Re: Why the insert fabric roof and not steel
I always heard it was the fact that they hadn't figured out how to stamp a full steel top.
Yet, they didn't want to weld the the tops in and they were very good at body welding. consider the welds in the rear of the body. They could have simply extended this bead up and over the full body with out too much trouble. The hand work needed for the manufacture of the fabric top was time consuming and expensive. It wasn't the depression, it didn't happen for another two years (1929) with the worst or low point at July, 1932. So why didn't Henry give them steel tops? I dunno! Probably it was just another example of being stuck in time. They had always done it that way it worked pretty well. I believe the tops outlasted the engines in most cases, so maybe that was the deciding factor.
Terry
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