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Best Material To Use For Frame To Body Pads '37 LaSalle

Started by carlhungness, January 14, 2021, 09:18:44 PM

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carlhungness

    Here are photos of some of the body mounting 'pads' I removed from my '37 LaSalle. They are a bit thicker than 1/4". A couple of them have frayed ends and it
appears as though the material is a tightly woven webbing.
    I have some rubber infused with a canvas material I think I am going to use. Poking the 1/2" hole in them is going to take some work. A couple of them had 'frame size' holes and don't recall where they originated.
    Any other suggestions for material to use between body and frame appreciated.

gene harl

I just gave away a large roll of  1/4 thick convary belting that would have prefect for that....
                   Gene Harl        CLC 22406






chrisntam

1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

cadillac ken

Hi Carl:  I'm sure you checked with Steele Rubber.  I got my body mounts from them for my '37 Cadillac.  Nice thing was that they have a little protrusion off of the frame bolt hole to keep them centered when you go mounting the body.  No chasing them around to center all of them up or having to glue them down.

Good luck, Ken


fishnjim

I stick with the pre-mades, if available.
But if you want to make your own, when I had to get similar rubber goods for the '58 tail pipe isolators, I obtained from www.goodyearrubber.com   They have all kind so of reinforced and sizes.   Have to get pretty close on thickness and compressive strength, or you'll have to shim more.

79 Eldorado

Quote from: gene harl on January 16, 2021, 06:40:36 PM
I just gave away a large roll of  1/4 thick convary belting that would have prefect for that....
                   Gene Harl        CLC 22406
Hi Carl,
To follow-up on what Gene mentioned I used conveyor belt material as a guard for my brush hog. It's extremely tear resistant. I think I may have sourced it from Tractor Supply at the time and I believe you could buy it by the foot. Conveyors are often used for doing hay and that's where the Tractor Supply connection makes sense.

Scott
PS: I just realized I forgot to answer your script email. I will do that now.

Tom Beaver

Hello Carl,
The problem with the original material is that the webbing adsorbs water and then it sits there against the steel of the frame rails and they start to rust.  The frame rails on my car had pitting under each of the body pads.  I replaced them with 1/4" polyurethane rubber sheet, which you can buy in a range of thicknesses.  It is abrasion resistant, shock absorbing, tear resistant, water proof, you can cut it with a utility knife and drill holes in it with a regular twist drill.  I bought mine from a rubber supply store in Seattle but McMaster-Carr sells it in various size sheets from 6 inch square on up.

Tom Beaver

harvey b

Another thing to consider is the different thickness of each pad,if they are not the right thickness in a specific hole it can throw the shell into misalignment,on my 37  convertible sedan i had a awful time with it as the doors wouldnt align,i ended up using strips of poly urethane for shims,it took a long time to get them right.When the cowl was raised a bit it made the opposite door not close,sometimes the door post was too high or low,it was a nightmare?.Your car being a coupe may not be too bad,but mine was a big flexible tub.Just dont be in a hurry and it will be ok. Harveyb
Harvey Bowness

Brad Ipsen CLC #737

The original pads you have a picture of do not look original but I have not done a 37 so don't know for sure what they had.  In 38 to 40 most are rubber but there are exceptions.  On the 40-52 and 62 the #1 position (cowl) did not have rubber but only a thin anti-squeak pad.  It also has a normal lock washer and the bolt is tighten to normal torque for the size of the bolt.  In other words the front cowl section of the body was locked down.  The rest of the bolts have rectangular rubber pads and a second round rubber washer in various complicated configurations.  Some of the rubber parts have collars and some do not. To get these right you need to sketch them up when taking them apart.  All of the rubber pad locations have a very thin lock washer and are tightened lightly.  The 60S models are similar but body bolts 1 and 2 have no rubber and only thin anti-squeak pads.  If you put rubber pads in these front positions it throws everything off.  Convertibles have no rubber pads and only anti-squeak pads and shims to achieve alignment.  All bolts have normal lock washers and are tightened down to normal torque.  Steele has all of these various parts but as with everything Steele it is not cheap. 
Brad Ipsen
1940 Cadillac 60S
1938 Cadillac 9039
1940 Cadillac 6267
1940 LaSalle 5227
1949 Cadillac 6237X
1940 Cadillac 60S Limo

carlhungness

   My Shop Manual says: "The front shims and the pair third from the front are 1/8" thick while the rest are 3/8" thick."
    The manual goes on to say 1/32" washers may be used for shims.
     The factory material is 'burlap, impregnated with rubber latex'.
     No burlap supplier I have spoken to has ever heard of such an impregnation, although it would be possible using casting latex.
    I'll wind up with some cloth infused rubber from McMaster-Carr that will be proper thickness and hope I can get doors to line up easily.

79 Eldorado

Hi Carl,
Reading some of the other replies it seems like thickness is critical but recalling stories of car variation it seems like if the tolerances were as critical as claimed Cadillac would need to use shims. In addition the frame would need to be assembled on a 4-corner perfectly flat surface.

I would like to relate what I think is a relevant personal experience even though the vehicle was much newer. I had a 1995 Corvette with a removable top. I removed the top one day and when I returned to my gravel driveway I couldn't get the bolts to line-up well enough to install the top. I had a clear line of sight and I could see how bad the alignment was. I remembered someone mentioning the potential for body flex and I could feel the difference driving the car with versus without the top. I left my driveway and drove to the flattest parking lot I could find and the top installed without issue as it was obvious everything lined up once I parked on a flat surface. It might be obvious but once you remove the body things can flex and it doesn't mean anything is wrong but if the thickness is critical then assembling on a very, 4-corner, flat surface is also highly recommended.

Another point I thought of while reading the posts was that of corrosion at the interface. It made me think of "crevice corrosion" which can sometimes occur under gaskets.

Conveyor material is fiber reinforced. It would be interesting to know more detail regarding how the original material was made. In the end I don't know what the ideal material is. I would certainly avoid anything which can hold water like open cell rubber or exposed, absorbent, fabrics. Even if not driven in weather body mounts seem like they would be potential run-off areas for condensate.

Scott

carlhungness

   As noted, the manual says the material is burlap impregnated with latex. And it all is in fair shape. It doesn't appear to hold water and I had half a though of re-using the old stuff. But I won't, I'll order some rubber/cloth from McMaster. Interesting story about the Corvette top.