1940 Oldsmobile Coupe

This is what the car looked like when the customer first bought it.

This is what the car looked like when it first arrived at our shop.

The first thing that needed to be done was correct the wheel base length. So, we leveled the car and set the fenders in place to determine what needed to be done. Since another shop replaced the stock front suspension with an aftermarket piece, we suspected that area. We found the front to be 1-1/8" too long.

We simply cut 1-1/8" out of the frame just behind the front cross member...

and welded it back together, being careful to keep everything level and square. That's our shop dog, Blondie, looking to see what's so important.

The customer had bought what aftermarket body pieces he could find that would work for his car, like floor pans, rocker panels, etc.

This is what the rocker panel on the passenger side looked like before repair. The driver side was in the same bad condition.

Here's a shot of Fred using the plasma cutter to remove the original rocker panel.

New aftermarket inner rocker panel installed on passenger side. The same was done on the driver side.

New aftermarket outer rocker panel installed on passenger side. The same was done on the driver side.

The new aftermarket floor pans were modified to fit...

and welded in place.

All of the holes in the firewall that were not needed...

were welded closed.

The trunk lid was positioned on the car to check for fit and location...

of the new aftermarket rear tail pan.

Common with aftermarket parts is the fact that they don't always fit like OEM parts. Here's Fred using the heat and hammer method on the inner rear tail pan to make it fit up against the outer rear tail pan...

and here's Evette welding the two pieces together.

The trunk floor was riddled full of holes...

so we cut it out...

fabricated a new one along with bracing underneath...

and installed it.