Those are Studebaker fenders .. '50~'51 Very much like the "Panaramic Ford" Would be cool to pull it out & bring it back, But lose the funky fins.
He must have bought that kit, advertised in all the "little" books, to add fins to your car made of fibergl*** AND used it!!
Anyone recognize the coupe with the top tin cut out of it at upper left of the first picture? Whatever it was it's a 3-window. Buy this Ford and the Chevy behind it, sell the Chevy and it'll probably pay for both of them. I agree that it has Stude fenders. Those fins could probably be done in steel using the tips of 57-8 Caddy quarters.
It looks like a J at first, then with a longer look like stated, the Stude pops out. Someones dream at rest!
the fin idea is in alot of the older mags...always stated as an update....dad says they used cardboard, then fibergl***ed over that.
Fins look homemade to me...and I believe it is a Studebaker...Henry J NEVER made converts from the factory...and the "V" of the windshield is too pronounced to be Henry J...their w/s was a bit flatter in the "V"...could be a '48 convert... R-
anybody wants to know where this place is, you have to ask the new guy vintageautoparts<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_2044044", true); </SCRIPT> FNG. he posted them in his intro. i still think it is a shoe box ford.
If it's a Henry J, they grafted on a whole new rear section - maybe from a '50 Ford ragtop. The fenders have the wrong shape for a J and if you look close you can see the beltline angles up through the base of the quarter window. The fenders have a similar general shape and there is a gas door the same as 49-50-51 Ford. I was just looking through the pictures of the '49 ragtop I have and I can't find one showing the left quarter very well. Given the amount of filler in the quarters - it goes all the way to the top well - it may well be just that, and narrowed to fit the J body by cutting out part of the deck along each side. The top bows have the right curve shape for '49-'52 Ford. The cross bows in those tops could be narrowed pretty easily, too. I think it's going to take better pictures to tell for certain, we need to see the side of the car. You guys are right on the nose being J - the Stude character line curves down at the front, and the hoods have a different shape - the Stude windshield is almost flat on these cars, compared to everyone else at the time. There were a lot of Henry J convertible conversions around back in the day, some of them looked pretty damned good when they were done. I posted some pictures of one ages ago out of an early magazine. If this is what I think it is, though, it's the most ambitious one yet. In any case, I'd buy that for a dollar -
So far I have not been able to find any photos/info on this particular Henry-J convertible custom. I have created one photo out of the two provided. Angle is not the same so its a bit crooked but you get a better feel for it this way... Two old scans from older Hamb posts... And I think this is the "finished" project (scan by Paul Kelly) There is also another Henry-J chopped custom convertible (Brown) on a cover of one of the East coast Custom car magazing. But thats not this car either.
If you look closely at the right inside roof, you can see what look's to be a panel welded over the quarter window, the shape of the window is still there..Probably a mid-late 30's 5 window Ford. The custom in question does look to be a Henry J to me as well. Tony
Here is the othe one I mentioned... not the car in the photos... but still this one has some nice proportions.
The Jalopy Journal
