My beaten-up old "jalopy" '32 five-window needed a lot of bodywork when I got it, much of which has already been done at this point. Erik Hansson at Scandinavian Street Rods has helped me with most of it, and he is the one doing the work this time too. About all that is left at this point is to repair the cowl and some cranks in the body and fill the top. When Bobby Walden did our doorskins, he also did the piece for the top, which makes it easier to fill the roof.
A lot of traditional hot rod builders today are leaving their top unfilled and just using the stock insert material and the wood. Another option that looks almost identical but will result in a stiffer body is to fill the top with sheetmetal and then the insert material can be installed on top of it (like R&C showed in the July '05 issue, "Special Topping") with a stock-type rubber bead. I'll be filling mine with a smooth piece of sheetmetal and painting it.
Even once the body was in shape, I still had some work to do. I still needed to complete my set of garnish moldings. I had the rear and the quarter-window moldings, which were reproductions made by two brothers in Sweden. Don't count them as a source as these are the only ones they made. So I started talking to all my friends in the business and checked online for possible pieces. A few turned up, but one at the time, and nothing perfect.
Then, like lightning from a blue sky, I got word that somebody in the San Diego area was making replica moldings sets for the five-window! After some research, I found out that the guy I was looking for was Dave Iversen at Iversen Originals in El Cajon.
A quick phone call to Dave, and he told me to bring the doors down and have the window moldings done. He had the pieces for the moldings ready to be cut to length. It's a good idea to have the moldings done on the doors you're going to use, especially if the top is chopped. Dave says he can do tell customers how to get the right measurements and then he can go from there.
My cowl was a bit cut up around...
My cowl was a bit cut up around the cowl vent, and the vent door and the pieces underneath were missing.
Erik used a straight piece...
Erik used a straight piece of metal clamped to the cowl as a guide for the plasma cutter as he cut the hole in the cowl.
When it was time for welding,...
When it was time for welding, the piece fit so well it could be pushed in place without clamps.
First the new piece was cut...
First the new piece was cut to final size with the plasma cutter, edges filed, and corners rounded.
Before the new cowl vent could...
Before the new cowl vent could be welded in, Erik had to spot-weld the new Brookville pieces for the cowl vent door together just like Ford did in 1932.
Erik started tack welding...
Erik started tack welding it, hammering out the welds one by one, and pretty soon it was all welded.
The new roof piece has more...
The new roof piece has more curves to it than you might think.
They're called coupe cracks...
They're called coupe cracks because, through the years, the rear of a '32 five-window body will move and put a strain on the lower rear corners of the roof.
A few hours later, both corners...
A few hours later, both corners were welded and cleaned up with a grinder.
If we'd left the inner edge...
If we'd left the inner edge of the roof under the new roof piece, it would be impossible to straighten out the welded edge later.
To fix the problem permanently,...
To fix the problem permanently, some cutting and welding had to be done.
I then needed to get some...
I then needed to get some garnish moldings for the doors so I brought them to Dave Iversen to get a pair of new replica garnish moldings done.
Half a day later, he had welded...
Half a day later, he had welded it all around in short pieces, which were hammered out after each weld.
Erik tack welded the new piece...
Erik tack welded the new piece in place and then used his hammer and dolly to straighten the sheetmetal after each weld.
Once Dave made sure all the...
Once Dave made sure all the four pieces fit perfectly (all four pieces are different), he started tack welding them.
The original moldings had...
The original moldings had eight holes so they could be screwed to the wood in the doors.
How about the little corners...
How about the little corners on the moldings? My plan is to chrome the moldings so Dave recommended chroming them separately and then gluing or spot welding them on.
The coupe's jalopy days now...
The coupe's jalopy days now appear to be nothing but a bad memory.
The moldings fit the door...
The moldings fit the door perfectly, and with the doors back in place on the body, the work is just about complete.