Floorboard question

[wrndln]

I am looking for a set of plywood floorboards for my mid 29 pickup, that has a front mounted emergency brake handle. Original planked and plywood floorboards were made of 11/16" thick material. Many vendors sell floorboards made of 3/4" plywood, which is too thick, especially once the edging is tacked in place. Ahooga Reproductions sells plywood floorboards that are made of 11/16" plywood, which is the correct thickness, however I question their mid 29 lower floorboard battery cutout and the shift tower cutout. The link to their mid 29 floorboard (front mounter emergency brake) is pasted in below. I made the planked floorboards for my 28 special coupe and early 29 phaeton using Steve Watrous drawings. Other than a coupe minor dimensional problems, the two sets of floorboards turned out well. Anyway, I know the 1928 lower floorboards had an inline narrow battery cutout. The first drawing attached is Steve's drawing I used to make my 1928 lower floorboards. The second floorboard drawing attached is Steve's later floorboard drawing used for the side mounted emergency brake. My question is: It seems like the early to mid 1929 floorboards should have the cutout around the shift tower and emergency brake just like the 1928 floorboards. The battery access hole I would think would be wider and at an angle like the second drawing. Steve doesn't have a drawing for the early to mid 1929 lower floorboards, which is unfortunate. If anyone knows what a mid 29 lower floorboard looks like, before the side mounted emergency brake was used, please post a picture or information about it.
Thanks,
Rusty Nelson

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A2829-FB-192...9XB~kG&vxp=mtr

[d.j. moordigian]

Good question Rusty! And yes, there could/should be another..?

[Beater]

have any carpenter friends with a big plainer?

[msmaron]

Rusty why not just call Murry Linker and have him make you a perfect set???

[4port]

I have an April 1929 blind back 4 door with original solid oak floor boards, mounted to the steel straps. If you have had no response I can measure and take photos.

[mlp623]

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Originally Posted by msmaron

Rusty why not just call Murry Linker and have him make you a perfect set???

X2 - Exactly what I was going to recommend.

[wrndln]

4port,
Briggs and Murray floorboards might be different from Ford bodies as they have wood subrails unlike Ford made mostly steel bodies/subrails. The things I am trying to figure out is when the wider angled battery hole was implemented and the shape of the cutout for the gear shift tower and front mounted emergency brake. If you could take a picture of your front lower floorboard, that might help me understand what a mid 29 floorboard looks like even though your car isn't exactly like Ford body. What month was your car made? Thanks for the response.
Rusty Nelson

[steve132]

Did you ever find the floorboards you needed?
Ahooga also has the 29 floorboards with the straight battery cutout also.
Just give them a call, and I'm sure they can send you a picture.
I know that they currently have a few of these in stock.

[wrndln]

The floorboard I need is like the one in the picture - FB2 C. All the floorboards I have seen at vendors are like FB2 A, FB2 B or FB2 D in the picture below. The FB2 C floorboard was only used, according to the Restorer article (Mar/Apr 1995), for about 4 or 5 months until the side mounted emergency brake was introduced in July 29. I think that is why the vendors don't carry it.

BTW, I talked to Murray Linker two or three years ago and I am pretty sure he said his plywood floorboards were made out of 3/4" plywood, not 11/16" plywood. I could be mistaken, but I don't think so.
Rusty Nelson

[RawhideKid]

Hey Rusty, if they did use that until July 29, I have a July 28 that has the E-brake in front of the shifter AND that same floorboard, so that would make it used for a full year while the front E-brake was used.

Just my 2 pennies

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by RawhideKid

Hey Rusty, if they did use that until July 29, I have a July 28 that has the E-brake in front of the shifter AND that same floorboard, so that would make it used for a full year while the front E-brake was used.

Just my 2 pennies

The difference would be that the floorboards were made up of several dovetailed boards until the change to plywood in early 29.

[Steve Plucker]

I think Neil Wilson did a well researched article in The Double A'er about floor boards...You might want to see if you can get that article. I think it was in the 2007 issue and may have another.

