I need to put this support strap/bar on the front of my 26 deck today, but I can not find any photos on how it goes on - it is [ shaped not just a flat bar. Does the C side go towards the front of the car or the back of the car.
PS - if you have a photo of yours please post do I can get it 100% right.
Travis Towle
Topeka, Kansas
I found this previous post showing the bar in my saved photos. Coincidently they note the wood battery door as you noted in another post
I zoomed up and it shows the open part of the channel facing rearward.
That support is missing on my turtle deck. Does it make a difference when everything is bolted together, or was it something Ford added to keep the deck in shape until the floor was riveted in (?) & the deck bolted in place? I know it's supposed to be there for a 100% restoration, but I'm mostly concerned with stability and rattle aspects..?
My '26 doesn't have the bar but the holes are there. I purchased it that way and intend to fit one eventually.
The photo which states wood battery cover is from my vehicle. It was mentioned so people would know from what direction the photo was from. It was for orientation only. It was not to imply that the battery cover for roadsters was actually made of wood. In fact I believe that the roadsters used a metal battery cover!
With regards to stability of the turtle deck to the rest of the vehicle, mine only has the four bolts by the floor. I now believe later roadsters had two bolts on each side going up the vertical sides. Randys' photo shows one such bolt in the vertical area just above the brace.
Back when I posted that photo I was trying to find out about the two bolt holes on each side in the vertical area of the turtle deck. Some posts confirmed that vehicles were made both ways. It is my contention that Ford later put the extra fasteners in to increase rigidity between the body and turtle deck, but that is only a guess on my part.
I hope this clears up some of the questions!
Arnie:
My '26 Runabout has a wood battery cover.
Actually the engine/frame number has it as a October '26 manufacture. Too much trouble changing MV records to a '27 Runabout.