Who says there's no tin left on Long Island? I don't know, but they are probably right. FRITZ and I brought his one back from a swamp in Jersey. We didn't find it in a barn... but it's so well intact that it MUST have been stored somewhere for a long time. The p***enger door gl*** has a window sticker from 1971, Suffolk County Long Island. No clue when or how it made it off the Island... but it's back. And it's mine. The QUESTION: where will I find the VIN stamp on the frame? (or what's left of it) The DETAILS: The seller bought low and sold high, he had no history of the vehicle. The following is what FRITZ and I pieced together so far. The bed and frame were cut off behind the cab. Someone must have made a trailer out of the back half. Two large casters are bolted to the frame now to permit moving it around. The tire hold air and the front end steers easily. All front suspension is complete and intact. It's missing the radiator. 21 bolt flathead and trans still there: conditioned unknown. Missing driver side windshield and door gl***. Inside the cab, missing are the glove box door and bench seat. Everything else appears to be there. The CAPER: With empty utility trailer in tow behind the Finkmobile, we ventured out into the windy and damp overcast of last Saturday morning. The roller coaster that is the Cross Bronx Expressway, may only be outdone by the Cyclone in Coney Island. Both the Suburban and trailer caught air like the General Lee as we did our best Bo & Luke Duke imitation. (Note to self- don't do that with a loaded trailer). After whacking the frozen wheels with a sledge hammer, the brakes freed and the whole thing winched right up on the trailer without a hitch. Now here's the dilemma. This thing weighs more than we thought because it's more complete that expected. That's good, but the bad side are the trailer tire which are now overloaded and bowing out. We have 50miles of bad road and roller coaster ahead of us. The wind picked up and it's starting to rain. FRITZ ain't had enough coffee and I hadn't slept since the day before (I work the night shift). Options- we have none. Solution- GO SLOW! The white knuckle journey begins with wide open road in front of us and a sea of blinkers and headlights in our rear view mirrors. Where is the bumper to bumper traffic when you need it? I'll tell you where it was... it was behind our rolling road block! The next 48miles at snails pace, waiting for the eventual blow out seemed like hours- because it was. Wholly ****- Fritz got nerves of steel or something. We never would have made it if I were driving. Bil
Nice! Find a frame and do a full fendered channel job on it! Damn I love that grill. They have to be on of my favorites.
The VIN number will be stamped into the top of the frame rail up by the front crossmember, or just in front of the cowl mount near the steering box. If you remove the cab it should be found under the rear of the door on the top of the frame also. If the truck has the original transmission the number will be stamped in the bellhousing above the inspection plate. The number will be a five-pointed star, 18-,the numerical sequence number and another five-pointed star. Great find.
danm, is that thing nice. Normally the bottoms of the doors are rusted away. The body looks solid too. What did you pay for it?
2 everything bagels with eggs & sausage plus 2 coffees $9.75 Tank of gas for suburban for Bil & Fritz's wild adventure $80.00 round trip tolls driving around NYC almost $30.00 1939 Ford truck cab from ebay $1200.00 Driving back to long island on the NJ tpk, across the Gorge Washington bridge and along the cross bronx exp. to the Throgsneck bridge home, listening to fritz complaine how there is no traffic when you need it at 15 to 20 miles per hour........ PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!
Nice find. I always thought the 39 and 40 pickups had the same pointed grille. Here to find out 40-41's are similar. Learn something new every day. Great shape.
It was on ebay for a few hours last week. Then I hit the "buy-it-now" ****on. Rick, I think you're right. It looks more 38 than it does 39. Consider that a typo in the ***le. My bad. Priceless is the fact that during the whole slow parade home with the cab, we did not get a single "thumbs up". We got plenty of the other digit! Thanx for the VIN# info. It will come in most useful a little later. Bil
I don't know the distinguishing marks that seperate the years, but I know more today than I did yesterday. I appreciate the info. I looked under it just enough to attatch the hook and winch it up. Saxophones, huh? I think Sinatra covered that one live from the Sands too! Bil
Great find Two points That is a 39 Ford The 38 has the V8 symbol in the grill and another way to tell the difference is the 38 has a ashtray in the dash and the 39 does not have one.
Ahahhahaa....that's some funny ****!! I've been in a couple of situations like that. When you need it, its never there! Nice find man.
THe 38 has 3 bars in the center of the grille with the cross bars attached to the two outer bars. The 39 has one center bar with the cross bars attached to it. The 38 hood ornament has a gap between the ornament and the base. The 39 the ornament has none. The 38 windshield reg. handle in straight out the front of the dash. The 39 the handle is on top of the dash. The ash tray in the dash is 38 but there are some 39 out there that also have the ash trays in the dash.
The more info coming in leads me to believe I own a 39. P***enger cars got pointy in 1939, but the pickup remained kinda ovally. I'm getting the feeling she ain't no virgin either. The flatty is a 21 bolt head with the distributer angled off the right front. I believe it has a later engine, brakes and steering wheel. On my next days off from work, I want to pour over it more closely. All these distinguishing points give me areas to investigate. I'm still enjoying the part where this is the oldest thing I own. I'll get serious and start building when I clear my plate of current projects. Optimistically... spring. Goal?... HAMB Drags 08 BABY!!!
Send me pics of the engine for ID... Oh, there's another copy of the serial on the frame kickup right over the rear axle!
Keep it just as it is, replace the missing headlight and put in drivetrain from Honda Civet! HAMB want ads seem to have a '39 type frame weekly, if you can't find a good Honda frontend...
Right!!! I'll take some pix of the engine and email them to you in a few days. I appreciate you taking the time to access the vast Lancaster Library for me. Once I know what pieces I have to start with, I can better scheme a build plan. I bounce back and forth between bare-bones modified to full frame with fenders. As for engines- I own the SBC just pulled from the '57. I also have a 347 poncho that be retro rocker riffic. I even have a 3.8 Ford V6 in my not so daily driver. The possibilities of a fresh build are endless! Thanks, Bruce It's not impossible, but I would settle for being there again in the 57 with the new fuel injection. If I work smart (not hard) it's do-able Stay tuned, Jay
Maybe just hang it's tail from my antenna. Okay, this is a mixed bunch of parts I bought. Nothing is discouraging, just an adventure discovering what someone has done before me. There is no guilt trip about disrupting a stock piece. This ain't stock. Check out the embossing we found on the heads! And it's got heat too! This was worth the $$$ Bil
The Jalopy Journal
