I now have taken apart the 1919 body I described in my original posting. That was under New Club Member, New 'T" Owner last updated August 21, 2013 at 5:02 PM.
It is now apparent that I need to replace all of the wood. I have looked into fordwood.com which to me appears to be the best deal, or are there other less expensive options ? To get a comp[lete body structure and door wood will run about 2 grand. I am willing to spend that much, unless someone has a better suggestion.
Bill Goodheart
The body in your original post looked pretty sound and the wood appeared to be intact.
http://www.mtfca.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=331880&post=548073
Was the wood rotten? Doesn't look like it in the photos.
Frankly, if it were me, I would find a complete and better car before dumping $2,000 into a "collage." You'll be time and money ahead and headaches will be greatly reduced.
Yes, the wood is rotten. See attached photos.
Fordwood might be your only solution unless you can get a set of body plans from Leon Parker and have a woodshop make the pieces or yourself.
When I purchased the wood kit for my '25, Fordwood told me it would be a nine month wait. I ordered from another supplier and had it in less than two weeks.
Buy the plans,and cut your own. It will fit better and you will learn a lot about your car as you go.It really isn't that difficult.
I had a set of Miller drawings and made the wood for my 24 touring. On the doors I had wood for a pattern and modified the design so it would slip under the rolled inner edge. I got rough white oak from a local saw mill, pretty inexpensive. It was a pretty big job, but I enjoyed doing it.
If you were to buy wood from Wood World or similar, the cost of the wood itself is a bit too much to say the least.
The 1919 body you have by looking at the pics is in great shape and a good candidate for a rewooding. You are lucky to have the decent remains of the wood to use as sort of a guide if you want to rewood it with a kit or use some available wood plans to make it yourself.
You have a complete body and that's a plus to begin with. Many a T has been restored using a LOT less than you have. You have a pretty complete body so that's another BIG plus.
I have built a 1919 Runabout and currently in the final stages of restoring a 1921 Touring.
Both of my cars were just hulls with no remaining wood and missing some of the body parts.
A word of advice is to remember that Ford used up to 5 body makers in the era your car is.
When you buy a wood kit it will fit but will take a little fit up here and there to match your body metal. Things just don't drop in and that's what discourges people at first. Use patience and things will go together.
I used the Fordwood kits and they worked pretty well for me.
If you like to build and tinker than a kit is for you. If you just want to drive a T than you would be better off buying a decent driver.
to William Vanderburg - If you don't mind, who was the other supplier you ordered from ?
To all who suggest buying another car. You are absolutely correct and I have often thought of that myself. It probably would be less expensive. However, the vehicle has been in our family for over 30 years. I inherited it from my Father-law's estate at no cost. He always wanted to put the early body on it, but passed away without getting it done. Another car just wouldn't be the same.
Bill Goodheart
I'm just finishing replacing the wood on my '21 touring using Leon Parker's plans. I took them to a local copy shop, and duplicated them so I could cut them up and use spray glue to attach the patterns directly to the wood. Over all it has not been that bad a job, it looks much harder than it really is. I would recommend if you are not sure of a piece to make it in pine first, and then duplicate it in your hardwood. I made several pieces twice, and a couple 3 times to get them correct. Be sure seat frames are correct, mine had settled from not being supported, and were not straight or square. They help to define the body and brace it. The only must have is a good band saw. I have a 30 year old Rockwell Delta, and I cut most of it with a 1/2" blade. A power drill is a must, and a handheld belt sander helped. If you look you can find a bandsaw to buy, borrow, or use. I used 2" Oak intended for trailer planking, All the wood was a $100 bill. Do a little digging, there are local saw mills
I got my wood from Home Depot because I didn't have the money for the wood kit.
William,
There's a place in Greensboro, NC, that I've used a few times, but, never for a complete car. I think it's Classic Wood or something like that.
A car from within the family is special. What you have looks very good to restore. Re-wooding is not too difficult. Wood plans are a good idea, although if you have enough of the original wood, copying it may be just as good. Looks like you do.
$150 (a few years ago) at Home Despot did one of my cars a few years ago.
