trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

Can any of you fellows tell me if the rain gutters for the trunk/rumble seat area are welded in from the factory, or were they bolted in? my roadster project was converted to a homemade pick up sometime in its life before I got it. It was missing the panel above and the panel below the deck lid, as well as the deck lid. I have replaced these, and have the rain gutters, but I do not know if they were bolted or welded in. I have tried bolting them in, but there is some interference with the deck lid, not enough clearance. That is why I am asking. I suppose it is possible that the top of the quarter panels are "leaned" in at the top. I am here in Alaska , and do not know anyone with a 29 roadster to compare mine against or take measurements from. Thanks to anyone who can help me out , and any info would be appreciated. Thank You,----Jim

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

My 28 special coupe had the same thing done to it as your roadster. 28/29 coupes use the same rain gutters as roadsters. The rain gutter on my coupe was severely damaged when they butchered it to make a crude pickup. I had to rebuild it, which was a lot of work. I used original parts to reconstruct it. The rain gutter is attach on the sides with oval head screws and across the top with round head screws.
Rusty Nelson

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

Thank you Rusty, I tried using some button head 1/4 " bolts that use an Allen wrench on the head of the bolt. The aftermarket deck lid (Brookville ) did not fit very well. I have about 20+ hours in it in body work trying to make it fit better, but am still having problems with the lid rubbing on the bolt heads in several spots. what size screws did you use. I bought reproduction rain gutters from Snyders. who knows where the clearance problem lies, when using all aftermarket parts. Like I said earlier, my Quarter panels my be bowed in at the top. my car was so rusty, several people said it was not worth saving. I replaced all the subrails , and a lot of other sheetmetal. I had this car broken down into pieces, and then put it back together. been working on it off and on for about 10-15 years. at least I have my avatar to drive in the summer.

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

I am pretty sure all the screws are slotted #10 i.e. 10-32, about 1/2" long. The oval head screws on the sides, when installed, are just slightly higher than flathead screws and look better. I tried to use a repro panel under the trunk lid, thinking I could never find an original panel and a repro inner panel used for a car that has a trunk. Neither one fit with a damn. I ended up buying original panels from Bert's in Denver and they fit like a glove. However they need a fair amount of TLC to make nice. Then I had all original sheetmetal - panels over and under the lid and an original lid. I found you can't beat original Ford made parts. If I were you, after the installing oval head screws and if the lid still hits the sides, use a hydraulic jack with some angle iron pieces to prevent damage to the rain gutter and spread the sides a little. Luckily my coupe had minimal damage to the T strips on the quarterpanels compared to the other damage in the trunk area, so I didn't have much of a problem with the T strips.
Rusty Nelson

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

The reproduction panels below the lid are notoriously poor quality and poor fit. They don't have the correct curvature and are narrower than originals. That could be some of the reason why your quarter panels seem to be too close together. I recall one very talented bodyman poster who cited that aspect as being one of the most challenging and frustrating jobs he'd ever encountered. One regular poster (forget his handle now) used to have a website on which he showed some of the modifications needed to this panel. Are you using rumble or trunk parts?

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

I believe the Fordbarn fellow is Kevin in NJ that had the set of pictures showing how he modified a repro lower panel to make it fit better. You really need an original inner support piece, like mentioned above to get the correct curvature to match the trunk lid.
Rusty Nelson

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

I am using a panel below the deck lid that according to Snyders, is 29 roadster specific. The panel I got from them about 10 years ago, and the curvature seems right and it fits the rear of the quarters and the rear sub-frame channel that connects the lt. and rt. sub-frame rails together pretty well, and I am satisfied with the fit there. I did have trouble with the panel above the deck lid. I went through two of them before I got one that I thought fit satisfactory. I appreciate all of the suggestions and comments from all of you. My brother and I are pretty much alone on this roadster project, and now that we are moving on it we are also starting on his 29 roadster P/u project. we are kind of bouncing back and forth on them. when we run into a problem on one we work a little on the other one while we think about what we want to do to cure a problem, or are waiting on parts. Thanks again for all the help.---Jim

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

Jim, the rain gutters on my 29 business coupe use the same screws Rusty used in the locations he described, and I am pretty sure my car is Factory original. You could check the parts book to confirm that. They are available from most Model A parts dealers.

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

Going from a very poor memory here but I was sure the rain gutter on my 28 special had spot welds along the sides to the T bar and the entire assembly was scew /bolted to the car.

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

Thanks fellows, the 30 coupe I have , looks like they are spot welded in, and another co coupe body my brother has they look welded in also. His body was also conerted to a make shift p/u at one time. the rain gutters are in his, but the panel below the deck lid is missing, just like my roadster was. we ordered one from Snyders, but the post office mangled it up beyond use by the time it got here. I knew it was bad when I picked it up, the box and the panel looked like a banana. I took pictures and e-mailed them to Snyders, explaining the problem, and they sent us another one, no charge. It got here ok. Thanks again to everyone for their help, I appreciate it.----JIm

Re: trunk/rumble lid rain gutters
 

Farrell,
You are correct. The T strips ARE spot welded to the quarterpanels on coupes and roadster. I thought Alaska Jim said his T strips where fixable and wouldn't need to remove them.
Rusty Nelson