I have been working on 51 ford project and i cant figure out what is going on with the deck lid. Driver side has 1/2" gap p***enger side seems good. im thinking the hinges are bad? any ideas also has anyone used bear claw latchs? opinions? https://shoebox-central.com/bear-claw-trunk-deck-boot-lid-latch
From the weld seam across the top, it appears the quarter has been replaced? Should be able to get the correct trunk opening from someone here and compare. If close adjust the hinges to equalize the gap on each side.
That is a bit out, but getting the gaps perfect on a shoebox, eh..... Hank wouldn't have cared. He'd have said "SHIP IT!" lol My hood is a little wonky on mine as well. Not terrible, but after fiddling with it to death I've learned to live with it. Nobody has ever noticed it, or said anything anyway.
Like @Bangingoldtin mentioned, that quarter appears to have been replaced and maybe not done very well. Who knows what else may have happened to a 70 year old car. If you can't close that gap with adjustments, it may take adding a sliver of metal to take up that space. Not a real simple fix.
defiantly not a factory seam also the taillight housing appears to be ******ed up Like 210 said gaps on shoe boxes will drive you crazy, quality control was never a big deal at ford
From what little I can see in your photos I would look further into the Quarter. Good fit on 49-51 can be tough but not as bad as what we see there. That weld seam is quite common to rid the factory seam to clean things up. If the car needed a quarter, I doubt it would be put together at that place. They generally get graphed together at the sail panel to quarter corner. Photos from further away would help us Keypad Doctors give you better advice.
In Fact that is a Factory pinch weld seam and goes all the way to the lower splash pan behind the rear bumper.
Un***led by Travis Brown, on Flickr Un***led by Travis Brown, on Flickr Un***led by Travis Brown, on Flickr Un***led by Travis Brown, on Flickr Un***led by Travis Brown, on Flickr Not the best photos but they may be of some help. How does it sit in place without the hinges? Does it even fit the hole? Is it the car or the decklid?
I really don't think that cobbled welding is from the factory, unless it was done at The Lighthouse for The Blind over the years I have owned and worked on my share of shoe box fords
Your right about the actual weld. I was referring to the fact there is a seam there to start with. I thought the prior post made it sound like a Q
sorry for the late response, i got back out to the car today and i noticed the pin on the driver side latch is actually coming out of one side, so im thinking that is the issue?
With the better photos posted you can tell the seam welds defiantly are not factory. I fact whoever did those mig welds should have their welder taken away. That's some pretty bad garbage to try to clean up and salvage. At least they didn't start chopping the top thinking they're a Body Man. What little I can see is just plain Nasty ****. Good luck bringing things back around and ready for some kind of paint.
Just a quick comment ........ the seam is factory spot welded with a welp along the top and spot welded fender to body on the underside. Whoever welded it did a relatively bad job. In any case, some grinding is in order and some putty will fix it right up ! That pin that slipped out should have never EVER come loose, since they are mushroomed on one end .and should have had a cotter key on the other. I took the springs out.... I decided that there was too much force on the hinges when I put them in The Judge, plus a '49 has a rod/rail to hold the lid up. That, and with the spring installed, I figured it would be impossible to get things lined up and mounted with it installed. So, out they came. Also, the '51 hinges are subject to stress cracking (due to the strong spring load and the weight of the lid) on the curved part that you can't see when the lid is closed. Mine were cracked and I didn't see it for a couple of years, until the top gap started to expand, then I looked to see why it was "moving". As for the question on the bear claw latch, yes, it's possible since that's exactly what I did with a key fob opener on it and the doors also. Scroll down here to see how to put in the latch. The angle of rotation has to be considered .. That is, parallel to the center of rotation of the hinges for the latch to engage correctly. https://49fordcoupe.smugmug.com/Hood-Trunk-Lid-Hinges-Retrofit/
PnB, As you can see, both 1/4s have had the last couple feet grafted , for whatever reason. I'm sure you can see that the left one seems a little short ;-) For the O/P,. You've got much bigger problems than a deck lid adjustment. I would start by finding a spot inside, up near the rear end that looks the same on both sides. Hook a tape on it and measure out thru the tail light holes...Report back.
"PnB, As you can see, both 1/4s have had the last couple feet grafted , for whatever reason." What do you mean by "grafted"?
I'm not sure I see a vertical graph point or even a bulge in the quarter that explains the Gap at the bottom corner of the deck lid to the below deck lid panel but I 'm pretty sure there is not enough gap between the deck lid and the front sail panel to move the deck lid forward and get a fit. Something is really messed up in Denmark. That much mis fit and there should be an easy to find and poorly done body repair. P.S. I don't think this can be fixed with body filler no matter how much you lay on there.
Bend the quarter panel back in, It warped out because of all that welding. Put a cable type come along one end in the tail light hole and the other to a tree and pull the quarter back to where it goes.
Might as well be blunt, even though it’s honest. That car is HACKED. It has nothing to do with Ford, or 1950s fit and finish. It has been rusted, hit, welded, spliced, abused, or some combination of all of these. The proof is in the pictures. It can be fixed, but a trunk hinge pin and aftermarket bear claw latches have nothing to do with the cure. Pinch welds, factory seams, sloppy tolerances etc. have no bearing on this issue. That’s not a fix by internet advice problem. That is a have an experienced and qualified person get involved, in person, and either advise, or take over. I’ve had a dozen or so shoeboxes, and I can ***ure you, nothing like that went down the line. Granted, they weren’t built like a new Lexus, but this is my original body shoebox, with factory wood and sheet metal.
If you look at both sides on top of the 1/4's, about 3-4 inches back from the front edge of the deck lid, you'll welded seams or splices, or whatever you want to call them. What do you think they are there for ,49? A look inside might be helpful ;-)
Guys, Look at the lower right corner of the deck lid. Not too bad. Now look at the lower left corner. The misalignment starts at at least half way up the body / deck lid seam. Just moving the 1/4 in is not gonna fix it..IMO
Okay..Thanks Ya know, people like to use the word "clip" now, for parts that unbolt , but I'd say this car needs a real clip, from about the deck lid, back.
Yes, harsh but true. If you don't have good Body Working skills already you're in over your head that is unless you're going to just settle for another Rat Rod in the mix. I'd hope that isn't the case.
The vertical seams in the quarter panel look like the rear portion was replaced - poorly. There should be no vertical seam in a Ford of that vintage. The hinges need to be squared away, the deck lid fit to the front part of the opening and the the rear sheet metal clip moved to match. A lot of work. Here is a pic of a NOS one.
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