pro's and cons of all the wood companies for a 31 coupe...

[grapp]

Ok, specifically lets hear the good and bad about the different wood vendors, I need to buy wood kits for a 31 coupe... who's is the best fitting, least alterations to install? who has had problems with theirs and why? When you got your kit was it ash, maple, oak or something else?


Thanks!~

[CA Victoria]

Steve Canon, owner of Classic Wood in NC. 336-691-1344. You will be speaking to the owner. Excellent product and great service.

[1928Pickuppain]

Ok I am interested in this becouse I own an architectural mill in Malden ma about 30,000 sq ft. And have been playing around with the idea of starting a sub division / side project of producing the framing peices for all model a fords. Iv never really put much thought into it becouse I figure there's probably alot of company's out there doing it. My question would be is the quality of whats out there up to snuff with origional is there any back log on parts And kits. With my manurfactuing capibiltys I could designate one CNC miller to just cutting out parts. And in regards to quality I would just take an origonal pece in good condition and scan it intothe CNC thus every corner peice would come out 100% identical to origional after I took 80 yeas of abuse and shrinkage into acount. And ever corner price or bow would be Identical it the preavous and the next with no veration.

[2manycars]

I have found that Classic wood kits fit very well. I have installed some other kits that not only would not fit the car without a lot of work, the pieces did not even fit each other in a mock-up.

[Mitch]

1930 coupe wood purchased from Snyder's in 2009. All fit with no modifications. Not sure where they obtain the kits from.

[msmaron]

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just got my wood from Classic Wood, service, fit all perfect.

[wrndln]

About 3 years ago I installed a wood kit from Classic Wood in my 28 special coupe. A special coupe haa a fair amount of wood in the top and body - not as much as a fordor, but still it is substantial. I found that maybe 1/2 of the wood fit very well and the holes lined up great. About a 1/4 needed some minor tweeking, but the last 1/4 or so needed some substantial work to make it fit. I had to plug some holes as they were quite a ways off and redrill the holes. Other holes that were 1/2 a hole off or less, I enlarged so the fasteners could be installed. I also needed to file, trim and adjust a number of the wood pieces. There were also some 1/4" gaps between the five wood pieces that make up the beltrail wood. They are covered when the top and upholstery is installed, however if you tried to tack into one of the voids, there would be a problem. When I called Steve Cannon, the owner, he said the car have probably been hit or wrecked in the past. I do not believe it ever was. I finally did get all the wood installed and it looked OK when done. Overall I would give the wood kit a C+.
Rusty Nelson

[msmaron]

Hmmm dont you think that ALL wood needs to be fitted on an 80 year old car? I have fond the classic wood is the best fit, maybe that is the way too look at it better.. Just a thought.

[grapp]

Mark,
I do agree with you. I am just looking for what the general consensus is for the best quality and fit. Since all of these kits aren't cheap it would warrant a little research. I would hate to have the same experience as Rusty did. On the other hand, since these were mass produced at different factories and possibly different vendors supplied the different wood for Ford, it is totally possible that a kit was copied exactly as found and fits in one car but not another...

The other thing I noticed is that the roll up rear window kit seams to be an "extra" and not included in kits...

[grapp]

It also kills me as I have all of the tools and could make my own, but most of the wood was missing...and a kit just seems the easy way to go, if it fits!

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by grapp

Mark,
I do agree with you. I am just looking for what the general consensus is for the best quality and fit. Since all of these kits aren't cheap it would warrant a little research. I would hate to have the same experience as Rusty did. On the other hand, since these were mass produced at different factories and possibly different vendors supplied the different wood for Ford, it is totally possible that a kit was copied exactly as found and fits in one car but not another...

The other thing I noticed is that the roll up rear window kit seams to be an "extra" and not included in kits...

Is this just an assumption on your part --or do you have actual knowledge of these variences?

.

[grapp]

Brent,
That is an assumption, I have no first hand knowledge of that being true however as I said it is possible. I've been around old cars all my life it sometime you take a part of the one car (same make and model) and put it on another and the fit is off and needs to be adjusted. I'm sure you have come across the same thing?

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by 1928Pickuppain

Ok I am interested in this becouse I own an architectural mill in Malden ma about 30,000 sq ft. And have been playing around with the idea of starting a sub division / side project of producing the framing peices for all model a fords. Iv never really put much thought into it becouse I figure there's probably alot of company's out there doing it. My question would be is the quality of whats out there up to snuff with origional is there any back log on parts And kits. With my manurfactuing capibiltys I could designate one CNC miller to just cutting out parts. And in regards to quality I would just take an origonal pece in good condition and scan it intothe CNC thus every corner peice would come out 100% identical to origional after I took 80 yeas of abuse and shrinkage into acount. And ever corner price or bow would be Identical it the preavous and the next with no veration.

