32' Oldsmobile Deluxe Convertible Roadster

[Spinneyhill]

Yes, the third part of the rifle stock mixture was bees wax. It took a lot of rubbing to stretch and smooth the wax to bring it up to a dull sheen with very good water proofing of the wood. But don't ask me the recipe, that was 40 years ago and I can't remember it. I think the turps would soak (wick) its way into the wood faster than it would evaporate so should be a good carrier. The kerosene mix might have been meant as the only treatment - kerosene leaving an oily residue that protects the wood from insects and fungus etc.

 

I have also used another linseed oil mix to protect steel inside. 1/3 each of linseed oil, turps and white vinegar. Rub with steel (or plastic) wool to remove the rust and put a good coat on. It dries by evaporation. On the long case clock bells (rods, actually) it took ages because the door was closed! I have an acquaintance who collects black smith-made kitchen utensils and they are all preserved with this method.

[chistech]

I was talking with another restorer yesterday about the varnish drying issues I had and about all the sanding/coats I had done. He told me he no longer puts down a lot of coats varnish on his wood. He now puts one or two coats for the color, then will spray Urethane clear coat on the wood. He said he's never had an issue with flexibility of the wood but said there are additives for the Urethane so it is more flexible and they're used when clear coating things like plastic bumpers and noses of cars. Soooooooooooooo, I started thinking, what if I put on a few coats of varnish to add the color I wanted and to help seal the grain of the wheels. Then, paint the steel rim and hubs, along with the sprocket design, which is all black. After all is painted, then clear coat the entire wheel, including the wood spokes. I believe this would make a really nice looking wheel and seal it all up pretty nice from the elements. Thoughts everyone?

[Laughing Coyote]

I think it would look fine. Mine only concern would be any reactions the clear coat would have with the varnish. May be a question to ask your painter guy. Hate for you to do all this hard work again and make the wheels look great and then have it get all fish eyed or blistered after they get cleared. Just my $0.02.

[Taylormade]

I'm afraid modern clear coat would give a "plastic" look to the spokes that would kill the original look you're going for.  Again, I'm not an expert, but I've always heard that the wood spokes can "breathe" with spar varnish made for wood, while the clear coat will seal them up and cause problems.  Of course, I may have been misinformed - I often am.

[chistech]

I agree with you both. My painter said he would have to apply the clear very light to avoid fish eyes and the clear will also give them an epoxied look, which currently many are using, and it does look kind of plastic. Got all 6 wheels coated again today and with three very thin coats, they are looking very nice. Within a few hours they were almost all dry with just some lightly tacky areas here or there. They are also getting pretty shiny too but it’s a different shiny, not as deep as clear coat can appear. I was looking for a quicker way to finish these wheels and cut down on all the sanding but it’s not time to start cutting any corners. Tomorrow the will get sanded with 320 to start smoothing them down really nice. 

   Using the sprocket pattern my good friend set me, I started cutting out stencils for painting the center hub and pattern.  Piece by piece, it’s coming together and it keeps me motivated. I’ve been working on a customers 31’ Chevy this past year giving it a frame off restoration. I’ve fit the Olds in between waiting for the paint shop. Today they told me most will be done by next week so it wire good to get it back together and shipped to the owner. When I emailed him today to let him know the status of the car, he emailed me back and was excited that it would be soon. He then said he hoped I would be able to take his 34’  Chevy pickup in as soon as possible and give it a full restoration. He had mentioned it last year when he sent his car but I wasn’t sure if he would seeing that the car ran more than the estimate because of a considerable amount of wood rot and it needing replacement. Looks like I’ll be busy again next year. 

 

 I promised I might slip in an “out of thread subject “ picture and seeing I was working in my basement where my modeling bench is, I’m posting a couple pictures of a 58” span WWII Dauntless dive bomber still in construction. It will be powered by an IC engine of .72ci. It is also an overhead valve configuration very similar to the original power plant though it’s only a single cylinder. )

[Taylormade]

Those wheels are going to be spectacular!  Worth all the trouble you've been through and then some.

