Rumble seat lid fit?

[Thearne3]

I have a 68B cabriolet. The previous owner replaced the quarter panels. The rumble lid is in such good shape, it may be a repro - not sure. The top edge of the lid fits well side to side. The base has about 3/8" gap on each side. The top edge is 36 1/2" wide. The bottom edge of the lid is 35 3/8. Most of the taper is in the bottom 1/3. There's also a 3/8" gap at the top edge and 1/8" at the bottom.

First question: what are the correct dimensions for the lid?
Second question: What are my options for closing up the gap along the sides and top?


Thanks for your help!

[Oldbluoval]

The gap on the drivers side looks good with the body but bad with the lid. Side of lid looks skewed. Pics can be deceiving
Repop lids are too wide.

[gdmn852]

Hello, fighting with my roadster rumble deck lid now,seems like the best you can do is even up the side gap and make sure the rumble lid has enough clearance not to rub when opening, not really happy with gaps, at latch area the lock and latch seem to set the gap at top .

[jw hash]

the lid on the left side it looks like it is too wide at top. on the right-hand side, is the 1/4 radius the same as the lid. sometimes if the 1/4 is too high in the middle it will have a wide gap in that area, if it is up a block of wood and a big hammer does wonders. I`m just finishing up on number 5- 68B. so, I have been there and done that.

[CT Jack]

After market lids are notorious for being dimensionally non-uniform. I do not have the exact original dimensions for the side-to-side body openings. You need to work at getting the body openings straight and parallel and also the left and right edges of the lid. I would strive for a 3/16" gap on each side. The hinge mounts can be shimmed to accommodate the proper side to side gap setting. the upper and lower gaps are set by the position of rotation. The after market lid curvature can sometimes be considerably different than an original which makes the adjustment process a little more tedious.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

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Adding to what John & Bill have stated above, there are a couple of other things maybe you should check.

To look at the deck door skin, place a large straight edge across the surface to see if it has crown in it. If not, it is a repro, ...and the only way I have found to make them work is to put the skin in an English Wheel and roll some curvature into it.

Also, check the rear panel to see that it has a little bit of crown in it also. If that panel is incorrect on shape or size, it can cause gap issues.

One other thing that is easy to get 'goofed-up' is making sure the body is square on the Sills. In other words, theoretically one quarter panel could be an eighth of an inch forward of the opposite side because the Sills are racked (-or the Sill was made wrong! ) and it will really make panel fitting difficult.

One final option to cheat the gap is to cut sheetmetal in the curvature shape of the door, and weld the strips to the edge to add thickness. While it isn't noticeable from the top-side, a keen eye can spot the thicker flange where the skin was originally folded. Most don't ever notice that since it will be at the bottom when open, so it is an option when all else fails.

[gdmn852]

Hello again, as mentioned trying to fit the rumble lid on my roadster found a big difference between original lower panel an repro , inside channel has much more curve than repro, have some pictures to show, what I am going to do is separate the original channel and install it in repro, let you know how that works out

[Oldbluoval]

That’s a great idea and will help a lot.
There’s often another issue with outer panel. The upper line of that panel, originally , has a slight arched curve. The reason is much like the lower reveal on a door; when something bows out, the optical “illusion” is that it it dips.
I’m guessing the outer skin will look like a bigger gap in the center that on the ends.
That was my assessment years ago so started making my own.
Hopefully something has changed for the better!!! Ya never know these days.
Your repop looks like a Howell’s……enough said! If you have the original have you considered fixing it??

[gdmn852]

Hello, the rear panel originally has a lot of filler in it , at one time the car took a hard hit in the rear even bent the lower body channel that is double wall inward about 1/2 inch , had to also straighten the sub rails due to that , I think the frame was changed, this car is probably a flea market Frankenstein, built from different parts, bought it with intention of repainting lacquer finish was all cracked.Once started working on it started to discover lots and lots of body filler, it was literally a 31 roadster sculpted of of bondo. When (if) I get it finished should be much better then when I bought it. Hopefully get back on Tuesday.

[Oldbluoval]

Subrails should be wooden.
I think you may have a Heinz 57. ???

[jw hash]

he is talking a roadster body not the 68B that the post started out on. measure the rear lower panel on the both bodies. the original panels are 1/4" taller in the middle than the end. if not there are reproductions. NO one that I know of makes the correct lower rear panels

[Oldbluoval]

Oops got confused!!!

[Model "A" Fords]

In the 1970s, when my roadster needed a new deck lid. Templates of the lid were taken to the auto salvage yard and the shape was matched up to one of the cars roof. Apparently that was a common practice used by my bodyman in those days.

[Oldbluoval]

Model “A”…
Absolutely..made the back panel of a 30 Phaeton that way. Regretfully, bone yards won’t let you scrounge around anymore. The modern gauge of metal just won’t work. Plus, lots of body parts are carbon fiber!

[Oldbluoval]

Message deleted

[JoeCB]

Referring back to the OP and the rumble lid measurements. I just checked mine (31 Coupe) and the same as reported, 36 1/2 at the top and 35 -3/8 at the bottom
Joe B

[gdmn852]

Measured deck lid I know is a repro ,Top 36 7/8 ,bottom 35 3/8 ,mid way 35 1/2 at top hinge rumble hinge,top to bottom on center 31 1/4 across top lid .