pickup roof

L

larry harding

Senior Member
30 pickup ...there is a row of holes just behind the visor on my pickup what goes here... nails or screws to fasten the roof to the wood header? is there some type of sealer or washer to keep water out of the header? the rear of the roof as well as the back of the cab are nailed to the rear header, what goes over this area to keep out water?
 
another question... I am trying to install new top wood, do you normally have to trim these pieces to fit? the front header is not wanting to go up in the corners at the visor very well. all the old pieces of wood were either missing or too rotten to use as a reference.
 
Larry,
Do you have the 28/29 style cab use in the first half of 1930 or the later rounded style used in the last half of 1930? They are quite different.
Rusty Nelson
 
I have a 30 pickup with the rounded rear corners not the squarer corners of the 29-29 models. I also have a steel roof and just figured out I have made a 70+doller mistake. mikes catalog is a bit confusing on the pickup top wood. the wood kit I apparently needed is listed for a late 31 steel top, but the kit listed for 30 has all the ribs to support the soft top. I had already painted everything before realizing I had way too many pieces of wood. I trimmed the ends of the front header a bit on my belt sander and it now it fits snugly, but does fit.
 
I have a 29 CCPU, so I can't help much with a 30 rounded cab - sorry. Hope you figure out the problem.
Rusty Nelson
 
Larry, If you indeed have a steel top pickup cab, you should have steel ribs under the roof going from left to right. You WILL have to trim the wood to fit your truck at the door tops, header and the rear. It took me a while to figure out that the best way to remove the steel roof when you are fitting the wood is to pull it FORWARD to take it off and on. If I remember correctly, you might have to slightly bend a tab to do this, but it will be much less time consuming. Additionally, if you intend to do any 'swapping' of the rear panel(s) for the rounded rear cab corners, the rear panel from the cloth top is NOT the same as the Budd cab. The 'serrations' across the back are not the same 'pitch' and will not intertwine with each other. PM me if you want to know how I know that!
 
oops! I was convinced I had a 30 truck, that is what I was told when I bought it. it has the narrow bed(or what is left of it) I thought 31s had wide beds. I have already put patch panels in the rear corners and back of the cab, I have the roof and back off the truck for ease of working on them. any way it sounds as thought I am, going to have a lot of fitting to do, and still my original question... how do you seal around the nails that go into the header just behind the visor area as well as the nailed area where roof and back join. i'm also replacing the rear of the cab subrails and don't know what to use for the triangle shaped brace where the subrails fasten to the back.
 
I'm trying to think were you would have nails behind the visor as the visor is
part of the top.

Bob
 

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larry harding said:
oops! I was convinced I had a 30 truck, that is what I was told when I bought it. it has the narrow bed(or what is left of it) I thought 31s had wide beds. I have already put patch panels in the rear corners and back of the cab, I have the roof and back off the truck for ease of working on them. any way it sounds as thought I am, going to have a lot of fitting to do, and still my original question... how do you seal around the nails that go into the header just behind the visor area as well as the nailed area where roof and back join. i'm also replacing the rear of the cab subrails and don't know what to use for the triangle shaped brace where the subrails fasten to the back.
Click to expand...

Cabs and the beds had different designations. The closed cab pickup had the numbers 82A for the '28-'29 and 82B for the '30-'31. In August of 1931 the all steel cab made by the Budd company replaced the “soft top” cabs of the previous years but they kept the number 82B. All these cabs could also be found on the AA truck as well.
The beds were 78A for the narrow bed and 78B for the later wide bed. The narrow bed tail gate had two hinges and the Ford logo. The wide bed had a tail gate with 3 hinges, no Ford logo and special fenders that were 10” as opposed to the regular 12” fenders.

The was a deluxe pickup that had a 66A bed that attached to the cab.

You could have an 82B cab with a 78A bed, a 78B bed, or even a 66A bed.
 
