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Well brace, and ibuprofen until it "heals" to whatever the new "normal" will be. Basically it will never go back to 100% of what it was before. I asked point blank if it will heal completely, and the answer was no. So there will be a loss of grip strength. Figure I'll go back to 75%/80%. So in the grand scheme of things... not horrible. Things could have been worse.

Next time I'll use a larger length socket wrench/breaker bar.

Continuing the winter tear-down. Rear fenders and running boards removed.

Interior stripped. I just need to gut the doors, and eventually pull the windshield frame and dash panels.







Also managed to get the front shocks swapped for a pair that doesn't leak. While doing that I figure I'd replace the front bumper stops.




They old ones are...ummm.....part their service life. But these replacements seem too long. I know I have the bumper and front sheetmetal off, but even with me standing on the front off the car, there is no room for them to be installed. Which makes me think it would be sitting on the stops at normal ride height. Can someone measure the rubber height of their stops?

They are for sure not the correct bumpers. The ones Steele shows are much shorter.

Most of this disassemble is needed so I can fix the actual body shell. Especially the area of body behind the doors and forward of the rear fenders. I'd say the drivers side is the worst, but both sides need attention.

View from the ourside:




View front the inside showing the corner and the usually hidden floor section rotten away.




This section is a bit of a well where it dips down over the frame. Once the convertible top starts to leak, it leaks and pools in that well, and then rots out that corner.

The other side is bad as well. Also some pin holes under the fender where the sides meet the trunk floor.

Pin holes along the bottom edge of the passenger door and the "floor" of the door shell itself. That door had a ton of dirt and debris in the bottom which clogged the drains and it the water found made new drains.

So ya.... lots of cutting, shaping and welding ahead. The exterior of those side body panels is relatively flat. But it looks like layers folded into interlocking C profiles where the well floor and the sides meet.

Did 37 use any bumpers at the rear? The long pointed ones look similar to what was used in some models to restrict the rear axle bounce. Some years even had one on a bracket in the center so the differential nose would hit it and restrict the torque "wind up" of the springs under load.

This is what is in the rear of my 1937 120. Same for a 115.

Rear axle pad

Wow…you’re making some serious progress, Kevin. Don’t abuse the wrist!

I used the ones you show big Kev, I just trimmed some off the top, lots of rubber to deal with so they work great.
Like you I have a different engine in mine so I took a measurement under the upper control arm and allowed an air space to determine the amount to trim.
Been over some serious railway crossings and the suspension stays quiet.
Bob J.

Teardown continues. I need to remove the wood around the areas I need to weld.




Most of the b-pillar wood is rotted to some degree. This piece of wood actually looks like it was burned before. Time to source some more 5/4 ash.