1934 Dodge Full Body Off Restoration by Ian_Greenlaw

2 minute(s) of a 362 minute read

Ok the moment of truth arrived.

A trial fit of the panels to make sure everything looked and sat properly.

All panels were attached to the body and the new running boards did need some minor adjustment but overall everything sat fairly well.

Ah no....not so simple is it !

When the front bonnet sides were attached the gap is uneven between them and the front of the radiator cowl.

One side sits well and the other has an I 1/4" gap. Cannot move the radiator that much to compensate for it.

We put it up on a hoist and found the measurements between certain points on the chassis were out.

Got it down and ran a string line from the centre of the rear window to the centre of the radiator and its out just over an inch.

Somewhere along the line the car has been in an accident and the chassis is bent. Great !

The guy who is doing the body work has a friend with a hydraulic Ram that can bend it back.

So the chassis and engine are sent off and the chassis corrected.

It never occurred to me to check the measurements as I didn't believe the car had been in an accident.

Anyway the guy who bent the chassis back said it was one of the toughest chassis he's bent....so that's good.

Next step once back is to get all the panels back on again and see how we go.

Cheers

Ian