For the Budd metal top only. The inside of the metal roof and the inside of the rear wall have to be metal worked for a fine finish because in the end, they are a focal point and any dents left in them later will easily be seen. The panel that is behind the windshield visor uses small box nails that go all across the upper perimeter of that panel front. When the top is in place they cannot easily be seen as they are hidden far up under the visor. Nothing is done to hide them. The joint between the steel top and the back body panel uses the same small box nails. Nail both of these body parts to the metal top's rear header. These nails are then hidden with an all metal tacking strip that is nailed over them. Before you apply the nailed metal strip, mark on the metal top with a pencil where the nails can pass through the metal tacking strip and the body parts too. On the nailed metal strip, a finishing cover strip is later snapped into place. The finishing metal strip is available from most A parts suppliers. If you accidentally snap the two strips together before assembling on the truck, slide them apart endways as pulling them straight apart will ruin the fit of them for your later assembly. The door header length is the most important fit that you will be making with your wood kit. Before cutting your door headers for length, hang your doors to determine proper door header length. Their length determines if your doors will latch closed properly. Once the top is nailed on, it will be too late then to easily change the door header lengths. The angled gusset on the bottom rear corner of the door opening can be fabricated or it can be purchased through the parts houses. If the door opening isn't exactly square with the door fit, later when the body is bolted to the truck's frame, it can be adjusted to a perfect fit then. I own two model A pickups with the Budd metal roof. I had to do them both much like you are doing.
 
I also have the 31 steel cab. I am replacing the wood in the cab. When I removed the header there were 5 wood screws across the front holding the steel to the header. There appeared to be the remains of fabric between the header and the top and some sort of sealer under the bottom of the header and the metal L-shaped channel. Fwiw I ordered the correct wood kit and I still have to trim and sand to get a correct fit for the header and the top door rails
 
boy!!!! I just got an education. I definitely have the late 31 all metal cab. I have been ordering parts and asking questions on this forum convinced I have the 30 model. I know I wasted money getting the wrong top wood for the cab. I had to do some trimming on the front header to get it to fit properly. I have assembled the top wood to the top already, but sounds like there may be some trimming to be done on the side pieces. I have done a lot of work to the back panel, it was rough. I plan to pull of the cowl next do repairs on it including replacing the subrail extensions then reassembling the whole thing before painting the outside. any suggestions from you experienced guys is really appreciated.
 
I just reread sssteamers post and want to be sure I've got it right now I know what year my truck is. just behind the visor there ire six holes that are sort of puckered and shaped like a trim washer. it looks like maybe flat or oval head screws go there, but maybe nails are right. should I put some silicone or some sealant under what ever is used?
 
If it has an indented firewall; that is from 1931.
If it has a steel top with an integral sunvisor that uses 5 or 6 (can't remember) screws to hold it to the header; that is from 1931.
If it has a wide bed; that is from 1931.

So now I'm going to complicate it. Any combination of those three can be "no" and it could still be a 1931.

-Tim
 
WTSHNN said:
If it has an indented firewall; that is from 1931.
If it has a steel top with an integral sunvisor that uses 5 or 6 (can't remember) screws to hold it to the header; that is from 1931.
If it has a wide bed; that is from 1931.

So now I'm going to complicate it. Any combination of those three can be "no" and it could still be a 1931.

-Tim
Click to expand...

X2 what Tim said.

My '31 does have an indented firewall, and the steel top. But it has the narrow bed.
 
There is a late 31 with a narrow bed here that my grandfather sold new.The present owner tells people it is original,but the original owner told me it really is not.In 1933 he was rear ended at a stop sign. Used wide beds were just not around,so they put a narrow bed and fenders on it.If you didn't know the facts about it you would swear it is original to the truck.When something was changed over 80 years ago it kind of blends in.A friend and I changed his from a wide bed to a narrow bed years ago.His truck was a good driver,with bad rear fenders.He had a nice narrow bed with fenders so on it went.
 
o.k. here's what I've got...... all steel top, flat firewall(not recessed), narrow bed, rounded corners and back, who knows after 80+ years I may have a heinze 57, but every thing seems to be in about the same degree of desintagration. so best guess 30 as I was told, early or late 31? and what type of screws should go in those holes across the top just back of the visor310 flat head, oval head or maybe nails.
 
As Tim said in post #16, you can still have a '31 by virtue of the steel top, even though it has a flat firewall.

The other possibility is that a steel top was installed after the fact on a late '30 or early '31. I have heard of that possibility as well, much like the bed swaps that were described in post # 18.
 
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