1932 Sedan Delivery - questions

SUHRsc

SUHRsc

Well-known member
With more time to think then to work on things lately, I've recently gone down the rabbit hole of learning about 1932 Sedan Deliveries.

I have a somewhat rough Tudor sedan and always have liked the deliveries when I see photos of them.

I have a 39 sedan delivery so I'm not sure why it is on my mind that it would be desirable to convert my Tudor into another one..... but here we are.

I know a few years ago there were kits available to do the conversion but as far as i can find they are no longer available.

Are there any factory drawings available of the wood pieces, or the door size, etc?

I'm not sure what you would use for hinges.... I guess reproduction side door hinges would be able to be made to work if the length allowed them to be in line.

The latch seems like it could be made from a model A part as stated in the article below.

I know the rear bumper, brackets, and spreader bar are different also but all of that is manageable to figure out.

making the rear rain gutter seems fairly possible with the straight sections available to purchase.

Are there still outlets to get the supplies to do the roof insert for a tudor/delivery?

I think I have saved about every photo ever posted online and I have the Early V8 book and the as Henry built it book with details. Are there any other sources with good information on them?

there are a lot of informative photos in this article that make it seem like it would be possible to make the parts yourself to make this work.
https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/0906rc-1932-ford-sedan-delivery/

Was the wood around the opening painted body color or was there a sheet metal cover over it that would be painted?
how about the trim around the inside of the rear window?
The masonite interior panels also? what color would they have been painted, if so?

Anything that anyone can share would be much appreciated.
This is just in the dreaming and learning stage.

My tudor has some major issues around the roof and typical rust all around the bottom edges. It will need some wood replacement anyways just to make it back to a complete tudor sedan. I do have all the fenders and whatnot for it. I think I am only missing a few small parts like drivers seat risers, and adjustment parts, and a few other small things.

Also, I guess it doesn't make any difference but whichever direction I would go with this, it would be built as a driver type vehicle. Not needing to be 100% perfect. More like a vehicle you may see on the road in the mid to later 30's. I don't want to fool anyone into thinking it was a real one. I just want something neat to drive around, or stare at half finished in my barn.

Thank you for any input you can offer and if there is already a thread like this, please direct me there and I will delete this one. I couldn't find anything specific in a search.

Thanks!
Zach
 

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You need a Doug McRae kit as shown in the HAMB article, if still available. Also find a scrap Tudor body with an undamaged rear body panel and cut it out leaving at least an extra inch all around the perimeter. That's a far better starting point and approximately how it was done original, otherwise you will have to add sheet metal to the perimeter of the panel that you cut out of the body that you have in order to be able to crimp the edges of the door on to its frame.
 
DavidG could answer much much better than I BUT having a 1935 Sedan Delivery....There is quite a bit of "cast" bracketry for the wood intersections and joints in ours, at the top rear corners, lower corners of the opening as well as at the corners of body adding strength for the rear door. As for the rear opening, there is a sheet metal threshold that surrounds the opening our our 35 and yes, there is also a rear window trim molding. AGAIN, I am speaking from 1935 standpoint....and not sure it helps with a 32 BUT I would think that the same "principles" would apply to structure and strength? ALSO available for the sedan delivery in 35 was a roll down rear window A la from the 35 coupe.
 

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Doug McRae is no longer making the wood kit. Recently I talked to Dan at Kemp's Restorations in Michigan (He did my conversion) and he bought Doug's remaining kits. My conversion was virtually undetectable from an original. Dan works very hard to be authentic. Every detail was as Henry intended. Dan did not use an extra panel but fabricated the outer jam area from scratch. I was thrilled with the results. I sold my delivery and moved on but still have sellers remorse. I've thought about buying it back but it's value has escalated significantly from my selling price.
 
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Depending on the level of "originality" you want there may be an issue with door hinges. The typical Ford front door hinge had a distinctly different design than the sedan delivery/panel truck rear door hinges (this design style was shared by station wagons and errrr Chevy's). You may be able to make the back door function with front door hinges.


