Despite the decades-old availability of fiberglass bodies, the vast majority of rods out there still use original steel bodies, and many of them are approaching 90 years of age. With age comes rust as well as fatigue, resulting in stress cracks, split sheetmetal, and thin, brittle steel. One of the more common places this occurs on '32 Ford three-window coupes is in the beltline area where the roof meets the rear quarters just behind the doors. Indeed two people in the R&C office who own these cars report theirs have fatigued in exactly this area.
So when I heard Walden Speed Shop was going to repair an original body that had the same damage, and that the repair panels would be fabricated using nothing more fancy than a bead roller, shrinker/stretcher, and hand tools, it seemed a good opportunity to grab my camera and head out to their shop in Pomona. While the repair panel may seem a tricky shape, it's not that hard to fabricate and will last a whole lot longer than trying to weld up the holes in such brittle steel.
Here's our subject, a well-worn...
Here's our subject, a well-worn three-window that is in need of some corrective surgery around the beltline. You can see to the right of the pic that it's already had some repairs, but it's the area inside the dotted lines we're concerned with.
First order of business for...
First order of business for Wesley Kent was to make a paper pattern of the required patch panel, cutting slits in it to allow for the curvature.
The pattern was then transferred...
The pattern was then transferred to 18-gauge steel, along with the slit marks. Tape was added to follow the line of the crease that will be required in the panel.
The crease was added using...
The crease was added using this knife edge upper die in a bead roller, with the lower covered with a piece of rubber tubing.
Using a shot bag and this...
Using a shot bag and this hand-fabricated tool, Wesley started to form the crease. Note the 'blade' is curved, meaning the crease will be curved. You could grind the tip of a wide cold chisel for the same effect.
Though this industrial stretcher...
Though this industrial stretcher is used at Walden Speed Shop, hobby versions are available. Here Wesley puts some curvature into the panel by stretching it.
Wesley checked his progress...
Wesley checked his progress often by holding the piece against the body. The crease was deepened some more followed by some hand manipulation over a shot-filled fire hose.
An air hammer was used to...
An air hammer was used to smooth out the wrinkles. You could use a hammer and dolly, it would just take longer.
Plenty more repetition of...
Plenty more repetition of the shot bag, trial fit, air hammer, stretcher, trial fit procedure followed, before Wesley trimmed the excess from the patch. With the curve and crease dialed in, the curve of the beltline reveal had to be added. A dolly held in a vise, a soft mallet, and a pair of panel grips were the low-tech answer here.
You can see how the panel...
You can see how the panel is shaping up (pun intended) to match the curvature of the body.
The shrinker jaws helped form...
The shrinker jaws helped form the beltline reveal, followed by more work with the mallet and vise-held dolly to match the curve of the panel below the reveal.
The mallet was replaced by...
The mallet was replaced by a body hammer for more refined shaping over the dolly, followed by another trial fit, which also included adding tape, the metal above which will be trimmed. The leather mallet was used first as it formed the metal without the stretching that occurs with a steel hammer.
The overlong patch was next...
The overlong patch was next cut along the crease and the end formed over the dolly to create the section inside the doorjamb.
This small triangular section...
This small triangular section had to be added to complete the jamb section.
With the doorjamb section...
With the doorjamb section done, the patch fits perfectly, so it was clamped in place, but not before dye was added to the body. The edges of the patch were then scribed onto the body for perfect trimming.
The offending section was...
The offending section was rough-cut out using a cut-off wheel in a grinder and trimmed exactly along the scribed line using snips. Wesley then carefully tack-welded the patch in place, ensuring the patch and body aligned perfectly.
Here's the final result. You'd...
Here's the final result. You'd be hard-pressed to tell any work had been done if it weren't for the faint tell-tale weld line.