I've saw Model A's in magazines with 35/36 Ford humpback hinges and really liked the look,but those hinges come in a right and left . Anyone ever put them on a Model A and if so any hints as to how to do it right would be appreciated. Also all I see for gaskets between the body and hinge are the paper ones,does anyone make or sell rubber ones? Pic is from Feb 2011 Street Rodder mag---it showes the hinges I'm talking about Thanks
you might have to metalwork the area where they'll sit, to get them parallel? don't know how much angle they have built into them, but that's more than likely the easiest way to do that. maybe the hinges could be cut down level and rechromed? i'm leaning towards raising a section of the lid directly beneath the hinge, exactly high enough to make it parallel. maybe press a relief from beneath the skin? those are neat detail parts to use; i hope you can work out a method that works for you!
I think to be sure that the hinges are parellel to each other you will need to pull the hinge pins out and run a rod the same size as the pin between the two hinges, that would make sure that they dont bind when opened. And might have to do some shaping on the bottom of the hinge to match the contour of the deck lid. I like the look of them also, and am considering using something similar on my model A project....Scott
My last car had surface mounted hinges on the decklid. The mistake I made was not preventing the hinges from over extending. They were pot metal from a 30's dodge and I snapped one when the decklid slipped out of my hand. This may not be an issue with all hinges but just a friendly warning. Good luck
Sounds like a good idea! as far as shaping the bottoms---that is why I was wondering if anyone sells rubber gaskets for under them---something like they have for door handles with the raised edge???
the pic you posted looks like it has a rubber gasket, like a door handle has. might have to check the Bob Drake web site and see if they sell one.
That car belongs to Mark Ford. The hinges are not parallel to each other. They're angled on the 37. Those arent rubber gaskets, they're wedge shaped steel shims made to align the hinges so they'll open straight. I had the same thing on my model A. The Nash hinges I used had some angle in them, but I ground the angle out of the hinge with a flap disc.
There are hinges out there that are parallel.. Early triumph or MG I think.. but in reality it's not so bad
Bob drake does the hinges and the gaskets. The gaskets are heavy paper as original. You won't get and shouldn't mount hinges on rubber as the rubber will flex causing other problems.
NONE!,but they did pull the metal down a little,but that is because I was mounting them on an already painted car. I could have welded support where they mount if it was on a not painted yet car----was a pain,but once I drilled the holes I was committed----overall I'm happy with them .No binding at all when opening!! You can see in pic #3 where the paint is scraped off from where it used to rub--now it doesn't so I can touch that up
Heres mine, they had a little bit of a crown on the mounting side so I put them in the vice with some wood paint stir sticks to protect the chrome, and applied pressure to flatten them out. The fit nicely on the deck lid now and give it a smooth opening swing.
None?!? How did you pull that off? Mark Ford is a friend of mine and I'm the one who made the steel spacers for his hinges. They were made from 1/4" plate and they were put on a belt sander and shaved from about 1/4" on one edge down to almost a point on the other edge. We experimented with several versions of spacer thickness, with a piece of sheet bolted to the hinges in the locations where they would end up. When it was right and there was no binding, the hinges were traced on the wedge, cut out, and finished up on a bench grinder. If the panel above your decklid has been 'pulled down', then you clearly don't have it right! You will get stress cracks eventually, if you already haven't wasted it! It took us awhile to get it right, so when you said it was 'a pain', you're right. Anything you do that's custom on a car is a pain, epecially if it's worth it. As a matter of fact, if it's not a pain in the ass then I'm automatically suspect that it sucks. Just sayin.
They are off a late 30s chevy, and I like them because they are longer and the mounting holes are farther apart.
I think maybe the reason I didn't have to use spacers is that my louvered trunk lid might have a little more arch to it than a stocker--There is no binding at all
It certainly is possible that you're decklid and and the piece above have more curve, since Mark's car was pieced together in the rear, but wow, that's a lot. Hope it works out for you. Cool decklid, BTW.
Thanks---mine was put together from 6 different cars! All the credit goes to HomadeHardtop57 here on the HAMB---he built the car
Not sure where to start on this...Michael is right, it was a pain in the ass to make the hinges work right. I had to weld a handle onto the plate while sanding the wedge, cuz it got so hot! Michael was a magician on the bench grinder shaping the spacers. I will tell you that after 2 years of driving with those hinges, I am having to go back and re-enforce the areas around where they mount. Those things take a beating from driving and vibration, etc. The original hinges were from the '36 sedan Michael bought for his 3 window project, but they broke. Had to replace them with the Bob Drake ones, which in my opinion are cheap, but better than none.
Yeh,I imagine that someday I might have to do it all over,but who knows--maybe not--Living in the northeast I only drive the car about 8 months out of the year-just have to wait & see--didn't want to weld any reinforcements because then would have to get into paint. I am giong to install good rubber bumpers under all 4 corners of the lid to keep it nice and tight
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