

Body


All body panels were fabricated from flat sheets of .063 3003 aluminum. Basic body shapes such as, quarter panels, cowl sides, cowl top, firewall, garnish reveals, inner and outer rockers, upper and lower trunk panels, doors and deck lid were formed using a combination of large Yoder power hammers, a Pullmax and small but effective planishing hammers. All of these tools are nearly a century old. Decades older than the guys using them.
The major panels were then hung on a body buck and welded together to create a complete shell. Each seam was fit, hammer welded and metal finished. The body buck was built over the template for the frame so that the suspension system and drive train would fit properly. This arrangement set the width, length and height of the finished body.
Door jambs, inner rockers, seat surrounds, the console and a trunk jamb were created to help place an inner structure or roll cage so the body could support itself and allow door, trunk and hood hinges a solid mounting position. An inner floor was created to link the firewall, rockers, quarters, wheel wells and roll pan together. An outer floor was then fabricated and bonded to the inner floor. The outer floor utilized recessed panels that align with the frame tubing on the underside of the car.
All hinges for doors, deck and hood were engineered and custom fabricated to fit this car. The deck lid hinges are electrically powered. The hood hinges utilize hidden hydraulic rams that hold the hood open. The door hinges are large single units that are adjustable using heim joints. This arrangement is set up so that the swing angle does not allow the doors to droop as they open.

