39 Ford Project

**Custer55** · 08-14-2023, 07:23 PM

The next step in the tail pan project was to make the weather strip channel as I had done around the rest or the trunk opening. Making this one is similar to the one at the top of the trunk opening, other than being shorter so I was able to make it in just 2 pieces.

Here I have the left hand side formed to shape.

And the right hand side formed and fitted up to tack weld in place.

And tack welded in place.

And with the left side fitted up and tack welded in place.

So with that done my next project was to get the trunk prop rod slide bracket repaired and back in place so I don't have to use an old light stand to hold the trunk open anymore. It was kind of a mess as I had to cut it out in 2 pieces to get the quarter panel back in shape. At this point I had done quite a bit of work to straighten it, re-shape it to the trunk opening, and tack weld the 2 pieces back together. In this shot I have it held in place with a couple of sheet metal screws to make sure it would work properly, which it did.

All welded up ready to weld it back in place for keeps.

Before welding it back in place though I had to weld the original corner braces back in place as the prop rod slide bracket overlaps the corner brace by a bit on the left hand side.

And welded back in place, so now I can have the trunk stay open on it's own!!

Next will be getting the original trunk to tail pan brace tuned up and replaced. Here it still needs the remnants of the original tail pan and trunk floor removed so it can be fitted up to the new panels. Everything seems pretty strong without it but it needs to be in place to hold the trunk latch striker plate.

Here all the remnants of the tail pan and trunk floor have been removed from the bracket, and fitted up to match the new shape of the trunk floor as I did not make that the same as it was originally. Still needs to be sandblasted before it gets welded in. And I will have to search for the trunk latch and striker plate to make sure it is positioned on the tail pan end so that the trunk latch will work properly.
Brian

**Belair-o** · 08-20-2023, 08:02 AM

Hi Brian,
Never having previously seen the tail pan configuration on the '39 Ford sedans, it seems like a useful space, but less so when the brace is welded in place. I guess it was a place for stowing misc. smaller items?
Thanks, Doug

**Custer55** · 08-20-2023, 10:39 AM

Yes, as I think it was originally called the tool box area. Would be a good place to put a tool bag and car cleaning items and such.

**Custer55** · 08-21-2023, 07:09 PM

After a few adjustments I got the trunk to latch properly so I got the brace that holds the trunk latch permanently welded in place.

Here it is sandblasted and welded in place. I think I need to get a new sandblast gun for my cabinet (Harbor Freight) as it seemed to take way to long to get this cleaned up.

With that done time to fully weld the seams around the trunk opening. I did these like usual stitching together three tacks at a time, wire wheel them clean, then letting it cool before doing another set of 3 tacks.

Then grinding the welds smooth and using a hand file to get the edge of the opening to look right.

All the seams fully welded and the left and bottom seams finished out. A tedious process as I can do about 18" of weld seam per hour just for the welding. All the way around the trunk opening is about 140" and then it all needs to ground out to finish the welds.

With the trunk closed to check the fit again. Looks the same as before welding the seams so nothing moved much if at all.

A close up shot of the weld seam on the back side so I know that I am getting excellent weld penetration on the inside of the seams.

Here all the seams are all finished out. A big improvement over the rusty mess it was when I started.
Next will be some work on the trunk lid itself to get the gaps better. There are a couple of spots that the trunk lid needs to be ground back where the gaps a bit tight and the trunk lid to tail pan gap need to be closed up some.
Once that is done I want to get epoxy primer on all the bare metal before moving on to working on the front fenders.
Brian

**BamaNomad** · 08-22-2023, 02:54 PM

That's going to be a beauty once it's all in one color.. even if it's just primer..

**Custer55** · 08-27-2023, 05:19 PM

This week I fixed the gaps on a couple of places on the trunk lid. Mostly just in the upper right hand corner and the trunk lid to tail pan gap.

In this shot I had already ground the edge of the trunk between the sharpie mark and the upper corner to get the gap where I wanted.

Next I welded up the edge as grinding it back created a split between the outer skin and the inner bracing about 1/4 of the way down and made it who knows how thin the rest of the way. So to be safe I welded it up all the way to where I started grinding the edge.

Then I ground the welds flat to the outer and inner skin so I could then grind the edge again get the gap right without worrying about making any thin spots.

And all ground back to get a nice gap again.

And the last area to fix the gaps is the trunk to tail pan. The gap is good on the ends but everywhere in between it is to wide and inconsistent. Probably a combination of not getting the tail pan made quite right and the previous trunk repair not being done as good as it should have been.

Since moving the tail pan at this point is not a good option I decided to weld an 1/8" rod to the bottom edge of the trunk to get the gap better.

Here the rod is fully welded to the trunk on the outside. Still need to weld it on the inside before grinding the gap to fit.

A shot of the inside before welding. Welding this up solid was a pain because it was pretty much an overhead weld. I didn't want to take the trunk off and chance it wouldn't end up in the exact same position until I had all the gaps fixed.

All ground an filed to fit like it should now. So now finally I can get everything prepped to get a couple coats of epoxy primer on all the bare metal.
Brian