29 Roadster Rumble Lid Alignment

R

rustiny

Member
Hello, I'm putting my 29 roadster back together after disassembling it. My problem is that the rumble lid don't line up very well. As seen by the pictures it is racked in every direction. When I took it apart it was never this bad. I did remove the quarters from the sub rails to fix them but everything has went back together the same way. At least as far as I remember! Are both of the hinges supposed to be straight or are they supposed to have a angle to them? The right hinge was bent like a pretzel at one point. I did straighten it up slightly. Maybe I did it to much. I don't know necessarily what quite to do, and before I start making any rash decisions I thought I had better ask the community for some help! Any information and assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 

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rustiny said:
Hello, I'm putting my 29 roadster back together after disassembling it. My problem is that the rumble lid don't line up very well. As seen by the pictures it is racked in every direction. When I took it apart it was never this bad. I did remove the quarters from the sub rails to fix them but everything has went back together the same way. At least as far as I remember! Are both of the hinges supposed to be straight or are they supposed to have a angle to them? The right hinge was bent like a pretzel at one point. I did straighten it up slightly. Maybe I did it to much. I don't know necessarily what quite to do, and before I start making any rash decisions I thought I had better ask the community for some help! Any information and assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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It is a matter of experience. You might get a lot, before you get it just right.
It looks like the lower right side needs to be pulled in a bit, which would open the upper left, a bit.
MIKE :) (mikeburch)
 
It actually looks like the lid is rotated clockwise (when looking from the rear) a little bit, and if you find a way to rotate it back counter clockwise, it will line up nicely. Do the hinge pivot bolts have any fore and aft adjustment available?
 
I found this difficult to get right. I assume you are using all the same pieces (hinges,etc) that were there before you took it apart and that the fit was good. Something that helped me a lot was that I had a helper with a good eye outside of the car and I was inside the car in the rumble seat area with wrenches/sockets that fit the pivot bolts/nuts. I would slightly snug them and then was able to move them in order to get the best fit. I recall having to slightly bend the hinges.

The best advice I can offer is to just take it slow and easy and don't get discouraged. It took me multiple nights to get it right and when I started I thought it would never look right. But in the end it turned out nice. Best of luck and find a helper!!
 
Thanks for all the help! Yes I am using all of the original parts that came off the car. I'll get someone to help me over the next few nights to get it straight. Got to get this baby on the road. This is my first model a and I only drove it twice before I tore her down! Thanks again!
 
I'd check the opening for square and also check the upper body for square. (Or the top of the opening at the upper filler panels. I'd do a diagonal from the floor across to the upper front corner of the rumble drip rail. And then the other way. These measurements should be equal or close to it. + - 1/8"

Hope this helps. The Old Tinbasher.
 
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