Help needed from Australian & NZ 1928 Model A Owners

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I'm gradually building up a bit of a library to assist with the restoration of my Australian-made 1928 RHD Phaeton. It was built in July 1928, but has many of the early 28 features that had been phased out of US-built versions by that time.

The biggest thing I need help with is the front floorboard, under the driver and passenger's feet. I have the drawings of the wood done by Alan Hastings, but for whatever reason, he only drew the front footboard, and not the actual footboard assembly itself.

As of right now, my car has tongue-in-groove (I found the term to be interchangeable with dovetail, depending on location) hardwood in the front compartment. The wood appears to be the "Victorian Ash"/"Tassie Oak" that it is supposed to be (it matches the storage box, which appears to be 100% original).

However, while it appears to be original, there is no cut out for the battery, nor are there any screw holes for mounting it to the frame...which leads me to believe it might be an old replacement. Further, there are no panel surrounds for the steering wheel, pedals, shift column, or emergency brake (located on the far right side of the car, as proper for an early '28).

I've accumulated a respectable library here, but I can't find any references about what this wood should look like. The judging standards are helpful, but would be more helpful if I actually knew what I was looking at.

My request, if anyone can help, is to get some photos of the front floor wood in other Phaetons (or, as the photo below, even pickup trucks, roadsters, or ?) of the same vintage.

I've scoured the Facebook forums, searched through this forum, and while I've been able to find some photos of early Phaeton floors, they typically don't show the wood, just the floor mat. Likewise, on photos of "survivor" vehicles, it seems that this is the first wood to be missing (probably because of needing to access the transmission, etc., not to mention wear and tear).

So, if you happen to own one of these cars, or maybe have photos of one, or maybe have a friend or acquaintance who has one, I would be most appreciative of getting a few photos so I know what to build during my restoration.

Pic below is of a "survivor" pickup truck that I found on Facebook. It appears to have the exact front flooring pattern I'm looking at recreating...but sadly this was the best photo of the lot (and these were from 2016, if I recall correctly).

Thanks in advance!

Dave

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Here's the rear wood that I believe is original in my car. The red oak along the edges is not original, but the wood of the box is.

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This is what I'm currently working with for the front wood. Given there are no screws for attachments and no other plates anywhere, I am fairly certain these are replacement boards. Thus, my question...what's supposed to be there?

Thanks again!

[Synchro909]

Les Pearson's book on Model As covers RHD cars. It might cover at least a lot of what you are asking. As for the plate around the steering column and pedals, I had one but not sure where it is now. I believe the Model A club of South Australia has repros, floor mat too.
The toe board should have screws holding it in place. The photos above show them clearly. My 1928 tourer has screws holding down the floor too but it is very different from what is shown above. It's a bit difficult to work out what is original and what is not after more than 90 years of people doing all sorts of things to keep the car going.

[rackops]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

Les Pearson's book on Model As covers RHD cars. It might cover at least a lot of what you are asking. As for the plate around the steering column and pedals, I had one but not sure where it is now. I believe the Model A club of South Australia has repros, floor mat too.
The toe board should have screws holding it in place. The photos above show them clearly. My 1928 tourer has screws holding down the floor too but it is very different from what is shown above. It's a bit difficult to work out what is original and what is not after more than 90 years of people doing all sorts of things to keep the car going.

Thanks! I do have his book and have been in communication with Les. He's been very helpful, but no luck with the front floorboard layout (though he did some some great photos of the whole assembly for the car...but again...no front floorboard!)

If you have the chance, I'd love to get a photo of what you have in your tourer for the front floorboard. I _think_ the toe board might be original in mine, or maybe close to it, but the more I investigate, the more I'm pretty sure the floor pieces aren't. Not that it's a huge issue as they're in need of getting replaced anyway...but just what's supposed to be there is the key. Also, have you noted that the boards in your car are natural in color, or blackened? The toe board does have a black coat on the top and is natural underneath. Not sure if that's how it is supposed to look or not.

And yes...this car started out as a wonderful example of Ford production, being sold in Perth...but after 32 years, it was found, rusting, on a farm outside of Perth. It was first restored and then taken to Rhodesia, where it was a daily driver, then sold to another fellow in Rhodesia, and finally to a fellow who restored it in South Africa in the 80s. And for the last 20 years, it's been in the US, unworked on for the most part. But through all those owners in all those countries, I have my work cut out for me figuring out what is "original", what's been replaced (some obvious, some not), and what's been "farmer fixed" over the years.

Thanks for the help! (Below is a photo Les sent me of the car wood assembly...quite good...but just lacking the floorboards in the front!)

[updraught]

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The floor boards look like the floor boards of a 1930 roadster my father bought in the mid 50's. It would have only have been 25 years old at the time so unlikely to have been replaced. No black on them, just raw wood.

New Zealand cars were imported so likely to be different, without our local content.

Mountain ash is gum tree.

[katy]

tongue-in-groove

I always knew that as tongue and groove.

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After a very enjoyable day of going through this forum, page by page (yes, I know how to use "search"...I just happened to be reading other pages of interest!) I found this thread from earlier this year that is (I think) fairly helpful. The biggest difference I've seen thus far is that the Australian cars don't have the black coating on the floorboards...though I could be wrong with that.

Anyway...I've learned a TON (and this is my third Model A!) digging through this past year's posts on here. What a great resource - I really wish I had this available when I owned my previous ones years ago.

Thanks to all for making this a great place to learn!

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193635