There is a problem with phaeton wood kits. I bought a kit made by Classsic Wood in NC. The problem is that Ford steam bent the wood around the top rear of the back panel and rear part of the quarterpanels (also Ford did the same for the front seat back, however there is no seam to be concerned about on the front metal panel). Ford made two pieces of steam bent trim for the rear panel with the joint in the center. I am pretty sure Ford did this to support the seam between the quarterpanels and the rear panel where there would be a weaker spot at the two joints. The Classic Wood kit, and I suspect other available wood kits (Cubel's), are made using three pieces, with the joint at the seam between the quarterpanels and rear panel. I believe the reason is that it is easier to do it the questionable way than do it correctly like Ford originally did. However, in the old days, model A's took much more abuse on cruddy roads than they ever would now-a-days, so using the three piece beltrail many not cause any problems. However, I plan to make my own wood for the rear of my 29 phaeton, either by steam bending the wood like Ford did or laminating thin strips together using two pieces of wood. It will be a few months until I get to that part of my restoration. The wood kit for the phaeton is small compared to the wood kit I installed in my 28 special coupe - just a note.
Rusty Nelson