[Laughing Coyote]

Nice work on the wheels and the bomber.

[chistech]

Been down in Florida  visiting my in laws and son since Friday the 22nd. I applied another coat of varnish to the wheels on Thursday just before we left so when I get home they should nice and hard, ready for another sanding with 320 , then another coat of varnish. I don’t vacation well as not doing things in my normal routine for this time of year is driving me crazy. When I get back home to the 10 degree weather, it will be nose to the grind stone to get my customers 31’ assembled and shipped out back to him. I will still need to finish the Olds wheels at the same time as I need to get them done, tires mounted, and on the chassis. Then, I can finally install the engine/transmission along with the drive shaft to complete the drivetrain. My painter has already painted my bumper irons and radiator shutters so I can mount my nice chrome bumpers on the irons and then mount them to the chassis. I will be able to assemble the shutters, radiator and chromed shell back together and mount that to the chassis along with all the new hoses and clamps. The chassis and drivetrain will then be basically finished waiting to be mated with the body.  More coming soon. Happy new year everyone.

Edited January 23, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Trying to get back into the old car swing this week after getting home from FL this past Tuesday. Was a pallbearer for my last living uncle on my dads side on Wednesday which hit me a little hard as my dad's side is all gone now. Then we got hit with a pretty strong NorEaster dropping some heavy rain here along the coast before changing to heavy, wet snow. When it stopped snowing we had about 10-12" where I live and areas with close to 2' around me. Now we're dealing with sub zero wind chills and tomorrow will bring zero temps before the wind chill figured in. Right now the wind is blowing 25-35mph and my baseboard heat is having a hard time getting the upstairs to warm up much. 

    Finally got back out in the garage today after picking up more parts for the 31 Chevy I'm working for a customer. When I first got the Olds, I asked my wife if she wanted me to put a heater in it. She told me not to bother as it was a convertible and we'd only be driving it around in good weather with the roof down. With her telling me that, I decided to button up all the previous cut outs that had been put in the firewall through the years for previous heaters. It looked like two different heaters had been used through the years. There is also a tap for a heater line on the rear of the water pump housing that I didn't really mess with trying to remove the pipe plug thinking there was no need. On the drive down to FL, my wife asked me if I was putting heat in the Olds! When I mentioned that we had that discussion earlier, she said that she did remember and what the hell she was thinking. So yup, you guessed it. I'll be putting a heater in the car. To put heat in the Olds, a special fitting is required to replace the 5/8 x 18 fitting in the side of the head for the temperature gauge probe. Today while looking for some fasteners for my customer's 31 Chevy, I found that special fitting in a box! At least I don't have to search for one now. I also have a NOS shut off valve to go inline to the heater hose. Now I might have to mess with that pipe plug in the pump housing. My good friend is sending me his spare lower radiator pipe which has a heater hose tap welding into it so I might end up not having to risk trying to remove that plug from the pump housing. I posted a couple pictures from a AACA member on this forum who has a 32' Olds and was gracious enough to send me some pictures of how his heater is plumbed. You can see the special fitting with valve and the temperature gauge probe mounted on the side of the engine head and the tap at the rear of the pump housing. 

       When I got home I checked on the wheels downstairs and found them nice and dry with a good hard, shiny finish. I'm going to try and get them sanded down with 320 and get another good heavier coat of varnish on them. The past coats have been applied very thin and light because they weren't drying. Now with the wheels sealed and completely dry with no tackiness, it's time to apply some thicker coats.

 

[Spinneyhill]

Cable ties make things look neat and tidy, but what would have been used by the factory?

[chistech]

I will usually use soft mechanics safety wire and a pair of safety wire twisting pliers much like what was done on the same era aircraft and even on some of the bolts in this Olds transmission. I suppose that wire was the predecessor of today’s locktite and cable ties. I’ll have to see once I get to that point.