Good luck and have fun!
W2
You have enough of the original wood left to use as patterns. Buy some rough cut Ash and get a hand held electric planer. Take your time and save yourself a ton of money. I rewooded my entire Fordor for about $180.00. The kits are expensive and you will still need to correct them. Plan on overcutting the pieces and then fitting them several times. Use 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive for the joints and it will be as strong and flexible joint as possible. Have fun doing it yourself.
Don, I note you advise the use of 3M 5200 Marine adhesive for the joints. Because the T chassis flexes and twists so much I have never used any adhesive, preferring to allow the joints to move a little on the fasteners. Do you mean to glue joints as in door frames etc where there is no movement, rather than frame timbers fixed to the main rails?
Allan from down under.
I thought I heard somewhere that there is some sort of resin that can be used even on totally dry rot wood. I know someone that used it on a large truck wood wheels Now I wouldn't advise it on wheels, but is it a good idea on body parts?
Allan, I use the 3M 5200 on any lap or tough joint. I also use it between the wood and metal skin. The whole car goes through twisting and stress the glued joint will eventually fail. The car has to be able to give when it needs too.
This is just my opinion but almost every joint had failed on the Fordors because they couldn't give when needed.
To William Goodheart,
Classic Wood Mfg
1006 N Raleigh Street
Greensboro, NC 27405-7328
Phone: (336) 691-1344
They DO NOT have a website, but I also do not know if they manufacture your year of car. You could call and ask.
I actually ordered it from Bob's Antique Auto Parts, and the lady on the phone at that time in 2008 or 2007 told me that was their supplier. Since it was only 50 miles from my dad's house where the car was at the time, that's why I got it from them.
At the time I ordered it, the kits were only 1300 bucks, but they are higher than that now.....
Allan, to go a step further with the adhesive argument. Imagine a Fordor's roof going down the road and you hit a pot hole with the left front tire. The entire top has to absorb the shock, it will twist the entire top starting at the left front corner. If the top is twisted then the rest of the frame has to be twisted also. The shock will travel through the wood not unlike a rock tossed into water. After time the wood has stressed to the point it has lost its rigidity and failure will occur at its weakest point....the joints. A good flexible adhesive will protect the joints from breaking and help absorb the road shock.
Thanks Don. Your last post I found re-assuring when you mentioned that the adhesive you use is flexible. I am not familiar with that product, so was concerned that the joints may have been rendered rigid.
Allan from down under.
If you buy a kit from Langs or Macs they use Classic Wood as their wood kit supplier. Or they did 2 years ago when I was inquiring about a kit.
Call Langs to make sure. The time I was looking for a low cowl wood kit the low cowl kits they sold were for the 3 piece back cars which wasent right for me . My car has the 5 piece back.
Make sure you order the right kit for a low cowl T (17-22).
It can get a little confusing between 19-22 or very early 23 as when there were some changes between the these years.
Matthew. You're probably thinking about "LiquidWood" and "WoodEpox", both manufactured by Abatron (www.abatron.com), for use on rotten porch parts and window sills of Victorian houses, but can be used on any rotten wood. "LiquidWood" is a 2 part liquid epoxy which is mixed and has the consistency of water, which allows it to be absorbed by the soft rotten wood. As much should be applied as possible so that the entire piece is saturated, because once it starts to cure, no more can be applied. It cures to a hard plastic, which restores the integrity of the wood. The "WoodEpox" is a 2 part epoxy putty that is very easy to work with and fills any indentations caused by missing wood, rot or shrinkage and cures to a rock hard filler which has the working properties of wood. You can buy them separately or both in a kit in a variety of sizes. Jim Patrick
Jim,
Would your think that would be a cheap way to go in an application like William's? I imagine it would take a lot of time though.
Matthew
I think William would be better off making new pieces as it looks like his are too far gone, especially at the joints where the wood is gone and the WoodEpox putty would need to be used to fill the missing wood and he would probably spend more for the Wood restorer products than it would cost to make new pieces. The most the Abatron would be use for in this situation would be to stabilize the pieces to keep them from disintegrating before a pattern could be made. Jim Patrick