Phaeton folded down top rests on the spare wheel?

bengt

bengt

Junior Member
I have a 1929 Phaeton. When I fold down the top, the rear window rests on the spare wheel. Is that correct? Or is there some way to keep it a small distance above the spare wheel.
I want to put on a top cover over the folded down top and it would look better if it didn't all rest on the spare wheel. Also, it may keep the window from getting cracked.
I'm sure someone in this fantastic forum has a good solution to this question
 

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Do you have the long studs that are threaded into the brackets inside the holes toward the back? There are brackets that slide onto the studs to support the top irons. That should allow the top irons to rest on the studs/brackets keeping the top from resting on the spare tire. See picture. If your top irons are originals and the studs/brackets are the correct one, I would think the window wouldn't rest on the tire. After looking at your second picture again, it appears you do have the top rest parts installed, so I am not sure what the problem might be.
Rusty Nelson
 

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Hello Rusty! Yes I do have those irons and studs just like in your picture. And the top irons are original and do rest om them as you can see from my 2nd picture as you say.

But the window is so heavy it comes to rest on the tire.
I thought for a while the window was too thick and therefore too heavy, but it is correct: 5 mm (about 3/16).
Maybe there is some secret with how I fold the rear curtain? If I fold it so the window comes closer to the body, it's more difficult for it to fall down so much. Hope you understand what I mean. Just an idea
 
Bengt,
I have a glass that fits in the rear window of a phaeton or roadster. I don't know if it is an original or not. I mic'ed it out at .115". That is less than 1/8" - pretty thin. Looking at page 250 of the Ford Service Bulletins, it specifies the glass at .080" to .187" thick - a pretty wide range. 1875" is 3/16", so you are at the top limit. If your glass is 3/16" thick, that is over 50% heavier than the glass I have. I don't know if that is part of your problem or not. It is hard to replace glass in the top. What you could do is leave the top up (what I plan to do with my phaeton) or possibly make a "spacer" to sit in the top test bracket on the studs to lift the top a little higher. I am not at the point of installing the top on my 29 phaeton, so I don't know if I will have the same problem as you. Long ago, Dave Lopes told me, he never put the top down on his 28 phaeton and I like I mention above, I plan to do the same. He said the top would develop creases as the top was raised and lowered. One last thing - is the back panel with the glass in it, taught or a little floppy? I believe it should be quite taught. Good luck with your top problem. Maybe someone else has encountered this problem and will post their experience.
Rusty
 
From the picture you have shown, I'm thinking that the top rests are shorter than would have come on a standard phaeton. If you will look at the top rests that wrndln posted above, I think that you may determine that the ones on his phaeton are slightly "taller" than the ones shown on your car, though I'm not sure if changing those out would make that much difference. The ones on my '29 phaeton are like the ones on wrndln's. Good luck figuring this out. I hope this helps. By the way, Bert's carries those for 28-30 phaetons - part# A37300.
 
Thank you all. I will look into all your suggestions.


Rusty: I like driving with the top down. This is the first summer I have done that with my new top. I bought the top 30 years ago and it has been in a box since then, but it doesn't have any creases now that I have put it on so I'm not sure that is a big problem. We'll see soon the last days of the summer/fall when I put up the top.

As to the weight of the glass, that's a definitive suspect. I used the standard glass we use in Sweden since it coincided with the upper limit 3/16.
The back panel is quite floppy. You are right about that. Probably you have to take care when you fold down the top and "push" the lower part under the window, forward so it becomes taut.


Dick: I made those rests myself a long time ago so it could be that. I have another couple, too rusty to use, but I can measure them. I will look at that. It's a definitve suspect that too.
And Rusty seems to be on the same track.


29: they are symmetrical, turning them around won't change the height?
 
Look at the pictures. The top saddle on the blue car is level. The top saddle on the green car is angled upward from the back. Just try it.
 
OK, now I have tried it all.
My own saddle that I made myself many years ago just from pictures is almost exactly the same size as the old rusty one I found a couple of years ago! I tried the rusty on in both directions, se image 1. No difference for the rear window, same image.


Then I refolded the back panel and pushed in the part under the window into the car. That made a difference, se images 2 and 3.
Maybe an improvement would be to change to a thinner/lighter glass, but I think it's difficult to do that properly.


Unless you tell me something different and have even better tips, this is the solution I'll stay with.


Thank you all!
 

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Bengt,
I think 29spcoupe's idea about tilting the top rest cradle upward at the back might be an idea to try like he said. I would guess you would need to add a tapered shim in the cradle if you did that. You would need to make sure the stud is in really tight and by loosening the set bolt on the cradle, tighten it very tight. However the right side would tend to loosen if the stud would start to "unscrew" with the weight of the top. The left side would probably be OK and stay tight. You might think about make a "special" set of cradles that are thicker than normal - maybe 1/2" to 3/4" thicker. I don't think anyone would really notice the difference.

Rusty
 
I have put a piece of some material in the saddles and lifted the top, maybe 1 inch at the utmost rear. It does lift the window from the tire, but the window is still so heavy that it hangs down. It doesn't matter really, but I would like it to lie horizontally.

Another idea I have is to put some kind of ******** internally, on the inside, before I fold the top. Maybe a rubber band attached to the window's top and to the next bow. I don't know if that's feasible
 
wrndln said:
Long ago, Dave Lopes told me, he never put the top down on his 28 phaeton
Click to expand...

The reason for that is the tops tend to shrink when left down and are hard to reattach when they are put back up.
Perhaps "modern" tops made w/synthetic material don't shrink like the original cotton material ones?
 
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I know, I have heard that before. But I took a chance and have been driving with the top down all summer. We will see soon.

As I wrote above, my LeBaron vinyl (?) top har been lying in a box for 30-40 years and I didn't have any problem putting it on. No creases and perfect fit. So I'm hoping for the best
 
I to have a LeBaron Bonney top I have had for about 10 or 12 years still in the boxes. I was worried about it being creased or not perfect, but with what Bengt said, I will probably be OK. I think the top requires a fair amount of sowing. I have the top irons painted and read to go. BTW, Bengt, I can't remember if you installed the top yourself or had an upholstery shop install it. If you did it yourself, how tough was it to install?

Rusty
 
Rusty,
I did it myself, because I like to do everything myself (if I can).

It wasn't difficult. Do it slowly and be prepared to redo some parts, In the end it will be very nice and you have the feeling you have done it yourself. Very little sewing. Mainly staples and tacks



There are some videos by Classtique, look at them first. Not exactly the right car but good enough. Mainly these


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24PVyCfqQhU&list=PLVdpYvHFX1QC_kjMmaaN4UZUS_jpVPzry


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0sy1VL7EYA



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT2B7rVmoCA
 
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