Early 26 Coupe seat back brace measurements needed

[AaronR]

I'm in the process of assembling an early 26 T coupe for a widow. The car was mid restoration when I started working on it and since I didn't take it apart, I'm putting it together based on pictures and witness marks from the old wood pieces. Anyway, this coupe has the all steel package tray as opposed to the steel/wood version used on the later coupes. The only piece of original wood missing is the piece that bolts to the package tray with the notch to accept the seat retaining tab. Does anyone have one of those pieces they can measure for me so I can make a new one? I've attempted to make one using info from older posts, but there's just not enough info to make a proper copy. Any help is appreciated!

Here's a pic from a previous post for reference:

Screenshot 2021-07-13 090402.jpg (20.88 KiB) Viewed 1208 times

[jab35]

Aaron:
My understanding is that the all steel shelves were late '26 introductions, used thru end of production. My Coupe 13,60x,xxx has the wood tray but I believe the rail that supports the seat back should be similar in your car. The rail is 1-1/4" thick (front to back dimension). On the wood tray, the top edge of the rail is 1-5/8" above the wood tray surface, and the thickness of the wood tray is 3/4". I'm guessing the bottom of the all steel tray and base of the 3/4" thick wood tray rest on the same brackets in the body, if so the rail you are building would be 3/4" plus 1-5/8" (2 -3/8") wide. The length of that rail in my '26 is 44-3/4". Hope this helps, jb

[AaronR]

Thanks JB. That helps a bunch. With that information and one closeup pic of that piece from Don Booth, I should be able to make something close.

This shows the rounded edges and metal plate I also need to make.

Does the fabric drape over that wood piece and get sandwiched between it and the seat back frame? I assume the screws at each end are covered by the fabric...

[jab35]

Aaron:
Fabric is applied to the strip covering the bottom edge that goes on top of the metal, then upward across the back side, over the top and front sides of the strip. I've seen it tacked on the front side which is hidden by the seat. A slit is made where the seatback metal tang engages the pocket. I'm not sure if the metal tray is painted or covered with fabric, the wood ones obviously were fabric covered. Best, jb