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Old 10-16-2021, 09:58 AM   #1
cmego
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Default '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

Hey guys I need all the '32 Ford Rumble seat experts help. Before I receive all the hate I know it's a 'glass car (I wish it was steel!), that being said, my father bought bits & pieces 40+ years ago & now I'm trying to finish the puzzle for him. I've had a hard time finding any good pics of how the frame mounts to the lid & floor on a '32. I don't have one I can go look at either so I'm reaching out to anyone who's been down this road.

As far as I can tell the upper frame (backrest) seems to have the "tapered" part at the top when the lid is open. I think I've got the little U-shaped tabs in the upper lid slots the right way but I'm not 100% sure. The bottom two tabs screw into the base of the trunk lid so that's straight forward. As for the lower cushion I've cut some slots at the front of the cushion into the fiberglass seat riser that's built into the floor for the "tabs" on the lower seat frame to slide into. I will likely reinforce the slots with some steel backing or something so it doesn't crack over time. Is there anything that should be anchoring the rear of the lower seat frame to the floor?

Please let me know if I'm tackling this the right way, appreciate all the help I can get.
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Old 10-16-2021, 10:46 AM   #2
deuce_roadster
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

You have the springs orientated correctly. However since your car is NOT destined for the concourse, you might re-think wanting the rumble seat before you go to the cost of the upholstery etc. My avatar roaster came to me with a rumble seat and the body was massively rusted (I hammer welded 10" all the way around the body, both lips of the frame were rusted off, etc) sitting out in the rain for 40+years. As I repaired everything I kept the rumble and now wished I had not. You can carry very little with you when you drive anywhere, maybe 1 chair. I did my car as a late 40s car as it came off the road in 1949 so I upholstered it in black and white tuck and roll. Wish I had the same room as in my 5w coupe with a standard decklid.
Since it is all glass, do whatever you need to securing the seat cushion. In general you seem to see how it all should fit. The bottom of my backrest pushed down on the back of the seat cushion.
Good luck.

Last edited by deuce_roadster; 10-16-2021 at 10:58 AM.
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Old 10-16-2021, 01:21 PM   #3
DavidG
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

Given the limitations of fiberglass compared to steel, what you've devised should work. On the original set up, the tabs at the top of the seat spring pointed down so the weight of the back cushion was largely borne by the sheet metal below the slots and not by the tabs and clinch nuts at the bottom of the cushion. In your set up with curved tabs pointing up, it would seem that the weight of the cushion will be largely borne at the bottom.


The '33s were the first to have bottom cushion retention at both the front and back of that cushion .
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Old 10-16-2021, 01:58 PM   #4
Karl Wescott
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

Hello


First the "good" news... It looks like the body is a Wescott. I see a couple of details that make me reasonably sure.


Where the bottom of the backrest spring attaches to the lid most of our deck lids have a steel plate for drilling and tapping for the mounting screw. You got the slot in the base riser just right so the spring has to lift at the bottom to take it out at the front, gravity keeps it down at the back.
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Old 10-16-2021, 02:15 PM   #5
cmego
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

Ok, that's what I thought (upper tabs should be hanging down into the trunk lid slots), the U-shaped tabs were actually on the other end of the backrest frame from the supplier which was throwing me off because the curvature of the frame didn't match the lid, I took them off & switched tabs end for end & everything seemed to fit much better (also had the "tapered" part of the backrest upwards) but I wasn't sure if the upper U-tabs should point up or down inside the lid. With the fiberglass lid it seemed to fit better with the U-tabs upwards, if I put them downwards on the seat frame it was hanging down too low on the lid & there was a large gap between the inner lid & backside of the seat frame. If the car was metal it would be so much easier to fabricate things properly, this is my first time working on a 'glass car & hopefully my last.

For the bottom of the backrest I plan on installing some threaded metal tabs inside the lid with epoxy so I can easily install screws through the lower backrest tabs into the trunk lid & have extra reinforcement.

Seems like the '32's are closer to an A-type rumble seat. The later cars had more paraphernalia holding the cushions in place from what I read.

I did notice that most guys regret installing a rumble seat as it limits storage space & that it's not very comfortable for passengers at speeds over 30 mph. I appreciate the "seasoned" advice. Will have to make sure my dad is on board before I go any further.
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Old 10-16-2021, 02:16 PM   #6
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

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It is an OLD Wescott Body! Circa 1977.
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Old 10-16-2021, 02:45 PM   #7
Bored&Stroked
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

I can see how folks do not like losing all the trunk space that the rumble seat takes up, but I'm glad I kept it in my 32 Cabriolet.

While it is not very 'utilitarian', I like the looks of it. I had a custom upholstery job done in mine (along the line of a pre-war custom). Plus - it is fun to be able to take a few folks for a ride in a rumble-seat . . . an experience that most really enjoy.

Practical . . . 'No' . . . but not much of my car really is anyway!

ClevelandAutorama-Rumble1-48dpi.jpg

ClevelandAutorama-Rumble2-48dpi.jpg
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Old 10-16-2021, 03:09 PM   #8
cmego
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

My 12 year old son is really looking forward to riding back there, love that Cabriolet upholstery!
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Old 10-17-2021, 11:31 AM   #9
deuce lover
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

X2. Looks fantastic !!
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Old 10-17-2021, 05:43 PM   #10
mercman from oz
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???





Rumble Seat in Bored&Stroked's 1932 Ford Cabriolet.
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Old 10-18-2021, 12:58 PM   #11
blucar
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Default Re: '32 Roadster Rumble Seat Frame Mounting???

For many years I thought that a rumble seat would be a nice addition to my 36 coupe. Not so much when I lived in Idaho, but when I moved to southern California with the car .the idea grew on me.
In about 1963 I had a chance to get a complete rumble seat assembly for a 36 for the price of removing it from a stripped out car. I could never quite bring myself to modify the trunk opening to accommodate the rumble lid. Every time I got the tools out to cut the drip rails off, I would pause, then decide to wait. after over twenty-five years of waiting I sold the complete rumble assembly to a man that had been bugging me about it.
My 39 convertible is a rumble seat car, the last year for one. I left everything for the rumble seat in the car when I restored it, except for the cushions. The area is all carpeted with leather on the side panels and bottom side of the deck lid. Without the lower spring cushion it is very simple to put a temporary cushion on the bottom of the area for seating.
I think in this day and age I would put set belts in the rumble area if I was going to have someone sitting in there, especially a kid.
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Last edited by blucar; 10-18-2021 at 01:09 PM.
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