Part I.D.,...Australian ?

d.j. moordigian

Well-known member
This came with a early 28 Phaeton,..it has the same hole center to center
as a standard open car latch. The car came from Australia.

It is the part on the right of the photos..
Could it be for the curtain tray latch?

Thanks for the help,
Dudley
 

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More likely it is correct for your 1928 phaeton... when you use the Australian latches. The Oz manufactured open cars tended to use different (sourced in Oz) latches and hinges than the US/North America hardware.
 
The orange part looks correct for the 28 door, and I think the part on the right would be correct for the curtain hatch lock, but I can't look at mine until spring.
 
Door latches. They are the same as the ones that were on my 29 Phaeton. Notice that I said WERE on my car. The doors kept opening at will. My wife thought I was trying to get rid of her. I replaced them with new ones of the other design but had to modify them some. Wife happier - me happier.
DJ What is the car?
 
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Dudley, they are both open car door strikers, the orange one is for the 1928 style with no exterior door handles and the other one is for the 1929 style with exterior door handles. It is not the curtain latch which on the Australian cars the whole floor frame side members everything was timber. The curtain lid was all timber with a special latch like a cabin style - I will post a pic soon. . Brian
 
Dudley, they are both open car door strikers, the orange one is for the 1928 style with no exterior door handles and the other one is for the 1929 style with exterior door handles. It is not the curtain latch which on the Australian cars the whole floor frame side members everything was timber. The curtain lid was all timber with a special latch like a cabin style - I will post a pic soon. . Brian

The curtain compartment on mine wasn't original but I do know those door latches.
 
Dudley, they are both open car door strikers, the orange one is for the 1928 style with no exterior door handles and the other one is for the 1929 style with exterior door handles. It is not the curtain latch which on the Australian cars the whole floor frame side members everything was timber. The curtain lid was all timber with a special latch like a cabin style - I will post a pic soon. . Brian

Too all,...I'm quite familiar with the Orange striker...should have stated that.

Brian,..that striker doesn't "catch" any of the latches..T, A or the later ones
with the external door handles. That's why we asked about the curtain tray.
Not unless the Australian open cars had a different latch? The car came with
standard looking "V" notch(early) door latches.

SYNCHRO909,...it's not my car,..a friends. It was purchased in the mid
1970's in a basket. The body was intended for a full fender car with Jag
suspension,..that never happened. It now sits on 32 rails with a blown 392
engine....VERY fast.

Dudley
 

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Australian phaeton bodies were made in Australia. They were wood framed with just a metal skin. The latches were unique to Australia. This was done to avoid custom duties.

They used a different latch than their US/North American cousins.

The latch had an exposed bolt (similar to the 1935-36 deck latch sketch). The striker on the left is correct for 1928-32 US Ford roadster and 4-door phaetons. The striker on the right is for an exposed bolt latch.

The sketch is for a 1935-36 deck latch, for illustration purposes. I do not have a photo or sketch of the Australian latch.
 

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Australian phaeton bodies were made in Australia. They were wood framed with just a metal skin. The latches were unique to Australia. This was done to avoid custom duties.

They used a different latch than their US/North American cousins.

The latch had an exposed bolt (similar to the 1935-36 deck latch sketch). The striker on the left is correct for 1928-32 US Ford roadster and 4-door phaetons. The striker on the right is for an exposed bolt latch.

The sketch is for a 1935-36 deck latch, for illustration purposes. I do not have a photo or sketch of the Australian latch.

Ahhh....like the closed car T latches.
Thanks Karl...much appreciated.
 
I don't own this car anymore, but I think it was the usual latch like a front house door one with a protruding wedge as in Karl's pic, but then again, it could have just been a gravity drop lid with no catch.

The memory is fading.....

A barn member bought it, I will see if he is still around, have not seen him for a while.
 
As far as I know, they only started making the bodies here in 1930. The 1930 doors are wood framed. 28/29 doors should be steel. Not sure about the locks.
 
The Australian 28-29 phaetons had a wooden sub frame, with full metal doors and panels attached. There were a few all steel bodies imported, about 6 from memory, and the rest were made by Ford Australia. The catch tongue pictured on the right by the original poster is the same as what was used on the late 28 and 29 Australian phaetons and roadsters.
Not all side curtain boxes were under the rear floor in Australian bodies, some were accessed by lifting the front seat cushion. I'm unsure when the change over was, and which way it went, as I have seen both 28 and 29 bodies with either curtain box access locations.
 
The Australian 28-29 phaetons had a wooden sub frame, with full metal doors and panels attached. There were a few all steel bodies imported, about 6 from memory, and the rest were made by Ford Australia. The catch tongue pictured on the right by the original poster is the same as what was used on the late 28 and 29 Australian phaetons and roadsters.
Not all side curtain boxes were under the rear floor in Australian bodies, some were accessed by lifting the front seat cushion. I'm unsure when the change over was, and which way it went, as I have seen both 28 and 29 bodies with either curtain box access locations.

I was referring to the doors all metal. On re reading, I see I wasn't explicit enough. As I said, the curtain box on mine wasn't original but it could be accessed from either under the back floor OR by lifting the front seat. HHMMMM!:confused:
 
And to be really technical, the doors on a 28/29 are not all steel.

They have a piece of wood across the middle sandwiched between the inner and outer welded skin.

A bit hard to replace when rotted .....

Maybe Henry was ahead of his time, adding an anti-intrusion bar.

I have read that it is an anti-drumming (less noise) addition, but I do not think it would do **** as a less noise invention on a roadster/phaeton.
 
Gentlemen the plot thickens !!
Dudley i think the 1929 USA open cars with outside handles continued with the orange striker but in Australia I am thinking the Australian 29's must have had a different lock body. This is news to me. I am just looking at photos in the latest Restorer mag of Val Maron's beautiful 29 roadster and it has outside handles and the orange style striker.
The question is if your friend is building it authentic Australian car or using the panels to make a USA one. The main 2 differences apart from right hand drive (and now this striker curiosity) is in the colour schemes and trim used in Australia and that the Aussie ones had all wooden sub frame and curtain tray with different lid like the other guys have said. Interesting curiosity is when the bodies were shipped from Canada originally in 1928 the whole side was shipped as an assembly all riveted to the steel side member (cowl pillar, centre pillar and rear quarter). All were stacked together for shipping. But to meet the local content rules set by the government, the side member was discarded and replaced with timber used for side members, cross members, curtain tray and floor.
Let us know if you plan to do a genuine Aussie one - we can help with that !
Brian.
 
Interesting curiosity is when the bodies were shipped from Canada originally in 1928 the whole side was shipped as an assembly all riveted to the steel side member (cowl pillar, centre pillar and rear quarter). All were stacked together for shipping. But to meet the local content rules set by the government, the side member was discarded and replaced with timber used for side members, cross members, curtain tray and floor.

Yes interesting, when the assembled sides were dismantled and the steel subframe discarded. how did the hole that used to be a round rivet at the bottom of the cowl pillar become a square hole to take a coach bolt ?

Was it hand filed square ?

 
I don't own this car anymore, but I think it was the usual latch like a front house door one with a protruding wedge as in Karl's pic, but then again, it could have just been a gravity drop lid with no catch.

The memory is fading.....

A barn member bought it, I will see if he is still around, have not seen him for a while.

He's here, and here are today's photos of the curtain tray in my original June '28 Australian phaeton.
 

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