Sorry no one has got back with you. I have seen '28 trucks, and have access to a '29 GMC. From memory the slats were kind of a bead board about 2" wide, and about 3/8" thick. If you have the framework underneath it will be arced from back to front with an overhang in the front. Contact Dean and maybe he can get you some more information.
Sorry for being late to the party on this one. I've been very busy finishing an art project for the Welding for Artists class that I've been taking. I included a photo of my project along with pics of Justin's roof slats below. ;-)
My experience with wood roofs is limited to just one: Justin's (1928 AB Canopy Express with body by Hercules). Being a canopy express with the roof going all the way to the back end of the truck, I have no info about the back of a 'short' truck cab.
That being said, Justin's roof slats are Oak and are 1 1/2 inches wide by 3/8 inch thick. There are 32 slats. The cross members are clear Douglas Fir.
When I got the truck, the fabric was not on the top and I noticed that some of the nails that held the slats down were loose and coming up. So, I pulled all the nails for the first two rows and replaced them with screws. I counter-bored the holes in the slats just enough so that the screw heads were below the top of the slat surface.
I also repaired some holes that were broken out by gluing in dowels and re-drilling the holes. The backmost cross member had a bazzilion nail holes in it from previous roof fabric installations. I glued a toothpick in each nail hole with Gorilla Glue and then cut off the toothpicks thus restoring the integrity of the nailing surface. ;-)
Oh, the previous owner rebuilt the roof back in the 1970's and painted the underside flat black. I didn't like the way that looked, so, after I did the wood repairs, I took it (the roof) to an artist friend who stripped the black paint off and gave the wood a satin clear coat.
After putting the roof back on, I purchased roof material (Cobra long grain vinyl) from one of the Model A vendors and took the truck to a local upholsterer who installed it.
Separately from the roof repair and new top, I had a car cover made for the truck. Attached is the paperwork for the cover, which includes dimensions of the overall truck.
Disclaimer: These dimensions represent the truck as I got it. I do not know if the roof is a complete, authentic reproduction of the original.
Hope all this helps. Dean
Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz old and ugly is beautiful!
in my opnion photos posting is difficult on this page, i use this web site and post my photo there them copy and paste links into the reply sections and the photos just appear.
Posting photos is very easy. You simply click on "use full editor" right below this text box and then click on "attachment manager" and then select your photos.
Links to external pictures are annoying as they ultimately end up getting broken and then the post is virtually useless with a dead link.
You do need to be a VCCA member to post pictures though.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
I know this is an older post, so please don't whip me too hard. I have a question not about the slats, but the bows and I'm posting it on this already started thread for two reasons. One because it has some good reference pictures, and two because I have personally seen Mike Didier's truck and took measurements off it. Unfortunately, I did not measure a couple things that I need, and I also question I guess. From looking at Mike's pictures and the pictures I took of it, it appears that the rake from front to back is in a relatively flat plane down the center. I have seen other "restored" trucks on the web that make it look like the rake has quite a crown to it. Also on this dimensioned drawing of a factory Chevrolet cab you can clearly see a crown from front to back. (and I included a drawing I worked off of for the back starting arch) So question is should there or shouldn't there be? I started making roof bows with a crown (just have two done from the rear forward) Esthetically I think the crown looks better, but I also want correct?
The other question is how thick should they be, and how tall? The ones I have made I cut from a full 1in thick board I planned down, and I made them 1-3/8in the tall. IDK what I will have for a crown from front to back. I will have to measure. David