[chistech]

Today I was able to purchase a very nice 1932 Harrison heater from a fellow VCCA member. It appears to be NOS and he believes it was never mounted in a car. Harrison made all the heaters for GM and while they put the Chevy Bowtie on the first branded heater offered for Chevrolet in 1931-32, all other GM cars that got a heater in 32' got a generic "Harrison" labeled one. It is the exact heater I needed to be correct in my 32' Olds DCR. Now my wife can have her heat and I'm happy with that heat coming from an OEM offered heater.

[chistech]

It was discussed in other places on the AACA forums, just how far some of us will go to try and get our cars as correct as we can.  Sometimes I'll admit I let some stuff bother me that most would think is crazy to fret over. This is how anal I've gotten on my Olds restoration. Well, it's not just me who's this crazy, but my good friend Joe Pirrone of CO, who is also restoring a 32' Olds Rumble Seat Coupe, is just as bad. Joe and I have been working on a project together. A rubber grommet that holds the special muffler hanger bracket. The bracket has two of these grommets. The grommets hold a hexagon shaped flanged nut retainer that is offset in the hole so a standard grommet cannot be used. Now, no one will ever see them and most don't even know about them. I didn't really know how the grommet was made because mine was worn out but Joe had one that was almost intact. Joe is a retired engineer so he drew up drawings of how the mold needed to be machined and I made up the molds on my vertical miller. I will be mailing the molds to Joe and he will cast them up out of rubber. Yup, he and I are that crazy that we'll go to this extent for a couple of exhaust hanger grommets that no one will ever see. BUT, they will be correct and we'll know that they are correct. Joe's drawings are PDF's and I can't post them. I'll try and find a way to add them later so people can understand the construction of these grommets. The first picture below shows the muffler hanger bracket with a couple of standard, generic grommets installed that I was originally going to use but will not be using now. The second picture shows the mold for the  special grommet (2 cavities on the right, one with the bolt head in it) and the sandwiching washer cavity (on the left of the mold) that will also have a bolt head in it so that the hexagon will be in the sandwiching washer. The special flanged nut retainer is sitting on top of the mold. A 5/16 x 18 nut is held in this and the hanger is held in place by two fillister screws through the frame crossmember, through the grommet/hanger bracket, and into the nut in the retainer.

[Spinneyhill]

53 minutes ago, chistech said:

how far some of us will go to try and get our cars as correct as we can. 

That is one of the reasons some of us like your thread. We see things as they should be. And you are not the only one attempting to be accurate: I, for example, am messing with snouted grommets as fitted to the Dodge 8, at the moment. I have made drawings and am awaiting 3D prints of them for "prototyping", i.e. do they look right?

[chistech]

Finished up the grommet and washer molds today. Turned the shoulders off the bottom of the heads on five 7/16 bolts so the hexagon sides would mate up flush against the mold surface and fastened the bolts into the molds with nuts. Shipping them out tomorrow to my friend so he can start casting them up.

[chistech]

Was able to fit in another sanding and coating of varnish on my wheels. Varnish is now drying quickly and I will now sand them down with a red pad (400 grit) for the next coat. The molds got out to my friend and he cast up some grommets. Need to tweak the mold slightly but overall, the grommets are coming out good. Going to work on another mold for the bumper to bumper iron rubber buffer pad. We could easily use a flat rubber pad or rubber washer but again, we're trying to make the part as delivered. Going to try machining up a four piece mold to make this pad. 

[John S.]

You do fantastic work. I love the Olds and  the Chevy. Wonderful work!

[chistech]

Wheels got red padded and another coat of varnish tonight. They are looking so good. The look of the spokes is much like a fine gun stock in the wrist area. The old school varnish just makes them look beautiful. Happy I went this route. Started painting and masking off the hubcaps. As if sanding and varnishing the spokes isn’t tedious enough. Painting these damn hubcaps is no walk in the park either. With an artist brush on the emblem area, Rustoleum gloss black was applied by dabbing on as strokes just smear the paint on the smooth chrome surface. I originally tried masking off the circle of the center emblem but found my fine line tape leaving adhesive residue. I realized I could cut the circle in easily with the brush so painting the center emblem is kind of easy. The1/8” wide groove around the perimeter edge of the top of the cap has proven to be a big pain. I decided to mask off the lower perimeter and paint that. From inside the cap, I measured the diameter of the edge of the area needing painting as 7”. I set my protractor to 3.5” and on wide painters tape, I drew semi circles then cut those out with the xacto knife. Once cut, i removed the curved tape sections and applied them to the hubcap. By doing it this way you don’t have the issue of trying to curve masking tape.(which we all know doesn’t work all that well). I use a popsicle stick to stage the tape edges down to prevent bleed under. The large area was sprayed with Rustoleum gloss black. The below pictures are self explanatory. A few down, a few to go, but getting there.

