Mystery 1928-29 Phaeton panels

[Randy in ca]

These B-pillar panels sold a while ago on eBay (for a good buck) and I don't recall ever seeing anything like them before. The interior bracing and brackets on the bottom are a mystery to me - almost appears like they're meant for a wooden subframe. Are they off a very early version or from an export body, or?

 

[updraught]

Doesn't look like ours.

Our open cars had more steel in 28/29, and the back seat panel should connect the two sides, (from what I can remember when I had a large stack of bits of such things).

We got the wood onslaught in 1930 when, I gather, Ford here started pressing panels locally and only made the outside panels.

 

[dave in australia]

Australian phaetons and roadsters had wooden subframes in 28-29. I would say they are from a phaeton. Because of the wooden subframe, a heavier duty lower bracket was used on these panels. A lot of wood was used to keep the local content to a government approved percentage and avoid higher duties. A lot of commercial Australian bodies also had a high percentage of wood in them, including the ute, which was essentially a wood body with a metal skin from the doors back.

 

[Mike Peters]

I just happen to be currently working on a 28 Phaeton and am in the process of fitting the doors. This is a basket case that is being brought back from the grave. These parts came from Montana, and so it probably is safe to say that it is an American Ford. Dave from Australia probably answered the question. If Australian Phaetons had wood sub frames, then Randy's examples probably came from an Australian Phaeton. I have no way of knowing this for sure, but Randy's B pillars are a different animal from what I have here. Hope this helps
BTW. Fitting 4 doors to a body assembly that had been completely apart is very difficult. It's coming along slowly, but to all the Ford Barn guys who have been through this, "I feel your pain!!".
Mike

 

[Bick in New Zealand]

Definately Australian, there was obviously a problem with flexing, and this was introduced as a fix in early 1929. The March 1929 Australian Service bulletin had full instructions and the required hardware to fix the problem.

 

[Randy in ca]

Great information Bick, now we know!! Thanks.

 

[john charlton]

Yes you are right about feeling the pain !!! I recently finished my 28 pheaton ,the body had been hit in the side by a fork lift truck in sunny dockside Monte Video Uruguay . Shimming the body so all doors fitted was a real pain it was the choice of three ,no matter what I did one door did not want to fit ,never the same door !!! Got it beat in the end ,a four door pheaton must be the most difficult to get correctly aligned .

John in cold cloudy Suffolk County England .

PS nearly finished my Budd cab pickup, the door fit body shimming was much easier on it .

 

[Artiki]

I agree. Mine was a flatpack and was a nightmare.

 

[updraught]

They are coming out of the woodwork now...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1928-192...850193?hash=item43e9e41e91:g:jFMAAOSwUdlWegjv

 

[Randy in ca]

Better snap them up, the ones pictured in post #1 are shown as having sold for over U$500 !!

 

[updraught]

I have a new found respect for them!

There are a couple of center pillars for sale in Tasmania (where the Tassie devil cartoon comes from ... ) in what looks like, mint condition, in comparison and they are A$120.

 

[Artiki]

Yes, need to remove that.

 

[fletty999]

I recently picked up two types of phaeton centre pillars as shown in the photos below.

The one with the cast bracket inside is the Australian type, but is the other one the American type, or the Australian type before they started putting in the cast bracket?

The sheetmetal in the Australian one also seems to continue under where the wooden subframe would go, where the other one ends.

 

[updraught]

These are the ones on Gumtree if you want to add to your collection:

Got nothing inside

 

[Randy in ca]

.......I recently picked up two types of phaeton centre pillars as shown ......... The one with the cast bracket inside is the Australian type, but is the other one the American type, or the Australian type before they started putting in the cast bracket?

Appears the same as the American type I think. One of your Australian experts will have to confirm whether they were used before or after the wood bracket style. Here's some pictures of American production to compare your's to - these still have the wood and some upholstery remnants on the front edge:

-

 

[fletty999]

Appears the same as the American type I think. One of your Australian experts will have to confirm whether they were used before or after the wood bracket style. Here's some pictures of American production to compare your's to - these still have the wood and some upholstery remnants on the front edge:

-

Thanks Randy,

They look the same but the bit that sticks out the side at the bottom appears to be curved and not bent at a 90 degree angle like yours. It has 2 holes downwards in the base and not 4 like yours also, so I think it may be an early Australian one.

I have heard that you can replace the Australian phaeton wooden subframe with the US metal one (that is the same as a fordor?) but I am still not sure if you can use the centre pillar with the cast bracket in it if you use the metal subframe.

 

[updraught]

This 1930 local tourer (Queens English) body is on ebay and shows the wood in the doors.

The govt here mandated more local content early that year. We probably copied European reactions to the depression.

France brought in similar content laws in early 1930, but the Ford factory there reacted quickly and ordered parts from the US in bulk and so evaded the news laws for the year.