Truck based woody

[GB SISSON]

I got the front door stiles laminated up and today I got a few hours to rough out the driver's door side. There are seven laminations of 3/8" maple and there will be one more on the outer surface. This outer layer will extend about 1/2" forward of the post, creating the forward lip which fits into the cowl's rabbet. Using this method allows me to bandsaw the inner door's contours to fit the door opening, then fit the last outer layer that shows. The 'built in place' finger joints created by offsetting my material should be really strong while maintaining a fair curve to match the vertical lines of the pickup cowl. This is a very labor intensive project.

 

[flatford8]

Hey GB....... Great video!!!.... Very professional.... Nice place you have there.... Nobody could do a video like that about my projects... Because my face only looks good on radio!!!!... Let me know if you want the rubber and what size, so I dont bother shipping something thats to small....I work alot of hours and am busy with my own projects, so it might take me a little while to find suitable packaging and get it shipped way "over there"... The truck looks great!!!!..... Mark

 

[GB SISSON]

Hey GB....... Great video!!!.... Very professional.... Nice place you have there.... Nobody could do a video like that about my projects... Because my face only looks good on radio!!!!... Let me know if you want the rubber and what size, so I dont bother shipping something thats to small....I work alot of hours and am busy with my own projects, so it might take me a little while to find suitable packaging and get it shipped way "over there"... The truck looks great!!!!..... Mark

I had been working for the guy and he's a cinematographer in Hollywood. My last kid had just moved away and he was the one who had always done a cellphone video of my 'first drives' for youtube. Their place is nearby and Geoff seemed like he needed a project so I asked if he'd come by after work and film the panel truck. Well 3 trips later with a high definition movie camera he comes up with this. I will get some good measurements today and heck, you could at least let me pay the shipping!

 

[GB SISSON]

I keep going back and forth between the wood body, the engine and the sheet metal depending on my mood...... After work today I pulled out my best grill bars and the front bumper I bought off CL a year ago anticipating the woodie project. Just cleaning up and sorting, not installing anything for good. Maybe I'll drag out the front fenders next week and start welding up the cracks......

 

[docrock]

Outstanding workmanship on these doors, and great pics. Thank you

 

[tiger.1000]

Graeme,

Here's my Goldie....once a year in the summer we have a "Goldie evening".....see who can actually start it and determine who's first to recover from either bruised shins or severe arm-ache after a belt up the country lanes.

 

[GB SISSON]

Been working on the rear doors and riding the BSA a bit too. I finally built the rear doors. Not the tailgate but the rear doors for passengers. I had bought some real heavy duty 2 1/2" hinges to hang them on but for the life of me I can't find them anywhere..... The photos show the very first fit into the opening and it isn't too bad. Some needs to be relieved so they will sit plumb. I have yet to determine how the windows will operate, but I have a lot of router bits and a welder to alter them if needed to get clearance. Tomorrow we will be on the mainland starting a much needed 4 day weekend. First stop is a guy I found in Oak Harbor who has 3 ford woodies and is willing to show me the doors and lots of other parts so I can get some dimensions and photos before I build the front doors. The front doors have been keeping me up at night, but really it's the regular work jobs that stress me and the woodie project keeps me sane. Or relatively so...... The mahogany looking panels you see are marine plywood I get from my supplier for 70 bucks and it's 9 ply 3/8". I see woodies that have mahogany panels and others with birch or ash or whatever. I tend to like the blonde wood for panels. Any advice on what would have been customary for the era? I have a vacuum press for veneers and access to any species so open to ideas.

 

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Graeme,

Here's my Goldie....once a year in the summer we have a "Goldie evening".....see who can actually start it and determine who's first to recover from either bruised shins or severe arm-ache after a belt up the country lanes.

Absolutely beautiful the ultimate 500 " one lunger" in my opinion, a real Isle of Man bike, you have to love the rake of that pipe. Thanks for posting the pic.

Hey GB haven't looked at this thread for a while, the woodwork is a masterpiece, the blond panels look fantastic.

