I’m fitting the top wood for my 30 A. The door headers are notched pretty deep. Can anyone tell me, am I missing a piece, like maybe a rubber pad between the door header plate and the wood? a couple photos of what I’m trying to explain : Thanks in advance
It looks right from what I see. When it's tightened up the rigidity is impressive. However, most/all of my header pieces needed some massaging.
I did notice that my stock window wood had some sort of cloth/padding on the side that faces the wood. I didn't notice anything like that elsewhere but I could be wrong.
Try and check another car if you have the chance. I bought a T coupe roof wood kit a good few years back and it was a nightmare to fit. Actually, it did not fit. I spent hours re-cutting and chiselling joints etc. When I thought it was right, then my body guy took to it as well and tweaked it even more. I took pic's as soon as I smelt a rat and emailed them to the Supplier who once convinced refunded all my money and let me keep the wood kit. In the end I made it fit, but I would have much prefered to have gotten the correct fitting kit first up... Mine was worst around the door tops and header panel and rear corners... There was definitely no reliefs for rivets etc.
Yes there was a cloth under the wood originally. Like burlap. As mentioned the repo wood needs modification. Try to assemble as much as you can and then see what doesn’t fit. Modify from there. It’s a Chinese puzzle but it all makes sense in the end.
Thank you for the photos wow! Maybe in part just the pics but those gaps look huge. I’d be super pissed! My kit came from Fordwood out of Utah, and overall I’m pretty happy with the quality. I’m using the model a handbook as a guide which is super helpful. But it does seem that maybe the supplier cuts large, maybe to ensure the greatest probability of fit to cars that were far from consistent. I might cut a spacer just so things fit snugly.
Need to realize that there were more than one company building coupe bodies for Ford. Mine is a Briggs body, Murray and Ford also built bodies. I’m sure there are some variabilities between them all.
Funny thing for me is I hate doing wood work and as luck would have it, anything wood work related in my life seems to always require so much more of my attention and time, when the last thing on my mind is to get involved. There are limited wood kit manufacturers in business these day and those UT guys seem to have a good reputation. I am unaware where my kit was made as I acquired it thru a Model A & T parts supplier. The possibility also exists that younger labour these days would have no idea what a right or wrong piece looked like in their job and so it would be easy for junk to get thru as being correct...