I swapped these old boys some junk radios for a couple of cowls, one a '26 Dodge with doors, the other with Fisher Body tags but no dash or anything much to it. Someone had photos of one just like it on here a while ago, but I'm not finding them in searches. The stamped lines in the side curve across the top of the cowl and meet in the center in a sort of reverse scallop pattern, which is what caught my attention. I found a photo on eBay and I'm pretty sure this is 1929 Pontiac. I just want to run the numbers on it to be sure - Job No. 8558, Body No. 1038. Pontiac built supposedly 100 or so pickups that year, may as well rule that out. The one nice thing on the '29s is they are generic enough from the cowl back anyone could scratchbuild doors.. and I have a back from a '29 Chevy pickup that could cap it off. And an extra Model A frame up there.. hmm.. I should add, NYS used to make people paint the GVW info right on the side of all trucks.. this cowl has that on the other side, so it must have been a truck in it's last incarnation as a complete vehicle - I don't have a reference for LaSalle but Cadillac in 1929 used 8600 series Style (Job) numbers. Krause in their infinite wisdom issues a Cadillac book and doesn't include LaSalle at all - even though the Pontiac book includes Oakland. Anyone have a guide with style numbers for 1929 LaSalle?
I remember seeing a buick with lower vents like the green cowl in your pic.might look at those too. how do you run the #s from a fisher body tag ? Chris
Someone must have a book with that info in it, old shop manual, old car repair manual, something like that? It's not in my Krause Standard Guide Buicks have the vents but the lines are different and the top of the cowl is flat, that's what my buddy thought it was, but I found some photos of a '29 to compare to and ruled it out.
Could be LaSalle maybe, too. I'm confused - anyone know? This page: http://www.car-nection.com/yann/dbas_txt/Las1929.htm Shows the LaSalle has similar lines, and body style numbers are real close, there is an 8550 and an 8555 listed. I'm pretty sure the last digit on my job number is a 5, now that I look close at my photo again.
I remember seeing a lot of the weight info required by the state was painted on the bed sides, or on a piece of s**** bolted to the bed. Seems back in the day a lot of folks would cut up old sedans and make thier own farm trucks. Perhaps your cowl was the subject of this sort of attention.
Hey, Although these look later than 1927, Fisher Body was purchased by General Motors in that year. Prior to that date, Fisher built bodies for Mopar and some of the smaller independents. S****ey Devils C.C.
Have two Model A's up there that met that fate; both were sedans, but became pickups - the one I bought has an actual bed on it. I think you got a better gas ration in WWII if you had a truck. I just wonder now where it came from - I know where the Dodge came from and what happened to the rest of it. This thing is bare, not even a dashboard in it - just the cowl and firewall. But the LaSalle doors are generic-enough to duplicate pretty easily, too, just a matter of stamping some kind of belt-line into the tops of them.
Since you started this post I've been wondering if fisher made bodies for mopar, I have a cowl with the vent doors and the scallop in the middle/top and a couple people told me it was a 30 chrysler.
As someone else posted, not in 1930. 1930 Chrysler has a beltline across the cowl with a scallop into the A-post, the top appears flat. So far the only cars I see with the top scallop on the cowl are 29-30 Pontiac and LaSalle. Any tags or holes for tags on it at all?
Well, so far the only pictures I've found with that scallop are Pontiac and LaSalle. My cowl has a Fisher Body tag lower right side - any tag or holes there? It's possible one of the orphan makes is stamped like this, too, but so far I haven't found photos of one. I'll try and remember to take some good photos of mine and post them, you can compare to yours -
have you looked at plymouth cowls from the late 20´s?,they also have a scallop.up until 31 I think,if I´d make a wild guess,i´d say 27 plymouth.real wild guess....
[to make your search longer, the aaca has a library in hershey , pa with a lot of stuff in it and also the crawford auto musesum in cleveland has a large library open the the public for research i would belive that is was a body made by fisher for a independent make
I don't believe Pontiac ever had side vents or the carriage lines (like the 28-29 Model A). The scallops on the Pontiacs had a wider ridge where the hood meets the cowl also there were 2 belt lines, about 3 inches apart from the doors back, the top one being the tack strip to hold the steel to the wood. I almost positive that Pontiac was about the same from 28-31. I would send pics of my 28 Pontiac, but my camera is broke. Hope this helps.... Andy
They didn't even make a Plymouth until mid-1928 as a 1929 model. The book I have shows 1929 Plymouth with a bead across the cowl at the beltline. Same goes for all other Mopars - 28-30 Dodge, 27-31 Chrysler, 29-30 DeSoto. It can't be 26-27 Dodge, the cowl on the right in my photo is 26-7 (speedo reads Dodge Brothers right on it). Some of the 29 Pontiacs in my book have pinstripes following the curve out at the base of the sides, so I'd ***ume that's stamped right in them. But I don't see any side vents. Seemed like the eBay one I looked at had them, though. Here's another pic of my cowl, maybe some of the holes are comparable. Fisher Body tag is about an inch across at the lower forward corner on the p***enger side, should have two screw holes if it's gone. I've positively ID'ed this as 1929 LaSalle, the job number is 8555 which is a LaSalle 5-p***enger family sedan according to the LaSalle website entry.
I googled 1929 lasalle,and I think you´re right,and for the 27 plym,didn´t even think of that,sorry,haha,well.while googling for lasalle,I found a pic that was dead on for a body sitting in the wooods about 45 min´s from here,so I´ll look in to that one to.
Well now I'm pretty convinced that mine is a GM too, the 2 holes for the tag are there and it has the lines that come down the sides and swoop towards the front near the bottom. Not positive but these lines look wider on yours. Anybody know why the vents on the sides open towards the rear? I looked closer at the 30 chryslers on carnut.com and saw they have the scallop on the top of the cowl but also have matching ones on the top outer corners that match down the doors.
I have a cowl very similar to that one and I too have been trying to figure out what it is.. as far as I can tell Cads and Lasalles had the side vents, and mine doesn't so that rules that out. Most people I know that have seen mine think it's Buick, for what that's worth. Still trying to find out for sure..
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