Assembling a 1936 Ford front end is not an easy task. Generally it has to be assembled on the floor and set on the chassis as a unit composed of fenders, front horn panels, grill, inner fenders, radiator, lower nose panel, headlamp mounts, front inner panels, hood latch hooks, oil cloth between the sheet metal, inner grill panel, and stainless fender bead. I'm probably forgetting something here too, just pulling things off the top of my head.
Because the positioning of all the pieces determines the final fit of the hood and whole front end, it is difficult and quite time consuming. It generally requires a lot of positioning and repositioning, to get that "perfect fit". Now understand I don not believe there is a perfect car out there. It is only perfect to the eyes of most when you get it to a level that is usually attainable with much dedication, expertise and patience.
I have developed a Radiator jig to simplify the assembly of the 1936 Ford front sheet metal assembly. Because I have had a lot of experience with them, I finally decided it was well worth the time to fabricate the Radiator jig, rather than fight the assembly process again. In doing so, it has allowed me to assemble and adjust the front sheet metal, on the car, rather than building it on the floor and then putting in on the chassis.
2 comments:
Doug, this Mercedes is turnung out nice, can't wait to see it finished! I am sure the owner will be very pleased with it when you are finished. Nice to see the quality repairs you do! Scott
Thanks Scott,
This Mercedes 280SL is coming along. Sticking these cars together is nothing like the typical bolt together front ends. Mercedes has always been known for quality automobiles and sometimes that quality is a challenge to duplicate. It is looking good!
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