My 34 Plymouth Tiki Sedan Delivery

I've wanted to make a sedan delivery out of something old for a long time. Any Model A body I found was over priced and other cars I've found really did'nt capture my attention.

Then I found this in the paper for $400 and an offer of $200 had it delivered to my front door along with an S10 frame it was sitting on.'
On Feb 25th it was pulled from the snowbank and parked in the shop to defrost.

The first job was to cut off the welded on rear mangled fenders and duck tail.



I love suicide door cars and besides having minimal rust or dests, thats about all it had going for it.

Once off the truck frame I put it on a dolly to mock up my dream ride height.




I knew I was going to build the frame using a segment of Model A frame but I started questing for a donor car, one that could get more than motor and tranny from but other goodies as well.

Then I spied a car for sale for $400 that had a running big block. Anyone here know what this is? No fair if you own one, that's cheating.



With Donor car in place, the project was under way. Right from the start I knew this old gal would be an orphan. An oddball make, oddball modifications and now an oddball drivetrain... oh and an oddball owner to boot .

 

The door modifications began in March this year. Those vent windows up front really show up the doors to be small. those vents will have to go.




Time to fill the holes and seal it up. I had to sit back and think about keeping the body line or fill it. While it would have been cool to keep the body line, the rear doors are ached, not flat on top so it would have looked really wierd. So I opted to fill it.




Once welded in, its filled and presto.... a sedan delivery.



Soem people think bullet holes in a car are cool and would shoot me for filling them but I just had to weld and close them up.






A final scuff coat and time to sit back and dream a little while.



Somewhere along the way, someone had removed the firewall and replaced it with the flattened hood off a truck. Again, add to the oddboll factor.

 

Rambler? Looks Studebaker derived to me... but i don't know for sure.

I like the body!

Sedan delivery is cool and easy. The proportions seem right to weld up the rear doors and panel those windows except for the "C" pillar. That might be a touch more difficult. As will cutting, jamming and hinging a rear cargo door. Might be best to leave one of the rear doors working, like the curb side door?

Oops, too late. Well, seems you are quite the skilled metal worker!

 

A dash is a must. I chose a Nash Metropolitan dash. Why?
Odd Ball factor!



A little adapting and it'll fit just nice.



Installed and cleaned up.

 

The frame effect.
I want the old school look of a Model A frame out front but its got to be Zéd to make it as low as possible and needs space built into it for a Tiki bar in the back seat.

First things first, a cheap frame jig to build on.



Measure twice and cut once right?



The final wheelbase will be 113 inches. If I remember right, the Model A frame is 101 inches.





I grafted the front segment of an A frame to my 2 x 4 .25 steel tubing and started tacking it together. April 19ths was when I finally got to tack the final segments together.



Tacked together, the frome A frame was boxed and all the welding completed.





I've seen beautiful frames build by guys with all the right tools and lots of experience, none of this is applicable but its functional and safe.
And the kick up in the back, it'll play a part in the interior layout too, not just the body height. The kick up make a perfect "luv grotto" for the tiki bar in the back seat area.

 

Got a name for you... "Tiki Rumbler Room".

 

The motor/ tranny install began April 29th.



The torque tube needs to be adapted to fit the new frame. Sure I could have modified and adapted to put in a ford 8 inch but wheres the fun in that?




There's no such thing as off the shelf motor mounts so I have to make my own.






The hole gives clearance for thee steering.



A trip to teh machine shop and the tube came back 14 inches.



Talk about snug. Just enough space for the wishbones to bolt back on without an inch to spare.




The tranny mount was made and installed.



With the Panard bar installed, the coils and mounts are put in.

 

There's no turning back now, time to drop the body to the frame and get it down to ride height.





Here we go...



And now manhandle it down into place.







and down it goes.



A cheeze kodak moment...



Time to put the grill on and roll it out in the sunshine.

 

The scrub line is an issue with the 15 inch wheels so I needed to rethink the shoes.
The results is 16 inch wheels up front and 15 inch wide boots in the back. A pair of DOT approved Hurst groved slick in back and coker fronts.

 

The paint. That's a side project in itself.
I dont want bright and shiny or flat black. I want it to look more like its been sitting around for a long time with hints of its original paint showing through here and there.

I want to have the delivery look barnfresh, old, faded and ruff around the edges.

To start, the tools;



Tremclad stays soft forever. If you use it as paint pray you never have to sand it ever again. Hardener gives it the stay power so it wont chalk in 2- 3 years


Hardener, flattening agent and multiple paint colours are going to be needed to try to duplicate the original remaining paint colour ( a dark purple).



Start with a fresh blow out of dust and wash down.

 

Stage one:

First thing look for spots that will be hightlights of exposed metal. I'm going to accent some high spots all over the body but randomly.

Aluminum is the colour of choice, dabbed on heavy over the selected hight spots.

 

Stage 2:

Now she gets the original body colour. The purple in painted heavier in doorwells, rain channels and around window edges where it was prior to body work.

 

Stage 3
After the Aluminum has tacked up its time for body colour. Now the body gets washed in a reduced and hardened coat of purple cut with some flattener. No paint gun here, strictly roller and brush.

 

Stage 4
Now its time to rust it.
Again once its tacked off, a reduced blend of brown, yellow, black and red, hardened and flattened is rolled over the body lightly. The idea is not to get even coverage so a dryer roller works best in one hand and a bunched up towel will be used to pat over the rust layer to remove extra as I go along.