Pluck

[wrndln]

To clarify, the FB2 B was used until March 1929. The FB2-B floorboard was, like Tom W indicated, made of dovetailed hardwood only, not plywood until March 1929. The FB2-B floorboard had the narrow straight battery cutout, not the wider slanted battery cutout. Ford continued to used dovetailed hardwood & started using plywood in March/April 1929. Ford used dovetail hardwood floorboards through out model A production, but most were plywood as time progressed. This is information in the Restorer article (see attached page from the article).
Rusty Nelson

[Dick Steinkamp]

Originally Posted by wrndln

Many vendors sell floorboards made of 3/4" plywood, which is too thick

3/4" plywood is actually 23/32

https://www.thespruce.com/identifyin...-sizes-3536691

Only 1/32 (.03) over 11/16. Still too thick?

[Tom Wesenberg]

This is the first time I've heard of the dovetailed floorboards being used to the end of production.

I wonder if anyone has these in a later original car or truck?

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

This is the first time I've heard of the dovetailed floorboards being used to the end of production.

I wonder if anyone has these in a later original car or truck?

That chart that wrndln tells me that the plywood was made from hardwood. The guidelines chart on page 11-5 Revised in 2016 states all dovetailed hard would be done with by Aug 1929. The fronts in July and the rear in Aug.

The guidelines also call out the mid-year covers the months, May, June, July, and August."

[denniskliesen]

Here are some photos of hardwood original floorboards in a January 29 Tudor. These are front boards. I started to post and lost the page because it took me too long to find my pictures in photobucket. Edited: Measured with a dial caliper thickness is .685" at the battery inspection hole currently after lightly sanding only a minimum of nonoriginal paint and repainted black. There might be some shrinkage after 88 years.

[Joe K]

Deleted - I see well covered in last nights entry after I went to bed - and revealed on today's "refresh."

Good to see looking at an "original" board that Ford used the Linderman construction to achieve "use of scraps." And not just three whole boards as shown on the HTRYMA Vol 6.

The top view of the lower board seems to be made of three boards - not so the bottom of the bottom board which reveals that each of these three segment are made up of as many as three smaller boards. .

Linderman was their version of finger joints.

And does kind of make one wonder again the popular misconception of frugal Henry having used subcontractor supply boxes (and specifying box materials and size along with the engineering specification of the components contained therein) to make flooring for the Model A.

I think we've been through and discredited the legend. But seeing the actual board one wonders.

Joe K

[iverson]

Pics of our 6-21-28 touring boards not plywood

[Gunmetal blue2]

my 29 AA made 8-30-29 had hard wood floor board on the bottom and it had the straight and rounded metal strapes. looks like iverson floor board.

[wrndln]

Gunmetal blue2,
Does your Aug 29 AA have the straight cut battery hole or the angled type like later floorboards? You mentioned above it is like Iverson's, but I would sure think it would be the wider angled style. Your AA truck is near the vintage of my 29 CCPU, so that is why I am interested in what you have. I assume your floorboard is original, correct? Would you post a picture of you lower floorboard?
Rusty Nelson

[msmaron]

made by Murray and fits perfect

[msmaron]

Another Shot

[wrndln]

Mark,
Your floorboards sure look like they are made from soft wood (fir/pine/spruce) plywood from looking at the grain. Maybe I am wrong and they are made from hardwood plywood. Did you ever measure the thickness of the Murray Linker floorboards?
Rusty Nelson

[Larry Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Dick Steinkamp

3/4" plywood is actually 23/32

https://www.thespruce.com/identifyin...-sizes-3536691

Only 1/32 (.03) over 11/16. Still too thick?

Some places still offer the full 3'4". Pricey. "X" grades.

[Charles Reese]

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not my vintage but wanted to share pic of what i believe are original boards (brake to side). note that the width varys along the length of some boards. one can never have enough pictures

[Tom Wesenberg]

My original early 29 Tudor boards are the same. The boards vary in width from one end to the other end of each board. This really shows how every possible piece of wood was used by Ford.

[Steve Plucker]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

My original early 29 Tudor boards are the same. The boards vary in width from one end to the other end of each board. This really shows how every possible piece of wood was used by Ford.

