'32 Body Mount at Fire Wall?

[PeteVS]

This is my brother's '32. Original body, fire wall and frame. How does this all tie together? Bolt size?
Thanks!

[mercman from oz]

PeteVS wants to know how this ties together?

[deuce lover]

The bolt goes thru the hole and thru the frame.Washer and nut underneath. That is to adjust the cowl and in my case many years ago helped align the doors to the upper and rear jamb on my '32 tudor sedan.

[DavidG]

Two 7/16-20 x 2 1/4" hex head bolts plus hex nuts and lock washers from below, as deuce lover indicates. Tighten carefully as they may affect the fit of the front doors, especially if an open body type.

[32phil]

We use the two bolts mentioned by Dave as adjustment for the front doors. We have several closed cars and several open cars including my son and son in law's cars.
The trick is to shim the body properly first. Usually, the rear of the front door will be down slightly, and you will notice the bead on the door will not line up with the body bead. If the door is up too far the body is not shimmed properly. Hopefully the frame is square and straight. There shouldn't be any washers' spacers or bushings between the dog leg on the cowl and the center hole on the firewall foot. By tightening the bolt some... the door will come up and align with the bead. I usually do the adjustment when the car is pretty much done with the engine and drivetrain in. I take the strikers and dovetails and all rubber bumpers out, so the door swings freely with no binding anywhere. When I'm done the door will open and close without touching anything or rubbing on the B pillar at all. Then I install the strikers and dovetails etc. Some repro rubber parts may need to be trimmed because they are too thick and will cause the door to stick. This process works for me on all body styles. Aligning the doors on a 32 Phaeton will cause new cuss words to be invented.
Hope this helps.

[DavidG]

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Pete,

Judging from your photos and the over spray pattern of the yellow primer, the body hasn't been removed from the chassis. But, if it has or is going to be lifted off the chassis, please keep in mind that the body-to-frame 1/16" x 2" webbing does not extend rearward of the beginning of the kick up in the frame for the rear axle and that the last two body-to-frame attachments on each side have a rubber pad rather than the webbing material. The thickness of the forward pad was/is 1/8" and 1/4" for the rear pad on each side. Not using those pads as was done originally will obviously compromise the door fits and will lead to metal fatigue and eventual fractures in the rear sheet metal of the body. If the body is either a roadster, cabriolet, or coupe, the rearmost body-to-frame bolt should be spring loaded as shown in the photo below (its adoption was a running change during '32 model year production).

[petehoovie]

[PeteVS]

Thanks. Seems that the bolt should pull every thing together.
Is there welting under the firewall feet?

[alchemy]

My sedan had a 1/8"-ish thick hard rubber pad under the firewall. Not welting like the body had.

[DavidG]

Normally, small rectangles of 1/16" woven webbing with centered holes, sometimes doubled under each foot of the firewall in nearly all of the thirty or so I've had over the years, but a few with 1/8" thick rubber rectangles like on alchemy's car.

[alchemy]

Mine is an early production (#180th tudor sedan), assembled in the Des Moines plant.

[DavidG]

Likely the 180th for the Des Moines Assembly Plant, but not likely the 180th overall as Job #1 at that plant wasn't until a full two months had passed since Job #1 at the Dearborn Assembly Plant. Each assembly plant had its own set of numbers for the bodies it manufactured, such as Tudor sedans.

[alchemy]

Yes. The subrail crossmember has a DM 180 on it. The serial number is in the 50,000's.

[DavidG]

You're fortunate to have that number stamped on your body's cross sill as it seems that the practice was hit or miss and more often than not, over loooked. Of the dozen or so Ford-built '32 closed car bodies that I've had over the years only two or three of them were so stamped. In the case of roadsters and phaetons, such numbers seem rarer still.

[alchemy]

My little brother has a pickup and a five-window with the stamps, both low numbers, and both from TC, the twin cities plant. I eat this stuff up!

[DavidG]

Coincidentally, the Twin Cities Assembly Plant seemed to be conscientious about the body number stamps as I had a standard coupe with a TC number.