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05-07-2016, 07:36 AM | #1 |
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Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
My 1931 slant windshield 4 door sedan is one of the heaviest of Model A production cars and has very little wood in the structure. It is obvious that Ford was very adept in bending metal by huge presses such as the front fenders on the Model A yet the center of the roof on my 4 door, which would be simple to make from metal, was instead the usual wood bows covered by chicken wire, then a woven cloth and finally a vinyl top sheet. Why did Ford not make the roof on these final run Model A's out of metal? Was it still a cost savings measure or another reason I cannot figure out? Thanks...
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05-07-2016, 11:26 AM | #2 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
Ford's competitors (and Ford as well) didn't install all-metal roofs until 1937. Some thoughts/ explanations on the HAMB website (see fabric roofs) about deep drawing and welding steel tops.
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05-07-2016, 12:47 PM | #3 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
The Model A does not have a rigid frame. It is not welded, but is held together by rivets. On the primitive roads of the day, mostly unpaved, the frame and the body flexes quite a bit. It was designed to do so.
I have heard that the reason that the roof was not a solid panel was that under these conditions, the metal in the roof would buckle and and be noisy. I don't know if it is true, or even one factor out of many, but it makes sense to me. Ken
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05-07-2016, 01:00 PM | #4 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
Steel tops were introduced as soon as steel mills were able to make roll stock that was wide enough. I got that input from the engineering department at a big rolling mill I once called on.
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05-07-2016, 01:06 PM | #5 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
My '31 Bud Cab pickup has an all steel top.
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05-07-2016, 01:18 PM | #6 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
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BTW, consider this, the slant sedan was introduced in May. So they did a major body change with only 7 months of production left and they were seeing a reduction in sales due to the depression. Think about how much money it must have saved Ford over producing the wood bodied cars to justify the change for a short a time. |
05-07-2016, 01:42 PM | #7 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
The 1931 Budd Steel top pickup was introduced in August of '31. It was the smallest roof of all the vehicles so it was natural vehicle to implement the style with. I do not know the particulars but it appears that Ford went to steel top coupes in the mid 30's while the larger vehicles (tudors and fordors) still had inserts.
-Tim
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05-07-2016, 10:54 PM | #8 | |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
Quote:
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05-07-2016, 10:56 PM | #9 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
Are not the middle rear sections of sedans the same rough dimensions of the roof openings?
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05-09-2016, 09:34 AM | #10 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
The chief engineer at Murray developed the deep die tooling that made elimination of the vinyl top insert possible, but Ford did not give-in to that technology until the late 1930s.
If I do another Model A closed-car top, I am going to weld in a steel insert over the bows and glue the vinyl to the insert to it, so it looks original. I will also put the perimeter seam moldings on the car for looks. The welded insert will put an end to leaks that soil the headliner as well as stiffen the body.
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05-09-2016, 11:05 AM | #11 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
I read that they (Ford) preferred the vinyl/cotton/wood tops for insulation to help keep the interior cooler in summer and to help prevent condensation moisture in winter. The Budd metal top pickups were the first metal roofed Ford Model As, and they were not insulated.
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05-09-2016, 11:40 PM | #12 | |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
Quote:
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What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them. - Henry Ford II |
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05-09-2016, 11:59 PM | #13 |
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Re: Why A Vinyl Roof On My '31 Slant Windshield 4 Door Sedan?
Long grain leather roofs ???? Simple they sound cool when it rains!!!!!
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