1938 Cadillac

[Thomas Lindholm CLC#13781]

Trying to finish the trunk on my 1938 Series 75 Coupe, can anyone help me with patterns on the trunk side cardboards?
Thomas Lindholm CLC# 13781

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I am facing the same dilemma. I think what I will do is get some large cardboard boxes knocked down, and do a lot of trial and error with a razor knife. This is one place that I don't think you will have trouble with a judge saying you are "wrong," as long as you do a workmanlike job.

[Raymond919]

Barry, that's what I did for my '49 trunk. Learn from my experience. I first made a pattern with thin, single thickness cardboard (like a cake box) which I cut and pieced together with scotch tape and stapler to get the right shape. I placed that on top of the final thicker cardboard and cut that out. When selecting the thicker cardboard to use, for each panel, get a piece which has not been folded. Get a piece used for a refrigerator or large appliance. Also look for the heaviest grade and thickness you can find.

If you use a folded piece, as I did, the area where the fold had been, although straightened, will show through whatever covering you put over it. For my covering, I managed to find a dark-colored, heavy duty leatherette vinyl at a fabric store which had a leather texture to it. It also had a very thin foam backing which I guess was less than 1/16 inch thick. I attached the leatherette to the cardboard with spray adhesive. The  results were better than good, especially where I see those cardboard panels are sold on ebay for up to $179 and are only cardboard themselves.

For the trunk floor, I went to Home Depot and checked their indoor/outdoor carpeting. I got the tightest and shortest weave (not plush - twist) I could find in the color right for my trunk. I had to buy a piece about 1 1/2 yards long which gave me enough carpeting to do the trunk 4 more times. You can use some of the excess to make mats for the interior of the car if you get it bound.

It all sounds very tacky but if you're careful, you'll get a great looking job and no one will ever know.
Ray Schuman

Good luck,
Ray Schuman

[srk1941]

Here is a thread from when I worked on my own trunk for my '41 convertible, with a few pictures.

http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=109182.msg154681#msg154681

But I agree with what Ray has said for creating the template. I went to an upholstery shop looking for a heavy cardboard they use to make door panels. They also had big sheets of a much lighter cardboard, so I bought a lot of those.

For each section of side panel, I did what Ray has described. Cut sections (with scissors, mostly) and kept adjusting them to fit. Any one side panel consisted of probably five to ten small pieces, which I taped together, and kept fine tuning for a good fit. When I came up with a pieced together puzzle of something that seemed to fit, I laid it over the heavier board, outlined it with a Sharpie, and then cut that out.

Because the trunk lining material is rather loosely woven, I backed it first with black felt, which I got at a fabric store. With spray adhesive, I first covered the side panel with black felt, and then sprayed more adhesive over that, and laid the trunk lining fabric. I folded the edges under, and glued those down.

For the floor, I did the same sort of piecing together to get a good fit, but bought a big sheet of a more rigid black plastic, and cut it out with a Dremel. And then glued down felt, and glued the trunk lining to it. Same thing for the spare tire shelf.

[Thomas Lindholm CLC#13781]

I’m just trying to save time and my knees, have done this before on all my 12 frame of cars but it takes a lot of time and a 1938 Coupe trunk is 2 meters deep so it is a little bit tricky. A pattern would have saved my knees
Thomas