As you are probably aware, I have one employee that does wood-crafting here at the shop. We purchase our Ash & Oak in 4/4 and 8/4 thickness and do our own planing & jointing of stock to make the correct nominal thickness we need. I have considered on several occasions of purchasing a CNC mill just for wood fabrication however I am not so sure it would be a financially prudent endeavor. A good craftsman can be almost as productive as a CNC machine can on a one-off or two-piece production, ...and they are much more flexible to make slight deviations to custom fit something.

Personally I would not reverse engineer anything when there is a print available. The only thing that would change my mindset regarding this is if someone were to take an original piece and digitize it in a program such as SolidWorks where the dimensions could be "cleaned-up" at a later time using the same print that was used originally.

The other thing that many people do not realize with a kit is many pieces that were originally made out of one piece were done for structural integrity. Often times, the freight on pieces of the original dimensions would be prohibitive so concessions are made such as making it in multiple pieces to easily fit in a box. This may not seem like such a big deal but let me offer a little trade secret we found. Many open car bodystyles are dependant on the tack-rail to create structural integrity on the body. Use a 40A bodystyle and you realize the quarters and the upper deck are just bolted together. When the tack-rail is properly made in the correct dimensions, this creates an incredible amount of stability on the quarter when the door is slammed closed because it holds the body in the correct shape. If the tack rail is made out of 3 pieces, it looses all the rigidity. If you still think this is of little consequence, look at what the 40B tack-strip was made of.

And finally, many people do not consider just how dimensionally incorrect wood also affects the interior. Since the OP mentioned a Coupe, think about the rear window wood surround. If that wood is manufactured too thick, it affects how the rear glass seals between the body and the moulding. What about the curved pieces that hold the panels beside the windows? If the wood shape or dimensions are incorrect, it causes those upholstery panels to either be too long, --or too short when the panel is installed.

[mass A man]

Steve at Classic Wood gets my vote. He's honest, ships when he says he will and prices are OK! I have to hand it to anyone that takes the time to manufacture wood parts that work well for an 80 year old car. I'm betting that back in the day when cars were repaired before they were written off to the junkyard, replacement wood parts had to have been nudged and budged into position. Same today I would think.

[wrndln]

Brent,
I whole heartedly agree with your point that Ford made some wood, like the beltrails on open cars longer and joints in different places than what the wood makers now do. For example, on my 28/29 phaeton- type 35A, the rear belt rail in the Classic Wood kit (and probably all newer wood kits) have the wood joints exactly where the rear panel and the quarterpanels bolt together - a weak spot. This is to make the cutting of the wood easier where it is curved. That is why I am investigating into either steam bending or laminating the wood to duplicate where Ford originally made the joint (in the center of the rear panel). The front seat wood is less critical as the metal seat back is one piece.

I also agree with you that Ford held tolerances pretty tight on most things. I have seen some beltrail wood made by Byron Myers (Wichita, KS) that was extremely well made. I believe he has passed away, he was a true craftsman. I don't know if you could have slid a piece of writing paper between his joints, they were that close. I don't what he charged, but I would have gladly paid for such fine craftsmanship. Just my opinion.
Rusty Nelson

[400A-64]

One MUST take into concideration of decades of body distortion due to failing wood,hard use of the vehicle and the posibility of the vehicle having been in an accident.... not all repairs were necessarly done properly. In addition over time wood may shrink , top bows sag etc.

I have used Classic Wood and am VERY PLEASED!!!
Bruce Davis
[email protected] or [email protected]

[xmarine]

Just ordered a rear roof wood support from Classic Wood.Got it in 3 days and it fit perfect!Highly recomend them.31 ccpu and they had it in stock

[grapp]

Great info...were you kits from Classic wood, oak ash or maple?? or combination.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by grapp

Great info...were you kits from Classic wood, oak ash or maple?? or combination.

Steve uses ash on body wood.

[Terry, NJ]

Before going into production of the wood parts, I would want to see just what I'm producing. I say this as a retired Machinist, Tool and Die maker, Mechanical model maker. The Town Sedan is a very good example of the many shapes, angles, and sizes you would have to be prepared to make. When I made mine out of Ash, I was amazed to find Henry's choice of Ash to be such a good one. (Some Walnut and Maple were used too) Henry was able to take the shrink out of the wood. I was amazed to find nominal sizes (1 1/2", 1 3/4 etc) were still on within .005 after 80 years. I would have preferred to work off a print, but none was available to me. So I was stuck with reverse engineering. One thing jumps out at you very quickly. Henry's engineers didn't care about ease of manufacture. There are very few square angles. I would have loved to see the machinery he used. Having reproduced a few of these pieces, I would think twice about trying to produce them for a profit. Granted, I own only basic tools and the job is made tripley hard on that basis alone. But look into the myriad variations of one off parts that would be ordered.
Terry