Post
by Wayne Sheldon » Sun Dec 12, 2021 7:18 pm
Wow. Where to begin?
First off, bodies in the 1910s were mostly made by outside body suppliers, not by Ford. So they varied quite a bit from one supplier to the next as well as even one batch order to the next. Although by 1920, many if not most open car bodies were being made by Ford, there still were a lot of variations that continued.
Some trunk/turtle decks did have a thin wooden flooring (you can see the top of it in the photo posted by Pep C Strebeck). Some trunk/turtle decks did NOT have a floor in them, and the bottom of the installed trunk was just the top of the rear deck.
I did all this about a year ago for my 1915. Overall, the condition of my turtle deck was far worse than yours appears to be. However, mine did have the original handles and latches in good condition (the main reason I bought the one I did!).
To aid in my restoration, I was able to borrow a very nice virtually untouched original turtle deck from a longtime very good friend. The one he had was an early take-off that probably hung in a barn for fifty years before being taken in by a hobbyist and better cared for. No shine, but otherwise the original paint was very nice, the wood perfect, and nary a dent or ding anywhere in the metal!
His had no flooring in the framework, no rabbit cuts, no nails, no holes, no anything to suggest there ever was a flooring in it! So that was how I restored mine. A few originals I have seen over the years that did have what appeared to be original flooring? They had a "rabbit cut" about a half inch wide, and a quarter inch deep in which quarter inch thick flat boards were nailed. The boards did not need to be strong enough to support anything because they sat upon the rear deck. One reason I chose to go without the flooring was that it allowed me that quarter inch plus more height inside an already ridiculously small trunk! That small trunk by the way is part of what I love abut the silly runabout! (No pickup box for me!)
As otherwise mentioned, the turtle deck does not attach to the back of the front body or seat. It is held on by four bolts that go through the wooden deck and/or sills. One bolt in each corner, as seen in the photo posted by Pep C. The front piece of the wood frame is done a bit differently. Simple enough to do, but hard to explain.
Does your turtle deck have the front sheet metal piece? It was originally tack welded into place, and followed the curves around the front sides. Mine was missing. I made a paper tracing of my friends (Thanks again Phil!) and a close copy out of a scrap chunk of sheet metal, which I tack brazed into place for mine.
For the wood? One could just cut a plywood piece and nail it in. It would work fine. But it really isn't much work to make it right. If you need more information and someone else doesn't answer quickly? I will need to dig out my notes.
By the way, the bead along the back of my front seat is almost exactly even with the top edge of my turtle deck. Replacing the wood framework inside the turtle deck sheet metal should not significantly change the height of the top of the turtle deck! Around 1923, Ford enlarged the turtle deck slightly, and raised that front edge. Is it possible that part of your car could be later?
