Rumble lid conversion..

D

dsiddons

Member
Ive got a 30' A coupe that I'm converting the trunk to a rumble. I have a brookville rumble lid and a Vintique rumble bracket kit. I have no idea how this thing works. Anyone have any instructions or pics that may get me pointed in the right direction? Thanks David
 
dsiddons said:
Ive got a 30' A coupe that I'm converting the trunk to a rumble. I have a brookville rumble lid and a Vintique rumble bracket kit. I have no idea how this thing works. Anyone have any instructions or pics that may get me pointed in the right direction? Thanks David
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If your experience is anything like mine, it won't, work that is.
 
dsiddons said:
Ive got a 30' A coupe that I'm converting the trunk to a rumble. I have a brookville rumble lid and a Vintique rumble bracket kit. I have no idea how this thing works. Anyone have any instructions or pics that may get me pointed in the right direction? Thanks David
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I am not following you. Specifically what are you wanting to have instruction on?
 
If you have repro rumble lid hinges and a repro lid then you have a problem.

The original hinges and original lid fit together like a glove. You put the hinges on the lid and it is obvious where the nuts would be put. Put the original brackets on the body and it would just fit together.

You will find the repro hinges just not fit. They are smaller in every dimension. They are also poor cast iron and will break with a light side load. They rock around a lot when you put them lid and it is not clear where they should go. You will need to put the hinge brackets in the car and measure the distance between then get the hinges to fit with that distance on the lid. You will need to file to fit the repro hinge saddles to fit the lid. Original hinges fit a little better, but still a PIA.

I put in a repro rumble lid from Brookville with repro hinges (they are only set up to fit the repro). I needed to work them some to fit nice. I needed to shim the hinge to get it to fit cause the hinges were to narrow by like a 1/4".

I also needed to make the hole in the body brackets a little larger. I believe forward and upward.

You will need to take your time and think about what you are doing and you can make it happen. Personally, I would buy some original hinges and body brackets so at least you do not have to worry about the hinges breaking so easy.
 
Rumble seats sound like fun, and they may have been a good idea 80 years ago. But you might want to do a search here on peoples' experiences and attitudes about actually having one in modern traffic. There have been a couple threads discussing their pros and cons over the last six months or so.
 
I bought a coupe with a trunk. I bought it because it still had the trunk. Judging by the posts on this board, more people are now converting to a trunk than to a rumbleseat. If you're still determined to go ahead, why not advertise for a trade?
 
I want a rumble seat to take my boys to get ice cream and buzz around town. I went out to the garage lastnight and found that the rumble hinges don't even line up with the lid. Arfter I got a the hinge snugged on I found it wasnt even close to the where the mounting bracket are. Ive got some work to do for sure.
 
dsiddons said:
I want a rumble seat to take my boys to get ice cream and buzz around town. I went out to the garage lastnight and found that the rumble hinges don't even line up with the lid. Arfter I got a the hinge snugged on I found it wasnt even close to the where the mounting bracket are. Ive got some work to do for sure.
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I have a '30 roadster that originally had a rumble seat. The rumble lid was beyond repair, IMO. A metal expert could probably save/repair that lid and that's who bought that lid. Now, I made an amatuer first mistake of letting the 'original' rumble hinges attached and sold with lid.
I bought a new brookville rumble lid and reproduction hinge kit... second big mistake. I know exactly what you are going thru. I don't know exactly where the repro was made, but it is one sorry example of a repro part!
Yeah, I 'made them fit' for now, but am still hope to find an original set
.
BTW- for what it's worth, back then, I was into trying to 'restore'. But, I regret ever since , not making my car into a trunk model...for utility/safety , etc reasons. Good luck:).
 
If I had it to do over again I would have left my 30 Std. coupe a trunk. The rumble hinge's I used were from Bratton's and fit quite well. It took hours to get every thing to line up and fit square. The slot in the top of the original deck lid for the latch needs to be cut out next and the hole for the handle punched out. I also need to make the round part of the latch longer.
 
David, Try to trade your original trunk lid and parts for and original rumble and parts. That would be a fair trade and you both will be happy - easy installation. Be sure you want to change - have fun, Bill
 
I'll swap an original Rumble latch for a good Trunk latch, also want a 1928 T shaped trunk/rumble handle. Bob
 
dsiddons said:
Ive got a 30' A coupe that I'm converting the trunk to a rumble. I have a brookville rumble lid and a Vintique rumble bracket kit. I have no idea how this thing works. Anyone have any instructions or pics that may get me pointed in the right direction? Thanks David
Click to expand...
I did exactly the same thing you are doing except my 68C started with a rumble. I had to call Brookville 3 times to get them to accept the fact that their lid was stamped in the wrong place and in the wrong way. The shop man that stamps the inner lids wanted me to use a bar and bend the mounting brackets inward to make the car fit the lid and hinges. I told him "NOT NO BUT, HELL NO"! I gave them the measurement between the mounts while I had him on the phone and they had to ship me a complete new lid stamped in the correct place. I still had to shim it some but at least it fit and looks as good as it can for the way it is made. The hood was closer but it too was off and didn't fit right. Their catalog states that their parts are so close to original that" Henry couldn't tell them from his own". I bet he rolled in his grave when this was printed. Looks like they haven't learned anything over the years. Kevin Fehr had similar problems.
 
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