Same on this end with my Feb. 1929 Tudor.

Pluck

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Joe K

Deleted - I see well covered in last nights entry after I went to bed - and revealed on today's "refresh."

Good to see looking at an "original" board that Ford used the Linderman construction to achieve "use of scraps." And not just three whole boards as shown on the HTRYMA Vol 6.

The top view of the lower board seems to be made of three boards - not so the bottom of the bottom board which reveals that each of these three segment are made up of as many as three smaller boards. .

Linderman was their version of finger joints.

And does kind of make one wonder again the popular misconception of frugal Henry having used subcontractor supply boxes (and specifying box materials and size along with the engineering specification of the components contained therein) to make flooring for the Model A.

I think we've been through and discredited the legend. But seeing the actual board one wonders.

Joe K

While taking the wood out of a Victoria we found several pieces that were put together from multiple boards using long dovetail joints, while the drawings only showed a single piece.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

While taking the wood out of a Victoria we found several pieces that were put together from multiple boards using long dovetail joints, while the drawings only showed a single piece.

Mike, was this floorboards?
If not floorboards, was it dovetailed, or finger joints?

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Mike, was this floorboards?
If not floorboards, was it dovetailed, or finger joints?

Two layers of dove tail joints. It looked like they were used to create a single board and the cut to size. There was one on the body sill and another on the top side rail.

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

Two layers of dove tail joints. It looked like they were used to create a single board and the cut to size. There was one on the body sill and another on the top side rail.

Lower (foot) board: Looking at denniskliesen's pix it seems that linderman was used to make up the three MAJOR boards as shown in the Ford drawings (and HTRYMA Vol 6/Steve Watrous dwgs.)

These major boards seem to be made of up to three sub-sections, all jointed using linderman too?



Its like Ford put someone to a pile of scraps and said: "Here, use the linderman machine and make planks x by y so we can use that to make floorboards.

I wonder if these sub-sections have any "butt-joints"? Which might have been finger joints (although these were not common until after WWII) or butt joint end grain to end grain (a source of floorboard leak?) or use of the linderman machine (which would give a good joint but one would have to "plan out" his assembly sequence.)

Looking at the actual joint in denniskliesen's pix, I would guess the dovetail to be 5/16" at the wide of the key?



I have the technology to do these boards - and correct size cutters are available from freud and others.

And I just happen to need the lower board for my March 29 CC pickup.

Joe K

[Tom Wesenberg]

I'm also duplicating 3 sets of the floorboards with the dovetailed joints for my 28 Phaeton and Feb 29 Tudor. I finally found the correct router bit at a new and used tool store. It sure takes time to make them, but I like things to be as correct as possible.

[denniskliesen]

Joe K I'll try to remember to hold a steel ruler up to the end the next time I have them out. They were a perfect fit when I put them back in. I got the welt from Bratton's and new tacks came with it in a bag which I didn't use as I felt they were too big in diameter and length and I didn't want to take a chance splitting them. So I used the old ones.

[Dkrahn]

Dennis...I do like the pictures. The way it looks to me, for '29 pickup ,the floorboard looks identical to your pictures. I would say the way the pieces are installed are in this order:
1. two wood pieces
2. Metal plate for shifter
3. felt around clutch and brake pedals
4. Metal piece around those pedals
5. Shift Boot on top of wood
6. Then rubber mat
Does that sound accurate?? Appreciate your help..

[burner31]

I made my own out of marine board, have you considered doing it yourself?

[hazelhoff]

It’s been my understanding Ford pushed their suppliers to deliver their product in oak crates, to enable Ford to make floorboards out of it !

[Conaway2]

Does anyone make original style floorboards with multiple pieces of wood and steel straps ?

Thanks - Jim

[old ugly]

i really like this post, thanks!

i don't like plywood in early cars because it just wasn't commercially produced until the late 1920s and most manufactures used solid wood board or laminated specially for their own cars.

the edge dovetailed boards are cool, i am going to make a set, someday.

thanks
ou