So what about that woodwork anyway? The British cars of the thirties, and for some marques well into the fifties, were typically constructed of aluminum over an ash framework. Ash was particularly durable, yet supple enough to take the twisting and pounding that it would receive sitting on a flexible steel chassis without breaking.

How much wood was there? Take a look at the pictures below. The first is the maroon '34 Sports Nine basket case previously shown. (Yes they do come back to life). It consists of about 80-90 pieces of ash and plywood ranging in length from approximately 4 inches to four feet. The second picture is a 4A Roadster well on its way to a complete restoration. Is this a big job to tackle? Yes it is, but not beyond the scope of those with a little wood working experience and a lot of patience.

There are no particularly special techniques either. I went in to a cabinet maker at the outset of the rebuild on the '34 Sports to have him cut a piece that I didn't feel I could tackle. I asked him how they would approach it, hoping to gain some insight as to the magic skills they might possess, merely to hear him say "any way we can". He wasn't trying to be sarcastic, he was merely conveying the fact that it was a trial and error process and that they would use any combination of tools required to get the job done. Oddly, this gave me a great deal of confidence, prompting me to purchase a stationary disc/belt sander to add to the drill press, band saw and radial arm saw that I already owned. Those, by the way, are the tools that you will require to complete the job yourself. If you don't already have these tools, the money that you will save doing the job yourself will more than cover their purchase cost.

The most frightening part of the job? Taking the first tack out to peel back the aluminum skin. Once started, it proves to be a pretty simple task. Be gentle though and make sure that you preserve the lines, because you may need to use the skin as a template for some of the wood pieces that have rotted entirely away.

The second most frightening part of the job? The day the wood is 100% complete and you have to refit the skin. Don't worry, I survived it and so will you.

By the way, one last tip. Don't glue the joints. They are meant to flex. If you do glue them, you will have one very noisy car on the first trip out, as the joint surfaces break free.

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