'41 ford PUs had two SS whiskers, one on either side of the art deco hood ornament. My hood is drilled for them but as I prepare to paint the hood, I am torn on whether to use them or not. This is not my truck but an image I stole from the hot rod truck thread. You can see the SS trims over the grille, extending outward form the center hood ornament. My hood is louvered, gloss black, I have a newly chromed ornament and handle, my grille is all chrome (where this one is painted on the sides), I have a nice center SS strip. I already welded up the 41 side emblem holes near the firewall, I didn't care for them on my truck. pros It sets the 41 apart from the 40 from the bow, I do like the shiny stuff, I already own a new set, The hood is already drilled for them. cons: It's a hot rod PU, not a factory stocker, Less is more, Kinda slick losing some of the trim (custom), I can sell them for booze money. Here is my truck, use your imagination and tell me your opinions.
Hot rodders took stuff off; "nosing, decking" etc. Show car builders added bling; Drawer knobs, sword handled dipsticks etc. Decide which camp you're in and go for it.
I imagined that you were talking about curb feelers and thought this ought to be fun. The trim looks good to me.
I think having the chromed grille makes the "whiskers" superfluous, but I'd like to see if both ways with the hood on before I decided for sure. I should be an easy mock-up.
If you're keeping the hefty nose waterfall, I'd keep the 'whiskers' for balance. (p.s. I can't believe you're contemplating deleting shiny shit!)
And I was trying to imagine a Super Sport insignia in a "whisker" type font. I think they look nice. Especially with the hood trim. They lend some uniqueness. The holes are drilled.
I know, and the center piece has lines to it that seem to suggest their presence. I do like polishing stuff. And if the hood doesn't fit quite right the trim keeps peoples eyes busy. All good points.
The wide vs. narrow waterfall on the hood differentiates between a '44 (wide) and a '40 (narrow), so that's moot. If the fit between the hood 'flare' at the side of the grille has a gap as shown on the front view of the blue one above, the stainless (or chrome) trim would draw attention to it, whereas the lack of same with the black paint would minimize the visual impact. You've already got a lot of bling on that front end. Leave 'em off... JMHO
The young me would have wanted it shaved so that it looked like everyone else’s. Nice and safe and widely accepted. The modern mature me says keep the ‘41 trim because, one, that’s what it is and two, it’s NOT what everybody else has.
The whiskers are a good compliment to the chrome grille and hood waterfall. It sort of provides a horizontal break for the eye otherwise there it is a wide chrome stripe full length of hood to the ground. The hood on the red truck fits tight so the whiskers with a clean fit like that would have not misfit to highlight. The blue truck looks like the hood and grille are not fitting properly with what appears to be a gap over the driver side fender.
Just ask yourself. Do you like the wide strip of chrome on Pontiac`s hoods. Then that should answer your question.
The whiskers are part of what makes it a '41. Also I personally think they look cool and go with the extras you have, lights & pipes etc. My vote is run 'em!
Well, there's this option. Then you could send me all the superfluous chrome (bumper, bumper guards, fog lights and so on) and I could make the front end of my Merc look nice. You'd feel better 'cause your truck looks better, I'd feel better 'cause my 4 door looks better. It's a win-win. I'll even pay half the shipping .
I vote use the side whiskers, it's unique to '41's, wear it proudly. I agree with losing the side emblem (Ford) near the cowl, I prefer the Ford script that Ford used on the '40 p/u's, or nothing. Pickup is looking good!...there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
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