Original 1932 frame and repo body

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by PeteVS

I know I've read it in the past (I forget where) but original frames were subject to being bent. If a driver has a tank full of gas and a spare tire mounted back there, all of that weight is hanging out there a good distance from the rear crossmember. Traveling at a good speed and hitting a significant bump will create enough of a bending moment on the frame to bend it.

My frame had this issue. Just under the frame bend, the sides of the frame bulge out a bit from the downward bending from the loads you mention or from being hit in the rear.

[Harold Degand]

Originally Posted by glennpm

My frame had this issue. Just under the frame bend, the sides of the frame bulge out a bit from the downward bending from the loads you mention or from being hit in the rear.

I’m curious to know how you did.
I tried without heating, the frame didn’t bent.

[glennpm]

You need an Acetylene-and Oxygen rose bud flame and work back and forth between the two rails until you have a dull red color. No way to do this with a press or with hand tools with an assembled frame. The metal has stretched and yielded.

[rotorwrench]

Looking at photos is not best way to judge but it looks to me like the lower curve on the body behind the B pillar is a tighter curve than that of the original body. It would be interesting to compare a correct quarter panel to that Swedish type. If the doors fit and the upper belt line is correct in contour then that would be major surgery to get that rear kick up curve back where it would need to be. An inch off would be noticeable. messing with the floor may pull the belt line out of contour.

[Harold Degand]

With the doors on.
The belt line looks good

[Harold Degand]

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This one is built by the customer. Almost no gap on the rear.
Most likely the jig they use isn’t correct

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Harold Degand

With the doors on.
The belt line looks good

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Harold Degand

This one is built by the customer. Almost no gap on the rear.
Most likely the jig they use isn’t correct

[kurt v]

I know nothing about this body and frame but would fitting the firewall and feet pick the noes up and tip the rear down ?

[Flathead Fever]

I have an unfinished Boorkville body sitting on a nice original late model original frame. At first, it was sitting too high but then I slid it back a little bit and boom it fell down onto the frame. it's a tight fit. It was such a tight fit onto the frame that just being off a little bit made all the difference.

I have another '32 frame without the factory rear reinforcements to prevent the horn from settling down. It had bent down rear horns. I made a templet from my perfect frame. I laid the frame on the ground and stuck about a 1000 lbs. of block on the rear of it and heated the rear kickups where they were bulged out from the rearend hitting them. Then I took a floor jack and jacked the frame horns up until they matched my templet and I tapped the bulges back in. Then I built my own reinforcements similar to the late model '32s. Most of those early frames without the reinforcements I've seen have sagging rear frame horns and frame bulges. Before you mess with them make sure the body is lined up so it fits all the way down onto the frame.

Your frame including the firewall should fit flush onto the frame with just the thin frame webbing between the frame and body. At least that's what I remember since my stroke. could be wrong, I'd verify that. I'm doing a '34 pickup and it has wooden body blocks but if I remember correctly the '32 cars don't use blocks. I don't trust my memory since my stroke; The auto parts stores sell a box of different thickness alignment shims that work well for slipping between the frame and body to get the doors to fit. I bolted the four corners of the body to the frame and then jack the center of the body up until the doors were level with the quarter panels and slid some shims between the frame and body. It worked really well.

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by Flathead Fever

Your frame including the firewall should fit flush onto the frame with just the thin frame webbing between the frame and body

Yes, this is correct. The replacement floor shape and edge reinforcement are not following the frame contour. The floor should mimic the frame contour all the way back to the kickup for the gas tank.

[Mart]

32s don't use rectangular tube subrails. The floor needs some reworking to sit down lower over the frame and follow the contour more closely.

[glennpm]

Proper floor

[Flathead Fever]

Originally Posted by oldford

I wonder how well the Brookville roaster bodies fit.

I have a Brookville body and every bolt hole on an original frame lined up perfect with the repro body mount holes. It was a tight-tight fit over the frame. At first, I thought it didn't line up but then it just fell into place. I'm picky about stuff but I don't think you could buy a better reproduction. It still needed a lot of block sanding to get the waves out of the sheet metal but overall, I was happy with it. I inherited my dad's real '32 roadster so I have a real and a fake body to compare to each other.

[Karl Wescott]

Originally Posted by Flathead Fever

I have an unfinished Boorkville body sitting on a nice original late model original frame. At first, it was sitting too high but then I slid it back a little bit and boom it fell down onto the frame. it's a tight fit. It was such a tight fit onto the frame that just being off a little bit made all the difference.

I have another '32 frame without the factory rear reinforcements to prevent the horn from settling down. It had bent down rear horns. I made a templet from my perfect frame. I laid the frame on the ground and stuck about a 1000 lbs. of block on the rear of it and heated the rear kickups where they were bulged out from the rearend hitting them. Then I took a floor jack and jacked the frame horns up until they matched my templet and I tapped the bulges back in. Then I built my own reinforcements similar to the late model '32s. Most of those early frames without the reinforcements I've seen have sagging rear frame horns and frame bulges. Before you mess with them make sure the body is lined up so it fits all the way down onto the frame.

Your frame including the firewall should fit flush onto the frame with just the thin frame webbing between the frame and body. At least that's what I remember since my stroke. could be wrong, I'd verify that. I'm doing a '34 pickup and it has wooden body blocks but if I remember correctly the '32 cars don't use blocks. I don't trust my memory since my stroke; The auto parts stores sell a box of different thickness alignment shims that work well for slipping between the frame and body to get the doors to fit. I bolted the four corners of the body to the frame and then jack the center of the body up until the doors were level with the quarter panels and slid some shims between the frame and body. It worked really well.

IIRC, a post in an old thread by Dave Rehor, he mentioned that 1/8" pads were used front to the last from the rear, the rear body mount had a 3/16 or 1/4 pad.

[oldford]

Gap on a coupe body is larger than 3/8". If it was 3/8 the front edge of the gas tank would hit the floor pan.

[Harold Degand]

We had contact with the company who built the body.
They said the issue is because I use an european frame.
I’ve never heard there is difference between european and american frame !

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by Harold Degand

We had contact with the company who built the body.
They said the issue is because I use an european frame.
I’ve never heard there is difference between european and american frame !

There is no difference. The '32 frame had various hole drilling, crossmember differences and rear reinforcement but the curvature and body mounting was all the same.

Ask them for their drawing :-)

[Harold Degand]

Here you can see the manufacturing of their bodies : https://www.usabil.nu/reportage/usab...-del-4-kaross/
Look at the height of the rear kick up. No more to say.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Harold Degand

Here you can see the manufacturing of their bodies : https://www.usabil.nu/reportage/usab...-del-4-kaross/
Look at the height of the rear kick up. No more to say.