Seeking advice on how to fix damage...

[CabrioletDon]

In the process of trial fitting the cowl, doors and rear quarter panels on my 1930 Cabriolet (68B) project, I've come across some old damage to the cowl and door post that is making the proper fit impossible. (Photos attached)

After a lot of work, I was finally able to get the lower front edge of the door aligned with a reasonable gap between it and the cowl, but the door hits and overlaps at the horizontal bead/band, and then has a huge gap at the post going up toward the third (top) hinge.

It looks to me like the edge of the cowl is bent forward, and the edge of the door post is bent back...in addition, where the door outer skin is crimped around the edge of the door, it looks like it is bent back a little. The interior jamb of the door is dented in slightly.

I'm not really sure how to approach this repair so it will look right and operate correctly--I'm not necessarily going for a "fine points" car, but I am trying to make it as correct and original as possible...and this seems a lot more critical than a patch panel or rust repair which I would feel capable of doing well!

Any suggestions would be welcome and appreciated!

 

[bucket-o-rust]

You need to get advice from a good body and fender repair person. And he will need to look at your car before he can help. Your car has some major damage from what I can see.

 

[3.6rs]

4 (evening) hours per day, 3 days per week and this for 3 years...
Evening school bodywork.

 

[Wick]

Get in touch with Flop custom in PA.

 

[Farrell In Vancouver]

I think I would start with the hinges and line them up with a steel rod so that they are in alignment with no binding. both cowl and door. You might look for a better door and work the cowl and post to fit it. Conversely find a nicer cowl. I see a lot of weld on the door and bodge work on the post but the repair was not done right at all. This kind of thing can drive you nuts but remember you need to try and reverse what happened to the car in stages. Once you've got it roughed in a straight the rest is cosmetic body work.
Good luck!

 

[CabrioletDon]

Thank you everyone who replied to my post with suggestions and information, I appreciate it! Here's a quick update on what I'm doing to fix this issue, for those that are interested: I spent a couple of days doing research on what is available in terms of parts and bodywork, and found that Cabriolet doors and cowling are in very short supply as well as expensive...so, I focused on who could do this level of bodywork. Eventually, I found a local gentleman who had years of bodywork experience, but he is retired and had not done any bodywork recently because of knee surgery. Long story short, he has been coming to my house to work on the Model A for a couple of weeks, and has been able to straighten about 90% of the damage so far. One thing that has helped came from a great suggestion by the folks at the Cabriolet Club about making a straightness "jig" to use as a benchmark for identifying what needed to be done to return the structure to normal. The process is not going to be fast or inexpensive, but it will get the structure back to its original position and appearance. I'll post some photos of his bodywork once it is a little further along for anyone who is interested. Again, thanks for your replies and assistance!