[keiser31]

NICE!

[falconriley]

That timber is looking good now, it is a lovely hue. Definitely worth all your hard work.

Matthew

[chistech]

2 hours ago, falconriley said:

That timber is looking good now, it is a lovely hue. Definitely worth all your hard work.

Matthew

Thanks Matthew,

I've got one more coat to go. I'm going to post some more pictures tomorrow of the wheels with painted hubcaps in place. The completed wheels/hubcaps will really highlight the car when they're done.

[sligermachine]

On 6/19/2017 at 8:49 PM, chistech said:

Ok, have to admit, I didn't sleep to well last night. I worked on the Olds last night and decided to put the doors on. OH NO! The passenger side wasn't too bad but the driver's side had a huge gap. The driver's door was kind of lined up with the lines of the car but was gapped about 5/8" and the passenger door, though closer gapped, dragged on the sill! It was late and decided to call it quits for the night. The whole time in bed instead of sleeping, I kept thinking I made something wrong. I tried to get it out of my mind and sleep but couldn't. When I woke at 6am, I immediately started thinking about it again. Lying in bed I decided I would call Jim Rodman of Autowood or Bill Cartwright of KC Wood and ask them what the width of the pillar mortises in the sills should be. I decided I'd probably have a better chance of reaching Bill than Jim so I tried and Bill answered. When I told him my dilemma and told him I copied my originals, he said the originals have to be right and there is slop in the mortises for fudging the assembly when needed. He urged me to move the pillars to the insides of the mortises and check the door gaps then.

 

Looking at the mortises in the main sills, the front hinge pillars have a lot of room to move (about a 1/4"). The latch pillars, because I rebuilt the framework piece by piece, ended up being as far forward in the pillar mortises as they could. The latch pillar mortises do not have the gap or extra width that the hinge pillars have. Getting into it deeper today, I first took the doors off and tried to avoid thinking about the gaps by working the latch pillars themselves. I worked them in areas with a hand chisel that showed contact with the pillar covers. I also found the pillars were a little too low in the sill. Luckily I never tried to screw them in or attach the metal support brackets until I could line up the body skin with the latch pillar covers. How I lined up the body skin was by the original nailing holes that go through the corners of the latch covers and through the covered corners of the body skin where it wraps around the edges of the latch pillars. Turns out the passenger side was a 1/4" low and the driver's side about 1/8 to 3/16" low. It took a bottle jack under the belt rail end where it's bolted to the back of the latch pillar and a few pumps to get the wood up where it belonged. All this fresh wood and tight joints make for a pretty sturdy frame not easily moved if needed. Of course moving all this caused the upper corner of the golf bag door to stick out some (which probably was because I had made one new piece of the outer framework around the opening and hadn't had the body skin on since.) Once the body skin was in it's proper location, the bottom of the latch pillars were screwed into the mail sill with just one screw because of the body skin covers one half of the lower part of the pillar. When the skin comes back off, the bottom of the pillar will get fully screwed in. I will also install the metal pillar supports to shore all the pillars up before the sheet metal all comes back off.

