MTFCA Forum

T Coupe is from October 1926 and this is the rear piece of wood on top which I was going to duplicate and replace but then I got to thinking that it does not look like anything else I have seen online. The first photo is the wood on the top layer, removed. The second is the remnants of a wide piece. So, is this correct or has someone monkeyed with it?

No. That is not anywhere near what the original frame on my 1926 coupe (mfg. in March, ‘26) looks like. The frame is rounded at the edges and sticks up at least an inch above the lip of the steel body top so that the top material can be stretched over the top of the curved frame and tacked into the side of the frame and the tack heads covered by welting made for that purpose. The attached picture shows the frame of the coupe top wood kit, which is available for sale, online. Jim Patrick

It looks like I do have a 1 foot fragment of original top wood with the tacks and a scrap of headliner cloth. I see that no hardware is included in the kit but it has these split slot nuts on top of a carriage bolt. I suppose a flat washer and regular hex nut would work and remain unseen.

Anyone know a source for this guy? Thanks

Click onto the McMaster-Carr link to see the closest thing I could find to what you are looking for. You may be able to modify them by carefully grinding a slot across the top with a dremel tool equipped with a metal cutting disc, as opposed to making them from scratch, which is probably the only other option. Not sure how you plan to drill the round tapered holes for these to go into as I have never seen a tapered forstner bit, which is what you would need. You may need to use regular 1.
1/4”-20 hexhead bolts and 1/4” flat washers in a countersunk hole drilled with a regular straight sided Forster wood bit, or use 1/4”-20 countersunk flat headed machine screws in 1/4” countersunk holes. Jim Patrick
www.mcmaster.com/nuts/tamper-resistant-nuts/

Years ago I had made the special L bolt and tapered nuts for the front door post and top wood for a T, I may have a couple sets left. I made new wood for four fordors when we did that project years ago, it is just as easy to make a couple extra pieces of wood when the saw is set up for it!