Cabriolet 68C -- "Sources" and Wood-Related Questions

[Dick Carne]

Hello Friends, and best wishes to all for a Merry and Meaningful Christmas.

I started pulling my 68C Cabriolet apart last week, and there are several items that I have model-specific questions and/or source questions about:

1. Is there a source for the replacement rubber that goes under/through the trim plate on the body at the back of the door, and serves as a weather seal between the body and matching plate on the rear door pillar/top?

2. Is there a source for imprinting the body number on a new Briggs body plate (on the firewall)?

3. Is there a source for rumble seat floor mats for the 68C? While I am not intending to restore this car to a high "points" standard, I would nonetheless like to rebuild it to somewhat reasonable original standards. With that said, if there is not a ready source available, would it be considered "reasonable" from say a Touring Class perspective to make a new floor covering to match the carpet used on the front floor mat (I suppose that the reality is that I would still probably choose to proceed that way if floor mats are not otherwise available regardless of any "standards", but I am curious as to how other folks might look at this)?

4. I purchased this old girl a few years back from the son of the second owner, who purchased the car in 1936 from the original owner. Over the years it appears to have been well maintained (with the exception of some 1960's "upgrades" - hydraulic brakes, oil filter on the firewall, etc.), and until I got to the rumble seat area, had planned to possibly still use the original floor sills - these are amazingly solid until you get to the rumble seat area where it has either some wood rot or is at least softer than I am comfortable going forward. I plan to media blast the body tomorrow, and then replace all of the floor sills once everything has been epoxy primed. My current thinking is to pull the entire floor system out as a unit and then reinstall a new assembled floor section once new wood has been cut and finished. Would this be a generally accepted preferred method or is there a better process to consider (I suspect that the cross sills are mortise and tenon joints similar to those on fordors, which would seem to suggest that it might be more challenging to get tight fits on all of the different cross sills)?

5. From those who may have worked on these cars before, are there any specific areas and/or items that I should be aware of in undertaking this project?

My thanks to any and all in advance for any thoughts, ideas, and/or recommendations that you might be able to offer.

[d.j. moordigian]

"1. Is there a source for the replacement rubber that goes under/through the trim plate on the body at the back of the door, and serves as a weather seal between the body and matching plate on the rear door pillar/top?"

Do you need / have the 2 plates on either side?
I have a friend that is making them..

[jw hash]

there is two people to get a hold of Larry Machacek 939 441 8209 Larry`s wife was making up the body number plates, and old blue oval on ford barn they should be able to point you in the right direction

[Dick Carne]

Thanks guys.

D.J., I was fortunate in that all of the door and top related hardware was still intact, so thankfully, I do not need to find replacement parts for those two trim pieces on either side. But I very much appreciate your reaching out to me on those.

J.W., thanks for the lead and contact information for both Larry and Bill. I'll try to reach out to them over the course of the next couple of days.

Once again, I very much appreciate your guidance and thoughtfulness in helping me to get this old girl back on the road again.

[figment]

If you have a Snyders catalogue look on page 193 , they list a dress plate seal for 68 A and 68 B for $7.50 each . Not sure but they might be different for the 68C

[ronn]

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Tony in Stillwater NY does these cars and would be good to speak with


dont have his #

[rotorwrench]

You might check out some of the products available from Jamestown Distributors for your body wood condition. They have stuff to help preserve old wood that needs a hand.

[d.j. moordigian]

Originally Posted by figment

If you have a Snyders catalogue look on page 193 , they list a dress plate seal for 68 A and 68 B for $7.50 each . Not sure but they might be different for the 68C

I believe they are,....that's why a friend of mine had them made..

[1931 flamingo]

Isn't there a Cabriolet Club??
Paul in CT

[d.j. moordigian]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

Isn't there a Cabriolet Club??
Paul in CT

Yes Paul..
The 68-C,...IF I remember, they only made just over 6,000..

[Dick Carne]

Thanks once again everyone -

By way of a short update, today we used powdered glass beads to blast the body and rear fenders on this old girl, and then immediately used epoxy primer to insure a good seal on everything. I was surprised at how nice a finish this method left, and absolutely no warpage of the sheet metal. It did, however, uncover a very few pin holes in the lower cowl panels and the bottom of the drivers door (but thankfully not the outer skin, only the door bottom itself), and fortunately not enough to consider replacing the lower cowl panels.

I don't believe that very many of the parts on the 68-A&B bodies are interchangeable with the 68C version. Accordingly, and given the difficulty in sometimes finding model-specific parts, I have begun to wonder whether it might be feasible to make this seal by cutting one down to fit from a larger piece of rubber to a point where it might fit under the lower seal plate? I'm also wondering who might be a supplier for the window channel lining for these cars. The channel that was in the doors consisted of a felt-like fabric with an added channel of felt on either side of the window frames, and a double channel on the door facing itself. And because of the window frames, I don't believe that the window channels available for other slant window models would work on this model. Any thoughts on these?

And last but not least, to Dudley's point, the Judging Standards indicate that there were 6,842 68-C's produced - both foreign and domestic.

Once again, I very much appreciate everyone's insight and recommendations.

Warmest regards to all ...

[Oldbluoval]

I believe I am the only current supplier of the deep channel for the 68c door.
You are correct that nothing else works in that setup
If the inner metal channel is decent I can re-felt yours or supply replacement
All are fitted to an original door to assure fit
If interested
[email protected]