Happy New Year to my fellow VFFers! To make a short story long, I installed a right tail light on my 29. To locate it, I went thru a complicated procedure involving a long aluminum angle leveled across the top of the rear fenders. Since then, I look at the car from the rear and the tail lights don't look right. I considered the license plate throwing off my perception. Yesterday I finally got out the tape and discovered the right tail light was an inch too high! Further investigation showed that the car is one inch higher on the right side. Short of bolting 200 pounds of steel plate on the right side under the back seat, is there a simple way to fix this without pulling rear end and spring? Since this is an older frame off restoration and everything under the car is clean and painted and pretty, I didn't expect to find this difference.
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I am a bit confused. If the car is an inch higher on the right, how did the aluminum angle level out.
Is the light really in the correct place?
If so, loosen the 4 rear spring retainer nuts, and stand on the running board and shift the car to the right, then tighten the right side nuts tight first, then and only then tighten the left hand nuts
A failsafe way to locate a mirror image device is to use a template, ie out of a large piece of cardboard.
Every time I am in Sam's club I grab a divider from in between the layers of soda or paper towel cases, they are about 4' square, and then I have plenty of cardboard for templates, which it seems we are always making -
Leaning to the left is a very common issue on all L/H drive A's. Shifting the U-bolts as dave mentioned is usually the fix.
Replacing the rear spring usually is not the fix. The body sits on the center of the spring packs
Make sure your tie rod is not rubbing the drag link, which indicates a weak front spring. The front can make the rear look crooked as well.
Make sure the individual spring leafs are lubricated between each other.(front and rear)
A frozen shock can cause a car to lean3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
Henry Ford said,
"It's all nuts and bolts"
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Mitch's Auto Service ctrComment
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To position my right side tail light, I used tbird's template idea. Here's how I did it. I removed the left tail light and used lightweight paper draped over the fender to make several reference marks, determine the curves and angles, and locate the holes. Once I had a template that matched the left side, I flipped it over and fit it to the right side. I transferred the pattern to another sheet of lightweight paper taped to the fender and traced the hole pattern on that. Then I had my wife hold the new light positioned per the hole template and stood back to see how it looked. Reassured, I made small centering marks on tape on the fender where the holes would occur, and drilled the holes using circular blades, which I find to work best even for smaller holes. It all turned out fine.Comment
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Regarding the r/s tail light, the mounting brackets are different correct????3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
Henry Ford said,
"It's all nuts and bolts"
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Mitch's Auto Service ctrComment
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tbirdtbird, the template is a good idea. To explain the leveled angle iron, I laid the angle front to back across the top of the rear fenders, stacking material on the running board under the angle in the center of the door. Placing a 4 foot carpenters level on the angle, I adjusted the stack until the angle was level. Then I measured from the bottom of the angle to the centerline of the top bolt on the tail light bracket. I repeated the process on the right side. Yesterdays measurements, floor to bottom of the light cup, floor to bottom of the bumper, floor to bottom of the rear of the fender, floor to top of wheel opening in the fender. All were 7/8 to 1 inch higher on the right than the left.Comment
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so the lights are correct, the lean of the car is not.
As above, very common, good pointers above.
If you look at the car from a bit of a distance from the front, you should be able to see lean, and measure from the bumpers to the floor to see how much front and how much back. For me it is easier to see this from the front, don't ask me whyComment
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About 7 or 8 years ago I bought a new repro RH tail light and measured and marked for the holes then had my wife hold it in place and stepped back for a look and it was a slight but very noticeable different angle than the original LH light. I then had my son double check my measurements when was correct and had him hold the tail light in place and it was still a different angle than the original. Needless to say I didn't drill any holes and just ran the LH with LEDs. I mentioned this to couple of buddies and they said the repros were all like that. I am going tomorrow to pick up parts and plan to buy 2 LH tail lights and another RH light hoping maybe the repro LH will match the RH. Has anyone else had this issue and are the current repros a better match?
