1934 Cadillac

[DJ3100]

That is an unbelievable fit. Great work.

 

[zzrodder]

Got the roof tacked in place today, so far without any tragic distortion. Since it's such a large piece I had to come up with a way to fit it without it moving around so I left it oversize by 1/8" and tacked it in a dozen places. Then cut around it between the tacks with a jigsaw, tacked some more, then cut out the overlapped first tacks. Hammer and dolly work to keep the edges level as possible, more tacking and hammering.
I'm no pro at this but I've learned that you can't rush this stuff, you need to constantly be working out any high or low spots as you go - if you get sloppy and think you're going to beat it out at the end, it can really get messed up.

 

[bell]

Looks AMAZINGLY smooth! GREAT WORK!

 

[CORPO]

man.. silky smooth for sure... thats a big piece to weld in without problems... you show us how skilled you are once again!

 

[zzrodder]

man.. silky smooth for sure... thats a big piece to weld in without problems... you show us how skilled you are once again!

Well, I think it's more about patience than skill... after getting the welding done today, my wife ran out of patience when I was grinding the welds, noisy job...

 

[Old Iron]

Nice, what kind of jigsaw did u get?

 

[bowatjr6969]

zzrodder you always amaze me with the work you turn out!! Once again this is yet another VERY NICE RIDE!!!!

 

[zzrodder]

Nice, what kind of jigsaw did u get?

For the trimming with the roof piece on the car I just used my cheapo Makita jigsaw, you can see it on the floor in this pic. To cut the roof out of the Lincoln donor, I bought a Makita cordless sabre saw, it almost used up both 18v batteries cutting it out with a little caveman tech to make starter holes - hammer and cold chisel.

 

[zzrodder]

Finished sanding out the welds, searched out and welded up all the pinholes and roughly smoothed out the seams and went over it a couple times with paint remover to clean it up. More hammering to do yet, but it's getting there..

 

[DJ3100]

Nice job. You must have an incredible amount of patience.

Searching out the pin holes always gets me frustrated - I think I have them all, then I'll do a little more sanding or I'll look at it from different angle and there's more light shining through the panel where there should be no light.

 

[zzrodder]

I hit the roof with a couple Rustoleum spray bombs to keep it from rusting up...... I thought the roof skin could use a little underside support so I made 4 ribs out of 1x1 cut in half, made them removable so I can do the finish metal work later. When they go in for the last time, I'll put some foam tape in the channel to press gently against the skin and for no squeeks.
Started cutting the holes for the hinges - after looking at it [S, I think I'll move the upper hinge up higher so the doors aren't wobbly. They came with a 1x1 bar connecting the two so I centered them within the lower part of the door - but I guess one size doesn't fit all....

 

[Todd]

Very cool. Somehow I envisioned they'd be suicide doors.

 

[zzrodder]

Very cool. Somehow I envisioned they'd be suicide doors.

I thought about going suicide but figured it would make it really tough to get in the back seat.

 

[CORPO]

Very cool. Somehow I envisioned they'd be suicide doors.

i was thinking the same thing.. but it will look great either way!

 

[Flipper_1938]

At a glance, it looks like an old rusty roof. [cl

 

[bob w]

Terrific job on the roof. The proof is when it looks like it came from the factory that way.

Would you post a detail shot of how you framed the door skins?

 

[zzrodder]

i was thinking the same thing.. but it will look great either way!

Sorry to disappoint, I promise to do suicide doors on my next build...

At a glance, it looks like an old rusty roof.

Yeah, my wife said it looks like it was always like that.

Terrific job on the roof. The proof is when it looks like it came from the factory that way.

Would you post a detail shot of how you framed the door skins?

Thanks Bob, I'll get some pics on in the next couple days, got do do some more wife projects..... Meanwhile, all I got done today was lengthening one of the hinge sets, should make the door more stable.

 

[CORPO]

your builds never disappoint!

 

[zzrodder]

Finally got a door hinged !! After relocating the upper hinge, found that the compromised position that moved it away from the body skin caused it to be too close when opening, almost catching the door jamb as it opened . Back to the drawing board [S[S.
Cut the hinge out of the door and jamb again (third time !) and put together again, now it works properly. To re-frame the door after de-forestation, I first tacked a piece of 1x1 to the bottom edge, just the right size as these doors are real skinny at the bottom, rolled it to match the rocker panel shape. the front edge of the door is 1/8" thick so I used 18 ga sheet to make upper and lower filler pieces, also tacked a piece of 1x1 to the rear edge. Cut some 3/4 x 3/4 in half and tacked them in for channels to hold the window felt channel in place. Still need to add some steel into the whole upper door frame to replace the wood and give mounting points for the garnish trim. Oh, and also need to mount the bear claw latches, mechanisms, door handles, window motors etc.....
At least the lessons learned on the first one should make the other side go faster !

 

[zzrodder]

Completed the re-framing of the upper door frame using 1x2 box tube cut diagonally, filled in the corners so there are no gaps when the garnish mouldings go on. Originally there was upholstery tacked on to the wood all round the moulding - I'll just smooth the frame out and paint it. Welded in the bear claw latch and mounted my favorite 34 Ford door handle. Once the window mechanism is mounted, I'll add the inside handle. I'l wait till seats are in before deciding on placement of the armrest.