MTFCA Forum

This post is only for dye hard T guys. I've been searching for years for original 9/16" upholstery nails, and have not been successful. They only used these on the end of the binding on early cars possibly until they started using hidem welt. I was using 7/16 until recently. The rest of them are 3/8".
I sort of scored recently by finding some 1/2" upholstery nails, and they really make a noticeable difference. They are copper plated, so I just painted them black. Here is the ebay number for 100. 321412578543. For those who are not following me I'm talking about open car tops.

Your post spurred me to look @ my recent 14 roadster top install. The kit came from classtic & has 4 - 9/16 upholstery nails @ the ends of the trim strips. I bet Mike will sell you a few loose. He has been exceedingly helpful providing extra hardware for my most recent job on my 27 RPU.

I assume the .56 jobs from Hillman are not what you're looking for? Not describing crown height...what are your dimsional specifics other than diameter?

You can get 5/8" upholstery nails with a profile this comparable to originals from Witmer Coach Shop.

Refer to this fairly recent thread where I posted examples:

viewtopic.php?t=32994

The 5/8" are too big! Wouldn't it be nice if someone could design a tool to roll over the edge on those, to make it a 9/16"? As I mentioned above, when I removed the 7/16" I previously had used, the difference in appearance of the new 1/2" was a definitely an improvement, plus they are available on ebay from only one place.

5/8" look fine to my eyes.

Compare the photos I posted in the other thread of the 1917 Rip Van Winkle touring and my dad's 1917 touring with the 5/8" nails at the end of the binding, June and July cars respectively, both originally sold in Minnesota and, I presume, both assembled in Minneapolis.