MTFCA Forum

Hello, I am looking for some help with my Daughter’s 1926 roadster. She was given the car by my father who has had it sense before he could drive. The car has been running and driving as a chassis for as long as I can remember but when it was given to my daughter we stared reassembling into a whole car again to verify we had everything and it fit together relatively well before body work and paint. We are to the point of installing wood in the body and unfortunately do not have any old wood to go off of. I have found a number of pictures but nothing that looks makes everything crystal clear. The three wood slats that go behind the backrest, should bolts go through them into a wood strip and through the body and trough the tack strip on the outside? I have seen some pictures where the strip of wood is mounted lower.

Once this is in place does the seat upholstery and the top mount to the tack strip?

We would like to temporarily mount the upholstery for my Daughter’s up coming high school graduation so she can give people rides in our neighborhood during her party.

I tried searching and couldn’t find quite what I was looking for. Thanks in advance for the help my dad my self and my daughter are really having fun making the T look like a car again.

This a video of my Daughter taking our dog for his first Model T ride.

https://youtu.be/xMr_Knj5OBM?si=DSh_r_0lrxmZuN8k

Here is older post showing the backrest wood.

The seat is just seat spring with upholstery fitted, it lays in the metal seat base and is removable. The seat base has upright wood stringer for support.

Backrest wood is the tack strip with uprights fastened by stove bolts, heads buried in the outer tack strip, passing thru the sheet metal and the wood uprights, square nuts secure, trim bolt end as needed.

Backrest spring is held by fabric strips.


https://search.app/c3hxnga8qnqgHYZw6

What I am posting is about what I did with mine during the 1980.s so might not be available today. I bought parts from Chaffin's Garage and Langs Old Car part or Snyders. Kits for all the wood for the 26 Roadster and Touring were available ass well as upholstery kits. So take a look at the catalogs from the various suppliers and see what you can find. You can also use Hickory and cut your own if you have a pattern and are handy with woodworking tools.
Norm

Thanks for the link and the advice so far. We got a wood kit from Snyder’s and an upholstery kit from another vendor. We decided to go for it and got most of the seat back wood in place. We started on the upper outer tack rail but the multi piece design leaves quite a bit to be desired as far as fit goes.

The back seat spring we have is quite a bit shorter than the one that is linked above. It is aftermarket but my Dad has had it for years.

At what height should the back spring be located and was it attached to the to the three vertical wood pieces?

Sam

The wood work on the 26-27 is easy, the tack strips as you noted are not, as the factory used multiple pieces and steam bent them to fit. Have found the modern plastic strip the better, it heat forms with a hot air gun and you bend it and bolt in place. It holds tacks great.

These photos may help, it's a 26 touring, but upholstery method is very similar, the photos are mix of front and rear seat backrests.

Do the seat cushion first, so it can be used to determine the lower part of the spring, you don't want the lower part of the backrest spring to not leave room to slip the seat cushion under it, nor too much a gap of the backrest spring is set too low.

As with all upholstery work, used tacks, and that way you can pull tacks and move the material where you want it. Isn't a determined measure of where to mount the backrest spring, that is judgement. The spring will be hung from strips of material that you can then pull up or lower and then tack in place when you like the spot.

I like to hog ring the spring to the backrest material in a few places, to make it easy to pull and adjust, but still keep the spring level, and centered in the backrest material, that you have marked a center line. Install the hip pads prior.

Hang the spring, tack the lower part of the backrest upholstery to the lower wood, then pull up and over to the upper tack strip, adjust as needed.

A few more photos.

It's important to bunch the excess material, some times more padding is needed, to the top of the backseat spring. That fills the void and gives good support. Otherwise there will be a sag and look won't be correct.

I still have my doubts about the black plastic tack strips. A few years ago, I installed mine with #10 screws and nuts. The car sat inside for a couple years cycling between 45 and 95 degrees F. Before I had a chance to upholster the seat, I discovered the plastic had cracked. I did not take good photos like I do now. I ended up replacing the plastic with wood.

Tom

Respectfully, experience for me with the plastic has been very good, first use in 2001, and still is fine. Have done several T's with plastic now.

Original tack strips are normally way gone for use, have tried the vendor pieces, but they never fit the complex curve up and down and in on the backrest metal. Even tried to do my own by routing the edge like original, but forming after steam soak, the wood just would not lay down on the body metal channel.



The thermo black plastic rectangle strips sold by Lang's work the best for a non-woodworker like me

Easy to shape and go, drill and bolt down, heat and advance to the next fastener point, and around the body channel with ease. Really holds the upholstery tacks great, no splitting like wood does.

Thank you Dan and everyone for your help. Dan my Father is Mike Russell he said that you have corresponded in the past about some accessory's. I think we are going to try the plastic strip.

we have a bit of a funny situation, we are trying to temporarily install the interior so it can be driven at my daughters high school graduation. The tack strip will have top come back out for paint and body work. We will not secure the upper and lower back rest cover as securely as when it is installed permanently and we will not be installing to top at all. Do see any reason that the plastic strip would have trouble if it was removed and reinstalled?

I am now home and can try to post pictures.

SpyderMan1964 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 15, 2025 12:47 pm

Do see any reason that the plastic strip would have trouble if it was removed and reinstalled?

I am now home and can try to post pictures.

Sure don't think any trouble, the tack strip will be heat formed to shape and fit the drilled holes in the body channel as first installed. This plastic is rigid, except when hit with hot air gun at 300 degrees. Will keep the shape after forming, as it is a thermo set plastic.