Graeme

 

[Bill]

Well I gotta stick my nose in it ..again. You're a mile away from wood varnish but when the time comes I'm suggesting you go with the dark panel inserts and for varnish make sure it has an amber tint not clear. This will make it look like it was refinished years ago which should be the effect you are looking for. Go with a spar varnish not the plastic looking urethanes. You can thank me later..you'll see!

 

[GB SISSON]

I'm a huge fan of old fashioned spar varnish. The more amber the better. I totally get what you are saying. Still on the fence about mahogany or lighter wood for the panels. Well, I gotta run to catch the ferry. Thanks.

 

[wga]

GB - wow, incredible work. Something about working with spar varnish that brings out the inherent beauty of the wood. For the doors, Ford had the dark mahogany inserts,
and when varnished, the contrast is awesome - as with Bill's. Either way, you have will have a stunning car.

 

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Well I gotta stick my nose in it ..again. You're a mile away from wood varnish but when the time comes I'm suggesting you go with the dark panel inserts and for varnish make sure it has an amber tint not clear. This will make it look like it was refinished years ago which should be the effect you are looking for. Go with a spar varnish not the plastic looking urethanes. You can thank me later..you'll see!

Bill what are those wheels you are using...interesting, are they merc caps? Very subtle, lovely woody.

Graeme

 

[docrock]

This is my Woodie and I am a big fan of dark panels. I use Mahogany with gunstock stain. This car is built out of Birch and I stained it with Golden Pecan and 15 coats of Epifanes. Keep up the great work and the pics.

 

[GB SISSON]

Finally got some time to fit those rear doors to the posts prior to hinging and latches. I have a new camera because the old one is trashed with too much dust and grit. For the most part the woodie project has taken a back burner to my busiest summer ever. Perhaps my biggest pet peeve with the car hobby is people who start something and never finish it, sell it for peanuts as a basket case with boxes of unopened expensive parts. I have been rebuilding old ford trucks since 1973 and have driven every single one and next spring I will be driving this woodie. In some ways it's almost a curse. My dad once asked me if I remembered how as a kid I would get a model car kit and I would not quit until it was done. Sometimes that meant 3 am and sleeping at my desk the next day at school. Like there's something wrong with that.... I need to learn to be more like my supervisor (pictured) and sit down and relax and enjoy the project, but I'm just not used to such a complex endeavor as this woodie. I guess this one's a two year project.

 

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Here's a 37 Woody that SWOOP who posts on this site made from a sedan that has been "trucked" I'll let him tell the story.......... "I started to build this from a 37 sedan that had been trucked.
Got the wood templates from Ken Terrio.
Had the doors ,rear 1/4's and tailgate made by an old woodworking craftsman.
Stained and varnished them myself, and then sold the car to a buddy.
Doesn't look too bad for a copy though".

Just thought this may be of interest to all woody fans.

Graeme

 

[GB SISSON]

That's a great job he did. I guess 'trucked' means the sedan had been converted to a truck or ute. Any before picture?

 

[Graeme / New Zealand]

That's a great job he did. I guess 'trucked' means the sedan had been converted to a truck or ute. Any before picture?

Swoop will see this and if he's got a pic he can send me I can post it. Yes "trucked" is exactly that. It was common practice here in NZ to cut the rears off old sedans and turn them into trucks/ utes, especially by "cockies" (farmers).

Graeme

 

[jerseyboy]

I guess this one's a two year project.

GB, You are way ahead of me, and I started in 2006! Now I just have to finish reconditioning all the parts, and assemble.
You are getting this done quickly!

Keep V-8ing and 4-banging!

 

[GB SISSON]

Somewhere along the last month I found the missing hinges and hung the rear doors. The hinges were for weld on so I had to drill and countersink them. I'd like to have all the doors and rear gates installed this fall if possible. That will make one year. I sort of look forward to the mechanical work like engine/trans and brakes as it is so much different than my ordinary work day. Today I found some early photos of the project that were miss labled in another section so thought I'd post one from the early days along with my door hinge pics. With the busy summer we are having at work, four kids and five grandkids, big wedding in August, I guess the front doors have to wait. We'll have tons of new relatives from Northern California who we have never met and have never been to the island, so we have to clean up the place a bit. Here's something anyhow.

 

[RalphM]

Boy that sure is coming along! I like the logo on the front door too!