Wood Structure Report

And Some Very Exciting News!...

8-29-2011:  The wooden structure is now completed and painted!  Dan has found that rustoleum diluted with mineral spirits works very well at coating and protecting the wood framework.  My personal opinion is that the level of gloss is just about perfect.  It's a shame that all this beautiful workmanship will eventually get covered up.

Here, Dan is working on the pan that goes between the frame rails under the rumble seat cushion.  It was somewhat pock-marked from rust, especially on the underside.  Dan wanted to smooth it out as much as possible prior to painting it.  You can see here that he has applied body filler in thin layers and sanded each coat to eventually produce a smooth, paintable surface:

The Rusty Rear

Turning Our Attention to the Rear of the Body...

8-18-2011:  The cowl is essentially finished except for a few little items that Dan has spotted since he set it aside.  Now it's time to get to work on the lower rear section of the body.  Drainage must have been an issue and perhaps salt was used on the roads since there's some corrosion all along the lower rear and sides of the body sheet metal.  This is in the area where the metal "turns under" and is attached to the underside of the wooden substructure.  In a few areas, the metal is gone.  There are pinholes rusted through along much of the edge.  

 

Dan is fabricating patch panels to match the existing contours of the body and tack welding them in place.  This is a slow, tedious, demanding process.