In this installment, Bob Hamilton finishes building a fiberglass 1927 Model T trunk lid for his ’27 T roadster project. Further to the last installment, you’ll see that it’s really something anyone can do with the right information. Bob covers building fiberglass panels and parts in more detail in the very informative StreetRod 101 DVD Library available at our sister site, StreetRodPlans.com.
Follow along to see how you, too, can build your own 1927 Model T trunk lid using these simple fabrication techniques.
Completing the 1927 Model T Trunk Lid in Fiberglass
“This picture shows part of the passengers side and top with the side piece in place. The strength that this one piece adds is totally amazing. I filled in most of the low spots with fiberglass bondo and will finish the entire top with ultra light bondo. The metal straps are to hold the 1927 Model T trunk lid in place so that I can align and set up the side hinges.”
“This is a shot of the front lip of the body , which is done the same way as the side pieces and the front of the trunk. The hinge was made from a 1/2 in x 1 coarse bolt with a 1/4 inch hole drilled in the center. You will need a lathe or a great hardware store to get four (two for the trunk and two for the body) of these to use as the hinge. I also turned the head of the bolts down to about 3/32ths thick for space requirements. Look closely and the one for the body can be seen in place in the upper end of the passenger side trunk opening. I could have used a different type of hinge, but these work very well, are cheap, and easy to install and work really super! Almost a no brainer.”
“Here is a great shot of the front and side pieces installed on the 1927 Model T trunk lid along with the driver side piece. It also shows how the hinge bolt is held in place . I just use a flat washer and a nyloc and then form a support cone with fiberglass bondo on both the trunk and the body side of the hinge pin bolts. The hinge pin is a 1/4 x 3 unc bolt with another 3 inch bolt welded to the head of the hinge pin. This allows me to remove the pin easily and when I final assemble the hinge, I will put a flat washer with a 1/4 x 20 nyloc nut on the end of the hinge pin to lock it in place.”
“To get a nice straight evenly spaced gap on the top / front edge, I use two or three pieces of chip board covered with wax paper (this acts as a spacer) and taped to the body side of the trunk opening. I first straightened the body edge by sanding and adding fiberglass bondo and using a straight edge to get it the way I wanted. Then force fiberglass bondo into the gap and up against the trunk lid. When set, remove and add more fiberglass bondo to the trunk to fill and even out on the inside against the edge. The same process is used on the sides of the trunk.”
“This shows what happens after the fiberglass bondo is forced from the top into the side to fill in the gap. Now just fill the bottom where the bondo did not reach, sand and finish.”
“Here I’ve started smoothing with ultra light bondo. The side gaps look real good too! Although it looks like a lot of bondo, there actually is not that much when all is said and done. In this picture the front gap has not been done yet. Not too bad for a cheap fiberglass 1927 Model T trunk lid you build yourself. It opens and closes real well and is easily removed. For the latch, I fiberglassed a thin piece of plywood with two 1/4 x 20 x1 in. elevator bolts (available at Home Depot or Lowes). This will allow the upper latch to be attached to the bolts. I did the same to the inside of the body to hold the lower latch and bracket.”
This little installment has just scratched the surface compared to the detail that Bob provides in the StreetRod 101 DVDs. You’ll be confident doing it yourself when you follow the methodical and practical hot rod building information he shares in both the Fiberglass Body Modifications and the Fiberglass Bodywork and Paint DVD sets in the comprehensive StreetRod 101 DVD Library. We’re proud to make these DVDs available through our sister website, StreetRodPlans.com.
Click on the image above and you will see for yourself the incredible range of helpful, educational and informative hot rod building “how to’s,” money-saving tips and and frustration-saving detail are included in these terrific DVD sets.
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TBucketPlans.com originated in 2005 as a personal blog extolling the virtues of T-Buckets. In 2009 I blogged about Chester Greenhalgh, the "how to" genius who wrote the legendary, out-of-print “How to Build a T-Bucket Roadster for Under $3000”. That led to a friendship with Chester and our partnership in marketing the updated eBook version of his T-Bucket building bible. The T-Bucket fire burns stronger and stronger.
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Got any plans or ideas on building door for 1927 model t coupe?
Thanks for asking, Bob. While not specifically for hanging coupe doors, you’ll find a lot of good info relating to doing that on a ’27 T roadster in this informative DVD by Bob Hamilton:https://www.tbucketplans.com/product/t-bucket-modifications/