turtle deck hinges questions

[Craig E. Luton]

I purchased a turtle deck for my 1914 Ford roadster and am in the process of restoring it. It came with the lid and hinges although both hinges were broken. I saved the parts of the hinges and welded them back together. Now I am trying to reinstall the lid but can’t get the hinges on. I have tried to install the hinge onto the lid first, then installed the hinge onto the body part first and also tried putting the lid on and then tried putting the hinge in place. Nothing works. Anyone out there have this problem? Any advice will help.
Thank you, Craig

[John kuehn]

Without seeing the lid or hinges it sounds like either the turtle deck itself or the lid is not
exactly flat.

Or maybe when you put the hinges back together they weren’t in the right angle either. Did you try to remove the hinge pins and lay them on the turtle deck to see how far off they are? Trying that will tell you what’s what since the deck lid should lay flat on the deck. Hope this can help. The hinge angles are crucial in getting it to fit like it should. This holds true with any door hinge on wooden house doors, cabinet doors and etc.

[Craig E. Luton]

The hinges will only go back onto the turtledeck one way. I had to cut the flat part of the hinge to separate the hinge from the weld. Both sides were cut differently so will only go back the way they were originally. The lid fits the opening nicely with very little play so there shouldn’t be a problem that way. I have thought about cutting the hinge apart at the weld, then mounting the hinge and tacking the two parts together while the hinge is mounted.
Any suggestions out there or are replacement hinges available?
Thank you
Craig

[signsup]

Unless someone comes up with a source for the hinges, I am under the impression that they are not being reproduced. I have a deck and lid with half the ninges on one piece and I looked for replacement hinges a year or so again with no luck. Hope they exist for both our sakes.

[John kuehn]

The larger Ace Hardware stores have a decent selection of hinges.
And no they aren’t exact reproductions but you might find some that are pretty close and alter or rebend them to look like the deck hinges.
There are several T parts that aren’t being reproduced and the deck hinges are not either.