Special coupe belt rail?

V

vern hodgson

Well-known member
Would like to see a close up photo of exactly how the piece I call the belt rail, (the one between the rear cabin panel and the rear deck) is attached at the door posts, seems to fit somehow into the latch pocket area. I do not have an original, it is a re-mfg made quite some time back, so no evidence of where or how it was attached. Thanks
 
Vern,
I am attaching a picture of the beltrail end on a Henry award winning car. Note the tab is bent over and tapped into the front metal part on the pocket and the main pocket of the door latch.
Rusty Nelson
 

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wrndln said:
Vern,
I am attaching a picture of the beltrail end on a Henry award winning car. Note the tab is bent over and tapped into the front metal part on the pocket and the main pocket of the door latch.
Rusty Nelson
Click to expand...

Thanks for the photo, so no attachment on the post, just where it fits around the rear panel.
 
Many that I have seen on sport & business coupes as well as special coupes are some form of half round material attached with nails or screws. There aren't a lot of two piece original ones floating around out there since most of them corroded to dust a long time ago. There was a guy that used to fabricate them 10-years ago or more but the one example I've had the chance to look at on a car didn't seem to have the correct curve to it on the sides.

The photo above shows how the outer piece flat tips extended to the door jam so that the door will close over it. The outer belt rail trim piece snaps over the inner piece that is fastened to the belt rail wood member and covers the trim tacking on that line.
 
rotorwrench said:
Many that I have seen on sport & business coupes as well as special coupes are some form of half round material attached with nails or screws. There aren't a lot of two piece original ones floating around out there since most of them corroded to dust a long time ago. There was a guy that used to fabricate them 10-years ago or more but the one example I've had the chance to look at on a car didn't seem to have the correct curve to it on the sides.

The photo above shows how the outer piece flat tips extended to the door jam so that the door will close over it. The outer belt rail trim piece snaps over the inner piece that is fastened to the belt rail wood member and covers the trim tacking on that line.
Click to expand...

And looking at mine only about 3/8” can tuck in there. It turns a 90degree angle for about 3/8” and then turns another angle of 90 degrees towards the rear of the door post. Since removing the door post socket does not seem possible only 3/8” can tuck in there. Is that correct? The one I have is one of those remakes. Do you have a special coupe?
 
My car is a 1929 sport coupe but they likely use the same trim. Mine is not original and has a single formed piece of half round aluminum material. I've not installed one of the reproductions so I don't know how accurate it is for fit in that location. It would be hard to install if it has too much wrapped around there in those two front locations. Folks that remove the originals have to take a lot of care not to damage them when coaxing them off. They were made to be a one time only fit so they are not easy to reuse. They usually start on one side and carefully peel it away from the channel that holds it in place. They bend and crack easily so it is a tedious job and I'm sure folks have made special tools to aid in removal. On a car with wood rot, it's better to take the whole thing off then separate it after it's off the belt rail wood.
 
Not for a while. The last guy who made them retired some years ago. I tried to get time to make me one but he was done.
 
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