1940 LaSalle 52 Series CCP trunk detailing

[Bill Bickle 15098]

I am putting upholstery in the trunk of this 40 convertible coupe and have a question about the space immediately behind the back bumper inside the trunk.  I have seen this storage area covered  with an upholsterd piece of wood in sedans.  A kit that I purchased, does not have a piece that would cover the wood for this area. Was it left open on  convertible coupes?

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Bill,
All the cars had them.  Do you have one for pattern?
Bob

[Bill Bickle 15098]

Yes. l do .   Thanks Bob

[Bill Bickle]

Yes Bob.  I do have one.  Thanks

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

I have a 1939 LaSalle CCP and the part that you need and the correct upholstery pattern is shown in attached pictures. I think I used 7/16" plywood, or maybe 3/8" and covered it with the same material as the trunk.  I was also very careful to align all of the patterns from rear to front.

Fred

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Here are some more pictures of the trunk of my '39 LaSalle.

Fred

[Alan Harris CLC #1513]

As long as the subject of Lasalle trunks has come up, is there any known secret for making the plywood piece on top of the spare stay put ?

Mine moves around on heavy cornering, which is somewhat annoying.

Any suggestions?zkeuc

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Alan,
It's supposed to have a spring metal projection attached to the plywood that locks into the center hole of the spare. Maybe someone can post a picture.
HTH, Bob

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Alan,

Bob is exactly correct and I thought I had a picture, but was unable to locate.  The piece is an upside down 'u' shaped flat metal, about 1" to 1-1/2" wide as I recall, and the top part of the u is about 1" to 2" in width and the legs are from 4" to 6" in length.  This piece of metal is bolted through the plywood with a carriage bolt that is imbedded into the plywood.  On my LaSalle, I recessed this bolt into the plywood for a smooth finish on top, with the  trunk lining material covering it without a hump.   Then on the underside, the legs of this piece hang down and are about 4" to 6" long.  with the legs extending outwards in the center of each leg.  It simply snaps into the hole of the spare and does not rattle.  Originally they were probably made of spring steel, but mine works just fine out of regular steel, due to the shape of the part. 

The good news is that I have the dimensions somewhere at work (hopefully a print).  If not, I can measure mine, but my car is buried against the wall in our car museum for the winter and trunk cannot be accessed until spring.  One of the guys at work makes things like these on the side and  sells them for a reasonable price, but he is on vacation for 2 weeks.  I think about $20 plus shipping, but am not sure.  He also makes the curved inner metal splash guards that fit between the rear fenders and side of the body, just behind the rear tires.  These are identical to the original, with the 'x' rolled into the metal and with the two brackets to attach - one to the body and one to the bottom of the rear fender.  These may fit other GM cars from the late 30s and are usually badly rusted.  He has a couple of pairs of these in process, but won't have them finished until he gets back from vacation. I will check into all of this after Feb 22nd - let me know if any interest and I can get you in touch with him.

Fred

[CEC #20099]

Fred; My 39 Buick sedan has the same spring steel setup. I believe it is black oxide treated. Check with Buick suppliers , as maybe they are available. Now I need to find out if my Buick is supposed to have the well cover, as it the same body ( Ser 40) as Cad & LaS.
c chleboun #20099

[Bill Bickle 15098]

Hopefully you will find 2 pictures at the end of this message.  This is an origiinal spare tire cover taken out of a 1940 LaSalle sedan. The dimensions are in the above message.

Please note that the splash guards do not have the X pattern on 1940 LaSalles but have 2 oval indentations and they are longer than the Cadillacs (with the X).  I mention this only if you are doing a show car.

ONE MORE QUESTION.
Did the storage space between the spare tire and the seat on Convertible Coupes have the same upholstery cover material as the rest of the trunk interior or was it just a plain black fibrous cover?

[Terry Wenger]

Alan:

I have a copy of Fred's drawing for the spare cover holding spring. Rather than try to put the picture here, I'll email it to you.

