Body Beautiful...

This week, Dan Shady successfully removed the steel outer shell from the rear of my 1932 Plymouth roadster. This is in preparation for restoring the wooden framing that supports the body. By 1932, Walter Chrysler was only producing the open cars - roadsters and phaetons - in the Chrysler Body Works. All closed car production had been contracted to the Briggs Body Company, and they had made the transition to all-steel construction. But my roadster is a great example of how cars had evolved from carriages, with a wooden structure underneath the sheet metal.

I feel fortunate to live close to Dan Shady, who has years of experience in the restoration of these wooden structures. We'll be reusing as much of this car's wood as possible, only replacing those pieces that are dryrotted beyond usefulness. We'll re-glue every joint using modern glues. Ain't it interesting how times and technology change?