Month: March 2012

I got the last door panel (rear right) installed. It took a couple of iterations of the peel-cut-glue technique to get it to fit. I had originally tried to install this panel about a year ago, only to discover that it was oversize and would need trimming.

I replaced the front brake rod return springs with the improved late ’31 style. The old ones had lost their springiness (or never had any), and the brake rods were rattling. I also need to do the rears, but that is more work. Working on the brakes was much easier back before the splash shields and fenders were installed!
Finally, I fixed some dents in the cowl trim band, buffed it, and installed it. There were a couple of dents that I couldn’t remove, but after buffing the band it looked all shiny and pretty, and you have to really look carefully to notice the remaining dents.

I’m not sure what I will do next. The weather has been extremely mild, and maybe I can resume painting soon. I could take care of the front bumper braces, the headlamp bar, the horn, and the grille.

I installed the driver’s door panel and one rear door panel. It was a hassle to install the handle and window crank on the driver’s door, because the reproduction panels are thicker than the originals, and it was hard to push the handles on far enough to get the retaining pins to fit. This was less of a problem for the rear door, but that panel was excessively oversize, and I had to peel back the fabric and trim about 1/4″ from the top edge. This has been a constant issue while installing the interior kit- I have spent a lot more time re-working the panels than actually installing them.

After that, I installed the interior carpets.  For the front, all I had to do was attach a few snaps to underside of the carpet, but for the rear I had to make some holes in the carpet for the seat belt mounting bolts.

Finally, I soda-blasted the door sills.  They are zinc stampings that had gotten painted at one time.  Before I can actually install them, I need to hammer out some dents and polish them.