Terry wenger

[Terry Wenger]

I'm going to go out on a limb with this , but I have seen many of these cars without that hinged cover over the compartment just in front of the trunk. My '39 6167 did not have one. When Fred sent the pictures of his trunk for inclusion in the Authenticity Manual he did not have one at that time.  I suspect that the cover was used on sidemounted cars where there was no spare holder bracket sticking up, such as on my 38-9039 that has sidemounts.

Let mw know!!!

Terry Wenger

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

The good thing about my trunk cover for the small compartment at the rear of the trunk is that it is not hinged - probably was supposed to be hinged, but I made mine as a separate (removable) section that I can lift off if not needed or leave it in place per my choice.  So if it doesn't belong, it can always be left at home.  Either way, I must say that it looks good and sets off the trunk interior.  However it looks just as good without. 

During my 39 LaSalle convertible restoration, i came across some very interesting pictures of this area of a 1939 LaSalle, clearly showing the cover, as well as the clips that hold the cover in place.  The original brown trunk lining can  even be seen in one of the photos and one of the pictures has a rear bumper that sure looks like a 1939 LaSalle to me.  In addition the cover has a cutout for the spare tire bolt and bracket assembly.  These pictures were forwarded to me by a good friend who claimed that the car was 100% original, but as I recall it was a sedan, although hard to tell by the pictures.

Here are the pictures - judge for yourself.  I have 5 total, which I will post in two separate posts.

Fred

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Here are the last 2 pictures from my files.

Fred

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Guys,
Bear in mind that Bills question is regarding a 40 52 series car. First year of the new "C" body. I'm sure the other cars use the same concept but are not exactly the same. I'm sure that "C" body coupes & convertibles cars used the hinged compartment behind the rear seat. I have never seen the compartment cover that Bills asking about with hinges.
HTH, Bob

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Agreed with Bob - my car does have the hinged compartment cover directly behind the rear seat, but it appears that the smaller cover towards rear of car clips in place (no hinges that I am able to observe).  Ths clips are visible in several of my pictures. 

Fred

[Alan Harris CLC# 1513]

You guys are the greatest. Now I at least know what my car was supposed to have had before the trunk was restored.

My wooden spare cover is not now hinged, but might have been once. However, that spring steel piece that grips the center of the spare is definitely missing. Now that I see it, I am sure that it is supposed to be there.

My car, by the way, is a 1940 5219.

Thanks

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Quote: "My wooden spare cover is not now hinged, but might have been once."   

The spare tire cover was never hinged - just snaps in place over the spare tire with the upside down "U" shaped clip described and pictured in earlier posts.

We have three things going in the trunk, starting from directly behind the rear seat:

a) On the coupes and convertible coupes, there is a small tool compartment with a hinged cover.  This may not be on the sedans, as doubt if enough room, but I am not sure.

b) Next is the spare tire cover - to cover the spare tire and allow room for luggage or whatever.  This is covered with trunk material to match the sides and floor of the trunk.

c) Last is the small cover over the well at the extreme rear of the car.  It is not certain if this is on all models, but per my earlier pictures certainly did exist.

You may want to look at my restoration of my 1939 LaSalle Convertible Coupe for more ideas for your restoration.  See www.fzoldcars.com for around 200 pictures.

Fred

[Terry Wenger]

Gentlemen:

This is really interesting. I agree with Bob that there is a cover in the trunk compartment just behind the rear seat on both the '39 & '40 50 and 61 Series and '40 52 and 62 Coupe and Convertible Coupe bodies.  This covers the low area just ahead of the sheet metal axle kick-up.

The cover over the small compartment for tools just inside the trunk by the rear bumper is the one of concern. Cadilac did not, as near as I can see, put any of the trunk parts or coverings in either the Chassis or Body master parts books other than jack and tools in group 3.

I think the key is in Fred's photos of the '39 LaSalle. There are pieces welded on both the trunk compartment lip and the forward edge of the little tool compartment that both look like they hinge and support the cover in question. Based on these photos, I would have to say that if you had those welded pieces, you had the cover, if not, there was no cover. From Fred's photos, it is apparent that sidemount spares has nothing to do with the cover.

So now the question is: Why did some cars have the cover and some did not??

Terry