I'm looking a a '25 roadster that someone removed the turtle deck on and made a pickup out of it. Is there a body piece missing or is this a hack job assembly? Not sure what to think of it. If anyone has a photo of what it should look like I would appreciate it.
Can you give us more pictures? It seams that the roadster body may have some wood problems and there are a couple of metal pieces missing between the body and bed. Full side picture would help.
Bob
It looks to me like the large piece of wood was added for support of the bed. By doing this it lifts the truck bed up so that it does not fit up against the roadster body correctly.
Dave
The back piece of the body seams to be down on the gravel shield leading me to think that the wood in the body may have rotted some , Just a though.
Bob
Unfortunately nothing better in pictures yet. Waiting for the seller to send more.
Jim,
There is a wooden sill which runs the entire length of the body. The curved piece sticking out the back of the roadster body should fit over the sill. Normally there is another piece of sheet metal which covers the rest of the sill under the turtle deck. The turtle deck sits on the floor which is rabbetted into the top of the sills.
That tall piece of wood should be the sill - or is sitting where the sill is.
It's hard to tell from the photo. Could be:
1. The sill is missing and that wide piece is an added piece. It looks like it is sitting on the frame rail - the sill should be outside the frame rail. That is why the sheet metal is not sitting over the wood.
2. The body is sagging at the back due to some structural reason. That is causing the piece sticking out the back not to line up with the sill.
3. Both 1 & 2.
My best guess is #3.
Dave S.
Looks like it was done like they do at Model T Haven--used a pine 2x4 as a "temporary sill" to mount a body on a frame, when there is no wood left. Looks like the small piece of wood was placed on the 2x4 so there would be no need for a metal piece in the center of the bed over the crossmember. Just my guess; that the body is a little shy in the wood department!
I just looked at the original post again. You've got a 25 car body and frame, and I bet it's a 26 bed. That's what I encountered when I built my closed cab pickup several years ago. I used the back of a 26 tudor body and 26 bed and rear fenders and the rest was 25. Had to do some creative wood work! Try to get him to give you some good pics of the under side and all the wood areas.
Jim H,
Are you looking to buy this? Remember, bad wood better equal low price. Without seeing more and better pictures (or in person would be better) we can't give really good advice. It may yet be something that could be easily fixed up and enjoyed for years! Or not. There is a good chance that it is an incorrect pickup box for a '25 T (they ARE fairly rare). But if the price is right. That may not be a big deal. I have seen Ts with model A boxes that looked good.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2