Art & Inspiration TONNEAU COVERS

They are traditional and been popular on trucks but they also have been seen covering the back seats of customs in the past.

This '32 pickup belonged to my pal Dave and the cover looked spot on.



The 1954 of Buzz Mcleod sported a tonneau cover across the back seat, the car was featured in Rod & Custom. HRP

 

I got a buddy with a 58 bel air 4 door dumped to the ground with chrome wheels & mini sombrero center caps with thin whitewalls in red primer with scallops. It's got white ****on tuck [or is it "tuft?"?] and sports a tonneau cover over the back seat......super early 60s. Wish I had a photo of it.

 

Pat Ganahl recently posted about traps.

https://patganahl.com/2022/04/04/talkin-tarps/

 

I would like to do something similar with the Ranch Wagon, thanks for posting. HRP

 

I really like this.

 

The AG Falfa 55. I have been trying to get my son, to do this to his 50 Chevy coupe g***er

 

I saw a craigslist ad one time for a "Tonto" cover!

Dave

 

Were most covers in the late 50’s early 60’s snap covers? I saw a few pleated hard covers on the show trucks.

 

My 28A bobtail Roadster I got running in end of 1959, didn't have a top,but I did add a tonneau. The full custom "J" ,I built in 60,I also added a tonneau= I thought it looked better then with that,then with the folding 55 T-bird top on,at car shows. Both of those tonneau,were made for me by "Nuwet's Boat n Car Upholstery" in trade for doing odd jobs for him. By 61,I did get the "J"s insides looking good enough to leave the driver side of the tonneau open at shows to show a padded * 53 Destoto dash, door panels* that now match nice 55 Chevy beach seat.
My 28a roadster went with only it's tonneau,for many years an rotted to unuseaible. Then only after ,my last refresh of my old 28 hotrod,that I got around too,designing an building a folding top for the roadster.https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...top-a-how-too-do-it-tech.857951/#post-9479688

 

Here's mine

 

Tonneau covers look great, have had on a couple of Rancheros - have to be careful when undoing snaps, can tear the material, & hurt fingers, sometimes used a carpenter brad puller, will sag without some type of support braces, if allowed to sag standing water makes it worse, on open cars wind getting under cover causes problems too,

 

Yes sir, Dave patterned his cover from a truck he saw in a early HONK magazine, he used snap's. HRP



Dave didn't want the cover to sag so he made a wooden support from oak. HRP

 

Neat idea to fill the gap, but kinda seems overkill if you get in the bed much. my 33 pickup doesnt have much sag and its 30+ years old at this point. The previous owners did bend a pipe that slips in the bed rails on the top to have the cover wrap neatly over at the rear.

 

Dave had a beautiful bed and used it quiet a bit.



But when he traveled he built a light weight slide that was the size of the bed to accommodate tools, bags, cooler & a spare tire. HRP

 

Back in the mid-sixties, I had a quick glimpse of a '61 Chevy Impala, 2-door, hardtop with a tonneau cover from right behind the front bench seat top, back to the rear window platform (aka: magazine rack). I've seen the occasional convertible done that way....... but, like I said, this was a hardtop.
We p***ed each other going opposite directions, residential street, so I didn't have a chance to note how it was attached at the front. I ***ume there was a pole or brace so the split seat backs could still flop forward.
There was a graphic design or monogram in the middle of it but I didn't have time to make it out.
I recall being impressed and thinking it was a cool idea. Never saw another.

 

Had one on my ‘57 PU, someone thought it’d be nice to slice it. I drilled out the snaps when I got the tuck painted, but never got another one put on.
As I recall it was 75 bucks in the late 70’s for it at Watson Brothers in Modesto. Bet it’d run a few more bucks today

 

My 52.