Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Hey guys,
I just ordered the rear seat springs from LeBarron Bonney, but don’t expect them for 30 days or so. Not having them as a pattern makes it harder to anticipate how they mount to the floor pan. Here is my problem: I’m having to re-do the middle and rear floor pans because they were installed incorrectly (the body would not set down on the frame properly). I noticed the riser on the middle floor plan from Bob Drake is 4.5 inches. Mine was installed at closer to 6 inches high. It appears this forward vertical face of the middle floor pan would have to plane in with the oak cross member between the door posts and this would provide the proper angle for the base of the rear seat. 4.5” seems a little too low for everything else to work (in my case). Can you tell me if Drake is correct and the middle and rear floor pans are identical for the coupe (and thus the riser for the middle floor pan is indeed 4.5”)? I called Bob Drake and the salesman insisted it was 4.5 inches. The only reason I’m cautious is he said a few other things that I know are not correct from experience. Once again, thank you for your help.
Mike

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

I just went out and removed the rear seat in my convertible and it measures 4 1/2" high.

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

mike --- ford mixed, added, subtacted, and fabricated different floor pieces for every model in the middle and rear. conv, sedan,coupe, front floors are all the same and risers are all the same height and in the same spot. the only oddball is the coupe with opera seats. drake`s middle pans are correct for a coupe and may work in a conv but is not correct for a conv. sedan floors are a lot different in the rear and need coupe or conv. pieces to work properly in a conv.---- barry

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

I got mine from Bradley and he rolled it like it supposed to be but I bought the complete flor from him and it fit perfect he also did the torque tube tunnel

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Thanks so much everyone. If any of you gyes have a picture of this area without the seats in it would be sooooo appreciated. I'll contact Paul Bradley also. Again, thanks so much.
Mike

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Thank you!

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Does the seat stick out over the oak corss member about 2 inches or so?

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

On top of that wooden cross brace that the seat sits on, is two metal locators that will fit into holes in the bottom of the spring base, so you really can't get the bottom seat in the wrong place. I'd wait for the springs before working on the floor I think. Here is a pic I took this morning of the step in the floor which confirms the 4-1/2" dimension, at least on this car.

Attachment 60509

Re: Middle floor pan for 1940 convertible
 

Thank you. I'm also missing those two metal locators as one misght expect. The seats actually arrived yesterday and there are two 1" holes about 2 inches back from the leading edge. They don't line up exactly with what appear to be pre-drilled screw holes for some type of bracket on the top of the oak cross member. This would suggest the seat hangs over the oak about two inches. The picture you included looks like the pan out of a coupe or sedan in that I think I see the clip for a sedan seat? In any case, this has been a great help. One more question. Does anyone know the distance from the oak cross member to the 3 angled clips on the floor pan. This clips hold the bottom of the backrest in place. I assume the backrest overlaps the seat by about 3 inchs, but this would take the guessing out of it and confirm I have the correct angle for the backrest.
As Always, thank you so so much!
Mike