 

Back to the door gaps: With the car all set from the latch pillars back, I decided to pull the cowl and move the hinge pillars to the back of the mortises to lessen the threshold measurement..I am using the original hinge pillars with driver's side being repaired just slightly so the metal support brackets were screwed to the pillars to get the correct height right back in the original holes. I know this had to be right! I then made up shims to tightly fill any gap in the mortises for the hinge pillars. I put glue on the shims and tapped them into place firmly putting the face of the hinge pillars to the rearmost part of the mortise. I then realized the best way to measure this gap is to put the metal rocker cover in place and low and behold, it just fit with the ends almost touching the pillars. OK, I know the opening has to be right now. I then used a big square to check the pillars and they are square to the sill. I had previously checked the latch pillars and they too are perfectly square to the sill. I also checked the face of the parcel tray to the inside of the belt line wood to where it connects to the latch pillar. I was amazed to find this whole assemble perfectly square and I hadn't checked it during assembly. What the hell was I thinking! I should have for sure. Wood working 101!

 

With the shims and support brackets in place, the bottoms of the hinge pillars were screwed in place into the sill. I then started to put the cowl back on. I can tell you it's a chore to get the cowl over the wood when the edges have been bent over as they were originally straight when the cowl was first put in place 85yrs ago. With the cowl back on and massaged over the wood frame and pillars, I was able to get all the edges in place on the pillars and at the bottom of the sills where the metal gets nailed. I then bolted the cowl to the sill with the metal cowl support brackets and put in all original fasteners to make sure the cowl was exactly where it should be. My brother had come over with a hydraulic pump coupling that had a seized set screw in it so I could bore it out on the vertical miller and re-tap it, so when we were done with that, he helped me hang the doors again. Well, I CAN SLEEP AGAIN! Yup, the doors are fitting much better. The passenger door is still too far forward because years ago the hinges were slightly bent moving the door closer to the cowl and closing the door gap to the point that it hits the metal. Probably an old fix to a sagging door way back. The driver's doors is also a little far forward but not much and is pretty good. The bottoms of the doors line up well with a quick 1/8" shim on the passenger side to line up the lines of the body.

 

THANKS GOD THAT'S BEEN FIXED! Now the doors will need some wood and metal work but nothing too much. Time to move on.

nice work !! never give up -kyle

[chistech]

Back into the craziness. My fellow Olds enthusiast friend Joe and I were discussing the bumper iron to chrome bumper rubber pads on our cars. When I got my car, there was 3 bumpers mounted to their respective irons. All three had the same specific shaped pad while joe’s had a more generic shaped pair of pads. After comparing what we had, we agreed that my pads were most likely the factory correct specimens. So joe says, “ if I draw up a mold design, and you machine it out, I’ll cast some up for us. We’ll be the only guys with the correct ones in brand new condition “. So I got to work on milling up the mold and got it finished tonight. I’ll be sending it to joe tomorrow. It is a three piece mold with two sides and a base that gets filled from the open side. There is a center pin pressed into one side of the mold that will form the hole for the center bolt. Both ends of the mold got slots machined in to aid in open the mold after curing. Of course, no one will see much of these pads, only the top curved part between the iron and the bumper but it will be correct and not just a flat piece of rubber which could be used. So what will be seen will be 100% correct and that makes us two nuts happy!

 

While it wasn’t my best machine work (cutting 2 1/2” deep produced a loosened tool bit and some chatter), the result is fully serviceable and any tooling marks will not be seen when the pad is installed.

Edited January 25, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Started putting detail things together for my convertible roof. Found out I’m missing the T bolt escutcheons and will need to make some up. Getting all the gaskets purchased and have determined the Olds had some little features on the roof that the Chevy cabriolet didn’t have. The Olds used a rubber anti-rattle wedge at the bottom of the mid bow near the hinge and there is also a metal reinforced gasket on the end of the mid bow at the hinge line that seals the bottom of the bow to the car when the roof is up. I will be making molds for both items and joe will be casting them up. The T bolt escutcheons in the pictures belong to a friend. He took pictures for me so I can duplicate them.

[chistech]

Here’s the first bumper pads Joe cast out of the mold. Should work perfectly.

Edited January 30, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[Gary W]

Beautiful work!  Amazing.  You are quite the craftsman and your detail is perfect.  Great job!

[chistech]

16 hours ago, Gary W said:

Beautiful work!  Amazing.  You are quite the craftsman and your detail is perfect.  Great job!

