Technical 28/29 Cowl, are they all the same?

I'm building a 29 Roadster. I have a roadster body that's going to end up on a different frame than it's sitting on now. I want to use one of the non roadster cowls that I have kicking around for mocking up the engine and steering. Can anyone confirm to me that all Model A's are the same as it relates to the fire wall, stock gas tank steering mount and frame mounts. I realize open cars are different than closed cars but I still think it will work for this purpose.

Thanks,

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All "regular" (meaning non-fordor or school bus) 28 and 29 cowls will interchange. Not the the cowl bands, but the gas tank on down.

 

Awesome, thanks.

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I keep hearing about truck or maybe 4 door lower cowl panels being different but i'm not sure how...I have a scrap panel that doesn't seem to match other ones i've seen it seem to have a longer leading edge where the hood welting goes....anyone have any pics?

 

I am thinking that panel could be the early Model A made in 1928

 

There are three different Fordor cowls if you really want to get technical. Briggs and Murray made the bodies one had steel A pillars the other used wood. This shot shows both styles. The very early 1928's had a cowl vent in the drivers side. Bob

 

This is a 28-29 Fordor cowl that had a cowl band. Bob

 

.pic = tudor cowl and 1 door, titled posts... sport coupe 2nd door and quarters...plastic decking as cockpit combing...
.
truck= '30 style hinges [4 bolts], more radius on the inside of the w/s post, narrower A pillar lower section...
fordor= tank mounts from the inside [3 panels on the firewall, '30 beltlines] w/s post skins are separate...
tudor / coupe= different hinges, beltline further from the ground than roadster...
IMO... i would remove the flange that runs vertically on the inside of the A pillar door jam... and use the '29 coupe style hinges as they can bolt through a hole drilled about anywhere [remember the inside re-enforcement plates]...
..... none of the cowls lend themselves to having the posts tilt back much and still having the lower w/s rail fit / seal well against the cowl without major upper cowl surjury... careful where you cut for tilt...

 

I think Sloppy's pic shows an AR cowl with the shorter flange. On the AR cowl sides the flange had holes all the way into the cockpit for the rivets holding the welting. I think Ford realized these holes would leak water inside so the made the flange longer and the rivet holes were then on the engine side of the assembly. Here's another pic of an AR cowl side (short flange):



You can see the fordor cowls pictured above by 37Kid, and they are really different. Not just a short flange, but all over different.

 

Briggs body Model A easy to confuse with '30-'31 unless you look at the firewall if coupe the rear 1/4's look almost identical except for the 1 1/2" of the body belt (after door) that is rounded instead of flat....I'm talking about the 3 piece cowls the panels below the gas tank were they the same for all models?

 

1928/1929 closed cab truck is different than the other variants. Those trucks (regardless of tonnage) used leftover 1927 Model T doors, so the pillars are made to fit those on the door-side, and the header is taller to accommodate. The tank, side panels, firewall, and dash rail appear to be the same as '28/'29 sedan/Tudor stuff.

 

Here are two different 28-29 4-door cowls. One with the factory cowl vent. They both came with 28-29 Ford Roadster-Coupe-2-Door tanks underneath them. That's why my brother, a Model A restorer, would pick them up 'way under cost.

 

That's the one I used 25 years ago to build my '28 Mercury Torpedo Salon. You shove the stock tank up and under the cowl and use it for a gas tank. And the hood will use a stock 28-29 radiator and Fordor hood (in this case a Mercury). But the body lines line up with a 30-31 Tudor (in this case the '28 Mercury Torpedo Salon body which is 5 inches less tall). See avatar.

 

That is a great looking car, took me a while to figure out it is a 30-31 with the 28-29 cowl. If I ever get motivated I need to get to work on my Steelback project and fit the 28-29 cowl. Bob

 

i see things man...
... like a mini "cowl vent to be" on that left cowl side... might also work as a gas filler door...
anybody got an extra one of those cowl sides ? ...

 

". . . might also work as a gas filler door . . ."

Whereya gonna put your left foot?