1932 Pontiac Six build

[Rattiac]

Replacing wood with steel.        (7-19-2010)

Getting ready to replace some wood with steel. Did a ton of measuring and made a template or two. I'll start on the 2 long rails that support the body and go from there.
Steel should be in by friday. Here's a pic of what im up against.

Ever since I got this car I've been spraying PB Blaster all over the place . Hinges,Window cranks,ect. When I havent been able to work on it . So far Ive got every door handle and window cranks to work properly.

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[Rattiac]

Turning wood into steel.    (9-27-2010)

Got the steel in a few weeks ago and was able to make some cuts for the main rails

Thats about $120 worth of steel then I got a Habor freight chop saw (about $ 50 w/ warrenty) . Its slow cutting but keeping the RPMs up is key.
I'll go into what size of steel I bought and why in a few post's

[Rattiac]

Wood to steel : 101  (11-16-2010)

While the car has been sitting . Ive had some time to stare at it and think about how I was gonna tackle this part of the project. I decided to copy the wood to a certain extent ( weird shapes and all) , and try to keep it simple.

I started off measuring the thickness of the wood (keep in mind this effects hieght of the body


Then I measured the width of the wood near the doors.


Front door, the wood also gets wider here.


Then in the back the main rail ends, with this small rail ontop of it follows the rear wheel-well.(tape indicates the end)


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[Rattiac]

Part 2.
From there I came up with these sizes of steel. 1-1/2 x 4" and 1-1/2 x 3" rectangular steel. (1/8" wall)
The 4 Incher will be the main flat rail and the 3 incher is the rocker that will be welded to the side of the main rail in a (L shape).
Here I started making a pattern. I first drew out the measurements of the wood then placed the steel on top, centerd it up and cut out the pattern.


The pattern is where the main rail will lay and the dotted line is where the 3" width rail will be welded on the side.


Example in pic 3



Went to harbor freight and got some 4-1/2" cut-off wheels for my grinder. converted it and hacked away. cuts better than I thought it would.
Main rails. front is to the right of the pic.


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[Rattiac]

Wood to steel : 101

if you can tell in this pic the side rail has an under-cut to it. This is why I choose these sizes in steel, since I couldnt replicate this odd shape. the steel wont come out as far as the wood but will still be able to tack the rocker panel in place


Here I sprayed some white paint down and drew the rocker shape.

[Rattiac]

Wood to steel : 101          (11-21-2010)

I was able to get the rest of the steel cut.

A pic of what it will look like with all the pieces. (stool indicates Drivers front)


Got the body bracing laid out. (using 1" square)


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[themoose]

Rattiac

It looks like your technique for replacing the wood will work out really well. I look forward to seeing it come together.

Moose

[EDNY]

Looks you have that portion well planned...that will be a great foundation for the rest of the framing.

[TFoch]

Looks like you got a good start.  Some of the wood pieces look a lot like the ones I replaced on my 33 Chevy.  Keep up the good work.
Tom

[Rattiac]

Thanks everyone. This part had to be done cause you could actually feel the body move when we pushed it into the shop.

[Rattiac]

Wood to steel : 101  (12-4-2010)

Pulled the motor/trans today. I did this so I could slide in the steel rails in without pulling the body completely off the frame. The plan is to do this one side at a time with the engine hoist holding up that side of the body.

On with the pics and off with the hood & grill.


My dad gave me these H.F. rollers he used to manuver his boat around. One was bent a bit , So I used em' to put the motor/ trans on and it rolls around easy.


Oh yeah. I was looking at the horn and the inside looked clean. So I pulled it off and tested it on a battery. It works . awesome.

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[Rattiac]

Wood to steel , Part 3  (1-9-2011)

Ive got the main rails ready to go in (silver) and the rockers welded up (unpainted).

I used my arc welder to weld them up so I could save gas on my little mig. (for bracing)
Havent arc welded since high-school days. I could get a bead going but I didnt look like a roll of dimes, oh well , good practice


Body is all braced up.
I knocked out the rockers first B-4 I braced it up. The new rockers will go in after the main rails.


Also tack-welded the doors in a few spots


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[Rattiac]

Pic of gap where rockers used to be.

New rails install. (2-15-2011)

Used the engine hoist to hold up the body while I slid in each rail.

No more wood.....

Rails slid in.


Rear.


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[TFoch]

Wow nice work!  You're on a mission

[Rattiac]

Final floor steel.. (2-21-2011)

Rockers were mocked up and drilled access holes for 3 big sheetmetal screws to attach em' to the main rails. This way they can be removed if need be.
I will put a few weld beads up at the top for an extra measure.

Painted and bolted on.

Rockers slip right on and tacked into place.

This has stiffened the body up a ton. I used to hear rust crunching if I pushed on the body at the wrong spot when we would push it in/out the shop. Now no movement at all.


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