Thanks Gary. I should just paste this right back on your thread. You are also in the “crazy anal” club already along with us!

[chistech]

Got all the hubcaps painted with all the black details. I think it’s the least pleasant thing I’ve done on this Olds so far. What I thought might be rather easy turned into being very aggravating. Even though I roughed up the chrome surfaces, the black paint likes to stick to the tape edge and lift from the surface in areas leaving rough edges rather than the fine line I wanted. I ended up using the finger wipe technique rather than taping it and that was much more successful.

[chistech]

My steering wheel was in good shape with small cracking in the three attachment areas to the wheel spider. Reading up on the web I found most use POR epoxy putty to repair the cracks then sand and paint the wheel. I routed out the cracks all the way to the steel core with a dremel round ball cutter then packed the cracks full of putty and smoothed it with a wet finger. After sanding it level, I spot puttied any depression I could find. My friend and fellow scale RC plane builder, Gerry DuPont, is going to air brush it with an epoxy filler primer then sand it down further removing any small scratches and blemishes. It will then be painted with a two part epoxy gloss black which should yield a nice durable finish on the wheel. More small stuff getting done.

[chistech]

Started milling up new door dovetail receptors to replace my worn ones. I assume aircraft grade aluminum has to be a better material than the white metal originally used. Lot more detail to be milled in yet. Working with over thick stock right now to make it easier to clamp in the vise. So far, so good.

[chistech]

Did more machining on the receptors tonight. They’re just about done and there’s quite a few hours of work in them. Real happy with the way they’ve come out so far. Still need to mill the front that faces the opening and round off the back edge and center bump. About 50% of the remaining work will need to be done by hand with a Dremel and file. Quite a difference in the “V” for the dovetail from the worn originals to the new machined ones. We  don’t realize sometimes how much something is worn until you either buy or make up a new one. The doors should close nicely now and not shake up or down at the latch pillar while driving down the road.

[chistech]

Finished up the dovetail receptor blocks and installed them in the frames. Polished up the insides with a gunsmithing sear stone to remove any milling marks. Happy with the results. Both frames got small tack welds at the screw holes to hold the assemblies together.

Edited February 5, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Took my really nice Harrison heater that I just got and freshened it up. My neighbor polished up the front chrome and the fan, inside, motor, and outside got a new coat of gloss black paint. The wiring was all dry and brittle so I pulled the motor apart and soldered in new leads. Put new rubber grommets in the holes so the wires don’t get chafed.

[wldavis]

Very nice machine work you are doing.

[chistech]

Thanks Bill. I am strictly an amatuer/hobbist machinist. I learned what I know way back in shop class in junior and high schools. I also took college courses with advanced trig, calculus, and algebra. Don't use those college courses much these days but those wood and metal shop classes have come in mighty handy. I can't believe how much work I've done on my old Logan lathe and Alliant vertical mill when it comes to these old cars. When I was growing up my dad would buy me woodworking tools for my birthday and Christmas. I still have my Rockwell band saw and old time Craftsman table saw he got me. All are used in my restorations now and all the knowledge came first from the shop classes, and second from just using those tools. I'm a huge advocate for public schools to reinstate the industrial arts classes back in all schools and not just vocational schools. Today's public  high school graduate doesn't even know what a Phillips screwdriver is, never mind how to use it.

[hursst]

Just caught up on this post.  Amazing work!  Can't wait to see the continuing progress.

[chistech]

Got to work on repairing my rotted out running boards. The olds used a one piece running board/splash apron that was prone to severe metal rot because of the big rubber running board cover and the dropped drainage slots under the rubber. I was lucky to purchase this pair of remanufactured running boards that were made years ago and are no longer made. There might be a few pairs of them out there somewhere but who knows where they might be. 

