I started stripping the roof by machine yesterday and got the whole thing done and put a coat of Captain Lee's Metal prep and conditioner on the bare metal for now.

Before

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According to the NADA website-
Original price was-$1,115
Low Retail is-$14,750
Average Retail is-$28,200
High Retail is-$51,300

Hope this helps some.

I had to fabricate a steering wheel puller because all my pullers weren't wide or long enough to fit around the hub of the wheel. I split two 1-1/2 inch washers to fit around the steering shaft tube and welded them back together so they would put even pressure on the old and delicate part. It worked great!

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Her it is all welded and solid again

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a block of wood 2+4 between the jamb and door shell works great.

I can't tell for sure what model your car is, but there should be the upper fender brackets bolted where your arrow is. Is there 3 or 4 holes for carriage bolts there (square holes)? If you look at some of the pictures on Henry's M/N 1182 restoration project in the blogs, you can see the brackets and such there. 37's are the same as 38's I believe.
Greg

Lol, these days a free tank of gas means alot!

Wonder what the reserve is? The NADA says average retail is 28k ,,but that's in good shape.

Generally any auto door is not going to support an opening from moving at all, as they are only connected to the body at the hinge points and at the latch. The rest of it will have a small gap around it anyway and can move and tighten that gap up and possibly cause damage. They can possibly keep the openings from moving/shifting a lot if something drastically went wrong, but in my opinion they only make extra weight, and the bracing that will be tack welded in will keep everything solid. Honestly, there shouldn't be any moving or shifting of any openings when we lift the body off, but I'd rather be safe than sorry and tack weld a few braces in.
These cars were carried and moved around by overhead cranes at the factory way back when as I understand, by using strapping and putting it through the door openings and carried by the roof. I just feel more comfortable with the bracing since the car is or 70 years old and I'm sure some flexing has accured in the body over that period of time, just as the B-pillars have had and weakened and cracked.

Here is a common problem on a lot of older cars(sedans)
The B pillar/lock pillar cracks from all the stress and vibration of the suicide doors closing along with the fact that they were not reinforced very well in the old days. Both sides are cracked, although someone tried to repair the passenger side some time in years past. This will need to be repaired and the shell will need to be braced before we lift the body off the chassis.
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