1928 roadster wood plank floor?

[rust revival]

Does anyone reproduce the 28 roadster wood plank floor, or plans, I know I could use plywood but would like to try to keep authentic

[1crosscut]

If you are wanting the sliding dovetail joint I don't know of anyone reproducing it.
To replace the floor boards on my AA I needed to make my own. Setting up the router bit to make the male end was very fussy and took a while

[Joe K]

I believe it is the book "How to Restore Your Model A" Volume 6 which has the drawings for the various permutations of the floor.

There apparently was a period between late 1929 and early 1930 where one board could be the so called "Linderman" construction (sliding dovetail) and the other of the new plywood boards.

Joe K

[Robert/Texas]

My March '28 OCPU has black painted boards, dove tailed, pegged and fastened together with metal straps. On a tour in the 1990's a club member told me that he believed that they were original ones. I don't know if that is true or not. They seem to weigh twice as much as the plywood ones in my May '28 roadster.

[rust revival]

Ok I will try looking for the How to Restore Your Model A" Volume 6, I'm assuming it describes the wood to use? Poplar, oak ect ?

[rotorwrench]

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The article in Volume 6 of the MAFCA how to restore series is pretty good. It illustrates a lot of differences and even has small illustrations of original Ford prints. All of the floor boards were either hardwood planks or they were 5-ply plywood. Ford used what hardwood grew at the iron mountain property. It could be maple, beech, birch, elm, or oak. They used both tongue & groove and dovetail edges and all were 11/16" thick. The plywood was 5-ply fir or dense southern yellow pine in 11/16" thickness. The also specified "must be free from full knots, checks, or warps" and "paint with M-1238-B".

Ford started out using hardwood planks only with the steel straps but started using both planks and plywood in march of 1929 and the use of both continued till the end of production. The plywood was likely the most common from late 1929 through the end since it didn't need the extra steel straps on both sides. It likely made the floor boards lighter weight.

[rust revival]

You fellas never disappoint with your willingness to help and share knowledge

[1crosscut]

I used maple. Worked well and is pretty stable.

[rust revival]

Nice work Dave, looks great

[sdpet56]

Originally Posted by 1crosscut

If you are wanting the sliding dovetail joint I don't know of anyone reproducing it.
To replace the floor boards on my AA I needed to make my own. Setting up the router bit to make the male end was very fussy and took a while

Nice craftsmanship and thanks for the idea...Mine has plywood flooring and I have an Incra Router table that would make the sliding dovetail jount a pretty easy task...