Eureka and wood.

John ED Renstrom

PCS Member
Super Site Supporter
common believed that Eureka stopped building wood framed bodies in the early 1950's. I found this true were the doors are concerned on this 58. but everything from the below the glass up on this 1958 is wood framed. if you took the wood out the panels would not support themselves. the top bows off the roof are screwed to the wood. surprising enough it's in good condition. so far to date I have taken 5 mouse nest out of this car. one had to be a multi apartment dwelling man it was big.
 

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I wonder how many Eurekas burned down like a house if they got into a fender bender and ignited a spark from the gas tank not to mention the O2 tanks! I'll bet those cars had to be incredibly heavy too. Amazing that they were still using wood like that, I wonder if their competitors made fun of them for still using wood? I know that M-M used it against Superior that they used a lot of fiberglass, and even distributed photos of wrecked Superiors where the fiberglass melted in fires.
 
wow it looks good, and you are taking that car down way farther then I thought. I cant wait to see the progress on the old girl.
 
i often wish i would have kept that 58 Eureka. I love the one I have now, but that one was also a great car. Cant wait to see it once it is finished.
 
we have ended up with a lot of lead damage on the top. so we will need to use a lot of heat up there. I kept finding the mouse nest so though I had better just remove the headliner. to keep from having the on burn up in the shop.

as for weight 58 was the heaviest cars ever produced by GM. so it a vary bottom heavy chassis as it is. that would be equal across all the manufactures.
the wood in this one would be no heavier then steel. what makes this car so heavy is the lead in it on the out side from about 6 inched below the glass to 6 inches above the drip rail is all lead. the inside of both fins down to the bumper is lead.

Eureka construction method is still a fascination to me. it's not put together like any other car I have ever worked on. were the tin has rusted away the wood is still strong every piece of the interior is nailed in place. there are no bows in the headliner. it's nailed to a cross piece in a number of locations. the center colored piece is separate with all four sides nailed to the roof. I will say it the first time I ever got the front headliner out of a combo and took the zippers out in one piece. funny thing they were OD green and have subdue brass in the zipper. wounder what they were extra from
 

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