68c cabriolet seat and back window ?

[31Abone]

Are the drivers seat and back rest the same as coupe or roadster 1931 ? Also is back window same as roadster and phaeton 1931 ?

[Oldbluoval]

Yes but I can't prove it with parts references

[Kevin in NJ]

The seat springs and seat frame are late 31 coupe/ cabriolet ratchet adjuster and different then the earlier.

They also use a special seat slide. The cabriolet unit was different from as it was screwed to the wood sills with counter sunk flat head screws. They used a captured nut that was nailed into a recess on the bottom of the sill. So the slider part that goes to the floor for the cabriolet will have counter sunk screw holes pressed into the slider. The coupe units were flat and riveted to the metal sill.

The package shelf was standard 30-31 coupe.

Not sure about the rear window. I believe there were 2 options depending on safety glass or plate glass. Both would have been the same size but the shape and finish was a bit different.

You can find all this information and pictures in the 68C article that can be found in Vol 6 of How to Restore Your Model A. The JS also will have the rear window information, but I believe that was covered in the article.

[James Rogers]

Along the lines that Kevin stated, the seat frame was the same as the 31 deluxe coupe but not the standard coupe. The standard coupe had a wooden bottom frame and the deluxe had a metal bottom frame.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Sport coupe back window is larger but the roadster,cabriolet and phaeton are the same, I think. I always thought the phaeton back window should be the largest as it is further away.

[31Abone]

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Good replies..I have a seat frame in car and an old seat spring but its not bolted down so I not sure if its correct or not..I going to wait until I get the body lifted in the air so I can under and inspect proper and clean out rat crap out the cracks etc..see pics..missing a few parts so if anyone has extra's let me know......Spencer

[Kevin in NJ]

I have attached a picture of the door window stop that I do not see on your doors. It goes on the inside face of the door by the latch area. It sets the top stop of the window.

I have drawings to build your own if you do not have them.

[Kevin in NJ]

Oh I should add.

You have the correct seat frame.

I need a picture of the bottom of the bottom spring to know if you have the right spring. Also you can look for a tag with a number on it on the spring.

[Kevin in NJ]

Originally Posted by forever4

.

It looks to me like a late steel seat frame sitting loose on top of an earlier floor structure.
Is it fastened or sitting loose?
Clearer pics on the outboard ends might prove me wrong on the floor structure.

I am going to make the following comments to illustrate the issues that need to be considered to tackle a cabriolet body. I have gone down a road with my 68C that lead me to a big eye opening. Keep in mind I learned most of the following the hard way. Nothing like tearing everything apart and starting over a couple of times as you learn new things the hard way.

Also keep in mine the sill pictures do not offer enough of a view. I am basing some of my comments on assumptions from some other pictures I have seen of this body.

The upper wood has been replaced and it has too many issues. My opinion is the car would need to have a close look at all the wood by someone who knows what they are looking at. I know all the upper wood is not what I would consider using knowing what I know now. Seeing the door posts, the sills and how the door posts fit into the sills would be telling.

I have learned the cabriolet bodies are 'functional' in that the wood needs to be set up right so the body will 'work'. There is a complex relationship with the top fit to the body that you do not find in the roadster type bodies. Having small differences in the wood leading to misplacement of parts by 1/8" here and there can really mess with how the top fits and functions.

I would like to point out in these pictures the glaring top wood problems. The belt wood is not tapered to allow for the forward lean of the back up right of the top on a 68C. You can also see the top bows are flat across the top, they need to be curved. This shows that sagged originals were used for patterns. That means the top will be flat and they sides will be pushed out. There are also minor details such as a lack of trims needed to put the metal side covers on the #1 bow.

All of what I mention are considerations to make a working body, I am not concerned with show correct with my comments. Show correct would lead to another list of comments and I would have to think to hard.

My point here is a cabriolet body demands more thought and attention to details if you wish the body to work right. That is the top to go up and down right and the body to not hurt itself when driving down the road. I know of several bodies where wood issues from minor repro wood issues prevent the top from folding down fully. If you wish to restore a cabriolet then you must allocate more time and money then what you may be used to for restoring a Model A.

[31Abone]

I will take out the seat today and get better pics of body and seat stuff..great stuff on this body type.sc

[31Abone]

Took out seat and clean a little on 68c..have lots of pics..welcome all comments good or bad and informational..have more pics later..sc

[Jason in TX]

Do you have this yet?

[Jason in TX]

[Kevin in NJ]

A quick review notes.

If the seat spring bottom is has a flat row in the middle then it is correct. If the row dips down like the rest then it is not right. The seat back has been recovered and I am not sure if it is a correct spring. It is likely that you may want to get new springs depending on condition.

The sill wood and door wood may be original. So long as it is intact and holds nails you would want to use it or fix any bad sections.

The tapered pan that the feet of a rumble seat passenger would use appears to be flat metal in the picture. The original would have a bead pattern in it. The original appears to be a regular coupe pan with the edges bent up the front corners tapered. I used a repro coupe pan and modified it.

It appears that someone put something on the top of the door post wood. I would have expected to see screw holes for the covers.

the repro top hold down screws are roadster. The cabriolet ones will be much shorter and not have the flange shape. You can quickly fix that on a lathe. The butterfly finger holds are a bit different, but few would know.

The wood on the back of the seat frame I believe is not correct. I would guess they used the regular coupe pieces. It should come up higher as you can see the metal corners sticking above the edges.

[31Abone]

kevin ,in picture 10 I think on top of and back of seat frame there is a screw hole about 3/16" I do not see anyplace for this to attach to on the car ?

[Kevin in NJ]

Originally Posted by 31Abone

kevin ,in picture 10 I think on top of and back of seat frame there is a screw hole about 3/16" I do not see anyplace for this to attach to on the car ?

Yes, I believe that wood is the wrong wood for the late 31 seat frame. It should go to the top, I would guess someone bought the close but not right early coupe seat wood and tried to install it.