I wasn't really sure where to post this request for help, if this isn't the right spot just let me know. I've got an opportunity to buy a 1938 Ford Standard Coupe. I would really only want the car if I could get the 39 Deluxe/40 front end fitted to it. Can the 39 Deluxe front sheet metal be fitted if I remove the 38 Standard cowl side panels and install the 39 Deluxe/40 car cowl side panels, and is that even possible? Thank you for any help you can offer. Mike
Well, I guess anything is possible. It is definitely NOT a "swap panels and bolt-on" deal. There's a difference in width and hood contour for starters. There will be fairly serious metal work involved so you need to determine how deep you want to get into it. I personally like the '38 Standard styling, having once owned one. They're not often seen today. My advice: if you want a '39 Deluxe or a '40 Ford, buy one.
Terry, thank you for the reply and your thoughts. I knew the cowl sides would have to be cut out and replaced. Bob Drake sells those panels. My concern was whether the 39 Deluxe cowl sides actually fit the 38 Standard body, and if that was the only serious change required. I just don't like the look of the 38 Standard front end at all, and the car I'm looking at is really solid and I think it would be worth the effort and expense to swap the front end out. Thanks again.
A quite ambitious undertaking. A 38std needs all the OEM stainless in place to look good. IMO it only looks good hot rodded with a bitchin stance and nice dark color. But making it into the next gen, 38 dlx, 39 std/dlx is fraught with a few brick walls and serious restructuring.
theHighlander, thank you that's the information I needed. I had hoped it was just the cowl sides, but apparently that's not the case. Thanks again.
If you cut thru the windshield post and put the complete cowl from a 39 deluxe it would be easier and still have the crank out windshield. I knew a guy years ago that did it to 39 standard coupe that he bought without front sheet metal and that is how he did it. He had a 39 deluxe fordor that had a tree fall on it and crushed the roof, so when the coupe became available, he bought it. He opened the windshield and cut the post where the windshield seam joint was on both cars, and across the floor then welded it back together. But those were the days you could buy a car for few hundred dollars.
What about making it into a '38 deluxe? I'm biased, but I really dig the art deco/streamline look they offer.
That's a much better looking front end, but according to what theHIGHLANDER posted it would be equally difficult. Thanks for the suggestion.
While I'm not going to stand up and say the Highlander is wrong, because all you have to do is look and see they are different, I don't think it would be that hard to do if you had all the parts to go with it. Why, because if the shape of the part changes, logic would suggest the holes would be relocated as well to accommodate the differences. So, is this a 1938 Ford? I've looked at those front clips and bodies. All through the eyes of a guy who sees a two pieces of metal to cut and weld, not, oh look the holes don't align up, or the part numbers are different. I think if you fail to remember it was the dirty thirties, how things were built, it wasn't a cheap fix to change things and these cars did see life around the world in other markets, you'd say yea, to much like work. But if you find it all, I doubt it would be that hard to change it all over as many have done. Technical - 1938 Ford front fenders | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
Here's the deal, and I'll say up front I'm oversimplifying without going into diagrams and factory prints. The 37 cars are a mild change from 35-6. That change carried over from 37 to the 38std. Introduced in 38dlx cars were the bodies that were used in 38-9 and 40. Lots of sheetmetal interchanges in those 3 years. Several "utility" type parts are the same too. Look at them closely and it's not hard to see. Pics (since we all like em so much)... The 38 dlx: 39 std: 39dlx: 40std: What we see here, again keeping it simple, its like Ford used the deluxe line from the prior year as a std line the next. All 39 std cars got the bright windshield frame and dual wipers just carried over from the 38dlx cars. Doors, decklid, some glass, all the same for all 3 years. The 38 std was based on a different overall shell the same as the 37s. The 38dlx was the 1st of the beloved sloper Ford tudors we all love. Hope this clears some things up for all of us who really dig these things, and yes the differences apply to coupes too. Please note, all pics were shagged from an image search.
Somewhere over the rainbow is the land of we don't have any left, what are we going to do now? When your in that country... you're going to look at what's similar and can be made to work. Here's a 38 Standard hood and I've drawn a couple of lines of concern for fitment to the cowl and referenced a couple of body lines to the sides. Quite frankly, I'm guessing a 38 deluxe hood could easily be a 38 standard hood, or a up grade from 37. Both hoods are 38 Standard but notice the change in the trim mounting holes. Point I'm trying to make is in 1938 even small change cost money. Was this a change up going to a round hole or down I don't know...but it's a small change none the less. The USA wasn't the only market for cars and Henry's reach was global. And while this seemingly is a contradiction to my suggestion it wouldn't be that difficult to make the change, it supports it also in that as manufacturing improved so did quality and model year adaptability. If you think about it, the cowl patches are 37-40, running boards 37-39...frame doesn't change, how hard can it be to change front clips? But with full disclosure, I've never done it to know for sure, just assuming from related experiences it should work.
Sorry to be so slow about getting back in here to thank you guys for all of your help. I appreciate the effort you fellows put into trying to help me. Still undecided about the car, but I know I won't be trying to turn it into a 39/40 if I do end up with it. Thanks again you guys are a wealth of knowledge.
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