    Using a straight edge of metal clamped to the splash apron and measuring the new running board flange for enough to work with, I made my full length cut with my air powered nibbler. The nibbler with a straight edge yields a nice straight cut with no metal distortion and cuts extremely fast. The ends got finished off with a wizz wheel cutter. I cut all the spot welds from the ends where the support iron is attached to the ends of the running boards. A lot of measuring and making up of templates will need to be done to make sure the arc on one end and the overall length of the board is correct. Once I'm happy with all the measurements and placement of the end support irons, I'll cut the edge to match the cut I've made on the splash apron. The support irons with get tack welded in place, and the ends of the running boards with be heated with a torch to soften them enough to be bent up easily to be flush with the support irons. The ends will be spot welded and then the pair of boards will be going to a friend to tig the entire length. He is an expert welder and will do his best to keep any warping or flexing to a minimum. Then they go to the paint shop. These are the last pieces I have requiring a lot of metal work. Once they're done, I should be on the leg home on the restoration! There will be light at the end of the tunnel. 

[chistech]

Restoration happiness: Finding a decal you've been looking for over a year for that you've been told is no longer made. Then more than one comes out of the wood work and is offered for sale. Bought my buddy one for his Olds too. Other people have decals on their car and claim they are correct because they've seen them on other cars. Problem is very few are original as delivered, especially with the Olds. One has to know where to find those unrestored cars for reference.

[chistech]

Got some more fabrication done on the running board/splash aprons. When I started getting a better look, nothing is designed square on these or on a 90 almost anywhere except the bottom of the running board is 90 to the back of the splash apron. The mounting holes to the running board supports are in different locations front to rear and the front of the board where it mounts to the back of the fender is slightly off 90 of the outside edge of the board which is the only part of the whole assembly that is straight along the whole length. The inner edge of the running board where it meets the vertical of the splash apron is a long graceful arc. The back edge of the running board where it meets the fender is also in an arc. The only way to do these right is to make a pattern which can be placed in a way to make sure it lines up correctly and cannot be done wrong. Of course, the outside edge of the board is on a radius so trying to have the pattern in the correct location on a radius and keeping there is not easy. I decided to use a 4" x 4" x 52" long box for pattern material. I opened the box the long way and was able to lay some of the box flat on the bottom of the running board and where the box's fold was, raised it up at a slight angle with the edge pushed securely into the small beaded edge at the bottom of the radius at the outside edge of the board. I marked the ends of the pattern to match the ends of the running board, then cut the ends to match the lines with a box cutter. I test fit the pattern into the original board to make sure it was exact. Once I was happy with the fit of the pattern, I marked only the holes on the pattern where the pattern sit flat against the bottom of the board. The other holes can me made easily by measuring off the others.

 

     I traced the pattern onto the replacement board and started to set it up to bend the edges up into flanges to weld to the end support irons that are still attached to the splash aprons. I started with the easy end of course and I was able to get about 3/4 of it done in the time I had today. I have the outside radius to do tomorrow which is on the inside edge of the board where it meets the splash apron. Using a heavy 1" square bar, I clamped it on the inside edge of the mark and started working the metal up making sure the bar stayed in place. Slow going but taking my time I know it will yield better results. When I got towards the outside of the running board, I used a heavy walled pipe cut square and clamped into the radius. I put the 1" square bar up against pipe and worked the whole area with a small ball peen hammer. Areas where the bend needs to be sharper, like the small gap where the bar meets the pipe were easy to sharpen by using a cold chisel on the back side of the bend down on a dolly. Happy with the results so far but of course, I'm doing the easiest part first. Working the metal with a hammer on the bar stretches is some and wants to make the end curve up some. Going to borrow my buddy's Eastwood shrinker to shrink the flange so it straightens out. 

[chistech]

Finished forming up and fitting the running board to the splash apron. Cleaned up the splash apron down to bare metal at the weld joint area to make the welding easier and it will get blasted after to finish cleaning it up along the welded area. The ends will get spot welded to the support irons like original and I will have the put small shims in place before I spot weld the support irons so they will have the proper spacing from the inside of the running board. This spacing actually sets the correct height of the running boards to the the fenders where they bolt up. In one picture there is a cold chisel stuck in an opening to hold the running board to splash apron seam closed for the picture. The whole board with be clamped down flat so it welds up true with no twist in it. Now to start on the other side.