MTFCA Forum

I'm re-upholstering my 1917 Touring. The tack strips that run around the top edge of the seats on the outside of the sheetmetal have seen better days. Fordwood advertises a synthetic, moldable replacement. Has anyone had any experience with them? Can you suggest an alternative?

RV Anderson's brother, John, does a wonderful job reproducing wood tack strips. I replaced the tack strips on my 1915 runabout with Johns tack strips, and they fit great. I think if you contact RV, you can get John's contact information. I hope this helps, Russ Furstnow

I used it when I redid the top and upholstery on my '14 Runabout. It moulds easily with a heat gun and holds tacks and staples just like wood.

Or, you can make your own using laminated plywood strips. Wrap a firm piece of cardboard around the body panels and trace a pattern for the corner pieces. These will be a shallow S shape. I cut these 3/4" wide so I could trim them back when they are finished. Clamp them around the body panels as a former to check the fit. Then glue them together, again using clamps and the body as the former. I staggered the lengths so I could make an overlapping joint with plain timber between the two corner pieces.

On my 1915 tourer I had to make 8 corners, as there was a strip on the outside of the panels to tack the upholstery and on the inside to stiffen the panels/body. Laminated timber is remarkably strong. Custom fitting them in this way makes for a neat fit.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

Allan’s method I have used for years with outstanding results. The lamination method with proper glue will outlast solid wood, plus does not fracture from body movement and fatigue.

Hope this Helps,

Hank

I used the Fordwood synthetic moldable replacement in my 21 Touring rebuild and it worked fine. You use a heat gun to mold the material around the seats then screw it down.
If the material would have been avaliable in the Model T era Ford would have probably used it
because of its moldability.

The plastic tack strip works great. Lang's has it for a lot less money than Fordwood. It helps to use a router to round some of the edges.

I used a plastic 1x4 from the lumber yard. Cut width, formed with a heat gun and painted it black with krylon paint.

I cut a piece of HDPE heavy wall pipe length wise. Works super

All very, very helpful. A lot to digest. Looking at the profile of the strip on my car, it appears to be square. I don't know if it is original. Does anyone know what the profile of the tack strip is supposed to be on a 1917 Touring? I know some cars have a tack strip with a rounded edge. I did acquire the metal strip that screws to the trim strip and doesn't seem to conform exactly with a square strip.

Tim,
If I remember correctly, the tack strip is 3/4" square.
I'm glad you have the metal piece for it. The correct term for it is "rear curtain to body retainer." It is often simply called the 'rear curtain trim.'
You are correct the rear curtain trim is more of a C shape than L shape, but that is so there is a little extra room for the top material,

Here is an original which replaced my home-made trim.
here is an discussion about it from a few years ago:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1403715316

The rear curtain trim is held in place with #8 French head screws (oval) 3/4" long.

Please let us know which material you end up using.

: ^ )

Interesting observation about my tack strip. About half the brass screws that would have held a metal strip were still in place, minus their heads. I wonder how that happened?

Right now I’m looking seriously at making my own strip from the composite material others have mentioned. I’m going to get a piece from Lowe’s and give it a try.

My Canadian 1915 tourer had square strips, approx 5/8" square. The body panels had a bead rolled in the top, and plain flat steel about 3/4" above the bead. That flat section was sandwiched between two strips which were bolted together using 3/16" metal threads. When the upholstery was fitted, it was tacked to the vertical face of the outside tack strip, and you could still see the underside. Laminated ply gives great rigidity, never splits, and holds tacks well.

Hope this helps,
Allan from down under.

I have 15 rear wood strips and they are made of four unique pieces of 3/4" material, inside, outside left and right. These are salvaged pieces and I plan to design a mold and make myself a set.....

Tim,

I don't know what's correct for a '17, but my '21 had a steel channel that the tack strip slid into. The tack strip was in 2 pcs., right & left. Each half slid into a channel with s "C" shaped cross section. The open side of the "C" was where the wood was exposed for tacking. There was very little left of the original "C" channel, so I made a replacement using hollow, square tubing. I cut open one side to create the "C". It was a bit heavier gauge than the original channel but added lots of strength to the seat back! You see many seat backs that are badly bowed out due to the lack of this reinforcement. The wood tack strip alone doesn't offer enough support and I'm guessing the poly stuff offers even less.

I've bought some cellular PVC and am getting ready to try it. I've been advised that over time and heating/cooling cycles it doesn't hold staples or tacks as well as wood. Does anyone have any long-term experience using cellular PVC as a tack strip who can tell me whether the tacks and staples loosen up with time?

If the bodies you fellows are working with are anything like the Canadian body on my 1915, the wooden tack strip and the backing piece on the other side of the strip are both structural members in that they stiffen up the panels, nut just take the nails for the trim. Do any of the suggested alternatives do the same?

Allan from down under.

Allan has a very valid point. I have heard, reliably, that the main issue with the plastic is that it softens just a little when it gets warm in the sun, enough so that some of the support for the panels is gone, allowing distortion, with resulting paint damage. YMMV.

PVC is far more flexible than wood would be so I also question the level of support. I understand that tacks driven into it will loosen over time as the material expands and contracts with heat...more so than wood. Thus the reason for my question. I want to do this once and do it right so I appreciate the comments.

Oldav8tor wrote: ↑

Wed May 06, 2020 5:15 pm

PVC is far more flexible than wood would be so I also question the level of support. I understand that tacks driven into it will loosen over time as the material expands and contracts with heat...more so than wood. Thus the reason for my question. I want to do this once and do it right so I appreciate the comments.

Tim,

I addressed this very thing in my post on 4/28.

Jerry

I read Tim's question and then your 4/28 response. With all due respect, I do not see how that reaponse answers his question. I am still left wondering, too. Color me stupid, I guess. Perhaps you could explain it in other words.

Scott_Conger wrote: ↑

Wed May 06, 2020 7:25 pm

Jerry

I read Tim's question and then your 4/28 response. With all due respect, I do not see how that reaponse answers his question. I am still left wondering, too. Color me stupid, I guess. Perhaps you could explain it in other words.

Scott,

It was really Tim's first sentence, with regard to stiffness, that I was addressing. It kind of referenced Allan's 5/5 post, to which Tim's first sentence was a response.

I would never color you stupid! What color would that be anyway?

After a lot of thought I changed directions and ordered a set of steam-bent wood tack strips from Jonathan Anderson. I think the wood will have more strength than the PVC composite. The back of the front seat in particular definitely needs some stiffening. I may do something like Jerry did or ???

Wise move Tim. The body panels need all the support they can get.
Allan from down under.