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Extrapolated Thoughts...

As I ponder the restoring of this 1922 Centerdoor, it has occurred to me that I've put considerable effort into the work, and that if I don't do something completely correct, I'll have to start all over again.


Currently, and for the foreseeable future, I do not have an enclosed space to work on the car as a whole. Bits and baubles are scattered here and yon, with no rhyme or reason. Partly outside, partly in the basement which I might add, has no garage access to the outside, save for a standard household door.


Below is just a sample of the thought process in this build. Gleaning info from photographs and with the helpful insight of several restorers of this body style, I've come up with what I think is the correct way the car is assembled in just the windshield area.


I have the quarter header mortised into the pillar, but I'm not entirely sure that's correct. On the 1921 body, this piece is pocket holed with two screws to the pillar, and one restorer did say there was a small mortise into the pillar. The windshield header is mortised into the pillar, as was confirmed by a restorer I've had extensive emails with.


The front header is lap jointed to the roof rail assembly and overhangs the windshield header, as shown by the dotted line. The front header is screwed to the windshield header with four screws from inside the car.


Here we have the front PILLAR COUPE for the passenger side of the car. As can be seen here, the window channel does not fit parallel to the windshield edge of the pillar, but is slightly angled from bottom to top, getting further from the edge at the top. Just behind the window molding, is a slanted screw hole that goes into the bottom of the roof rail. You can make out the outline of where the felt window lace rested down the side of the pillar. This pillar and it's mate currently reside in Michigan.


One of my restoration contacts started his Centerdoor with the floor. His floor was in worse condition than mine shown below. I think his car had been in a fire. I do not believe that my floor is the original floor. The brown rectangular stain on the passenger side is where the brace for the Hinge Pillar goes. However, it should be set into the wood as it is on the opposite side. The rear Latch Pillar brackets screw to the top of the floor without being set in. The brackets are also different from front to back The fronts are rectangular, the rears are rectangular with a rounded-over point.


At this point, I'm just making some preliminary measurements.


This frame is what I will be building the body onto. I most likely will obtain a portable tent shelter to hang over it while assembling the car. Unless I meet someone who is willing to let me store the car for assembly in a building that doesn't cost me $200 a month storage.


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