Our 36 5 window

[myfirst36]

We're members of the HAMB but frequently scour the FordBarn for the technical information we need. The car is going to be a hot rod build, Nailhead powered, etc. We can't afford to restore it to its original glory so we are going to make it look nice and go fast

we picked this up in early summer. I'm sad to say we havent accomplished very much due to lack of free time but hopefully this winter we will make some progress. The coupe has been a work in progress since the late 60's and 70's and was never finished. It came out of the Ohio/Indiana area pretty much the way you see it. There has been some horrible body work done to this car on the lower half. The body lines have been formed using bondo over heavy rot. We're basically going to have to cut the entire 4 inches off the bottom of the entire car and replace it with patch panels. The coupe needs floors, an interior, etc.

We're looking for fender skirts, a nice windshield frame, and a nice grill for it.

Its going to be a long and stressful process but we have a lot of learning to do and we will get there. Thought I would share our project with everyone over here.

 

[Don]

A little info to late,probally,the rear quarter panels you welded in should have a slight curve to them.snip the btm flange and massage the curve a little,might make rb fit a little better @ look more u iform Don

 

[myfirst36]

theyre only tack welded into place for reference purposes. they have to come off in order to get the rockers put in. all the little technicalities are not going to be perfect on this car. we work out of a small one car garage at our rinky dink 1950's ranch house. only so much stuff fits in the garage and we don't have the means to purchase all the fancy tools for bending metal, etc. we are going to have to make due with what we have and what we can make.

 

[myfirst36]

the replacement patch panels were purchased new from a well known source. if they dont have the proper bend in them we're going to be pissed....especially for the amount of money they cost. What do you mean by "rb" and i need pictures for reference. telling me does next to nothing since we've never worked on anything like this

 

[wamnram]

I think Don means the rear quarter continues the curve in the door bottom. The door bottom makes a slight arc outwards from the front fender travelling to the rear door edge. The rear quarter panel continues this slight curve outwards from the rear door edge to the front edge of the rear fender opening. Its a slight curve but is not critical for mounting the running boards (rb). The running boards bolt to the front of the rear fender and the rear of the front fender and the side of the frame, not the body. Hope that makes sense. I feel your pain, you have a lot of work to do on that one!

Look closely at top pic and you can see the curve.

 

[Zeke...PA]

Look up hellonwheels on the HAMB, it shows rebuilding the lower cowls. Zeke

 

[myfirst36]

thank you!

 

[TagMan]

PM sent

 

[coupe5w36]

A lot of work ahead but well worth the effort I'm sure. My coupe was very rusted in the lower sections especially the tail. Not to mention the bullet holes & the twist through the r/rear quarter. I had to pay someone to do the bulk of the body work as my skills are more in the mechanicals. Took 7 1/2 years to get on the road but now it's a daily driver & I love it to bits!!

 

[myfirst36]

do you have any photos of the process when the body work was being done? thanks

 

[Don]

A good explantion Wamnram, Here are a few pic that might help. Try and do one thing at a time and do it the best you can ,maye two or three time till you get it right. then hang it on the wall, My floor pans were from paul Bradley, took awhile but nice fit, Don

 

[Gary Tosel]

My 5W Coupe looked about the same when I bought it in 1972. By 2002 I finished it!!!

Keep on going, it is worth it.

 

[coupe5w36]

Yes, somewhere I've quite a few photos. I'll look them up at the weekend & see if I can post them for you. Peter.

 

[myfirst36]

Thanks for all the photos and help! We're hoping the build won't take more than 2 years. We insulated the garage over the weekend and we're ready to go to town over the winter.

 

[myfirst36]

so for those of you who are installing or have installed EMS patch panels on your '36 coupes:

How do you accomplish getting the slight bend in the patch panel? The original metal has a natural bend to it that follows the lines of the car. The patch panels are stamped on flat sheets of metal. Because of this; it is proving to be quite difficult in getting the patch panels to have that slight bend in them. We are slowly working them trying to easily accomplish the bend but even that is stressing the bead on the patch panel. Because the bead is so strong its making it more difficult to attempt to easily bend the panels without using some solid muscle. Every time we slowly try and work a bend into the metal; we have to go back and attempt to hammer the bead back out to rid it of any small absnormalities that are occuring. its proving to be quite frustrating!!!

Any tips or suggestions that would make this easier and nicer on the patch panels?

 

[Junknshit]

I think it is great. You are saving a car that 99.9% of the restorers wouldn't touch, and are trying to do it yourself. It don't get no better than that. Hang in there, it will get frustrating, but you will be able to say that you did it, at home, with help and advice from friends.

 

[myfirst36]

thanks for the support! we will finish this car; there is no question about that....it just might take awhile its just often times frustrating because we are clueless as to how things are supposed to be because we have never touched anything like this before. on top of that; someone previously butchered the car.

We dont have an english wheel or a shrinker so if anyone has any good tips to get that right curve to the patch panel (behind the b-pillar at the rear fender opening) and the cowl patches, that'd be great. Upon first inspection the lower cowl patches are supposed to have a slight curve/bow to them. accomplishing that is becoming the difficult part.

 

[FlatheadTed]

What sort of welding gear have you got ????

 

[myfirst36]

we have a Lincoln 175 that we have to use on the car

 

[blucar]

As you will find out, or are finding out, the majority of patch panels that are available from the aftermarket vendors leave a lot to be desired when it comes to proper fitment. "The weld seam in the middle of the quarter panel shown in the pix was necessary to get the panel to fit".
The majority of the skilled body repairmen use a gas welder for patch panels on the old cars... The lighter gauge modern bodies can't be butt welded like the heavier gauge old cars. See attached pix.
The car that is in the pix was reputedly paint ready, however, it had sat for many years with only a prime coat, rust-out started to appear, bleeding out of the primer. When the primer was stripped we found 1/2" of "Bondo" over the lapped panels and welds... On the inside of the body the majority of the panel repairs had been covered up with epoxy rosin, fiber-glass mess and undercoat spay... A real mess.. All of the body repairs had to be redone..