If you're messing around with virtually any old car body, sooner or later you're going to have to tackle wood framing. Fords usually used minimal amounts of wood in their bodies, mainly restricted to roof framing and A- and B-pillar structures, but other marques used timber extensively, so much so that in some cases the sheetmetal couldn't support itself without the wooden substructure.
The Murray-built steel-back Model A Victoria body makes more use of wood than probably any other early Ford, mainly because the subrails and some of the floor are made from the material, and while the sheetmetal can support itself, after almost 80 years this example was in dire need of some assistance. Brought to the Jalopy Shoppe as a complete car that had been mildly hot-rodded sometime in the '50s, judging by the tuck 'n' roll and other parts, the new owner of this '31 Vicky wanted the body restored, which meant locating fresh wood.
Luckily, one phone call to MAC's Antique Auto Parts provided wood kits for the roof, header panel, and complete body wood, and reconstruction began once the bundle of boxes arrived from New York.
As the Murray steel-back body...
As the Murray steel-back body would be media-blasted, the thick underseal had to be manually scraped off the inside of the steel beforehand.
Rodded sometime in the past,...
Rodded sometime in the past, the '31 Victoria looked to be in reasonable shape when it was trailered to the Jalopy Shoppe.
MAC's Antique Auto Parts supplied...
MAC's Antique Auto Parts supplied the wood kits, one for the roof and one for the body. All the wood is kiln-dried oak, ash, and maple as per original Ford.
With the substructure complete...
With the substructure complete and secured to the rolling chassis, the two floor sections (the flat section surrounding the rear crossmember is separate from the recessed floor), which had been media-blasted, repaired where required, and primed, could now be set into the subrails.
The heavy subrails were laid...
The heavy subrails were laid on the chassis 'rails. The MAC's kit is extremely well thought out, with cutouts and clearances for items like the bumper brackets, and all the body mount holes are pre-drilled.
Nothing was discarded until...
Nothing was discarded until after the job was completed, as the old wood was useful for reference.
The kit's precision cuts meant...
The kit's precision cuts meant it was pretty much self-aligning. The rectangular piece ensures the rearmost crossmember and subrails stay square.
With pre-drilled body mounting...
With pre-drilled body mounting holes, the job was a snap.
In fact, the only alteration...
In fact, the only alteration that had to be made was to enlarge a couple of recesses where the floor panels attached, and this probably had more to do with the misshapen steel panels than the wood being wrong.
With the substructure complete,...
With the substructure complete, it was time to put the body in place and start installing the internal wood frame.
The old rear window frame...
The old rear window frame came in handy while assembling the new version, especially for the location of those small curved corner pieces.
Again, the old quarter-window...
Again, the old quarter-window frames were used to determine which parts fit on which side.
The brace was screwed to the...
The brace was screwed to the rear rail, and the window was then attached to that using the old brackets, which had been sandblasted.
The new frames could then...
The new frames could then be built up using the old sections for reference.
The first step to attach the...
The first step to attach the body was to install this brace that runs up from the floor to the rear window and mounts the spare wheel through the back panel. The brace was sandblasted and painted.
These threaded inserts were...
These threaded inserts were removed from the old wood and reused.
Again, the old wood was used...
Again, the old wood was used to determine which B-pillar went on which side. Although it was pretty obvious, it doesn't hurt to check.
The rear headliner tack strip...
The rear headliner tack strip was reused and screwed to the upper wood sections.
Not part of the body wood...
Not part of the body wood kit, these small sections are used in the doors.
These T-shaped steel brackets...
These T-shaped steel brackets from the original framework attach the B-pillar wood to the top rails. They were rewelded for strength.
More original bracketry joins...
More original bracketry joins the top rails to the windshield header, again not part of the body wood kit, but available separately from MAC's.
Here you can see the small...
Here you can see the small tabs on the body through which nails are driven to attach the steel to the wood. This will not be done until final assembly.
With all the wood in place,...
With all the wood in place, including the roof wood, each section was carefully numbered to make reinstallation a piece of cake. Now the body repairs can begin.
More braces were added in...
More braces were added in the rear corners of the body, which support the rear seat frame.