Thanks
TOBComment
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The r/hand repo tail light has a different angle than an original l/s. I'm not sure how a repo l/s side matches up to the repo r/s. The r/hand drive cars were made with a r/s tail light originally. Finding one of those would be as rare as hens teeth3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
Henry Ford said,
"It's all nuts and bolts"
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Mitch's Auto Service ctrComment
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Take a left hand bracket, cut a pie slice out of it, bend & hold up on fender w/ tail light and sight it in with your eye. The eye is more sensitive than the template way. Or, use the template and double check with your eye. Repros suck!Comment
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the template is only to find the location of the 3 mounting holes
the angle is up to youComment
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I coulda swore I read he already had the right light mounted, but the car leans to the left...
Now, to address the lean, IF you still have the lean after loosening the spring nuts, and jumping on the right side of the car to readjust the spring seat, if that doesn't work, you could take a wedge and reloosen the spring and set the wedge between spring and frame to set it straight. This can shift the weight a bit to the right, but I tell you now, the Model A is notorious for leaning toward the driver side. The Brits will tell you they can tell RHD from LHD by which way the car leans.You wana look waaay far up da road and plan yer route because the brakes are far more of a suggestion than a command!Comment
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I am going to add a RH taillight to my 1929 Tudor. Can someone please give me the correct diameter of the hole in the fender for the wiring? Also, if someone has a locator pattern for correct positioning, I could use that too.
Thanks.03-04-2021, 10:59 AM -
I inherited this 1929 Sport Coupe from my dad. As it's a 1929 it only has one tail light. In the interest of making this a little safer, I want to add a second brake light. The existing tail light is attached to the license plate bracket, and it is attached at the base of the body. I am curious as to where and how you have attached the light on the right side of the car. I know that later models...You do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 1 photos.07-31-2022, 06:11 PM -
I could use some help. My A is listing to the right. I am thinking that during the assembly of the rear spring to the frame, I must have made a bad mistake.
Now, what should I do to correct this list? Do I need to raise the frame and drop the rear axle?
Should I invest in a new rear spring?
ThanksYou do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 1 photos.10-09-2018, 09:07 AM -
So you have two (2) Rear Brake Camshaft Levers...A-2235 Right and A-2236 Left to assemble on to the rear backing plates.
HOWEVER...there are no markings on them to distinguish Right from Left.
What are some ways to determin Right from Left?
When each are assembled on the Left side for instance, one lever is angled differently than the other...so which would be...07-03-2019, 11:45 AM -
Sometimes during the restoration process, I have some great successes. My right rear fender was original. For safety, I want to add the second brake light and turn signals. So, I I was able to drill the mounting holes and I can now mount the brake brake light mounting bracket. I was also able to fix the minor faults that that should after priming.
It is quite an achievement for me, and...You do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 3 photos.04-02-2019, 10:44 AM -
Was working on a club members 1930 Coupe today as it had a ten leaf rear spring that was hanging lower in the rear frame cross member. The previous owner had drilled extra cotter pin holes in the two U bolts. There was also a short piece of frame welting on top of the spring that had a smaller diameter hole and did not allow the square bolt head to go into the rear frame cross member. We removed...12-03-2020, 08:00 PM -
I work alone. Car body is mounted on frame. Rear axle/drive line/wish-bone is removed. Spring now on floor, freshly painted, wrapped in a HF moving blanket (to protect paint) with two secured chains (one on either side of center bolt) and a spring spreader to take pressure off center bolt. I want the square head of the center bolt to fit into the square hole into the receiving member. Rear spring...09-11-2021, 02:24 PM -
Is there a certain vendor or manufacturer that sells a right side tail light bracket that is bent at the correct angle? I just got a new one that doesn't have a straight up and down flange for the tail light to mount to when placed in position on the fender were it needs to go. The flange is shaped so that the tail light would actually be pointed slightly downward. Definitely not matching the...08-28-2022, 12:56 PM -
Put a Camero rear axle in my pickup with a model A spring on top of it. I then removed some leaves to lower the rear, but now on a big bump, the spring has increased in length so much that the end of the spring hits the axle housing. Are their any shorter springs available that still fit over the differential housing, off the shelf? I know I could have the ends of mine cut and re-curled, but it...06-13-2018, 10:08 PM -
Today I parked with my left front wheel on a raised berm area with the wheels turned left. The outside edge of the tire touched the outer edge of the fender. Later, on level pavement, the car sits level side to side and there is about 1/4" clearance between the bottom of the spring eye and the top of the axle. According to Les Andrews 1-275, "the front end height from the center of the bumper...You do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 1 photos.09-25-2021, 09:42 PM
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