OUR 1938 FORD STANDARD COUPE

Part 3: Rebuilding the body

This was a big day at our house. The body was carried off the cart on her side of the garage and placed on the frame.The new X-members, transmission mount, and spring-shock kit all fit like they were supposed to. Notice the front of the floorboard that is missing. This is the part of the floor I mentioned earlier that had been cut out to make room for the Muncie 4-speed. Now that the frame is pretty much done, the real work will begin.  

We began by installing a Bitchin' firewall. The car had just a piece of sheet metal welded in by an earlier owner to make room for a Chevy motor. The firewall was quite easy to install but we were careful to fit and weld slowly. We did not want to twist or deform the body since the firewall would be one of the major structural components supporting much of the rest of the work to be done on the coupe. The body was bolted to the frame and, after some spot welds, the doors were hung to make sure that everything was positioned properly. Very little adjustment was necessary but the extra time spent was well worth the effort to make sure that the rest of the car was not out of whack when we did the final fitting.

Our dog "helped" a lot when the coupe was built. Here she is checking out the firewall cut. She died a short while after the coupe hit the road. We still miss her.

Before we did anything else, the engine and transmission were dropped in to make sure that the firewall left enough clearance. It did.

Many cars like ours install an under-the- floor master cylinder. I chose to install a Granada power booster with pedal assembly on the firewall. Measurements are made to french the unit.The pedal assembly also provides a good support for the steering column.

Here is the completed support for the brake booster. Although it hurt to cut into the $$ firewall, you will see later that the result was worth it.

Cuts were made in the floorboard to install a new floor, kick panels, and transmission hump. As with the firewall installation, the body was secured to the frame to prevent distortion and ensure a good fit.

The coupe is loaded on a trailer for transport to a shop (with more room and an owner who knows a lot more about all this than I do) for final fitting before paint.

The floor is done, additional support has been added to the cowl, and the dash and  steering column are being fitted.