wood and patch panels
 

I am about to start doing some sheet metal and wood replacement on a 29 standard coupe. Most of the wood needs replaced and the rear fender inner panels and the inner and outer sheetmetal panels below the trunk lid need replacing. It seems there is a lot of discussion in some of the forums about replacement parts not fitting well. I would like to make the job as painless as possible. Who makes or supplies the best fitting sheet metal and wood kits?

Re: wood and patch panels
 

Depends on what you are trying to do.

Pretty much all the patch panels need help. I found it easier just to make all my panels from scratch then to try an adapt panels. Keep in mind there are no real patch panels for my car.

The inner fender patches are done pretty easy by hand. Just make a strip that fixes the rust plus the flange length. Make a grove wide enough in a piece of scrap hardwood laying around. Mark out the middle bead and clamp it down on the hardwood. Beat in the bead section and then mark out the next and beat it out and so on.

Go to my website and look up metal working and what I did to my car. If you are still interested PM me and I will answer questions and give you more hints and pictures. Keep in mind you still have to figure out how to properly weld the parts in without doing more damage.

See Vince Falters website about the lower rear panel alterations from repro.

Re: wood and patch panels
 

Wood Kit; (n) a collection of similar items, crudely hewn from trees, meant to be a starting point for Ford Model 'A' hobbyist to test their vocabulary and patience during assemblage!

IMO, Classic Wood in Greensboro, NC (also distributed by Brattons & Snyders) offers the best "Wood Kits" for your bodystyle.

The commercially available sheetmetal patch panels are not "plug & play". I guess it depends on the level of quality you are desiring. To some, the quality of these commercially available patch panels is satisfactory. To others, the incorrect shape of most panels is unacceptable so they fabricate their own. I fall into the latter category and thus we have "tooled-up" to make our own panels. To properly replicate panels to exacting details is very time consuming, ...and thus expensive. I do not know what your capabilities are, or what your expectations are. THAT will probably be your guide.

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Re: wood and patch panels
 

As far as the sheet metal the reproduction panels need a lot of work try and find some original panels and save yourself a lot of hours. The wood kits are not plug and play. save as much of your original wood as possible to use as a template to shape your new wood. I'm working on a 1929 standard coupe as we speak and have replaced all the sheet metal with various degrees of success. The wood is going good I purchased my kits thru Brattons.

Re: wood and patch panels
 

my buddy owns california hot rods here in town and has building cars for 20 years and swears by MACS MODEL A PARTS, says their sheet metal parts and wood kits are second to none! thats where i have been ordering my parts for my 30 coupe and am very satisfied, you should check them out!

Re: wood and patch panels
 

Fixed if for ya'.... :D


Deron

Re: wood and patch panels
 

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. I got started today after building up enough courage to start cutting. I took a couple of inches off the bottom of the inner fender. The body frame needs a 20'' patch along the outside. I sliced it down the middle and have a piece ready to weld in tomorrow.

Re: wood and patch panels
 

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