Curt:
These bodies were hand made with no duplicating machinery. Somebody
traced a pattern on the wood, cut it out with a band saw, used files and
sanding drums to shape. Others cut out sheets of metal and hammered it
over the wood frame. There is very little die stamped metal in the TD.
The scuttle was die stamped. The outer door panels and the panels
behind the doors were probabaly only partially die stamped. The rest of
their shaping could be done by hand. The cowl can be completely made by
hand if you have a welder as it is made of three pieces.
I rebuilt my TD back in 1971-72 before there were ANY books on
restoration. I had the the factory shop manual, factory parts book, two
catalogues from T series suppliers, and 4 years of "TSO" for guides.
Except for something which might have been in the "TSO", there was
nothing in these references about the body.
The main wood sills under each side of my TD were bad. I purchased the
sills from someone as the T series suppliers didn't market them. One
side was too thick in one dimension and too thin in the other. I had a
cabinet maker trim the fat side and I added stock to the thin side. I
should have had the cabinet maker make a new one from the original old
one. Every other part I needed to replace I made by hand without
benefit of a band saw. I had a 1/4 inch single speed drill, 7 inch
portable saw, a Dremel Scroll saw, and small sabre saw, coping saw,
cross cut hand saw, Sureform file, a few wood chisels, a 10 bench plane,
and a few wood rasps. I made the plywood back panel, the hood tacking
strips, the hood header bow, and the vertical pieces where the cowl and
body meet at the front. Some of the ends of the door posts had new
pieces spiced in. Loose holes for wood screws had dowel plugs glued in.
I had no club associates for direct help, no internet, no email, no
completed car to look at, no photos except the few I took, etc. The
nearest running TD was probably in Minneapolis 300 miles away.
The body was completely disassembled. It was rebuilt on stands using
the measurements I had taken before disassembly, the chassis frame, the
steel body sub frames, and the sheet metal. This process was similar to
what Horst used. I have a few slides of what I did.
For me, the process was easier than what I am experiencing rebuilding a
MGA body.
Purchase a $100 9 inch band saw from Menards, and you can make all of
the wood pieces yourself with the possible exception being the main
sills. Find a friendly cabinet shop and see if they will identify
shipping flats which contain ash, or will supply you with ash. Of
course you do need enough left of the old parts for patterns.
FWIW: Horst made quite a few changes from what was original. If you
can't tell how something was made or done from your remnants and you
want the TD very close to the factory's build, ask this list.
Blake
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