47 Town & Country in for a couple "minor" repairs. The owner likes the color of the wood which is a combination of the natural tint in varnish and age, and so the hope is to make the repairs without any new wood showing from the outside. The trunk supports on these cars are attached in a way that applies a constant and substantial pressure on the trunk lid almost directly under the hinge, which over time does what you see here. The corner joints are completely broken, a steel bracket on the under side is what's holding it together. The plan is to make a strong pattern/brace to the shape of the rear deck and clamp it to the trunk lid, forcing it back into the shape I want it to have. I will then remove as much wood as I can from the inside and rebuild the joint. Hopefully when the new wood is glued in place and the clamps are removed it will hold the new shape.
Looking forward to your progress. Are those factory wires?
@alsancle They're new.
Looking forward to seeing how this comes out!
Good luck!!!!
Correct me if I'm wrong but 46-48 the bodies are all wood and then 49-50 they are metal and wood?
@Royale835Sedan You are correct. Al's got a picture of a 50 posted around here somewhere.
@NewOldWood
First test fit. Not too bad. Still have some work to do on the bottom side.
@NewOldWood That looks great! I assume those are not wood screws but machine screws with nuts on the otherside? Is there any reinforcement underneaht or is that part of your project?
@alsancle 5/16" machine screws. They bolt through a plate steel corner brace that I'm working on now.
Maybe not metalworking artistry, but no worse than what they're replacing.
@NewOldWood Was there nothing like that from the factory? Feels like there should have been. Nice work.
@alsancle The blue piece was the original corner brace. The one here is actually from the other side so a mirror image of the new brace. In the center of the old brace you can see where the original support arm attached to it. I left that off of the new piece because the support arms are going to have to be relocated.