1930 Tudor rain gutters

Tom Endy

Tom Endy

Well-known member
We are in the process of removing the top material from a 1930 Tudor. It is an area of expertise I am not familiar with, so I need some guidance from those who have proceeded before me. What holds the rain gutters on, are they one or two piece? How are they best removed.

We have the visor and metal header off and want to replace the wood header. How is that attached and what is the best way to proceed.

Any advice for a beginner would be much appreciated.

The 1930 Tudor is a restoration project for my 14-year old grandson. It began the first week of March 2020 and has been an excellent project for all of us during the virus shutdown. We hope to have this car in excellent condition by the time he turns 16. He wants to drive it to high school

Tom Endy
 

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The rain gutters are a two piece affair Tom. Very carefully (read Gently) pry the gutter off of the metal tack strip. The tack strip or rail is nailed into the wood. I hope the wood is still sound.The gutter itself is actually snapped on when you reinstall.
 
Also if you can find Marco's tutorial on Tudor top installation it is fantastic. Very well written with excellent pictures.
 
Many thanks to those that responded. We were able to get both rain gutters off without damage to them. We also removed the wood header with much struggle. Many rusted nails and screws. The main thing holding it was a cast iron bracket on each side held by two counter sunk 5\16" bolts. We had to drill out two of the four bolts in order to remove it.

I would prefer to work on a differential any day than work on replacing a top. A couple years ago I assisted a fellow Model A'er replace a top on a town sedan. He made a 2X4 frame larger than the roof and stretched and nailed the top material to it and set it out in the sun. Every few hours he stretched it more and re-nailed it. We then placed the frame over the top of the car and let the weight of the frame keep it stretched while it was nailed into place.

Tom Endy
 
Tom Endy said:
Many thanks to those that responded. We were able to get both rain gutters off without damage to them. We also removed the wood header with much struggle. Many rusted nails and screws. The main thing holding it was a cast iron bracket on each side held by two counter sunk 5\16" bolts. We had to drill out two of the four bolts in order to remove it.

I would prefer to work on a differential any day than work on replacing a top. A couple years ago I assisted a fellow Model A'er replace a top on a town sedan. He made a 2X4 frame larger than the roof and stretched and nailed the top material to it and set it out in the sun. Every few hours he stretched it more and re-nailed it. We then placed the frame over the top of the car and let the weight of the frame keep it stretched while it was nailed into place.

Tom Endy
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I wished we lived close Tom. I'd swap a rear end rebuild for a top install any day. LOL
 
Somewhere I've seen they attached milk jugs around the perimeter letting gravity pull the top material tight ! Wish I'd had taught of that trick.
 
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