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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Two Spare Tire Wells ?

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Discussion Topic: Two Spare Tire Wells ?

Drbrown

01-03-2021 @ 9:58 AM

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In my long-door coupe, there is a bracket welded to the center of the back-seat frame. The bracket receives an angle-shaped bolt that hooks into the bracket to hold the spare tire tight to the seat-back. The spare tire sits in a tire well formed in the floor panel and the tire has a elastic fabric cover. This floor well and its surrounding area is elevated a little above the main part of trunk floor level. The jack, tire wrench etc are just stored separately. The exposed back-side of the rear seat currently has gray carpet adhered to a thick cardboard material - I think original covering was an embossed leather material, same as used over the trunk side-wall panels (Restoration Idea: In an art supply store I found an assortment of heavy gauge cardboard panels with embossed vinyl adhered to them In the gray color, it looked like a good replacement for missing OE liners.

As to the so-called fiberglass material, the combination of fabric mesh and resin is translucent brown and brittle in its hardened state. The I don't know the history of fiberglass development but by the mid 1940's I expect it was underway i.e. By very early 1950's fiberglass boat and canoe's appeared, and cars by mid-1950's. Some foreign cars made in the 1940's had fiberglass body parts.

This message was edited by Drbrown on 1-3-21 @ 10:24 AM

woodiewagon46

01-02-2021 @ 10:32 AM

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Another Ford mystery! I can't imagine any type of "fiberglass patching" being used on the Ford assembly line, but who knows? I thought it might have something to do with the shelf that was installed behind the seat on the three passenger Coupe. Where is you spare tire mounted?

Drbrown

01-02-2021 @ 9:50 AM

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I recall the Business Coupe being listed for 1947 and that during the 1946 to 1947 transition, that some assembly plants picked over left-over 1946 body parts. I also tend to agree that a sedan floor panel might result in that tire well being that far back.

OE side window glass marks dated about July 1947 and some say it typically took about a month or two for the glass to get to the assembly line for installation. The gas tank I removed appeared to be original.

The cutting of the floor panel to form the unused tire well: The underside of the trunk floor panel is painted same as the car's body color (monsoon maroon), so it appears to be original and stock. There are four 6+- inch long parallel cuts about 2 inches apart running fore and aft, then one cut across them in their center. Note the 1/2 inch drain hole in the center of the cross cut.

Thus cut, the curvature of the wheel well bottom was formed. They definitely used rivets (abt 1/8" dia) to fasten the cover panel over the wheel well; one on rear edge in center, and three evenly spaced across the forward edge. Its the same gauge metal as used for the tank sender unit cover, which also has original body paint on its underside. The cuts thru the bottom of the well to form the curvature look factory made i.e. no saber saw etc . I had to bend the cut tabs to get at the rusted forward bolt holding the gas tank to the frame.

The so-called fiberglass patching over those floor cuts was on the interior or side of the trunk and definitely a mesh fabric set in resin that had been applied over plain steel. It was firm and well adhered.

This message was edited by Drbrown on 1-2-21 @ 9:56 AM

woodiewagon46

01-01-2021 @ 3:01 PM

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It may have something to do with the discontinued, in October of 1946, 5 window, 3 passenger Coupe. The area behind the front seat was used for commercial use or room for extra luggage, without seating. Some people call it a Business Coupe or Salesman's Coupe. It was again offered to the public in April of 1947 because of public demand. Perhaps your floor pan was factory modified after the 3 passenger Coupe was discontinued and before it resumed production.

kubes40

01-01-2021 @ 2:08 PM

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I've seen similar to this on other coupes. However, there was no riveting and certainly NO fiberglass, etc.
If memory serves, some coupes received sedan floor pans. I'm hoping a '46 - '48 expert will weigh in here.
Regardless, Ford didn't slice up the well and apply patches.
My guess, and only a guess as I am unable to inspect your car, the pan has been repaired / replaced at some point.

I'm eager to hear from an expert in your year Ford.

Mike "Kube" Kubarth

This message was edited by kubes40 on 1-1-21 @ 2:23 PM

Drbrown

01-01-2021 @ 12:09 PM

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Have a 1947 Ford "long door" coupe which appears to have been assembled about mid-year. It has not indicated any 1946 left-over features/parts. I recently replaced the gas tank. When I rolled up the trunk floor mat, in center I found a suspicious oblong-shape metal plate riveted in-place. Further forward from that location is my spare tire, sitting in a shallow tire well, attached to the back of the rear seat. I had to access the forward bolt which holds the gas tank to the frame and it was beneath this mysterious floor plate. Broke the rivets and removed the plate to find a second spare tire well (see photo). During assembly of the car body, did Ford used a floor pan which would accommodate both the short-door business coupe body and the long-door body ? Anyone ever encounter this condition ? Also interesting, to form the spare tire well, they made several cuts thru the floor panel, bent and shaped the tire well, then used a fiber-glass type patching material to make the well water-tight.

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