I will check to see if I have an original back panel left from a tudor I scrapped out years ago (run over by a D8 Caterpillar in soft mud... frame and floor good, back ok, rest flattened).
 
Thank you very much for all of the input everyone. Rockfla, that looks very much like my 39 delivery inside. The 32 seems to be all wood, which is what makes the conversion manageable I think. Karl, I sent you a message.

I went up the barn after work and bolted some fenders on loosely just to get a better feel for the car overall. Sure looks better with fenders!

Does anyone know what type of wood they would have used?

Thanks everyone!
Zach
 

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The D9 would've gobbled it up completely!

Have you ever seen a D9 w/ripper tooth do its work on frozen ground! ( the first three feet of surface ground) jaw-dropping! because frozen ground is all one piece, and to pull that frozen ground up in massive chunks . . . a D9 will make quick work out of it! or pulling up a building foundation below the first three feet of surface ground is entertainment as you have never experienced! Just . . . . . no words! Thank You!
 
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Does anyone know what type of wood they would have used? Rock maple and white oak.

Not that it makes any difference since you're creating a replica but all 32 sedan deliveries were late production with 25 louver hoods. OOOPS down the rabbit hole,
 
itslow - sure would be nice if the parts drawings were available digitized! or even just to purchase as prints on paper would be wonderful. That link showing the one being redone makes my patch panels not seem as overwhelming!

Boxcar Tom - thank you for the wood types. as for the 25-louver hood. if that's true, I'm glad I'm not trying to be THAT authentic... the hood would be worth more than the rest of the body at this point! - the factory photo's I see look like a 20 louver hood though, maybe its pre-production?? Either way, I personally think the 25 is a bit distracting to the lines of the car so I've never really pursued them for any of my cars.
Do you recognize this car? It was Bruce Lancaster's, the photos pulling it out are from his basement in Madison just up the road from you.

Farley's34.... I knew that! ha ha .... Roy was a good friend of mine.

thanks everyone!
Zach
 
Zach, I have pictures from my side ways walk thru Bruce's overstuffed garage. The (film) pictures on paper are lost some where in my hoard. I'll try to find them. I remember the visit but don't remember particular details. I thought it was a fordor sedan, no surprise, my brain went into a tailspin when he opened the garage door. Do you still have the rear cross tube (spreader bar) that Bruce insisted on buying from me? It would work on a SD
 
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Tom, it was quite an experience at both properties. The first time I was there I was blown away but then actually cleaning it out was something else. My dad and I made 35 trips with a truck and trailer....
Was it an original spreader bar? I found a few reproduction ones but no originals.
Zach
 
Zach, Not an original, instead it was a home fabricated overbuilt chrome plated spreader bar with end brackets that doubled as tow bar attachment points. Bruce found it at my spot at Hershey. He wanted to buy it, I tried to talk him out of it, He insisted, then I tried to give it to him, he insisted on buying it. I was pushing the price down he was pushing the price up. A casual observer said that was a first, Buyer nagioating a higher price! That was Bruce.

I found my pictures from the visit. House keeping was not strong point for Bruce.
 
That's surely the person he was! He never let me pay for anything. We'd stop at Mannys near his place in Milburn and it was always "you're a guest in NJ"... What a great guy I miss a lot.
I'd love to see your photos sometime if you have the means of sharing them privately somehow?

I recall our interaction before the first time I was out there ... He said "just picture your own garage but after a barbarian invasion"

I do have the chrome spreader bar, I was wondering what those extra brackets were for!


BoxCar Tom said:
Zach, Not an original, instead it was a home fabricated overbuilt chrome plated spreader bar with end brackets that doubled as tow bar attachment points. Bruce found it at my spot at Hershey. He wanted to buy it, I tried to talk him out of it, He insisted, then I tried to give it to him, he insisted on buying it. I was pushing the price down he was pushing the price up. A casual observer said that was a first, Buyer nagioating a higher price! That was Bruce.

I found my pictures from the visit. House keeping was not strong point for Bruce.
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