Touring Wood Replacement

[sdbraverman]

I purchased a complete wood kit for my 1914 touring, and I don't really know where to start. Are there any good references, books or web sites, that might illustrate the procedure for completely re-wooding a body?

[Mark Gregush]

There is no one size fits all directions on replacing wood in a body, lot's of tid-bits here and there. Is the wood gone from your body or are you just replacing the wood to make new and if so does it need to be replaced? If the wood is still in your body, lots of photos would be in order to use as a guide. Replacing the wood is not just plug and play, there is a lot of fitting required. For the most part, 1914 thru about 1920 ish the wood framework was about the same, with some exceptions esp in the cowl/front area. if you can get a copy of Leslie Henry's book Model T Ford Restoration Handbook, there are some photos of an original 1914 touring wood body wood with out the sheet metal cover.

[sdbraverman]

My body is currently all together, but it was subjected to a really bad "restoration" that included fiberglass and what looks like Bondo to patch together the wood. When I fold the top, the back door fly open because the body flexes so much, so currently the top is holding it together.

[Rich Eagle]

I don't know if this would help any but these are photos and comments from when I did mine.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1412557456

[Mark Gregush]

Yes from the sound of what you just posted, time for some new wood! If everything seems to line up other then the door flying open , I would start by removing all the sheet metal 9be prepared for lots of nails) and use the wood frame work as a model to work from. Don't use any glue at any joints that only used screws (now and final assembly), the body has to flex. I would start by doing a mock up with your new wood using lots of clamps before screwing anything and go from there.

[R.V.Anderson]

Start with the bottom. First, align the chassis frame and make any necessary repairs to be 100% certain it's square. Then bolt the body to frame brackets along with the firewall in place, square everything up, and then line the sills up on them. Use C clamps to hold the sills to the brackets while you drill the bolt holes. Once the sills are bolted to the frame and you are certain that everything is aligned, install the pillars, starting with the "A" pillar that is closest to the firewall, and working your way back. The seat frames and panels will be fit and installed more or less along with their pillars.

Use your repaired sheetmetal to help with the correct placement of the pillars and supporting pieces. You will be doing a lot of temporary installation, so have a good supply of waterproof wood glue, dowels, scrap wood, and toothpicks on hand to fill the screw and nail holes that your later work shows will need to be moved. If the plans you are using call for installing, say, five screws to hold a pillar to the sill, then install only 2, just enough to hold it in place. You will add the other 3 when you are absolutely certain that said pillar is in its final position. Resist the temptation to glue any pillars in place; use only screws. The body needs to be able to flex some or you will have a host of problems later. The last thing to install will be the tack strips (there are 8 on a '14 touring) at the tops of the seats. Once you are done, and before your final sheetmetal installation, paint the entire wood frame with a flat black solvent-based paint. I use and like DP 90; it's very close in appearance to the slushing compound that Ford used. Good luck and have fun!

[Allan]

R.V. has nailed the process very well. The only thing I would add is to establish a rather permanent centre line along the body. This is needed when adding door jambs and other vertical pieces, to keep each side symetrical about the centre line.

Re gluing the joints. Once you have the doors fitting the gaps in the body, I suggest you work glue into the door frame joints so that they hold their shape without any further twisting.

Have fun, and take your time doing so.
Allan from down under.