bend, wrinkles horribly (like a prune!).

 

 

 

If you compare it to an original car (same area) you can see the original welt was very smooth, despite the break in the welt.

 

 

I'm going to try heat to see if it will smooth out the bend, but I'm not optimistic.  it's always the little stuff that drives you crazy!

Edited August 23, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history)

[keiser31]

RATS!

[Taylormade]

Rats, indeed.  I can only surmise  that the original welt was some sort of fabric and not vinyl, and this made it pliable enough to bend in both directions.

[keiser31]

49 minutes ago, Taylormade said:

Rats, indeed.  I can only surmise  that the original welt was some sort of fabric and not vinyl, and this made it pliable enough to bend in both directions.

I'll bet it was an oilcloth of some sort or maybe like the original roof material.

[keiser31]

I wonder if just the opposite of your idea would work. Try soaking some in water so that the inner rope will stretch a little as you bend it.

[Spinneyhill]

I think the problem is that the covering "sticks" to the rope. The cover needs to stretch along the rope. Is there a vinyl rejuvenation product that will soften the vinyl but not t actually attack it?

Edited August 23, 2017 by Spinneyhill (see edit history)

[Taylormade]

The problem is the vinyl is not stretching on a reverse curve but jamming into a smaller space.  It has nowhere to go and simply starts jamming up in a wrinkled bunch.  It looks like I have several alternatives - welt that is sewn along the edge of the inner rope, or rubber welt.  I'm not sure if either would work any better.  I can't find a source for fabric or oilcloth welding.

[keiser31]

Maybe a series of small, triangular cuts where it bunches up and glue the slits after removing the triangular/bunched up pieces.

[Bleach]

I think we need someone with a good grasp on upholstery to chime in on this even though this is body related. I guess the choice in material isn't ideal for this use. I don't think there's a way to shrink that particular material for use in an inside radius like you have.

I don't think slicing and re gluing it is a good idea. I'm sure the cuts will still be visible and would eventually come apart.

Maybe you could find some other better suited material to use in this place that matches the rest of the welting?

[keiser31]

2 hours ago, Bleach said:

I think we need someone with a good grasp on upholstery to chime in on this even though this is body related. I guess the choice in material isn't ideal for this use. I don't think there's a way to shrink that particular material for use in an inside radius like you have.

I don't think slicing and re gluing it is a good idea. I'm sure the cuts will still be visible and would eventually come apart.

Maybe you could find some other better suited material to use in this place that matches the rest of the welting?

I agree with the slicing and gluing. I was thinking out loud, I guess. I suppose if there was consistent pressure on the cuts they would not come apart.

[Taylormade]

I'm off to the upholstery shop tomorrow.  Aside from taking a look at my almost finished seats, I plan to address the welt problem discussed above.  I talked to the owner of the shop on the phone and we came up with a possible solution.  He suggested using a waterproofed, black, fine weave canvas, cut on the bias and sewn around flexible cord.  He feels this would be able to make the curves required without wrinkling.  We'll see what happens.  Stay tuned!

[knobless]

On 8/23/2017 at 1:28 AM, Taylormade said:

Rats, indeed.  I can only surmise  that the original welt was some sort of fabric and not vinyl, and this made it pliable enough to bend in both directions.

Have you tried a blow dryer to heat it just a bit???

 

[Taylormade]

Hair dryer, heat gun, boiling water, Thompson sub-machine gun - nothing worked.  Conclusion- vinyl welt doesn't bend inwards.

[Spinneyhill]

Not old vinyl at any rate. A new soft vinyl might work?

[Taylormade]

The new vinyl I bought was less pliable than the older stuff keiser31 graciously sent me.  I've come to the conclusion that vinyl isn't going to work, period.

[JACK M]

A good upholstery shop should be able to make a cloth or fabric welting.

 

Never mind, I see you have this idea covered.

Edited August 25, 2017 by JACK M (see edit history)

[Taylormade]

I went over to see Russ at Pro Stitch, my upholstery shop, and he really helped me out on the fender welt problem.  He found a nice black vinyl made for boat interiors that is weather resistant and very soft and pliable.

 

 

 

He cut some strips on the bias, so the fabric would fold better in the directions I needed.

 

 

Then he stitched up a couple of strips for me to try out, using a flexible fabric cord for the center.

 

 

Note the curved welt presser-foot he's using.

 

Very nice and very flexible.  I plan to try an installation this afternoon.  we'll see how it goes.

 

 

Russ is also nearing completion of the seats.  Those are threads, not stains on the fabric.  It still needs the buttons on the lower front seat cushion, but it's looking good.  Russ used canvas backing and cotton stuffing for an original look and feel.

 

 

 

 

He used canvas backing for the pleats.

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to the finished product.

 

[JACK M]

Looking good !!!

[Taylormade]

The welting worked perfectly and I had the entire passenger side finished - just had to tighten everything up.  Naturally, disaster struck. I snapped a bolt.  Not just a run of the mill bolt, oh no, that would be too easy.  I snapped one of the impossible to find odd headed bolts that slides into a piece of channeled trim that holds the top of the running board splash apron in place.  To get to it I had to remove the running board, the rear fender,  the trim piece and the splash apron.  36 bolts in all.  I tried an idea posted by someone on this thread over two years ago regarding these bolts.  I went out and purchased toilet bolts that hold the toilet to the floor.  They worked perfectly and were exactly the right size - they slid right on the channel.  I'll ,post some pictures when I get up enough energy to go back out in the garage and start reassembly.  The joys of restoring your car.

[R.White]

I fully understand your feelings of frustration when something like this happens.  You think the car is fighting you all the way, don't you?.  All I can say is keep your chin up and push on.  It will all be back together before you know it and this episode will just fade into history.

 

Thank goodness for this forum.  I have said it before but it really is an invaluable resource if you are restoring an old car.  I know the special toilet fixing bolts that you needed (with the flat oval heads) and goodness knows how much it would cost to get them specially made. Just $5 or so from the local store and half the problem is solved.  

 

Looking on the bright side, all the work so far has been very impressive.

 

Ray.

 

 

[Spinneyhill]

Well the solution turned out to be easy but time consuming. Good work!

[keiser31]

Sorry the welting I sent didn't wok out, but I am awfully glad you got it resolved.

[Taylormade]

I have generally replaced any suspect bolts with new grade eight units.  I knew the strip bolts were old and quite rusty, so I cleaned them carefully and chased the threads with a die, but I didn't really feel comfortable using them and I was right.  They were such odd ducks that I went against my better judgement.  I always grind off the markings on the heads of the new grade 8  bolts to make them look more "authentic," but I miss the look of the DB in a circle logo stamped on the originals.  Really a sickening feeling when the wrench let go and the old bolt snapped.  Anything along the running board or fender would have been a simple replacement  and a two minute fix.  Naturally, I snapped the bolt deepest into the build.  You're right, Ray, sometimes it does seem like the car is fighting you every step of the way.