Lot's of progress!

I spent both Friday and Saturday in the shop, and with Ken's help, made some real progress on the assembly, albeit slowly (as usual).

Since my last visit, Ken sprayed the dash with the correct Beaver Brown Metallic paint. It is very close to the Martini Brown, but slightly different and may get a little more different with age.

First we got body bolts snugged down properly, as revealed by the alignment of the doors. If the doors are right (seams, molding), everything is straight. That took a little shimming in places. Here's Ken working on a shim:



I had ordered wire hood lacing from I & I Reproductions, but the lacing was incorrect. Ken had some he uses that takes the wire through the middle section. It is a 1/4" wider than the original stuff, but the best you can do these days. We used the very stiff stainless steel wire that came from I & I, hooking it in the top hole and running in through to the bottom. I had the small hooks that stick out from the cowl to tighten it all up and in the end it looked pretty good. We also mounted the Fisher body tag now - much harder after the fender is on. Here's a pic:



I then installed the engine side pans, something I should have done before the engine was placed in the car. They were a real pain to install, especially the RH one with exhaust system in the way. Poor quality washer head bolts that kept snapping off didn't help any and I was glad to get that job done. I am missing one mounting bracket that will have to be made for the LH side. This small job took the better part of 90 minutes I bet.

Next we started in on the RF front fender assembly, a complicated job. First, fender welt was cut to fit each area needing it. The fender liner was then barrel riveted to the fender, with welt inbetween and with the wire harness clips correctly attached. Fortunately, I had photos of how the clips should be. Then the rest of the welting, the part that fits between body and fender was attached with split rivets. A strip of felt was split riveted to the bottem of the fender liner, then the fender mounted on the car. What we should have done first was mount the small fender liner extension piece that fits below the cowl section, but we were able to do it afterwards. Here are pictures of Ken barrel riveting and me split riveting:





Here's a picture with the first fender on the car. As you can see, I had also mounted the headlight buckets.



I really like the way the shiny black fender welt looks against the brown car.

I got some other small parts bolted on as well – voltage regulator, starter pedal, wiper motor, radiator hoses, battery cables, dash light housing, etc. So it was a good day.

At noon on Saturday, we dropped off the center top mounting post to 82 yr. old retired machinist Ben Mathews, an amazing guy who does Ken's specialty machine work out of a shop at his house. Four hours later he was back with one made from stainless steel, an exact replica. We needed a new one because the old one was rusty and pressed to the windshield frame in such a way as to make it unuseable when removed. The new one attaches with a screw. Here's a picture of Ben and Ken putting it in:



Ben is also making me a missing radio knob and the spare tire clamp hold down nut assembly. People like him are what keep these old machines running.

The bad news is that the base for the fender rumbleseat step pad - a very rare item - is missing! It has to be around somewhere, but who knows where? The good news (for me) is that the '38 convertible parts car I found had one that is the same (35-38). I gave it to Andy for his rumbleseat conversion project, but will have to reclaim it until mine can be found. Can't find the hood handles or gear shift knob either, but they must be around.

It has been a long two days, but much as been accomplished!