A Cowl Remade

And Now to the Cowl...

Today (6-20-2011), I visited the shop to find that the dash has been installed in the cowl framework and Dan has started working on the firewall/cowl sheetmetal  The first job is going to involve welding a lot of holes and smoothing them.  The cowl has been "loved on" for many, many years.  God knows what all those holes were ever used for!

       The Dashboard:                                                                                                             The Cowl:

 

...and Progress on the Cowl:

Fill those holes, straighten those dents, shrink that steel...

  

The Story of a Door

When Dan Shady examined the passenger's door, it was clear that the frame member on which the hinges mount was in bad shape and had experienced some amateur repairs in the past.  He needed to remove that structural member and replace it.  He had previously tried to use the epoxy on it but the damage was too severe.  He started by carefully peeling back the skin of the door where it was crimped along its rear edge.  Then he was able to chisel through some nails that had been used to attach a steel strip to the outer face of the door frame member.  This steel strip, which is the piece that the skin is crimped around, could then be slipped out.  After removing some interlocking screws, he gently broke the glued finger joints at the top and bottom and slipped the damaged piece of wood out of the door.  After crafting a new member, we could see the old and new, side by side:

 

 

He then proceeded to carefully position the holes that will attach the hinges, making sure that the door will align accurately when the hinges are assembled.  Having done this, he was able to reassemble the wood members, using epoxy cement, and carefully recrimp the door edge over its steel retainer without splitting the metal!  It looks fantastic, the door is as rigid as can be, and it aligns perfectly when hung on the car.

 

 

 

A view of Progress

Today (4-13-11) I went to the Shady shop.  Major progress was evident!  The rear part of the body is now back on the wood structure so Dan can align the doors with the body, the sills under the doors, and the cowl ahead of the doors.  This is necessary to get all the door clearances even and the edges and surfaces aligned where the edges come together.  And the cowl structure is now mounted on the front section of the heavy wooden sills that support the entire body.  Here's a picture looking across the chassis in the foreground at the whole assembly:

 

And here's a picture looking in the rumble seat opening.  Here, Dan has fabricated both of the side upholstery panels and made the cardboard (white) pattern that will be used to make the rubber floor mat.

 

As I was looking at the top of the driver's side door, I noticed the file marks made nearly eighty years ago by some Detroit auto worker trying to make it through the depths of the depression...

A New Floorboard for the Rumble Seat

When we first examined the car, we noticed a missing panel that would have gone under the rumble seat cushion and covered the rear of the drive shaft.  The screw holes were still evident and the outline of the panel had left a profile where it had been mounted.  Once again, Dan Shady worked his magic and reproduced what the panel might have looked like.  Here is the entire rear floorboard including the countersunk "Floorboard Washers" (no kidding!) and the cover piece that Dan made:

The rumble seat cushion occupies the area covered by the towels.

Constructing and Aligning

Now, in January, 2011, we're working on the cowl section -- the sheet metal that is located forward of the doors and includes the firewall.  Dan has carefully removed all the wooden substructure and has sent the instrument panel to the sandblaster.

 We discovered that one of the sheet metal vent deflectors was missing, so here Dan has fabricated a new one using the remaining original one as a pattern.  

Here's a closeup:

When Dan was removing the windshield posts, he determined that they were frozen in place, firmly corroded to the forged braces that hold them in place and attach to the cowl and firewall.  Ultimately, the only way to remove them was to saw through the 3/4" steel bolts that were unmovable.  This meant that Dan then had to drill out the old remnants of the threaded rod that was cast in place.  This was quite a delicate operation:

 

And now (January, 2011), Dan has begun making the wooden pieces that comprise the cowl supports.  This is the section of the body that includes the firewall and extends back to the posts in front of the two doors.

 

It's very important to get this entire structure precisely in the right location and at the correct angle if we want the doors to align properly and latch securely.

 

Note the large forged and cast brackets that were designed to securely anchor everything and keep it in alignment. 

 

Dan wisely decided to make the upholstery panels that go on each side of the rumble seat before we put the body metal back over the wood framework.  Here are the pattern and the finished product (before any upholstery is applied).  The hole in the left panel is to access a storage area for the side curtains.  It will be covered by a hinged cover with a rain protection flap on top.  There will be a similar cover on both sides.

New Sills!

It's October 29th, and reassembly of the wood structure has begun!

And now, Dan has started gluing the parts together that form the area around the rumble seat...

Still More Dismantling

Now, as we near the end of August, Dan and Deron have removed the cowl section from the sills (the long heavy beams that mount onto the frame and provide the support for the body structure).  They have also removed the sills for Dan to use them as patterns.  Here are a few photos of the progress: